By Bill McIntyre

E, ALL PEOPLE in general, can have dreadful perception problems, points of view that clash with reality.

How often have we heard the scripture quoted, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." (Proverbs 14:12)? It is an important concept because it is repeated in Proverbs 16:25. The art world illustrates this point. Have you ever wondered why a certain piece of art work strikes you as grotesque? An artist can tell you why but, if you're like me and you don't have an artistic background, maybe you don't know why something strikes you as odd. I would say something like, "That's revolting!" and leave it at that. My wife, Alice, is an honours art student. She sculpts spectacular horses. I've witnessed her gaze critically at a completed, painted and, to me, flawless sculpture, say, "The head is too short," and then reach for a hacksaw.

"No!" I cry helplessly, as she removes the horse's nose. However, when a piece of wood is inserted and the nose reattached and the refinishing process completed, the result is truly breathtaking; that twelve inch high statue looks as though it’s ready to break into a canter. When we purchase an art magazine, occasionally there is a picture of an expensive horse sculpture and often it is grotesque. Alice will show it to me and ask, "What's wrong with this picture." Immediately, beads of perspiration appear on my forehead. Terms like "withers" and "fetlock," run circles in my brain. I try to get away with smirking distastefully and huffing, "That’s revolting," but she doesn't buy the performance. She wants me to identify the problem. "The fetlock?" I inquire meekly.

Finally, she has mercy on my ignorance and says, "The angle of the hip is wrong," as out comes the protractor.

"Where is the jaw hinged?"

"Back here," I reply.

"Is there a joint in the middle of the jaw?" she asks. "No?" I reply, searching her face for approval. "Right," she says. Then she circles the word "realism" which is part of the caption under the picture of the horse. I am astonished that a professional artist with a reputation for realism could miss the errors that Alice has just explained to me. Once the errors are explained, I see them. I guess the artist's perception was not as firmly grounded in reality as the caption under the photo suggested. Our friends, Tom and Katie Schwartz are artists. Their work appears in private collections around the world. They carve the most beautiful loons I've ever seen. Once, when we were over at their home discussing art, Tom said, "You've got to see this." He produced an art magazine and showed me a picture of a loon carving. "Look at the cheeks."

I nodded knowingly, and said, "That's revolting." Tom started laughing. "It's got duck cheeks." I looked closer and, sure enough, an otherwise streamlined, flawless loon, has chubby little duck cheeks. Tom showed me a photograph of a real loon. The face is streamlined, graceful, inspiring. He went on to describe how the artist had carved exceptional ducks but just couldn't help bringing the duck's characteristics to the loon carving. Again, perception versus reality.

I WAS THINKING about how these two examples illustrate that, when perception wins out over reality, the results can be silly, embarrassing or grotesque. Striving for realism in art requires a diligent study of the truth of the matter. A horse artist striving for realism must not learn from other horse artists but from the horse itself, the only true, exhaustive source of knowledge about the horse. A carver of loons striving for loon characteristics, must study loons, not ducks. So what about the knowledge of God? How do we acquire it? Articles, essays and papers, dictionaries, lexicons, concordances, sermons, sermonettes, songs and discussions are all very useful tools in the same way that chisels, saws, glue, clamps, wood, sandpaper, power tools are indispensable to the wood carver. However, without constant reference to the source, all the tools in the world are wasted because our perception will be clouded.