Having been inspired by our discussions at the luncheon, I have decided to see how my university level (mostly freshman) respond to the topic, "What is the relationship between Art and Spirit?" It is an online class, so it lends itself to online discussion. In case anyone is interested in the introduction, guidelines and websites I'm using to stimulate the conversation, I'll include them here. The introduction briefly summarizes a structure that has emerged on my thinking about the relationship of art and spirit.
Discussion Assignment Guidelines
What is the relationship between Art and Spirit?
Guiding Questions:
Generations of artists have been intrigued by the relationship between art and the spirit,
but what is spirit? When and how does spirit manifest in art? Is spirit more or less than religion? Is there a “spiritual impulse” that is at the root of creativity? Is there “a flow” when an artist is working on a “spiritual level?” Do the written words of artists provide any evidence of their awareness or understanding of spirit in relation to their own artworks and the artworks of others?
Introduction to this Discussion:
When thinking about or discussing this topic, whether with colleagues or students, I like to use the phrase “The SU Factor.” In the most simple, concrete or general terms, the “SU” of “The SU Factor” stands for “Something Unseen.” However, by reflecting and studying this topic over several years, I have come to realize that “The SU Factor” can actually be observed and discussed on at least three different levels, each providing a different way of looking at the relationship between “art and spirit”.
First, let’s look at Level #1: The Innermost Level (The Core), which is the most abstract or deepest of the levels. One way to imagine this level of SU is to think of a spiral with a “core” around which everything else rotates and expands outward. This core or innermost aspect of “SU” is what I call “the Source Unlimited.” Religious and/or spiritual people may refer to this innermost level as “God.” However, for non-religious people, especially some scientists who have studied physics and quantum mechanics this may be conceived as “energy” or “unlimited power.” Rather than get bogged down in a discussion revolving around the existence of God, for me it seems better to just refer to this aspect as the “Innermost Level of SU – the Core.” Then in personal reflection, each individual can decide for himself/herself whether this aspect of SU is more closely related to “Divine Will,” “Infinite Willpower,” or extremely high energy particles.
A quick dictionary check shows that there are many different definitions of spirit, some which are quite subtle. The definition that seems to be a “best-fit” for the innermost level would be “that which animates” coming from the Latin, to breathe or to cause to breathe or the breath [of life].
The intermediate level of “The SU Factor,” which also seems to have a strong relationship with art, is what I refer to as “Spirit Universal.” This is also a form of energy or willpower, but it is more outward and easier to observe than the innermost level. Like mind or personality, this SU is hard to define, but we all know of its existence. We might say, “That painting has the spirit of a Van Gogh …” Or we might say “The character [meaning spirit] of that artwork is very powerful!” Or “I feel that he put his whole being [his entire spirit] into that work!” It might also appear as a “group spirit” as shown in this sentence, “That artwork is has an Impressionistic Spirit.” This intermediate level of SU may also appear as the “spirit of an age,” which is another definition of the word, “spirit.” For example, we could say, “There was a spirit of rebellion during the Dada movement in Art.” The Renaissance itself, is a good example of a “spirit of an age” in the world of art.
Finally, the most outward level of “The SU Factor,” through my reflections, is the artwork itself, manifesting in the “Seen Universe.” It is the physical or material manifestation of the “spirit” which has taken a specific form. Michelangelo talked about “the spirit” that existed in the block of marble, and he explained that this spirit was “set free” or given life as he carved the block. And Kandinsky wrote in his essay, “Concerning the Spiritual in Art (1912),” “Cezanne made a living thing out of a teacup, or rather in a teacup he realized the existence of something alive. He raised still life to such a point that it ceased to be inanimate.”
For me, then, the concept of “The SU Factor” provides an easy way to think about the relationship between art and spirit, without getting into the debate about the existence of God or the existence of ghosts. However, there are many artworks which deal with the existence of both God and ghosts. Therefore, if you wish to explore these as subjects in your post, I have no objections as long as you kindly and respectfully – using a broad and open heart – read and respond to one another.
Guidelines
1) Before beginning your discussion on this topic, please visit the following websites and absorb the information found at each site. You may wish to take notes to help you formulate your posting, as there are several sites to visit and many diverse ideas presented in the information on the websites. At one of the websites, you will find videos and slide shows about various contemporary artists that are working from a “spiritual mode.” At other websites you will read reviews and see images from a traveling art exhibition entitled “100 Artists See God.”
