Temple Face – Rachel England – Collage – 2009
For many abstract artists, there is a desire to get to the spirit of the thing rather than committing to a particular mind-set. This work may seem to be an attempt to conceal or distort, but when a recognizable work of art has been altered, there is a desire to get back to the basic understanding of that object; to understand the original intent in conjunction with my intent in altering the work.
Whether religious works of art were originally made as a commission or an act of faith, this iconography of faith has shaped our understanding of God. It also, being a product of this world, will inevitably morph based on the condition of its environment. This work is about seeking the spirit rather than focusing on the flesh, its cravings, and all its delusions. It is an exploration of value, context, displacement, history, visual information, and how we form conclusions based on these ideas.
Source Material
Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art
Pg. 154-164
Valerie Jaudon and Joyce Kozloff
“Art Hysterical Notions of Progress and Culture” (1977-78)
You have opposing themes (which I like)
body vs. spirit.
I have a few questions
1. Why does it have to be one against the other? What about the unity of body and spirit? Isn’t this a Holistic view? That we don’t fight the body, but recognize it for what it is. Chemical influence upon a choice bearing awareness? Self Denial, Denial of the Flesh strikes me as throwing the baby out with the bath water. The principle of creating visually compelling art objects is in itself a giving in to the the desires of the flesh. Which leads me to…
2. Can we truly celebrate the spirit through physical objects if we view the two as opposing ends of a spectrum? Isn’t this a form of idolatry? An act performed in the name of the spirit as opposed to an object created in the name of the spirit. A recording of voice, a dance, a painting or sculpture, isn’t any permanent edifice a sort of object worship, or self limiting representation? which leads me to…
3. Can we observe the spiritual through any means that do NOT make use of the physical world? While I admit to the possibility of an inner world, can the physical analogues of this world carry any water as anything but an act?
I posit that the physical manifestation of a spiritual or moral lesson, law, or concept lessens the impact and meaning of said ideal.
Any thoughts?
I don’t know of any examples of the body in unity with the spirit unless you are willing to separate your body from the world.
Call me a cynic, but I don’t even believe monks capable of separating themselves enough to reach some kind of enlightenment. The fact is, we are a part of this world. We are dust. We chose either to sit in our dirt or make something beautiful with the dirt around us.
It’s a fight to control the flesh. Control the output. My body wants things that will benefit only me and in the mean time harm others. If I were to do what my body wants, I would create useless and possibly harmful things. If I fight my cravings and work to make things that share the spirit, I will bear fruit. The physical manifestation of a spiritual lesson is what separates us from the animals. It may not manifest itself in the way we wish it to, but if it is done with the right intentions it has less chance of causing harm and more chance of inspiring good.
But isn’t that act of creating a thing a process of separating us from the acts that they represent? Like ripping off a scab?
I feel that my body is often in unity with my spirit. I could give many examples of this. When I am writing, sometimes with a little buzz, my fingers feel like they are dancing, and I can feel the endorphins moving. When I am touching my wife, and she relaxes. When we kiss. When I swim. Almost every time. When I wrestle with my son. When I embrace friends and family. When I shave my head, the act of making myself change with my will. It’s not a control, it’s a going with. I walk with my body, not beside it, not like riding a bull, but like a bull enjoying the grass, the breeze, and the moments before a slaughter.
We are a part of this world, but the world is not unimportant. If there is a god, he speaks through this world. It is a part of the word as much as any scripture, if not more. It is when we stop fighting and recognize our choice that our bodies (the rain as perfectly sculpted gardens of wetness) become our own. As much as we fight our bodies, we are not listening well enough to them.
Let me clarify. When I speak of the spirit, I am speaking of the spirit of the God that I believe exists. My spirit is of this world as is my body. So I agree that MY spirit and body work together and are of this world. I agree that body and spirit and this world are important. If they are used as a vessel for God’s purpose and if I let my own nature (body and spirit) submit to the spirit of God. I believe that many have a spirit which hopes to do good and not harm. It is a beautiful thing to see a person with excellent moral compass make things based on their desire to better humanity. I have never been able to do that without questioning the end result; whether or not it will ultimately be good rather than doing harm. i.e. Einstein and the atomic bomb. Einstein never intended his theory to produce the destruction that ensued. How do we know whether our work benefits humanity? My belief is that the work I do with my hands is meaningless and in fact most likely more harmful without God. The question I like to put out with this work is whether or not it is a good thing to create these icons in the first place. Icons which have been used to subvert the message of God just as much as they have been used to glorify him. That is the nature of man, though. People believe what they want to believe.