In The Resurrection of Beauty, Sarah E. Maple approaches aesthetics and the formal criteria for beauty by forging a new realm of perception not developed since the transformative reflections of John Paul II. The arts, and particularly Abstract Expressionist painting, are "capable of holding the weight of metaphysical truths." Christian anthropology when applied to this movement redeems a more expansive notion of the meaningfulness of human expression. Where art may seem "less human" or without form, there are nevertheless elements of "beauty" that defy those limitations that fail to recognize the full consequence and content of creative human expression. In conversation with Thomas Aquinas, Maple's discussion of personhood and aesthetics challenges classical positions of beauty and moves them to embrace a broader vision of what art is through a lens deeply focused on who man is.
Through art and creativity, Maple restores an understanding of the origins of man, his nature, and his responsibility that renders itself unto gift. The artist is a paradigm of the man fully alive, and his art contains a form that transcends what the eye alone catches. In this sense, Maple succeeds in presenting the artist as a model for anyone seeking to live well and pursue truth. Her presentation of the life and work of William Congdon offers an enthralling example of the vocation of the artist.
Maple's thought develops John Paul II's work on "original man" with the life and works of artist William Congdon to establish a vision of the "permanent roots" of the human person and in support of the interior life of the artist. In doing so, she reveals the implications for creative expression and how it sets the groundwork for an "imperishable aesthetic" based in personhood. What emerges is a "new dimension of beauty" that is "truly human." This means that old criteria must either fall away or burst open to accommodate the metaphysics of seeing and the imperishable object of this sight. The foundation of this 'new' aesthetics is Christ, and the enduring measure of high art is revealed as the "Cruciform aesthetics."
You can follow her further work @dr.sarahmaple