Please Note: The information and materials on these websites are considered supplemental course reading and may be included on your final exam, so please take notes on the material as needed.
2) Once you have developed your ideas about this topic, please write them down and post them to your Group’s Discussion Board. Your posting should include (and will be graded on) the following items…
a) Comments, questions, ideas and opinions you have from the specified websites and related reading. Please reference the specific website in your posting, when posting ideas taken from a site, or when referring to information that is not original.
b) A related quote you found through your own research. The quote should be from an artist or other well-known person, and it should be related to the topic of art and spirit in some way. You may google “artist quotes” or “art quotes” or you may find many quote in the art dictionary, www.artlex.com.
c) Any original thoughts, reflections, ideas and /or opinions you have on the topic.
Optional: In my youth, I recall a few experiences that appeared as “visions,” dreams, intuition, and/or “knowing.” Looking back, I would say that these were spiritual experiences and that there was a visual component to them resulting in visual memories that I can recall even today. If you have had some kind of similar experience that seems to be spiritual in nature but remains in your visual memory, you are invited to share your experience(s), if you wish, in your posting, as these may add interest and/or insight to the topic.
Discussion Assignment Readings and Websites
1)
"Spirituality is such a vibrant and integral part of our lives that even our changing times and all the apparent obstacles have not stifled the powerful partnership of spirituality and art in the modern era." … "The realm of the spiritual is mysterious and inviting." … "It is a place where we are encouraged to explore the unknown."
~
Lynn M. Herbert in her essay for the
Companion Book to the Art:21 series.
http://www.pbs.org/art21/series/seasonone/spirituality.html#
2) Excerpts from
“Concerning the Spiritual in Art,” Wassily Kandinsky.
The entire text can be viewed and read that the above URL, April 2007.
http://www.mnstate.edu/gracyk/courses/phil%20of%20art/kandinskytext.htm
II. THE MOVEMENT OF THE TRIANGLE
The life of the spirit may be fairly represented in diagram as a
large acute-angled triangle divided horizontally into unequal
parts with the narrowest segment uppermost. The lower the
segment the greater it is in breadth, depth, and area.
The whole triangle is moving slowly, almost invisibly forwards
and upwards. Where the apex was today the second segment is
tomorrow; what today can be understood only by the apex and to
the rest of the triangle is an incomprehensible gibberish, forms
tomorrow the true thought and feeling of the second segment.
At the apex of the top segment stands often one man, and only
one. His joyful vision cloaks a vast sorrow. Even those who are
nearest to him in sympathy do not understand him. Angrily they
abuse him as charlatan or madman. So in his lifetime stood
Beethoven, solitary and insulted.
[Footnote: Weber, composer of Der Freischutz, said of
Beethoven's Seventh Symphony: "The extravagances of genius
have reached the limit; Beethoven is now ripe for an asylum." Of
the opening phrase, on a reiterated "e," the Abbe Stadler said to
his neighbour, when first he heard it: "Always that miserable 'e'; he
seems to be deaf to it himself, the idiot!"]
How many years will it be before a greater segment of the
triangle reaches the spot where he once stood alone? Despite
memorials and statues, are they really many who have risen to his
level? [Footnote 2: Are not many monuments in themselves
answers to that question?]
In every segment of the triangle are artists. Each one of them
who can see beyond the limits of his segment is a prophet to
those about him, and helps the advance of the obstinate whole.
But those who are blind, or those who retard the movement of the
triangle for baser reasons, are fully understood by their fellows
and acclaimed for their genius. The greater the segment (which is
the same as saying the lower it lies in the triangle) so the
greater the number who understand the words of the artist. Every
segment hungers consciously or, much more often, unconsciously
for their corresponding spiritual food. This food is offered by
the artists, and for this food the segment immediately below will
tomorrow be stretching out eager hands.
Instructor's Note: If you are interested in reading more, this section of Kandinsky's work continues and can be found at the above URL. Subsequent sections include "III. Spiritual Revolution" and "IV. The Pyramid."
3) A website for "Concerning the Spiritual in Art," an exhibition of the work of 19 artists held at the New Bedford Art Museum in June, 2000 and curated by Peter London, provides the following about the relationship of Art and Spirit.
