Artifact 5: Creative Spirituality
Goals
- 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
Creative Spirituality
In the reading for this week, Alex Gray’s The Mission of Art, he is really trying to make a distinction between looking and seeing. “There is a vast difference between looking and seeing- a difference which is fundamental to the artist’s experience.”(73) He says that seeing determines every aesthetic decision, it is our source for finding inspiration. I think what the author is saying is that when we notice something that exists in space and time, we are looking at it. Looking is pure sensory perception with no further thought given to what the object is beyond what it looks like. It is simply noticing that the thing exists. Seeing is going beyond just looking, when we are seeing something we are really seeing it for what it is, what it is “as such.” When we apply this to art we talk about deeply seeing, when we are deeply seeing something we are seeing the art and the beauty. This is how the artist gets inspiration, they are seeing the aesthetic in the object and that is what allows them to create art.
The author also talks about the creative process; inspiration is a part of this process, however it is the most important part. The author lays out six steps of the creative process which includes; formulation, saturation, incubation, inspiration, translation, and interrogation. The goal through all of this for the artist is to reach a state mind where the “art flows irresistibly through them”(80) This almost sounds like the Christian idea of the holy spirit flowing through you. I think this is what the author means by the spirituality of art, where the artist who is creating a masterpiece is in a state where they are almost possessed by their art, they have the idea of the art in them and then through this spiritual state they physically manifest that art by reaching deeper access this spirituality which cant be seen, but can be felt.
Citation:
https://blogs.uoregon.edu/aad250shuette/files/2010/09/7-grey-1xrwu9h.pdf
Reflection:
This is a week that the topic really had an impact in the way that I saw the world. I think that the distinction between looking and seeing when talking about the way in which a master craftsman views his work is absolutely perfect and the more time I have had to reflect on this the more I think this way. “Seeing occurs when our attention is arrested by a person, object, or scene. ” (p. 72) When we see something we understand it fully, we are looking at what it is at the deepest possible level of understanding. It does not matter what exactly we are talking about but the ability to really “see” something rather than just to look is, I think, both a talent that can be a “Devine Gift” like the way Mozart was able to see music, or it can be built by pure drive. The way Jiro, the master chef, works endlessly perfecting his craft.
This is another time that I found the discussion with my pears to be increadably insightful. In a comment on my post Jingyi said, “The artist could be very selective in who and what he wants to convey the idea to or what idea he wants to express. Other times, the artist could be unintentional in conveying the meanings and spirituality is something came out natural.” When we are talking about the steps of creativity, it really is not possible to fully understand the mind of the artist. They are the only one who is having the epiphany.
Future:
I think that these ideas are ones that I can carry with me and use when I do my own work or see someone work. I think the concept of “deeply seeing” is one that is achievable for all of us and one that we should all strive to achieve in some aspect of our lives. Even if it is something simple, or just within knowing our own families.