Friday, February 24, 2006

Dali, Munch and Picasso

I have always thought that one need not be formally trained or schooled in art appreciation to appreciate art. Dali's work, for instance, have always had a haunting feel about them and made me think for a long time after I had looked at one...frankly speaking, I can't pretend that I understand Dali, most of the while I don't, but the very fact that he makes me reflect over an unseemly agglomeration of distorted shapes, forms and objects is I think tribute to his originality of thought and of skill....I've felt the same with Munch's "The Scream", some Picassos and several African masks, dolls and idols, Yakshagana and Kathakali masks, Bali puppets, Easter island figurines...
I'm not a great fan of modern art, most of which are not within the reach of my mind; this is perhaps because each art work represents a peculiar private point of view of the artist of something or someone, an abstract viewpoint of several billion theoretical possibilities, considering one per every living person on earth and to gauge some meaning related to the artist's perspective would be a task of considerable ingenuity and insight - not, I'm afraid, everyone's cup of tea! (I’ve always felt that there are too many who pretend to understand the modern artist.)
A modern artist can only be appreciated widely if he has an original, arresting perspective which should also embody a freedom to interpretation while always being able to convey the artist's idea...its a rather tall order for asking, but I think that is why many people are captivated by Dali, Munch and Picasso rather than innumerable others (I have overlooked some practical aspects of media exposure, art circle intrigues and so on, although they may play a role, they are probably not as relevant in the current discussion...)….
Art criticism, like literary criticism, is a thoroughly individualistic perspective cloaked in apparent universality. A person puts forth an idea or feeling about an art or a literary work that might well involve a lot of insight, but would necessarily restrict a reader's outlook to the work of art or literature. In that manner, I think critics, most of whom are subjective in criticism, are dangerous in tending to curtail imagination. A successful critic would probably be more objective in his remarks and would allow for, rather, invite individual reactions and remarks from his audience. A critic of this mould is probably a rare find today...
I think Aurobindo's "Future Poetry" represents a rather good example, in riveting language and style, of an atypical Indian view of literary criticism of English poetry. Thejaswi Shivanand Location: Bangalore, India posted by Dumaketu Saturday, October 29, 2005 @ 11:43 AM 14 comments

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Perennialist Art: Psychic Upheaval and Epiphany

The distinguishing feature of Perennialist art is its power to produce psychic upheaval in a prepared mind and transport that mind to a higher dimension. I am using the term "Perennialist art" to include the conscious production or arrangement of words, sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that enables a person to understand truth and beauty.
Within the term "Perennialist art," then, I include those specially created instances of literature (prose and poetry), drama (including screenplays), painting, sculpture, music, dance, or illustration (including illustrated books and Web sites) which possesses the distinguishing quality of empowering a reader or viewer to gain a higher state of consciousness. The person must have carried out specific preparation to be able to conceive of new possibilities, understand new concepts, and participate in transformative experiences. To an unprepared psyche, Perennialist art appears lackluster or bizarre.
Transformative art leads the readied psyche to dimensions higher than previously experienced, to epiphanies. These epiphanies involve inspiration, a fusing with the universe, transcending time-space-ego, infusion with knowledge and awareness, and gaining a sense of endowment. Psychic upheaval and transport to higher awareness can occur in any area of human life at a multiplicity of levels. Illuminating art has been with humankind since its beginning, leading humans in their evolutionary ascent.
Upheaval is required to displace the psyche--mind and personality--from its entrenched intellectual and emotional routines. This is not some vague feeling of uplift or emotion; it is an eruption within the soul...Perennialist art leads to human liberation in all areas of life. We understand social liberation to include some means of control of rulers by the ruled, protection of the individual against government by legal rights and civil liberties. In a broader context, liberation means the ability to make decisions and carry out purposes, free from internal and external coercion, using the powers of the psyche to develop human potentialities, some of which may be unknown until revealed by illuminating art. hermes-press.com

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Integral Artist

Original Gravity by ebuddha on Wed 17 Aug 2005 04:44 PM PDT Permanent Link
It's now near the end of my workday, I was playing around with a couple of other new Yahoo beta tools - and I came across this site called Original Gravity. It's pretty interesting - dating from the 1980's, a collection of writing, thoughts on art, on design, photography, all based around a type of integral philosophy. Funny enough, it reminded me a bit of our intrepid budding integral artist Dan Allison's site - although this may just be the open mouth visual thing. Still, a fascinating site, really.
Almost like the "O.G" Integral Artist - a little respect y'all! Who WOULD be the O.G. integral artist? With a consciously aware philosophy of art that includes mind-body-spirit? I mean, you could go back to DaVinci, of course - that monster of mind, art and philosophy. But that would be too far back, and doesn't consciously include an integral perspective. You would have to start from after Aurobindo or Teilhard de Chardin. Any thoughts?