Art As A Spiritual Quest.

[zerostao]

certainly spiritual can be found within the mundane. what isnt sacred?

the Op is about visual art and not about brushing your teeth.

[ralis]

 

Garnet Lake, California

-- Ansel Adams

 

 

Talk about an artist who could capture the essence of a landscape.

 

I have spent some time in the Sierras where he worked. I must say that he captured some of the essence of those mountains. The light reflected from the granite is like nothing I experience anywhere else. A tranformative experience.

[Simple_Jack]

Would you translate that from internet slang to English?

 

Opening a window to glimpse the feral expression waiting at each and every turn.

 

RU a filistine?

 

 

It's Friday and I was excited.

[Simple_Jack]

Would you translate that from internet slang to English?

 

Feral wonderment in the face of everyday life.

[Protector]

[Stosh]

I have just witnessed and the most boring presentation about art that has never been made.

[ralis]

I have just witnessed and the most boring presentation about art that has never been made.

 

Are you referring to protector's video?

[Stosh]

Yes.

[doc benway]

I've only very rarely connected to visual art in a spiritual way - the few times have always been when viewing works in person.

Off the top of my head, I can recall it happening both times I visited the Dali museum in Florida, looking at Francis Bacon works in NYC, van Gogh in Amsterdam, looking at the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, and the Pompideau in Paris.

 

I've had many peak experiences with music, both listening and playing, live and recorded, and many very spiritual experiences while reading, though not necessarily works that would be found in the spiritual section in a library. Poetry and fiction often get me there. Even food will do it for me on occasion...

 

That said, a few spiritual books and talks (mainly those of Demello, Krishnamurti, Osho, and Watts) have had a profound effect on me - more so than any painting, song, or meal...

 

As for myself, visual art conveys more meaning and inspiration than reading most so called spiritual books. Listening to music this evening reminded me of this painting.

 

'Ulysses and The Sirens' by Herbert James Draper.

 

 

[Stosh]

Yeah Steve its nifty ,what does it mean to you?

[ralis]

I was just looking at the painting in the OP and what comes to mind is the nature of the feminine. Water, feeling, emotion,creativity and all other qualities associated with the feminine. The female figure in the front is a mermaid. William Mistele has extensively written on the mermaid myth. His books are free on his site.

 

http://williamrmistele.com/

Edited July 13, 2013 by ralis

[Songtsan]

there is a reason many churches have spent tons of money on frescoes, murals, stained glass windows, etc. The power of art, music, and scent to evoke a spiritual attitude has been noted since caveman days when they painted stuff in caves, used ocher to decorate their dead, and burned specific plants for their aroma. It also may be based on needing to connect divinity to something tangible. If God cannot be seen, felt, etc. it is hard to experience the sense of sacred, or divine essence. This is why idols appeared.

Edited July 13, 2013 by Songtsan

[Gerard]

.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Gerard

[Protector]

 

ART EVERYWHEEEEEEEEEEERE

[zerostao]

 

Now we're getting picky . . .

 

time is art and we are all doing time.

creative energy expressed with sincerity and integrity (true and authentic)

is always good stuff.

[Stosh]

 

 

time is art and we are all doing time.

creative energy expressed with sincerity and integrity (true and authentic)

is always good stuff.

Yes the painting is brilliant but

He had a fire fetish ,went insane

is that still good stuff?

[doc benway]

Yeah Steve its nifty ,what does it mean to you?

What does meaning have to do with spirituality?

[zerostao]

 

went insane? well he always did display sincere authentic emotional honesty and those around him certainly did not. van Gogh was certainly aware of the turbulence that surrounded him , he could even see it. insane? or just at a higher level of awareness, insight, and compassion than the rest of us?

 

[ralis]

Yes the painting is brilliant but

He had a fire fetish ,went insane

is that still good stuff?

 

I believe his mental problems were from being exposed to the heavy metals in the paint. Artists then ground their own pigments and I believe Vincent wasn't very careful.

[zerostao]

ok maybe he did eat some of the chrome yellow and cobalt blue paint,,,,none the less, i stick to my view of van Gogh

[Stosh]

What does meaning have to do with spirituality?

