The two artworks "Image of the Beloved" and "The Eternal Beloved" were inspired by the story of Viktor Frankl's experience, as he remembered his wife through his stay in various concentration camps in WWII. Frankl died Tuesday, September 2, 1997 at the age of 92. This was shortly before the death of one of my own family members, which may, in part, explain why the story resonated so powerfully with me at the time. This text will help explain some of the ideas that inspired the artworks, and is worth taking the time to read regardless. (And in answer to a couple of frequent questions: no, the artist was not the model, despite any superficial resemblance. And yes, it's okay to just think they're pretty. Beauty is part of what meaning is all about. Read on.)

The following is excerpted, by permission, from "The Bare Essentials of Meaning," copyright 1997, Dorian Scott Cole. The full text of the article may be viewed at:

www.visualwriter.com/HumanCond/Meaning.htm.

Thanks to Mr. Cole for the use of his text.


The Viktor Frankl Experience

Viktor Frankl wrote of his experience in Man's Search For Meaning. Frankl is unusual in that he counted it a privilege to suffer. He ultimately realized that it was his opportunity to learn many things and to become a better person. Many others drew the same conclusion. But Frankl was not couching this in overly optimistic religious terms. Frankl didn't count himself as one of those who passed the supreme tests of spiritual accomplishments - no, he seemed to see himself as one of the average people who failed as often as he succeeded. From his experience Frankl created a new psychotherapy, logotherapy, which is meaning therapy. Frankl's experience, I think, can reveal to us the bare essentials of meaning.

There was very little meaningful about concentration camps. Hitler had decided to create a fair-haired Aryan nation, and there would be no Jews. The Nazis removed everything related to humanity from them that could be removed. People were removed from their homes, separated from family, never to see their communities, jobs, friends, relatives, or loved-ones again, and herded onto railway cars for shipment like cattle. There was typically no room for anyone to even sit down for days at a time. The floor was the bathroom. There was no food. Their life was gone.

At the concentration camps, the dehumanization became complete. Everyone knew their family was probably killed almost immediately on arrival, in the camp's gas chambers, and their bodies were burned. Those who remained, remained to suffer. Their clothes were removed and they were given the ill-fitting rags of dead prisoners. Their former titles, positions, and education were irrelevant. Food was so scarce that they became mere shadows of their former selves. Frail, sick, mistreated, overworked, underfed, they had no physical or emotional energy, so were chronically depressed. They were made to sleep together on boards with no mattresses, pillows, or even heat. They were not permitted even to use their shoes for pillows. They were regularly beaten for anything that even slightly displeased the inhuman guards. They were forced to walk each day, even in inclement weather, to their work sites - their poor shoes no protection against the freezing weather and mud. Their friends died daily from disease, malnutrition, and abuse. And worst of all, they were made to compete (or steal) with each other for food, medical treatment, or any favor that the rest of us would take for granted if we were ever to fall that low. The gas chambers were not so much feared as they were recognized as an end to suffering and the inevitable destination of each of them.

What was there to live for? Social context? Gone, meaningless. To love or be loved? Their mates and children were most surely dead, and they were forced to compete with or steal from each other. Feeling valued? They had no value - they had negative value - they would do as they were directed until their bodies were depleted then they would be killed. Spiritual context? Who could have faith in such miserable circumstances - would a just a loving God do this - why not just curse God and die?

But for many their story did not end in tragedy, and in the camps they somehow managed to affirm and live within a meaning framework in spite of the incredible attempt to remove it from them. They affirmed the bare essentials - the irreducible minimum. What did they find to live for? Frankl found the following:

As the prisoners were forced to move from the world of intentional action where they could be creative and constructive and see the fruits of their labor, to an inner world within themselves, some things became clear to them. With nothing left, Frankl could still know bliss by contemplating his beloved. It is the contemplation of love that can strengthen a person and help them through the most dire of circumstances. Love transcends the physical and finds meaning in the spiritual. Love is the thing that can save you. It was the memory of his wife that brought him comfort and strength.

