Category: Unit 07

1.  To me, Spirituality can be defined as a belief in a power operating in the universe that is greater than oneself, a sense of interconnectedness with all living creatures, and an awareness of the purpose and meaning of life and the development of personal, absolute values.  I also believe that spirituality can be defined in multiple ways depending on an individuals personal beliefs.  That is, spirituality is what builds up inside an individual over the years based upon their beliefs, influences, and life experiences.  Beliefs play a role in spirituality in that they will lead to something being produced as a result. Influences effect spirituality so that individuals tend to lean a particular way when expressing themselves. Life experiences will cause change on an individual’s spirituality in that a traumatic event will stay with the person and leave an everlasting conscious when living.

2.  Spirituality and Religion are different because spirituality can be more defined by an individual rather than religion that is based on a major principle.   With spirituality,  one connects  to certain ideas.  Spirituality is more of an individual concept I believe because there are multiple factors that play a part, such as life experiences and beliefs on social issues apart from religion.  Most religions are based upon a particular event or person and sharing the story or journey of that individual. Religion is the ideas you practice or follow.

3. Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity is characterized by the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions. Further, creativity is defined as when an individual decides to separate themselves from a collective norm and push their own boundaries.  When this occurs, the act of expressing creativity occurs.

4.  I believe that the source of creativity is an individual’s spirituality.  That is, because creativity is influenced by an individual’s personal influences and beliefs, spirituality is the reduced form of what the mental make up.  When being creative, an individual is acting based on instincts that has placed them in the specific position.  By having spirituality as the source of creativity, the individual is completing the process of self expression.  To put it simply, creativity is a direct result of an individuals spirituality.

After  watching the spirituality video presentation by artists Beryl Korot, Ann Hamilton, John Feodorov, Shahzia Sikander, and James Turrell, there were some in particular that caught me eye. The segment regarding John Feodorov’s artwork stuck out to me the most because of his particular  background and upbringing, which is Native American.  The Native-American culture in the U.S., to me, is a under-appreciated niche of expression.  With that being said, I was happy to see that Feodorov has been able to build up a legitimate portfolio of art that is appealing to others, all the while staying in close touch with his culture and ancestry.  By having the creative spirituality of a Native American tribe, Feodorov is further producing something that is unique on its own that most people aren’t exposed to.  His roots and expressions allow viewers to open their eyes up to a whole new frontier of possibilities.

Another segment in the video that stood out to me was  that  of James Turrell. His use of light, in particular, was  noteworthy for me because  the art that was exhibited at the beginning of the his segment caught me eye, as it looked very interesting and sort of out-of-this-world.  To see how light can be positioned to make a physical object seem present and “there”,  was spectacular and I couldn’t help but feel just as confused as the actual audience and visitors when they discovered that they were really seeing such an optical illusion.  His large sprawling hub of light in the middle of the desert was a bit odd to me however, as I had a hard time truly understanding what he was trying to accomplish with it.  Nonetheless, Turrell possesses a great mind to be able to use such a large canvas as a use of his own self expression and creative spirituality.