For me, art is often an exercise in spirituality. I am not an art-maker. But I am definitely an art-looker, Many years visiting some of the world's great museums and viewing much canonical as well as emerging art has helped me look into the soul of the artist, myself and the world around me. In art galleries and museum exhibitions, I have learned to look deeply, rather than scan the surface. What is going on in this painting? What inner concerns are expressed by the artist? What comment on society is contained here? What questions does the painting ask me, as a viewer? About myself? About society? About cherished beliefs? All of these questions, and more, were on my mind as I viewed an exhibition last month at the Weisman Art Museum on the campus of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. It was titled: Jizi: Journey of the Spirit. This remarkable artistic experience highlighted the work of the Chinese artist, Jizi, who died in 2015. He is not as well known as other internationally acclaimed Chinese artists of our times such as Ai Wei Wei. Unlike Ai Wei Wei, who is known for both beautiful craftsmanship, great photography and incisive social challenge, Jizi attempted to meld traditional Chinese art practice, or Zhongguohua with modern some select modern methods. He melded the old and new, finally developing an approach which he called "Dao of Ink painting". This practice is deeply spiritual combining huge scale with traditional Chinese aesthetics. He sought the unification of the self and the universe. Unification of the self and the universe has a mystical sound and tone to it. And, indeed, when I walked around the gallery (pictured above) displaying the massive 165 foot ink painting on paper titled "The Epic of Nature" (1994, 2006), my mind visualized in a new way the Hebrew creation story focusing on formlessness, the waters . . ."In the beginning" . . . In this painting,Jizi envisions a primordial world of waters, oceans, swirls and culminating, finally, as the adjacent museum caption states "in a new creation surrounded by flashes that suggest other, invisible forms." Here is one panel of the scroll: As I looked at this and the other panels, I realized that the world of a Chinese artist who is not Christian but who is clearly deeply spiritual, has contributed images that help me understand my own specifically Christian faith heritage. And, at the same time, I am able to look with appreciation at this work of art on its own terms.
There is a good deal of talk about interspirituality these days and I hear it mentioned frequently in Spiritual Directors International. The late Br. Wayne Teasdale noted that interspirituality "rests on a vast community of insight and experience available to humanity at all times and in all places. Behind this vast community of collective awareness is the one Spirit, inspiring breakthroughs to its realm, opening minds and hearts, transforming attitudes and wills, and encouraging growth in compassion, love, kindness, mercy, and sensitivity" (A Monk in the World, p. 175). I am convinced that interspirituality does not just happen in settings of formal so-called "great religions" . . . . it occurs also between cultures and of artistic expression in visual and performing arts of diverse peoples and religions. For sure, on the dismal November day in Minneapolis when i viewed the Epic of Nature, I was grateful that it shed a new light on my own tradition and its creation text/story.
3 Comments
Chunchen Wang
2/6/2018 03:47:01 pm
Your thoughts on Jizi's art are so deeply profound in its spirituality, Jizi is in fact reflecting a lot on it and even in his daily practice of meditation.
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2/8/2018 04:27:04 am
Thank you for these kind comments, Chunchen Wang. I am glad that you read the posting on Jizi.
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5/8/2021 04:59:31 am
As a professional artist attuned to matters of the spirit, I deeply appreciated this post. Many of us like to box ourselves in with mutually exclusive and conventional labels such as Christian and Buddhist (or Impressionist and Expressionist) rather than responding to the essential truths in both. The Spirit leads where the Spirits leads and no amount of "pigeon holing" is going to turn the Spirit from the appointed trajectory, regardless of our attempts to force it. I find that when I am in the act of creation, I loose all concept of self and allow the Spirit and the medium to speak in a very organic way that I normally do not allow at other times. I identify with inter spirituality and always have. My life is richer for it. I hope all of this makes sense to you and look forward to the journey I'm about to take.
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March 2023
AuthorDan Hoffman is an Indianapolis USA based spiritual director, supervisor of spiritual directors, and workshop/retreat leader. This occasional blog discusses things he is thinking about and wants to share. Comments are always welcome. |