Are you saying the painting doesnt carry any meaning for you spiritually

or that it does ?

As for what meaning has to do with spirituality?

My answer is -everything !- that without having meaning or directionality

you cant do anything spiritual .

If its all meaningless to (you) , what can you do, or feel, that is spiritual ? about anything!

[Stosh]

I believe his mental problems were from being exposed to the heavy metals in the paint. Artists then ground their own pigments and I believe Vincent wasn't very careful.

Quite possible. I guess one would have to determine how much exposure he had when , calculate how long it would take to show deleterious effects , and compare it to his work and writings. His original stuff , what Ive seen of it , was also colorful and bold etc. So Its hard to tell if the progression was due to maturity as a painter , or the distortions of an addled mind.

Dunno

[Stosh]

,

Edited July 16, 2013 by Stosh

[doc benway]

Are you saying the painting doesnt carry any meaning for you spiritually

or that it does ?

As for what meaning has to do with spirituality?

My answer is -everything !- that without having meaning or directionality

you cant do anything spiritual .

If its all meaningless to (you) , what can you do, or feel, that is spiritual ? about anything!

 

I guess what I am saying is that much of the work I do and have done, that I consider to be spiritual, is moving away from, rather than towards conceptualization, intellectualization, and meaning. Meaning is a reflection of conditioning. What means alot to one person may mean nothing to the next. Certainly there is a lot of meaning to be found in all forms of communication and art. But I'm not sure that is where spirituality lies.

 

Meaning is relative and connotes duality, discrimination, and judgement. Meaning is transient and will change based on perspective and context. Meaning is a projection of our conditioning and programming and has little to do with truth, which is independent of perspective and context.

 

As I have progressed through different stages of spiritual inquiry, I find that it relates less and less to meaning and more and more to being. Looking for meaning is well and good and is a natural consequence of the human mind and verbal ability. But there are certain fundamental questions that arise where meaning just doesn't apply and contradiction is everywhere, and that is where spirituality begins, for me at least...

 

In terms of the specific painting, I think it has many levels of interpretation and meaning - some relate to the paternalistic culture from which it arose, some relate to more basic concepts of humanity and deity, reproduction, the masculine and feminine archetypes, desire and repression of desire, and so on... Certainly a skillful and beautiful painting and it would fun to discuss it in detail. All of that said, it really does not touch anything in me at a spiritual level.

That is a reflection of me, not of the painting.

[Stosh]

I guess what I am saying is that much of the work I do and have done, that I consider to be spiritual, is moving away from, rather than towards conceptualization, intellectualization, and meaning. Meaning is a reflection of conditioning. What means alot to one person may mean nothing to the next. Certainly there is a lot of meaning to be found in all forms of communication and art. But I'm not sure that is where spirituality lies.

I cant get clear on this subject myself, as it relates to standard views.

It could use closer inspection.

If a person had a baby child , would not that event be filled with meaning and at the same time spirituality?

If the parent didnt care about the child at all, would not the event be without spirituality and/or meaning ?

 

 

Meaning is relative and connotes duality, discrimination, and judgement. Meaning is transient and will change based on perspective and context. Meaning is a projection of our conditioning and programming and has little to do with truth, which is independent of perspective and context.

I dont know that our personal perspective is not also a truth. Im thinking it is , subjective though it may be

 

Lost the box here for some reason.. so youre in red

As I have progressed through different stages of spiritual inquiry, I find that it relates less and less to meaning and more and more to being. Looking for meaning is well and good and is a natural consequence of the human mind and verbal ability. But there are certain fundamental questions that arise where meaning just doesn't apply and contradiction is everywhere, and that is where spirituality begins, for me at least...

Are you just thinking that giving up on 'making heads or tails' on a situation is the spiritual approach?

In terms of the specific painting, I think it has many levels of interpretation and meaning - some relate to the paternalistic culture from which it arose, some relate to more basic concepts of humanity and deity, reproduction, the masculine and feminine archetypes, desire and repression of desire, and so on... Certainly a skillful and beautiful painting and it would fun to discuss it in detail.

Were on the same page there though ,Steve.

Edited July 15, 2013 by Stosh