My name is Evan, and my goal with Rewire the West is to help you rediscover beauty, truth, and virtue in today’s Western culture.
The reason I care so much about doing so is because I’ve experienced how the rediscovery of beauty transformed my life.
Now, I wholeheartedly believe it can transform yours as well.
My Story
To explain how the rediscovery of beauty changed my life, let me share a bit of my personal story.
Perhaps like you, I grew up with a passive familiarity of great artists and authors. High school taught me about figures like Michelangelo and Mozart, but it never offered me a firsthand experience of what made them great.
Readings of Shakespeare and Dante were less than compelling, and led to more yawns and frustration than insight and inspiration.
At university, I was fed a steady diet of post-modern and relativistic thought. “Beauty’s all in the eye of the beholder,” I was told.
In the eyes of my professors and peers, there was really no difference between Bach and Cardi B.
(^a depiction of how my uni profs would like me to think)
As I left university, I was fed up with what I had been taught (or rather, not taught), and deep inside, I knew that beauty was real. I finally realized that if I wanted to experience it, I’d have to go out and discover it for myself.
As you likely know, it’s hard to start doing something when you have no idea where to begin.
For example, when you’re not used to working out, your first time in the gym is terrifying! That feeling of not knowing where or how to begin was a constant companion as I set out to experience beauty for myself.
As I embarked on my journey, I quickly learned this fact: true art is intimidating.
I know what it feels like to look at a passage of Shakespeare and not understand a word. I know how it feels to be utterly confused by the titles of classical music pieces.
(By the way, why didn’t these guys just use song titles?) Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30: III. Finale - alla breve isn’t exactly our definition of “memorable”…
Maybe you feel similarly. The greatest works of art aren’t immediately accessible, and that’s often frustrating.
I can promise you one thing though: it gets easier. It really does! Over time, I went from knowing next to nothing about classical music, to actually being able to recognize and break down different works.
Even more impressive, I actually enjoy it! Yea, you heard that right. I listen to way more Tchaikovsky these days than I do Arctic Monkeys (it’s ok though, they’ll forever be my first love…)
I went from stumbling like a drunk man through Shakespeare, to binge-reading his plays and writing a book about how he changed my life. I was scared of Dostoevsky, now he’s one of my all time favorites.
Why do I mention all this? To show you that this same change is possible for you!
Why Do These Old Works of Art Matter to YOU?
In an age dominated by relativism and post-modernism, a lot of people do away with the idea that beauty exists objectively.
In the minds of many, there are no standards for art: everything is considered equal. Some consider it “elitist” to even suggest that Crime and Punishment is artistically superior to 50 Shades of Gray.
Here’s the thing though: beauty DOES exist, and it’s not all relative.
Furthermore, the experience of beauty is absolutely necessary to our very survival. If you’ve ever gazed into a sunset or stared out over a mountain range, you know that taking in beauty is a transcendental experience. It connects us with the eternal mystery of being, what some call the sacred.
Beauty brings us consolation in our sorrows, and affirmation in our joy. To lose beauty is to lose the meaning of life.
Our Western civilization has produced some of the most beautiful works of literature, music, and visual art the world has ever known. Unfortunately, we now live in an age where these works are more accessible than ever before, yet are experienced by less people than ever before. Bieber too often substitutes Beethoven.
The good news, however, is that right now, you’re able to experience these works, these masterpieces of human artistic expression, for yourself.
Sure, you might need a helping hand to guide you through. I sure did.
However difficult it might seem at first, though, I can promise you one thing: rediscovering the verse of Shakespeare, the prose of Dumas, and the cannons of Tchaikovsky will allow you to experience beauty in a revolutionary and life-giving way.
You see, these works don’t stick around for 400 years because they offer a “hot take” on some contemporary political or social issue. No, they stick around because they reach the heights of artistic expression and reflect eternal truths of the human experience. That’s why these works matter to you. They matter because they inspire you with their beauty and enable you to discover more about who you truly are.
If anything can be art, then surely nothing is. The greatest artistic achievements of the past spit in the face of this idea and prove that there truly are beautiful things worth living, maybe even dying, for.
The best art helps you discover what those things are in your life, and how embracing them will enable you to live beautifully in the here and now.
My Goal
My goal with Rewire the West is to provide resources to those who want to explore Western civilization’s greatest artistic achievements, but don't know where to begin.
It’s my belief that everyone loves classical music, they just don’t know it yet. I also believe Shakespeare is UNDERrated. If you don’t like him, it’s because you had bad teachers.
The same goes for thousands of other ancient, classical, and romantic artists.
If I can help you improve your life today by giving you the tools to uncover beauty and wisdom in the masterpieces of the past, then I’ve done my job.
So, Is This For You?
If you believe true beauty exists, and you want to explore it for yourself,
If you feel let down by your teachers, the school system, or popular culture as a whole,
If you want to personally experience some of the best artistic accomplishments of human civilization, not just to be knowledgable about them but to be transformed by them,
then Rewire the West is for you.
Next Steps
To get started, scroll down and register for our email list. When you do, I’ll send you an email to kick off a larger conversation - I want to learn how I can personally support you in your rediscovery of beauty!
After you join the list, head over to our blog to continue your journey and explore all the latest articles.
Welcome to Rewire the West. I'm excited to see how the rediscovery of beauty will transform your life.
Best,
-Evan
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