Artifact: Spirituality Essay
Objectives:
- Become familiar with ways in which spirituality influences artists
- Discuss the differences between spirituality and religion
- Examine spirituality as a generative force and a well spring for creativity
Original Artifact:
1) I define spirituality as the belief that there is something bigger to the world than what we make of it. A spiritual person tries to better understand what surrounds him, including people but more importantly nature. Being spiritual means you see yourself as part of a bigger picture and you try your best to play a role in it. I see someone who meditates as being a spiritual person. He or she realizes that there is more to this world than what is physically around us and he or she looks within himself or herself to see it.
2) In my opinion spirituality and religion differ, but the basic concepts remain the same. I think that religion is more rules based with certain ideals that each person must follow. In my understanding of religion, there is generally a deity or god like figure as well. When it comes to spirituality, it is more about finding context within yourself rather than looking at certain rules as guidance. Spiritual people do not necessarily need a bible or Karan for example; instead they go off of what feels correct. They are similar because both religion and spirituality look at the world and believe that there is something larger that we cannot see
3) Creativity is the ability to think and act outside the box and be a trailblazer. A creative person does not think like a normal person or they would not be creative. Instead they have a unique way of thinking and solving things that make them stand out. Creativity is also the ability to try something out, knowing that there is a big chance that it will fail. A creative person is likely wrong more than they are right, or fail more than they succeed but that does not stop them.
4) The source for creativity in my opinion is in a child’s upbringing. If a child watches television like other kids and goes about their childhood playing sports with others (pretty much describes my childhood) they will most likely not be the most creative. Instead they will have a similar way of thinking about and solving issues as their peers. A creative person must have a unique upbringing, giving them a different outlook on life. That is why people who grow up in different cultures often times solve the same problem completely differently.
Reflection:
Along with the food unit, this artifact was one of my favorites in the class. Understanding spirituality is something that I am very interested in, along with separating it from religion. I think that this artifact not only helped me better understand spirituality, but also helped explain to me how spirituality can influence creativity and by doing so can often times effect artists. A word that goes hand in hand with artists is creative, but I think that spirituality is overlooked. By being one with yourself and the world around you, creativity seems to come out a lot easier. I am slightly jealous of these people as I am not either of those things. However, with this unit I believe that I looked within myself more and better understood the idea of spiritual and how it can benefit me. I think that Grey says it best in his writing when he says, “To see deeply and to understand are different from mere looking and observing”(74). If we could all look more into items and fully appreciate the significance, then we would all benefit.
Another thing that I would like to reflect on briefly is the difference between spirituality and religion, two terms that often go together. For me, it is important to think of spirituality as a free flowing religion, one without rules or guidelines. The purpose of it is to look within yourself and have a better understanding of yourself as a person, the world you live in, and the happenings around you. To think that this is not important to artists who wish to paint something with deep meaning is foolish. Spirituality is key for artists to get to that next level of art, one that sticks with the viewer forever.
Religion is not something that I have ever been drawn to. I don’t like the idea of following sets of rules due to faith without full understanding. However, spirituality is something that I would like to look more into. To better understand myself and my place in this world can only benefit me and those around me. Who knows, maybe it could help me become somewhat creative, something that I definitely need!
Going Forward
One thing that I really want to make sure of going forward is looking at art differently. I would like to try what the artist was feeling spiritually while he or she was creating the piece. The article did a good job explaining that the best artwork takes a while to notice, but once you do it touches your soul. This is something that I would like to try and feel going forward. As I mentioned before as well, getting in touch with my surroundings is something that I would like to work on, which is very plausible in my opinion. Great subject and I felt that I learned a lot!
Sources
Grey, A. (2001). Art as Spiritual Practice. The Mission of Art (1st ed., pp. 205-233). Boston & London: Shambhala.
Artifact #1: Values
Artifact #2: What is art for?
Artifact #3: Food as art
Artifact #4: Adornment
Artifact #5: Horror
Artifact #6: Creative Spirituality
Artifact #7: Technology
Artifact #8: Remix