I also see sports, games, and recreational pursuits as forms of escapism. For example, I recently visited a rock climbing gym, and as I  watched people climbing I found it a little bizarre how people would climb, to reach no summit, that people would climb to accomplish nothing really. People running on treadmills often gives me a similar eery feeling, people running from nothing, from nowhere to nowhere to accomplish nothing. I understand that some people use these types of exercise to condition themselves for sports or marathons or heath but even then when I see people running a marathon I see people running from nowhere to nowhere. When I watch  football, soccer, basketball, or hockey I can’t help but see people moving back and forth accomplishing nothing but wear and tear.

Sometimes I wonder if we spend our whole lives on these shuffle-boards, pretending to enjoy ourselves while we accomplish nothing, and go nowhere. I watch the traffic build and fade each day like a beating heart – all these people moving back and forth.  I wonder if we we accomplish anything through all this. I wonder if we simply end up with lives of superficial productivity. But what is true productivity? Did Neil Armstrong accomplish something when he stepped on the moon? Did the Egyptians accomplish something when they built the pyramids? I can’t help but feel that these too are superficial.

As an artist I’m often convicted that my work is completely superficial and escapist. I’ve also been convicted, that there is only one pursuit in life that is not superficial; the pursuit of character. If I have touched the stars, but have not compassion what good is this? If I’ve achieved great fame, but care for no one, what use is it? If I build a city, but have no community, what a waste this is.

These feelings have also deeply impacted how I understand my own Christian faith. I no longer see heaven as a place in the afterlife. Rather I understand heaven as intangibles, like love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness (God’s Character). Consequently I also see Hell as another set of intangibles, like guilt, shame, pride, arrogance, selfishness and hate. In my understanding God is Character – and Jesus – a living breathing embodiment and demonstration of Character and the Holy Spirit is His Character resting on and in us. I no longer understand God as an all-powerful, omnipotent deity but rather the Character of Love who wishes to dwell in each of us. Ultimately you could say that “The pursuit of Character” (the only pursuit that is not superficial), is to simply abide in God, and Him in us. God is not far off but present, He is simply intangible, For what is love but something completely intangible. God is waiting to be a part of each of us, and the gates of heaven are open wide to us all.

Remember though that true character is only revealed in the middle of challenges. God’s whole way of moving has everything to do with it being in the midst of nastiness, for this is when His Glory is revealed. For patience is common in times of ease, but a man who can be patient even under the shadow of death reflects Character. Gentleness is also lowly among tender times, but a man who is gentle in the heat of conflict reflects Character. Kindness too is a trivial thing, but when kindness is shown to a mortal enemy this reflects Character. Honesty too is a bit of common rubbish, but when in honesty one indicts themselves this honors God. To counsel peace in the midst of plenty is a blessing, but to counsel peace in a raging war is to know the heart of God. To have faith in what is tangible and visible is easy, but to have faith in the intangible is the Avenue to Heaven.

If you are new to my blog you may want to read:
Mater Information and Character
Aesthetics and Character
My Art is Currently on Display at:
The Lorton Workhouse Arts Center: Collector’s showcase
The Lorton Workhouse Arts Center: Gift Shop
The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen

If you haven’t been to my blog before you might want to look at:
Some exhibitions that are going on: Exhibitions Opening
Or some writing on: Making A Mark

Also, this weekend is Second Saturday at the Workhouse Arts Center, when all the galleries around the campus celebrate openings with food and fanfare. This month Studio 5 will have a show called “Shelter”. Durring this exhibition we will be collecting hats gloves and breakfast cereal to support Lorton Community action. This exhibition will be on display from January 11th to Feb 5th.

If you haven’t read my blog before you might want to:
Look at my Fine Art: Portfolio
Read one of my popular recent posts: Cosmic Conditions
Or take a peak into my studio: Welcome to My Studio

Scientists are often the most skeptical about existence, clinging merely to a physical existence. In some circles I’ve seen movement toward accepting the existence of “information”. This is largely because of the discovery of DNA and the invention of computers. I heard a scientist say once that, “A computer hard drive can be both full of information or empty and this will not change its mass. This means that information has a different kind of existence than mater.” While this isn’t at all profound in Philosophical Circles, in Scientific Circles it is often difficult to imagine anything outside of E=mc^2
In our modern world “God” has become an idea as childish to many as stories, as fictional as myth. Some even wish that religion would cease, that people would give up on these old mystic beliefs. However, I’ve wondered if this battle between theism and atheism has mostly come from a misunderstanding. Could you tell an artist that their work was not good or bad because Beauty does not exist? Could you tell a scientist that their work was meaningless because the existence of matter can not be verified through an objective source, because all we experience is subjective? We are all seemingly living by a faith of one sort or another.

