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Photography by Bill Tuttle
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The various artistic forms of expression, music, art, literature, etc. compose a family possessing certain roots common to each other. For example, meter in poetry is expressed as rhythm in music and repetition in art. Or, the photograph of a stream disappearing into the background is similar to bringing a poem to its concluding lines or drawing a musical composition to a close. These common roots unify the voices of artistic expression by allowing the same message to be communicated by different media. I try to be aware of this harmony when photographing and frequently think in literary and musical terms when composing a photograph. But even these observations are somewhat superficial because they ignore the ultimate significance of the arts. Arts communicate, but what message? Communication, linguists tell us, occurs on several levels, the deepest being the most difficult to attain. All levels are legitimate, but the most advanced are more significant and productive to intelligent beings. What is the ultimate meaning of the arts? Centuries ago this question was addressed by one of the greatest meditative writers of all time, David, king of Israel. He wrote, "The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known." Psalm 19:1-2, the Old Testament of the Bible. The artistic arrangement of the universe, its purposeful design, complexity, orderliness and beauty, are nature's silent testimony to the existence of a Creator! I endeavor, in my pursuit of photography, to see in nature the artistic handiwork of God. Applying this vision means that as stewards of the natural world around us we protect and preserve this fragile environment and through it be drawn to learn more of the God who gave it to us.
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