What is true art? Speaking of âThe Machineâ in On Fairy-Stories, Tolkien contrasts it with organic, sub-creative work of a true artist or storyteller.
By the [Machine] I intend all use of external plans or devices (apparatus) instead of development of the inherent inner powers or talentsâor even the use of these talents with the corrupted motive of dominating: bulldozing the real world, or coercing other wills.
So, what is the Machine? Itâs anything external I use to force my will upon the world. According to Tolkien, the Machine differs from Art (sub-creation) in that it arises from a desire to amplify self-will rather than from an attunement to the Music of IlĂșvatar.
All true Art, which is the province of the Elves, proceeds from oneâs inner alignment with the Great Music. The Elves first hear the Music and then express it through their Art. Their purpose is to attune to the Thought of IlĂșvatar in all things and to pour this harmony into the world. In contrast, the purpose of the Machine-creator is to attune to self-will and devise ways to impose it upon the outer world.
Art is prayer springing from: âThy will be doneâ; the Machine is anti-prayer springing from: âMy will be done.â Art is internal; the Machine is external. In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien insists that evil cannot be defeated by wielding the Power of the Ring.
You can make the Ring into an allegory of our own time, if you like: an allegory of the inevitable fate that waits for all attempts to defeat evil power by power. Letter 96 to Christopher
When we use external means to defeat external means we amplify the external means. The Machine perpetuates the Machine. Power cannot defeat power. Paradise cannot be achieved through external means. Only the renunciation of power can overcome power. Art is the ultimate renunciation of external power and amplification of the internal powerâthe intrinsic power of Being.
Thatâs why the Art of the Elves is not technology. It may look like technologyâElvish ropes, robes, fials, boats, lembas bread, blades, ploughs, bows, harps, bowls, etc.âits purpose is not domination but the manifestation of the Great Music in the world. All Art taps into spiritual power and brings it into the physical realm, which is the ultimate triumph over evil.
The âproductsâ of Art reveal the Music. Thatâs why the Elvish rope burns Gollumâs neckâhe canât bear the âsoundâ of the Great Music. Thatâs why all Elvish things ward off evil, not through external force but by the light they emanate. The âpowerâ of Sting lies not in its external properties but in how much Divine light it carries.
Elvish toolsâchisels, harps, hammers, bowlsâare not technology in the conventional sense of the word but an organic part of the creative process. Elvish boats are carved with Elvish knives, each infused with a prayer to Elbereth. Elvish tools are not âexternal meansâ to bend reality to the Elvish will; they are an outer expression of their inner attunement to the Higher Will. So, what is true art?
As Heidegger says in his essay The Question Concerning Technology, modern technology is not just an instrument â itâs a way of revealing (aletheia). It reveals how we view the world. It is a Gestell (enframing) â a rigid framework that configures our vision, causing us to see everything as a resource. Its purpose is to order and command nature, not to listen to its Song.
Modern technology doesnât hear any Song, and it teaches us not to hear it either. It limits our perception of reality, reducing everythingâincluding humansâto mere means to an end. After renouncing the nature of modern technology as a Gestell, Heidegger concludes,
Because the essence of technology is nothing technological, essential reflection upon technology and decisive confrontation with it must happen in a realm that is, on the one hand, akin to the essence of technology and, on the other, fundamentally different from it. Such a realm is art.
