In her small book, Joy Lasts..., Sr. Wendy Beckett endeavors to share with the reader what she understands as an aspect of all great art: its spirituality. She points out that a work can be both religious and spiritual or it can be one and not the other with the spiritual being art's highest aspiration.
For a piece of art to be specifically religious, it reflects a theme from a particular faith tradition. In classical Western European art, this is often the crucifixion and even more often, the Madonna and Child.
Art that touches the believer but not the unbeliever can be said to be religious but not necessarily spiritual for the inspiration or emotion evoked are from within the observer and not necessarily from within the work of art. A believer may be moved, but an unbeliever might only be puzzled.
Perhaps more interesting to me was the understanding of a spiritual work of art that is not religious in theme. Sr. Wendy gave the example of Cezanne's “Still Life with Apples” from 1893-94, currently in the Getty Museum of Art. ( www.getty.edu ) Does it touch a chord within you? When you spend time gazing at it, what questions arise? What feelings are stirred?
For me, it evokes a sense of peace. The blue jar, with light reflecting off its glaze, draws my eye, perhaps because I am a potter and can almost sense its weight and the feel of its shape in my hands. Overall, the painting gives me a sense of stillness and yet, a sense of anticipation in waiting for an apple to roll or to be placed back in the bowl with the others. In deeper reflection, I meditate about stillness in my life...
As I have contemplated the idea of spiritual art - something that stirs the heart, sometimes without words or visuals at all - over the past few days, several have come to mind in other genres. In my next blog, I'll share some thoughts about Gorecki's Third Symphony. At http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miLV0o4AhE4 , I would invite you to first listen to the music without watching the video, so that the thoughts or emotions that are evoked come from within you. This particular video has some stirring visuals as well. ...pax et bonum, cjt
From Cezanne's "Still Life with Apples" I get a sense of letting go. Strange I know, but if those apples were rolling around in my kitchen, I would have piled them all in the bowl. I get this trait from my father, but even deeper it sprouts from a need for order and consistency in my life. When I look at this painting I realize that those apples have been there for over a century and aren't going to be put up any time soon.
ReplyDelete