As the title suggests, we are here addressing the most fundamental questions: Who is man? What is art? What is the bond that unites man, nature and art? The argument at the heart of this book is that what should be common to all men and women-a natural affinity with the sacred that holds out the promise of spiritual experience in everyday life- is in fact made all but impossible by the very nature of modern society. For what the modern world has set in place is nothing other than a pattern of life that prevents us from being what we truly are. The destruction of man that is part and parcel of the scientific, industrial view of our destiny cannot do otherwise than in turn destroy those values and meanings that have always been the bedrock of normal human existence. At a time when the inadequacy of modernism has become apparent, the author returns to the challenge of the English radical tradition of thought (Blake, Cobbett, Carlyle, Ruskin, Morris, Gill and others), with its critique of the industrial-now post-industrial-way of life. Through a series of highly original studies of several major English artists and craftsman, and by addressing key themes that relate to the spiritual, cultural and environmental crisis that now confronts us, the author offers a positive development of the radical perspective. Can modern man survive the process of self-mutilation he has embarked upon? In this unique study of our present predicament, the author suggests we cannot do so by turning our back on the perennial wisdom that has always informed the wisest philosophies of life, with their intuition of the sacred nature of reality.
Using Western culture's labor as an index of what we believe about the spiritual world, Keeble studies the work of important artists and craftsmen to 'ask what it is a man and a woman may get by working, rather than what they might get from working.' The emphasis in our industrial milieu, he says, is the product itself, and he exhorts his readers to consider instead the spiritual content of production. Keeble observes that in the West today, any spiritual moment in labor is 'betrayed by the industrial process, whose sole concern is for the economic advantage...regardless of the means employed.' Work and art within the context of any culture should 'exist primarily to align the soul of a man to the cosmic scale of his destiny.' Modern Western culture has lost its sense of holiness and destiny, and art-along with everything we make-has suffered. Given the broad scope of his vision, the rather spare title of Keeble's book is a little deceptive. Art: For Whom and For What? is not merely a philosophy of art or art criticism-it includes these, but its call is for nothing less than 'a change in the use of the mind,' a re-orientation to the timeless and eternal through spiritual creativity.
Using Western culture's labor as an index of what we believe about the spiritual world, Keeble studies the work of important artists and craftsmen to 'ask what it is a man and a woman may get by working, rather than what they might get from working.' The emphasis in our industrial milieu, he says, is the product itself, and he exhorts his readers to consider instead the spiritual content of production. Keeble observes that in the West today, any spiritual moment in labor is 'betrayed by the industrial process, whose sole concern is for the economic advantage...regardless of the means employed.' Work and art within the context of any culture should 'exist primarily to align the soul of a man to the cosmic scale of his destiny.' Modern Western culture has lost its sense of holiness and destiny, and art-along with everything we make-has suffered. Given the broad scope of his vision, the rather spare title of Keeble's book is a little deceptive. Art: For Whom and For What? is not merely a philosophy of art or art criticism-it includes these, but its call is for nothing less than 'a change in the use of the mind,' a re-orientation to the timeless and eternal through spiritual creativity.
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