The spiritual dimension is the dominant component of the majority of art in throughout history. Yet as taught and practiced at universities, and in most academic settings, the absence of spiritual concerns is the norm. Nonetheless, the spiritual dimension is the most influential factor in determining the look and purpose of much of the world's art, including contemporary art, although it goes mostly unspoken and unobserved. The same is true in every art form. This series of lectures, symposia and the exhibition intend to bring this rich, instructive dimension of our lives and art to the community. Although most often associated with religious traditions, the spiritual dimension need not be associated with a religion or even with the religious; the spiritual need only be associated with what might be termed, "issues of ultimate concern."
http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/1aa/1aa601.htm
4) Excerpts from an Interview by Alex Grey
http://alexgrey.net/interviews/artnsp.html
Why do you focus on the human anatomy in your paintings?
I began to see that the human anatomy is a microcosm of the many systems and levels of order in nature. I spent several years at medical school working in a morgue preparing cadavers and studying the human anatomy. I wanted to make art about consciousness but felt my work would have to be grounded in gross anatomy, because the physical vehicle is the temporary residence of the mind.
During the 1970's and 80's I did numerous performances and installations based on my visions. One of these performances was called Life Energy and in it, among other things, were black and white drawings, life-sized charts of the nervous system and the Eastern life energy systems. I used these charts to make a point about the relation of Eastern and Western concepts of consciousness and life energy. I had demarcated a space in front of them for where the viewer could stand and "mirror" the system with their own body. My wife Allyson noticed the popularity of the charts and she suggested that I develop this idea further by doing paintings of the physical and metaphysical anatomy. I knew she was right even though I felt doomed by the project. Begun in 1979, the Sacred Mirrors took a period of ten years to complete. The Sacred Mirrors are 21 life-sized paintings that examine in detail, the body, mind and spirit of an individual.
After painting the Sacred Mirrors, I applied this multidimensional perspective to painted visions of such archetypal human experiences as praying, kissing, copulating, pregnancy, birth and dying. I portray the body as translucent and hyper-real. Complex anatomical systems are revealed then interwoven with the glowing subtle energies visible to clairvoyants. The "real" character of the anatomical X-ray of the body may seduce the viewer into acceptance of the subtle energy realms. By seeing and identifying with the vital, psychic and spiritual energies of the subtle bodies the viewer may broaden their identity beyond the physical body and provide for the influx of healing energies from a more perfect spiritual template. Perhaps this is a way that art may directly stimulate a subtle healing response. By using the visual metaphor of transparency my paintings allude to the process of becoming transparent to the sacred ground. Transparency also allows one to point to dimensions parallel to and interpenetrating the visible phenomenal world, such as the "astral creepy crawlers", the lower demonic forces and higher luminous angelic presences or deity figures. The visual allusion to these different realms is what I mean by a multidimensional perspective.
Can you actually see the energies that you portray?
I have gotten comments and letters from clairvoyant healers who claim to be able to see the human body as though it were translucent, surrounded and interpenetrated by auras and energy channels, looking much like my paintings. Many tantric texts explain that clairvoyance will develop as a byproduct of spiritual practices. I believe that the ability to see these various layers of reality is a talent which some people are born with and some people have developed, but it is also a talent which is potential in all people. In dreams, meditation or during altered states I have had visions of these subtle hidden dimensions, but it is not an everyday occurrence for me.
In early modernism many abstract painters were motivated by mysticism and spirituality. Do you feel that your work is related to theirs?
Artists like Mondrian and Kandinsky used abstraction to express the spiritual in art, at least that was their intention, but as great as these painters were, I think that they may have fallen short in this regard. When you submit their work to the average viewers response, I am not sure that the word spiritual would come up. A lot of art criticism has also steered people away from interpreting modern art in this way. Most 20th century art critics like Greenberg, Rosenberg, Kuspit, Danto focus on the formal, psychoanalytic or sociopolitical dimensions of the work of art. Unfortunately, most art critics don't have a clue about the mystical experience or the primary importance spirituality has always played in the development of art, or if they do have a familiarity with the subject it is merely on an intellectual level. Recently however, there have been more spiritually motivated re-examinations of the nature of art by critics like Carlo Mc Cormick, Suzi Gablik and Roger Lipsey. This is an encouraging sign.
