THE MISSING MASONIC ART

What was in play prior to the Big Bang? Early in history, we were able to communicate by spoken word and symbols. Did those symbols morph into the stories and mystery of artwork? Or was there a distinct school of Masonic Art?  And was that art designated by artist masons? If we thought that, we would be rewriting the meaning of art and that would be disastrous. But if we examine this question, will we find a body of work that can be the lost corpus of Masonry? Art in its various forms, tells us about civilizations and the people who inhabited the cities and countryside that made up the population. Were we to curate a show of Masonic Art, I believe our understanding would depend greatly on how we looked at and thought about it.  Music, the most ancient art form may be the most open secret display of Masonic Art.  How far back we cannot say, but we do know musical accompaniment played an important role when Masons met. Instrumental and vocals added to the sense of solemnity and celebration, making Masonry very unique. One might be excused for thinking Masonry has parallels with a religious ceremony and would be unchallenged. When theocracy proved to be a harsh master, it taught us the value of to separating spiritual guidance and church cannon from civil law. For generations, this was a technicality that ran in the background. Fast forward to the 1970's and we find an active press and Politik running through organized religions. Shocking exposes of abuse by officials began the ethical tipping point for now on multiple generations. The music has faded in many ways in those churches, as it has for completely different reasons in Masonic Lodges.