[untitled]

Untitled art really bothers me. When I am visiting a studio or gallery and I see a great painting, my heart always sinks when I see that it has been left without a title. Or worse, when the art is actually a form of writing. Many poems, blog posts, sermons, even short stories are left without a proper name these days. Why is this? I think that somewhere down the line (probabably with a great increase due to postmodernity) someone thought that we shouldn't hinder a piece of art by slapping a title on it. I hear someone saying "...it is what it is, nothing more. I don't want to restrain the audience..." Since when did this become artistic?

I think that art should Christianly reflect creation. According to John Piper (an English major), writing is the closest that we can come to creating something from nothing. I believe the visual arts and music are tied at a close second.

After God had created everything, he allowed man, the creation steward, to name all of the animals. Naming something shows a certain dominion and creative control and I think that this concept of creation is very artistic. It also demonstrates an intentionality. Art should be pointed and intentional with its message. Some artistic experts suggest that the title should be the first thing an artist creates because it gives both the audience and the artist a sense of direction.

Titles are also good for merely practical purposes. It is ridiculously hard to refer to a piece of art that does not have a title. We tend to use physical properties (color, texture, medium) for visual arts and phrases and themes to describe written art. For someone who says they "don't want to hinder art with a title," I think that this is very ironic because they force viewers to refer to the piece as "that blue one with a yellow streak" or "that one that said something about conditions of the heart" or even "that really big one." Certainly this is more limiting to the piece than placing a title on it. In fact, the title can help people understand and appreciate it more because they have a handle to hold, and perhaps a theme to ponder.