Top to bottom: Artwork by Rev. Johnnie Simmons, Susan Stone, & John My. Bradley
The first time I went to a museum by choice, as opposed to a school trip or with family, was the Salvador Dali Museum, then located in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. It was housed in a dull looking office building, and it felt like a weird location.
Of course, if you know anything about Dali you can imagine how his Surrealist works completely obliterated the mundane surroundings. And that juxtaposition delivered a lancing arrow of truth about art: the quality of a work of art is not dependent on anything but its own fidelity to the artist’s vision. It doesn’t matter where it is displayed, what people think about it, how much it costs, or whether, ultimately, anyone cares about it except the artist.
Over the ensuing decades I read about art and artists, and movements and the relationships between historical trends and modern art. I visited large and famous museums and tucked away galleries and began to get a feel of what spoke the most to me, what felt whole, good, and seemed to say something in which I was interested. Always with the desire to see if I could feel the truth of the artist hitting the mark as far as their vision went, in whatever form it took.
This primary filter for authentic, truthful art has allowed my aesthetic heart to be ripped open by diverse kinds of artwork in the years since. And in a roundabout but inevitable hindsight-ish way, this truth is one factor that has led to the making of my current documentary film The Art of Believing.
The Art of Believing is scheduled for broadcast on SC ETV (PBS) in the fall, and is going to be premiered Saturday August 1 at the Penn Center at 1 pm in the FrisselI building. It presents the stories of Lowcountry artists Reverand Johnnie Simmons, Susan Stone, and John M. Bradley. Each are inspired by their spiritual or religious beliefs to make their art. This is what makes their work burst with a quality that reaches out and grabs you. The artists will be in-person at the screening and available to visit with after. It will be a joy to bring the community together to honor these artists.
One part of the process that brought these stories to life was the universe providing connections to the right people as collaborators. For example, Trevor Harden is the incredibly talented co-director, videographer, and editor of the film. I met Trevor after a random connection was made by someone who had read an article of mine on a different subject. And I approached Sasha Horne Hirshout, the Associate Producer, about a podcast idea. Once I met her, I knew her insightful eyes, ears, and relational skills would make this film better. The three of us clicked like we had been creating together for years.
The finding of the artists themselves was a function of intuitive flow. John Bradley’s beautiful historical mural at the TCL campus tunnel was the subject of an essay I wrote last year, and his offhand comment about “ministry art” he was doing was stored away in my memory and clicked into focus when the film began taking shape. His work is bursting with color and energy that’s affirming and profound. Bradley is the evangelical artist of the three and the absolute warmth of his belief created a peaceful interview of depth and weight.
Susan Stone was not a stranger, but it took my wife Allison to suggest asking her to be in the film. Somehow, I had overlooked what an amazing compliment she would be to the other two artists. Stone is an entirely centered and focused live wire of life, spreading joy through sophisticated and emotional landscape paintings. I consider her the evolutionary artist in the trio. She also has a thing about angels that she talks about in her intense interview.
The Reverand Johnnie Simmons was the product of random, casting-about web research into South Carolina artists. A brief mention in a book led to a gallery in Bluffton and a message left there sparked a call from Simmons as he was headed out to fish (his other passion besides making art). I so enjoyed getting to know him as we worked toward our lengthy and gracefully reflective interview for the film. I call Simmons the accidental artist of the three, having unearthed his passion later in life. His work is rich with imagery and personal stories, idiosyncratic in the best of ways.
What the three have in common harkens back to the primary truth that pierced me forty-seven years ago about the quality of art. Great art is a function of the truthfully realized vision by the artist. Does it speak with an elegant wholeness? Is it a result of love being poured from the heart into the art through a vessel of vision?
When you watch The Art of Believing you will no doubt come to believe that it is so for the art of Simmons, Stone, and Bradley. While it is said that beauty, as a quality, is in the eye of the beholder, in my view art is not. The quality of art, what makes it beautiful, is illumination from within. Sometimes divinely inspired.
The Art of Believing will be screened on Saturday, August 1, at 1pm at Frissell Community House at Penn Center, on St. Helena Island. For free tickets and to RSVP, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-art-of-believing-documentary-screening-tickets-1993466448811