As far as my motivations, I would say YES, I share a similar motivation toward expressing the spiritual in my work as the early modernists, but obviously, I do not reject representations of the body as they did. Our problems are the same, though, because we are 20th century artists, "How do we create sacred art outside of a specific sacred tradition?" Prior to the modern era, most artists who were creating sacred art were working within various traditions. There is Christian icon art, Tibetan Buddhist Art, Jewish and Islamic calligraphic art, Tantric and Indian art, the various religions have had various but specific sacred forms or models which are repeated with some variation but mostly with an aim toward reproducing the pre-existing form. Contemporary sacred artists, working outside of specific traditions must find personal "original" forms which characterize their own mystical or spiritual experiences. I put the word "original" in quotes because new sacred art still draws upon essential and archetypal symbology, the medium of truth for all established spiritual paths. In the throes of a mystical experience the divine imagination will shamelessly plunder the world's spiritual traditions and ransack the collective unconscious in order to deliver fresh, honest universally meaningful images. Those are the artists who should be making contemporary sacred art--the ecstatics who have had mystical experiences.
In his book The Idea of the Holy, Rudolf Otto writes of the "mysterium tremendum", the experience of losing control and of awe, dread and terror when confronting the Transcendental. This is something that I think a lot of "New Age" art forgets about. Like Rabbi Hillel said, "God is not just flowers and bird songs, God is an earthquake." There is a categorization of aspects of the mystical experience put together by William James and Walter Stace. These categories are some of the most important common denominators of the mystical experience. First, [there is] a sense of oneness or unity within oneself and with others or with the whole of existence. With unity comes a sense that ordinary time and space have been transcended, replaced by a feeling of infinity and eternity. There is an ineffable or undescribable [indescribable] nature to the experience, something beyond words. The mental chatterbox shuts up and allows the Ultimate and true nature of reality to be revealed, which in some strange way seems more real than the phenomenal world which is experienced in ordinary states of consciousness. In the same way that we waken from a dream and realize the more "real" nature of our waking state, in the mystical state one awakens to a higher reality and notices the dreamlike character of our normal waking state. When people do begin to describe the experience or reduce it to words, these statements seem to be inherently paradoxical or illogical, such as "form is emptiness, and emptiness form" or "Thou art that". These are true statements coming from the perspective of non-duality, the problem is that rational discourse is dualistic. Perhaps that is why poetry or various art forms may more strongly convey the nature of the mystical state. With successfully spiritual works of art, our dualistic rational mind may be temporarily suspended and we fuse with the mystical state being symbolically transmitted through the art.
Do you have any advice for today's artists?
An artist named Lowell Tolstedt told me something when I was a student that I still think is true. He said, "Many young artists have advanced technical skills but nothing worthwhile to say. Many other young artists really have something important to say, but have no skillful means for doing so. Rare is the artist with skill who actually has something significant to say." The only way to develop technical ability, as you know, is to keep working and work alot. In order to say anything of importance you must find your source - your creative wellspring - the issues - ideas - the matrix of meaning that keeps your art alive. Questions that act like a piece of sand or grit in the oyster shell of the mind may be the source of the pearl.
In order to be successful and to be motivated an artist needs a mission. A mission is the setting of intentions to perform specific actions in the world - like the Apollo Moon Mission or the TV show from the 60's - Mission Impossible. But consider this definition: "a body of persons sent into a region for the spiritual betterment of the inhabitants". Immediately we think of "the religious missionary", people who go to remote outposts in the world to "spread the gospel to the heathen savages". When an indigenous culture is destroyed by importing guilt ridden dogmas, totally foreign to the attitudes of the natives, that's a negative Mission. On the other hand one does have a desire to better our physically and spiritually depleted world. How can we do that with our art? Art is unlimited, it can be anything we want it to be. An artist can hold a mirror up to society or the world. We know the condition of the world from the daily news reports. We are in a crisis. Another option is to posit an ideal of what the world can become. How can we do this in our art - what cultural gestures have transformative significance? The Tibetan Buddhists use the word Bodhichitta to describe awakening the mind of enlightenment. Without the correct intention there is no advancement toward enlightenment. The practices just don't function. The correct motivation is not that you are seeking enlightenment just for yourself but rather for the benefit of all beings. It's almost a foreign notion to us that what we are doing could be for the common good. I remember the Dalai Lama did a public talk after he had done a week long teaching on esoteric Buddhism. At the public talk he tried to make everything as simple and straightforward as possible, he said, "I am a human being. You are a human being. Try to be a good human being, not a bad human being."
