Season of Advent 3 : Art and Spirituality 1

Painting and write-up by Rev. Roy M. Thottathil, S.J. Art and Spirituality Art is essentially spiritual because human beings are essentially spiritual beings. There is an urge in everybody to surpass the external and material into a realm deeper and beyond. I consider this inclination as a primal spiritual urge of Man to attempt to transcend himself and his situations. To a great extent this is achieved through artistic expression. The spiritual in art gives expression to what is deeper and beyond, the invisible and incomprehensible reality. A sense of mystery in the life in which we live is integral to human consciousness. It is a basic primitive consciousness with which we search the ‘ground of our being’[1]. I am not attributing ‘spiritual’ elements to artistic practice; rather I see the spiritual as the essence of artistic expression. The term ‘spiritual’ is not necessarily seen in association with any religious faith or doctrine, even though various religious tenets have an influence in the understanding of it. Artistic creations and ritualistic practices used the same process in many of the early traditions. Art has been an integral part of religious worships and faith expressions in both major and folk religions. In modern times, art is not purely religious. However, at same time in modern and contemporary art there is a dimension of spirituality, as its inner dynamism and in its power of expression which I believe can be understood as the salient feature of modern contemporary art; even though artists may not recognise it as spiritual. Paul Tillich said that “everything in human culture has a religious dimension” (Tillich, 1989, p. 166). The religious dimension he stated is in a broader sense, not as the activities of a group in which the direct relation to a divine being is expressed in ritual and doctrinal symbols. Religion in this sense, (which I call as spiritual consciousness), “can appear in all expressions of man’s cultural activity, both in the created works and in the creating persons” (Tillich, 1989, p. 167). I consider that every artistic process is a process of liberation. An artist, through his works, liberates himself and the viewers from the illusions of surface and images. The concept of liberation encompasses all aspects of life in relation to the inner and outer world. It is not negating the outer reality, but detaching ourselves from its falsification and getting into the elementary substance where we come in touch with the essence of the reality. Thomas Merton[2] stated, “In art we find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time”. Giving up and finding out is the inner working of art. This is a constant process of stripping away of ego like in prayer. Art is a retreat into one’s own self, where one is confronted with the inner mysterious world. Retreat is inner pilgrimage to one’s own centre where there is an ability to have close contact with the sacred self. In a pilgrimage place one is faced with the reality of the mystery which is both inside and outside of oneself. [1] This phrase is often used by Paul Tillich in his writings and later by John Robinson in ‘Honest to God’ (1963), his chapter three is entitled ‘the ground of our being’. [2] Thomas Merton (1915-1968) a Trappist monk, was a prolific poet, a social activist, a student of comparative religion and author of numerous acclaimed works on spirituality. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Contact: vmalpan@gmail.com