Art As A Form Of Spirituality

Art is the expressions of the soul of an artist. Auguste Rodin has once remarked, “Art is contemplation. It is the pleasure of the mind which searches into nature and which there divine the spirit of which nature herself is animated.”

Art and Spirituality

Art is inspiring and that itself gives it a spiritual shape. Spiritual can be considered as searching of the meaning of life and a sheer base of hope. Spirituality is a process of integration. Engaging in the arts as a spiritual practice means honoring the process of meaning making, of establishing a relationship with mystery. Paolo Knill, says: “The practice of the arts, as disciplined rituals of play in painting, sculpting, acting, dancing, making music, writing, story-telling, is and always was a safe container, a secure vessel to meet existential themes, pathos and mystery.”

Art and Mystery

Mystery to a great extent is somehow deeply associated with spirituality and artist paints his/ her dream on canvas through it. Abstract art is mystic in nature and many artists believe it truly as they have beautifully depicted over the times. The Spiritual art comes up from practices of meditation, magic or even telepathy. In this particular form of art, the spiritual artist is inspired by the sense of existence with his work, which changes everyday life into an eternal art work. By constantly communicating with the eternal or the surreal world, an artist comes up with an art work which is eternal. Once the artist creates a fascinating world, it is done with the same passion of unity that makes the true essence of existence.

Reflections in Modern Art

It is primarily important to know the spirit in order to reflect its nature in art form. The form of meditation the artist chooses has been difficult to find over the times. Spiritual leaders or more specifically religions have inspired the artists over the times. In modern art, the artist often has departed from the reality.

Started in the fifteenth century ,depictions of religious art can be depicted in the works of Leonardo Da Vinci( The last Supper), Raphael (Madonna).But,the greatest work on how art functions with the soul has been depicted as early as 1910, when Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky published Concerning the Spiritual in Art. He speaks about how art influences the spirit. Every artist calls for expression and speaks the spirit of his age. A lesser known painter namely Louis Janmot, from France painted a series of painting called “The Poem of the Soul”. Each picture has an epic grandeur.

Kandinsky opined rightly, “The work of art is born of the artist in a mysterious and secret way. From him it gains life and being. Nor is its existence casual and inconsequent, but it has a definite and purposeful strength, alike in its material and spiritual life. It exists and has power to create spiritual atmosphere”