For many, I think we have simply not thought enough about what God is. For many, God is defined by his power, his eternal existence, his omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence. In contrast I define God by Love not power. And this isn’t my idea, but one that comes from the Bible, 1st John 4:9,”He who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”(NKJV) and again in 4:16 “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him.”(NKJV) I may not be able to prove objectively that love exists however, I can’t think of a more beautiful or meaningful thing within which to place faith. “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself; it is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, in not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (NKJV) And I might add, Love does not condemn those who are wicked but, always forgives (See John 3:17).
For many people life might not simply be a choice to live in wickedness or love, but for me it was. The existence of this choice leads me to think that Character has an existence but, an existence that is different from Matter or Information.

If you are new to my Blog you might want to look at my: Portfolio
Or take a look at some of my recent Posts: Welcome to My Studio

It might be a little unfair and generalized to say people don’t care but recently I’ve see escapist mentalities cropping up. Sometimes it is just little phrases like, “whatever” but other times I see it in modes of behavior like video game addiction, internet addiction, and excessive TV. I see many young people who don’t know what to do with their lives. One of my friends even calls it the “book of excuses” or “book of responses”. Sometimes we even include our own business in our excuse. I’m not sure if this is your experience don’t many people seem unmotivated, apathetic, like there is a disease of Apathy Syndrome floating around? This is probably where the idea of “zombies” came from.

Have you ever ridden the DC metro at 7:30 am? One thing strikes me right away. It feels like you are attending a funeral, everyone is just standing there waiting, most people are dressed in black, they keep reasonable distance from one another, and utter silence is kept. Is this what we have become? Are we people waiting to die, disinterested with life? Are we only interested with our movies, parties and alcohol? In a world where so many people are trying to impress us entertain us and keep our attention (through mass-media for example) that the result is that we become a sort of victim, robed of time and interest in life.

So maybe it is time to take it back, to give ourselves some quiet time, pick up the pen and make a mark. (The images above are pen & ink drawings on distressed paper. The title of the first piece is “Barrowed Time”, the second is “Death and Significance” and the third is a close up. Both of these images have been digitally inverted)

To see more drawings like this see http://mdkiehl.wordpress.com/porfolio or click on home

I think that we live our lives as a response to these cosmic conditions. We grasp at Identity, Purpose and Significance in an attempt to ward off these dreadful sublime ideas. We seek the attention of others to ward off the loneliness of our autonomy. We try to make ourselves useful, meaningful, even powerful in order not to confront the deep abyss of space and time where we are truly frail and pitiful as dust. Yet, in our limited and frail loneliness we seem to have the ability to make choices that impact our future but, even this we dread, because this is where our mistakes become the burdens to carry.

I think too many of us we have tricked ourselves into thinking that we have attained some immunity through our accomplishments. I don’t believe that any amount of power or prestige can make us immune to the meaninglessness of our condition. Should we then throw ourselves to the grave? No, in fact, I think that when we live in love, and community, when we share honestly, when we stand up for character and compassion, I think then we find that the conditions that once filled us with dread make this existence beautiful and exciting. This is a life were a sadistic death worshiper can find redemption and be transformed into an agent of patience. Profound acts of generosity and gratitude can be acted out in even the most dire of circumstances. The most startling demonstrations of beauty seem to exist among the most broken places: when individuals even on the edge of death can find the character to care for others, even their oppressors.

What does all this have to do with the drawing I made? I use drawing to help stir up contemplations. While this might look stout and serious (and sound serious), it is really a playful activity for me, like playing with Legos. I don’t plan how my drawings will look, I just doodle around. After I drew this I also damaged the paper to give it the tonality of brokenness. The first image is a digital inversion.

“Set Apart” – (To Honor 9/11)
By Matthew Kiehl

The conceptual piece contained in this room contains several different symbolic elements. A church pew, stood upright in halves, represents not only the twin towers but “The Christian West” and all the things despised by the terrorists who conducted the attacks on 9/11/2001. The pew has in fact been violently sawn in half, its legs removed. The two pews are erected in an empty room, symbolizing how 9/11 overshadowed everything else that may have been going on that day. In addition, the space is locked and we can only look in, as many of us could only watch the events of 9/11 through the media, at a distance. The title is one that is meant to be taken in several different ways. On that day many lost their lives; the towers were broken apart – set apart. Peace was broken apart – set apart. Our conflicts also set us apart from one another, just as we cannot enter the room, and as the two monoliths are not one. However, “holiness” or “sacredness” can also be understood as setting something apart, to give it honor, space and time, just we we honor those who died and those first responders who saved so many.