In the same way, correct motivation is critical for the artist. The type of energy you put into your work has an effect on yourself, your viewers and the collective psyche. Artists must think deeply about what type of energy they want to put into the world. There is an ethical dimension to works of art.
I've always thought that artists are in some way cursed with their drive to create art, yet they are also blessed by the spirit of universal creativity. One of the curses of creativity is the sense of isolation that an artist can feel in a social context that ignores, misunderstands or maligns the artists best efforts. Likewise, the curse of the muse may drive an artist to do things that even they have no idea about what or why they are doing. In this way listening and responding to the inner voices or visions is akin to madness. There is something a bit insane about the efforts of the solitary artist when one looks at it with the cool eye of materialistically driven rationality. The artist must live with ambiguity, with not knowing what will come next, with not being in control. And not all creative voices or visions are benevolent. The unconscious is a big place, it contains both heaven and hell. Wherever there is a deity there is a demon. For an artist’s work to have lasting value they must have experienced the full spectrum of consciousness and must actively channel that all encompassing sense of life into their creative works. That is why great art disturbs us and shocks us. We are drawn out of our limited sense of being, our ego shell is cracked and we glimpse the profound undercurrent of spirit, the entire universe condensed into one sound or form, a spark from the unmoved mover leaps into our souls. Art is nutrition for the soul. That brings us to the blessing of the artist. Blessed are those who dream dreams and dare to make them come true. The artist is driven to realize their dreams, they must have courage. The artistic consciousness dwells in a region beyond rationality. Inspiration is not logical. Inspiration is like an unseen lover who creeps up to you and gives you the most sumptuous gifts. The creative imagination is the genie in the magic lamp of the mind. No object or project ever created by an artist will ever equal the images and artworks you will see in your own imagination. Use it and enjoy it!
4) Excerpts from an review of the 2002-2006 Traveling Exhibition, "100 Artists See God"
http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2004/08/18/32291.html
“Whether or not one believes in God, whether we describe ourselves as theists, atheists or even anti-theists, we all live in a world that is profoundly influenced by concepts of God. 100 Artists See God, brings this topic to the forefront of the artistic debate and acknowledges the prevalence of religion and spirituality in contemporary art, culture and politics both in the United States and abroad. Curated by artists John Baldessari and Meg Cranston and organized and circulated by Independent Curators International, New York, 100 Artists See God will travel through 2005 and be presented at museums across the United States.
“The exhibition brings together 100 works by 100 artist who all explore different notions of God, spiritual power, and religion. The artists were invited by Baldessari and Cranston according to several criteria: either because they know and admire their work, or because the work possesses the sense of humor and audacity befitting such a project, or because these artists are, in the curators' words, "likely to surprise." Among those participating are well-known artists such as Eleanor Antin, Chris Burden, Rebecca Horn, Mike Kelley, Liz Larner, Louise Lawler, Tony Oursler, Paul Pfeiffer, Ed Ruscha, and Diana Thater, as well as many younger artists.
“All 100 artists were asked to contribute a work to the exhibition that in some way deals with their concept of God. In some cases, the works are representative of the artists' own beliefs. In others, the works deal with faith as a subject, but do not necessarily reflect the doctrines to which the artists subscribe. In all cases, the artists have agreed to set themselves to a task that is both traditional and uncommon.
“Religious imagery plays an important role in contemporary culture and even politics, and dominates the history of art. The work in 100 Artists See God continues in this tradition of faith-based art, but presents subjective interpretations of spirituality rather than conventional illustrations of established religious doctrines. Be they personal confessions or analytical assessments, depictions of what grounds or inspires, these works put forth a broad view of God and of religious practice.”
(Laguna Beach Art Museum)
For a few images from this exhibit, please visit the first two websites listed below. The third website listed discusses an "opposing exhibit" held in Orange County, California at the same time as the "100 Artists See God" exhibition. This exhibit was entitled "!00 Artists See Satan."
1) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4013887.stm
2) http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A3299024
3) http://www.art.csulb.edu/StudioTalk/reviews/reviews_past/godvsatan.html