The love Frankl had for his wife transcended time - his wife was probably dead. Memories. Yet that love made a tremendous difference. Love is part of how we feel valued and connected as individuals. There are many people in our lives who love us: close family, friends, relatives, and each of them leave their mark. But even the kindness of strangers can be very valuable. The person who helped us change a tire, or helped us in sports, or forgave us for stealing - each person who "loves" us in some way gives us a past, a memory, that helps us feel connected, valued, and loved. At critical times it makes a difference. Even in a concentration camp, there were a few guards who treated them with kindness. The world can never be absolutely evil - absolutely devoid of good people. We all have a past in which there was some love, and we can all find some love in the present.

Frankl and the others began to appreciate beauty. In the barrenness that surrounded them, unable to be creative or express themselves in any way, they were forced into an inner life and they gained a much greater appreciation of beauty - nature, art, music. I think that beauty is not just the result of contrast, but actually shows what life can be, especially in a symbolic way. Beauty seems to have strong elements of organization and comprehensibility, which are necessary to meaning. I think that beauty in some ways symbolizes goodness and gives hope. I think beauty is much more necessary to us than we realize. "Stopping to smell the roses," admiring beauty, I think is fundamental to getting in touch with meaning in our own lives. I think we can see beauty in the smallest things.

[...]

So the first two things Frankl found were nothing that anyone could put their hands on. Links from the past; memory of love which transcends time and can be a path to salvation. Beauty - art, music, poetry - which symbolizes hope in the future.

[...]

And then someone would find the opportunity to give away his last crumb of bread to someone less fortunate. Apathy wasn't universal - it was a mask for survival in the face of impending death. Freedom to choose wasn't totally oppressed by the guards, people could still make moral choices. People could even cause a slight diversion to prevent the guards from beating someone to death - at great risk to themselves. Everything could be taken from them but one thing: to choose one's attitude.

Attitude [...] determines thinking, feelings, and behavior. It was a hard lesson to learn, but ultimately they did have control over what they became, both mentally and spiritually. It is this freedom that makes life meaningful. This found expression through their behavior. Each day, they were presented with moral choices. Each day they could jockey for favor, but at the expense of another person. Each day they could hoard food scraps, or share with someone less fortunate. Each day one could comfort the sick, or ignore them.

It was then that Frankl could see these factors of the human condition in perspective. It was love and beauty that helped give them hope for a future. It was hope for a future, a goal, that kept their attitude alive. For the ones who lost that frail grasp on a future, their grip on their moral and spiritual selves began to deteriorate, spiritual growth ceased with their future, and they fell victim to the denigration of the camp. Dead on the inside, their bodies soon followed.

Frankl points to the unemployed worker and those with serious illnesses as similar examples. (Loss of employment has often been shown to have similar impact to loss of a loved one.) The unemployed worker and the seriously ill are in a temporary situation, like those in concentration camps were. There is no goal, which represents the future, and the suffering is endless. Life holds no promise - it seems as if there is nothing more. One can vegetate. One can turn it into an inner triumph. The choice is always ours.

But choosing an attitude is only the beginning. Frankl went on to help others understand that it doesn't matter what we expect from life. What matters is what life expects from us. President Kennedy spoke similar words in his memorable speech, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." Life means taking the responsibility to find answers to its problems. Sometimes we search too hard for the meaning, while ignoring what life has given us. To Frankl, this was the meaning of destiny. [...]

Frankl, and others, have shown us a barebones framework for meaning. From Frankl's writings, I interpret that meaning is dependent on:

- Love and memories of love, which can strengthen, comfort, and save you.
- Beauty in art, music, nature, which represents what is good about life, and symbolizes hope for the future.
- Attitude about life, which determines how one thinks and acts, and is influenced by symbols of hope.
- The ability to hold onto hope for a tomorrow, often symbolized by a goal, but often abstract.
- The potential for spiritual growth (the present and future) [is] a source of meaning.
- What is at hand for you to do, both as moral choices, and as activity.

[...]

Frankl, Victor (1984) Man's Search For Meaning. Washington Square Press, New York.

~ End excerpt ~