"The Rationalist - (Ground Zero #1)" 2008, Engraved Wood

My concerns were realized within less than 24 hours. My home state of NY was brutally attacked at the world trade center. Everyone I knew was in shock that such a thing could happen. In contrast I did not feel shocked or bereaved, but instead I felt responsible for what had happened – I had a deep sense of guilt. I felt guilty because I could not grieve, because it was not a shock to me, because I expected it to happen. I felt guilty because I could not help people; I felt guilty because I watched the events unfold like a show, entertainment.  But in a deep way I felt like the entire thing had been conceived in my own mind and secretly carried out. Many of these guilts come back when I see the story told again and again.

"Seven Years of Thought -(Ground Zero #2)" 2009, CNC Engraved Aluminum and Etched Zinc

If I am honest with myself, many of the decisions I have made since then have been a response to the events of 9/11.  There was no draft, I was not drafted, but there was war, however, and I nearly decided to join the marines in 2005. I felt that perhaps an honorable response was to become a soldier. All this was a deep tension for me because I also have deep convictions about non-violence. I am a Christian, and Jesus taught to love our enemies, to turn the other cheek, and with his death clearly demonstrated these things to me. Likewise, I deeply respect the non-violence taught by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"A Humble Task (Ground Zero #3)" 2009, Pen and Ink by Matthew Kiehl

These personal tensions did not overwhelm my ideals–I felt uncomfortable abandoning my religious convictions. I decided to become a soldier of a very different sort – an artist. In War and Peace Leo Tolstoy says, “The task of art is enormous. Through the influence of real art, aided by science, guided by religion, that peaceful co-operation  of man which is now maintained by external means – by our law-courts, police, charitable institutions, factory inspection, and so forth – should be obtained by man’s free and joyous activity. Art should cause violence to be set aside.” And so in picking up my pen and the brush and approaching the paper, the responsibility of accomplishing peace is heavy, but I have felt that I might accomplish much more toward peace as an artist than any other course of action.

"Second Thoughts (Ground Zero #3)" 2009, Pen and Ink by Matthew Kiehl

I have on occasion used subtle references to ground zero in my work. These pieces include “The Rationalist – (Ground Zero 1)”, “Seven Years of thought – (Ground Zero 2)”, “Second Thoughts – (Ground Zero 3)”, and “A Humble Task – (Ground Zero 4)” [All seen above or below]. In each of these works I’ve used very simple rectangular geometry  and so most people do not first think of the twin towers or the “twin pits” of ground zero when they look at these. I made these works subtle in part because I feel like a war profiteer if I sell a work that is inspired by such a somber subject. I have also felt like I cannot truly lament in a work that captures 9/11 in too obvious a way – because to truly face the flames I feel that the tensions of that moment need to be transformed into something new, full of contrast and conflict, deep and complex. I do not think people will relive their grief through my work, nor is this my intent.

"A Humble Task (Ground Zero #4)" 2009 Pen and Ink, by Matthew Kiehl

The twin towers are not the only “Ground Zero” that I reflect on in my work. My contemplations take me to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Sodom and Gomorrah, Lilliput and Blefuscu, London and Berlin,  Republican and Democrat, Theist and Atheist, even the battle between the left and right sides of the brain. In his book Refractions, Makoto Fujimora (an artist from Manhattan who lives three blocks from the world trade center) says, “I later realized that in a sense all of earth is ‘ground zero’ in that our failures and conflicts invade every aspect of our experience, leaving scars.” And like Makoto Fujimora I want my work to be a place of dialog and contemplation, a place set apart from the conflict and war. But even in my work there is the black and the white, the tension and conflict shattered like glass into thousands of marks, thousands of black wounds upon an innocent and pure sheet of paper. Our own self-interests seem to dig out an abyss between each of us like rivers of ink and blood. But in my work, there is also a sense of unity and wholeness despite the conflict, scars, guilt, shame, schisms, and cavities that pervade our lives.

You can find these works on display at my studio in the Workhouse Arts Center – Building 5, in Lorton, VA.  http://www.workhousearts.org/