Creativity & Spirituality Artifact
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Objective
- Examine spirituality as a generative force and a well spring for creativity.
- Become familiar with was in which spirituality influences artists
Reflection
In the post, “Creativity & Spirituality,” I responded to Alex Grey’s Art As A Spiritual Practice chapter from his book. The chapter discussed how religion and spirituality play an important role in creating art. Grey argued that, “universal creative spirit is the prime mover behind all art media” (p. 79). Originally, this point concerned me and I did not understand exactly what Grey meant but with further analysis I think Grey believes that there is a creative spirit within all of us and that’s what drives us to create art. For some people, their creative spirit may be aligned with religion or spirituality. These ideas helped to establish the objectives listed above.
When thinking of art that is closely aligned with religion and spirituality I immediately think back to Ellen Dissanayake’s “What Is Art For?” and her description of Renaissance art. Partially analyzed in my post “What Is Art For?” I include several movements of art including the Renaissance. Dissanayake writes that, “In medieval times, the arts were in the service of religion, as they have always been, but were not regarded ‘aesthetically,’ if this means seperately from their revelation of the Divine. Renaissance artists gradually replaced God-centered with man-centered concerns…” (p. 16).
The above image is the Pieta, displayed in St. Peters Basilica. The sculpture, by Michelangelo, beautifully displays how Renaissance art was driven by the catholic religion during medieval times. Tying this back into what Grey claims, we can see that religion and the creative spirit have almost always had a place in art, the intentions have just changed over the time periods.
Future Directions
This unit was beneficial in establishing the differences between religion and spirituality and the role they play in art. When observing art, I now have an idea of what inspires and drives artists to create. In the future, I can look for differences and similarities between modern and classical art and whether the religious inspirations have changed throughout time.
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Grey, A. (2001). Art as Spiritual Practice. The Mission of Art (1st ed., pp. 205-233). Boston & London: Shambhala.
Dissanayake, E. (1991). What is art for? Keynote adresses 1991 (NAEA Convention), (pp.15-26).