Examples of An Artist's Craftsmanship at Work

Let's look at a couple of examples of an artist's craftsmanship at work. 

As we've noted, an artist typically incorporates some form of craftsmanship in his or her work. We might consider the craftsmanship the process of instantiating the creative inspiration that starts the ball rolling in a work of art. Perhaps a bit of a simplification or over-generalization, but let's go with that idea.

With that in mind, we turn first to a famous lyricist - one of that great generation (or two) that was responsible for what we now lump under the term "The Great American Songbook." These were composers and lyricists who wrote popular songs and songs for the the musical theater beginning somewhere in the early 1900s, extending through...well, we'd say today, but there are few example of today's musical theater that can hold a candle to those halcyon days (in this author's humble opinion).

The lyricist is Oscar Hammerstein. If you're not familiar with the name, you'll easily find details of his life and work. This example comes from his collaboration with Richard Rogers. Rogers wrote the music, Hammerstein the lyrics. Our song is from the show Oklahoma - their very first collaboration. And as such, this song would be the very first time the public heard their freshly minted collaboration. It's the first song in the show, "Oh What a Beautiful Morning."

Now, any of us can say "It's a beautiful morning." But an artist gives us a concrete vision of just what that might mean - at least to the artist. And with that vision, the lyricist crafts the words that express the vision. So here's a sample of a beautiful morning - the very first words of the song:

There's a bright golden haze on the meadow 
There's a bright golden haze on the meadow 
The corn is as high as an elephant's eye 
And it looks like it's climbing clear up to the sky

Oh, what a beautiful mornin' 
Oh, what a beautiful day 
I've got a beautiful feeling 
Everything's going my way 

See how the artist uses his craftsman's tools to sculpt this vivid impression of a beautiful morning?

A second example comes from the author we've discussed in most recent posts, Taylor Caldwell, from her book Dear and Glorious Physician - her imaginative reconstruction of the life of St. Luke. 

In this instance, the young Luke is in a cafe, accompanied by the physician who is teaching him the art and craft of medicine. They have traveled to Antioch from the estate of the Roman Tribune who was the physician's master, and who had taken an interest in Luke, or in its Roman form Lucanus.

This scene is much more complex in every way from our previous example. Stopping in a wine shop for refreshments, the two are approached by a merchant, Linus, who takes an interest in the boy. It becomes clear that that interest springs from the perverted practice of obtaining young boys for rich and influential Romans, apparently one of the merchant's sources of income. Caldwell unveils this slowly and carefully. The words are crafted elegantly, but the horror of the merchant's designs and the slow realization by the young Luke unfurl from a casual introduction to an unmistakable realization of what's going on as the physician allows the merchant to "inspect" the young boy with eyes, words, and - briefly - hands. 

"Lucanus, in spite of the confusion and rage which roared in his mind, became aware, for the first time in his life, of profound evil and its loathsomeness. He heard Linus' murmurous words as the inspection continued, and his white flesh prickled and became cold, and he could not have moved, any more than the marble he resembled could have moved of its own volition. But his heart quivered and his spirit sickened with this horror. He perceived depths never known to him before, and abysses, and the hot black obscenities of the human spirit. These he had never encountered in the home of the virtuous tribune, nor had dreamt of them. Nor was he fully aware of the implications, nor did he understand them completely. He was like a child who, running laughing to a green and hidden grotto, comes upon a scene of licentiousness and, while not fully comprehending, is impressed that here is something wanton and shameful, and is terrified."

Without our being hit over the head with the message in both these examples, our authors make their point elegantly and powerfully. Even if one is somehow born with a penchant for writing, such writing doesn't just pop out of the brain. Years of disciplined work at word craft slowly hone that craft. 

We can learn from these superlative examples and apply what we learn to our own work. Next time...