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8 Rina Arya
Where is the Spiritual in Contemporary Art?
In the the 21st century the the concept of spirit- uality is is becoming increasingly important to various cultural discourses including that that of contemporary artwork Art that that is is described as spiritual spiritual may reference or or or or represent a a a a a a a spiritual spiritual and/or religious religious tradi- tion tion Whether referring to specific religious religious traditions or or not spirituality concerns the the the feelings stirred or or probed by the the the art which may prompt viewers to reflect on the the meaning of o life and values we we hold often drawing on on existential questions such as: Why are are we we here? What are are we we doing? A sense sense of of the the the spiritual also gives people the the the sense sense of of of belonging that that they they crave a a a a a a a a a feel- ing ing ing that that they they are part of of something greater than the the self Refiguring the spiritual in in contemporary art art The sheer range of artworks that can be be de- scribed as spiritual in contemporary art art conveys the the numerous possibilities that are open to artists in the the current day as a a a a a a a result of fewer prescriptions or or expecta- tions tions about what forms spiritual art should take The situation was very different for for for artists before modernism as as they were bound by the the the particularities of iconogra- phy and and the the the proposed setting and and were sometimes obliged to work in in the the the the service of the the the Church In the the the present day artists are more at at liberty to to combine genres materi- als and and forms and and to to represent a a a a a a a a range of of global subjects some of of which refer direct- ly to societal issues whereas others are more universal and timeless Themes of in- terest include the the the War on on Terror the the the fragil- ity of the the the body consumerism and human rights Some artists explicitly use ideas and symbols from religious or mythologi- cal traditions in the the the expression of their ide- as as others have a a a a a a a a a a more ‘pick-and-mix’ ap- proach to spirituality where aspects from different traditions including private be- liefs are amalgamated It is far from neces- sarily the the case that the the most meaningful spiritual reflection is found in in explicitly re- ligious art art Most contemporary artists are drawn to secular sources—ordi- nary objects motifs symbols and meta- phors—but in the the encounter with them transformation occurs The video artist Bill Viola frequently uses everyday people in- cluding himself in in in in his installations and and performances and and takes the the viewer to an an an an an experience beyond the the the mundane which conveys the the the power that art has of trans- porting the the the viewer to extraordinary states Graham Howes argues for the the non-specific (amorphous and generic) nature of spirit- uality expressed in in contemporary art art claiming that today’s artists are—unlike Grünewald—far more likely to to disclose the the the broadly numinous rather than the the the explicit- ly ly ly incarnational and are far more likely to offer generalised religious experience rath- er er er er er than Christian revelation In doing so they like Rothko and other abstract ex- pressionists before them move religious art beyond its traditionally didactic and narrative intentions towards the primarily experiential (Howes 2007 p p p p 134) In contemporary culture when viewers talk about experiencing art as spiritual they are are are rarely picking out out a a a a a a a a a a a a a par- ticular tradition and are are are just responding to the the encounter with the the art in in its imagery and and formal qualities and and what this has opened up in in them The art often involves threshold states o of encounter and experi- ence such as the the the feeling incurred by the the the sublime or it it may entail the the the the setting apart of of an object that that is sacralized in in the the ritual of of o art art When viewers perceive art art that that brings about these feelings it is often diffi- cult to to to put into words how or or or what they they are feeling and they they often resort to to to to emotional language or or analogy to to describe their re- re- sponses Such emotional states prompt re- re- flections of of a a a a a a a a a spiritual spiritual nature When view- ers talk about experiences of of a a a a a a a a a a spiritual spiritual kind they are implying that there is a a a a a a a a a a a tem- porary alteration in in in in in their psychological state that that involves the the the setting apart of that that moment from the the the mundane a a a a a a a a a a making sa- cred In ‘Contemplating the the the Spiritual in in in the the Visual Arts’ (2011) Rina Arya
discusses two imperatives that need to be considered in in mapping out a a a a a a a a a para- digm for spirituality—the relevance of con- text and and receptivity The placement and and en- vironment of the the the artwork affect the the the way we read it the the the the lighting interspatial relations and role of of the the the viewer are determining fac- tors in in in in in the the the production of of of of meaning A shift of of of of context may alter the the the reading of of of of a a a a a a work The receptivity indicates the the the the degree of of of openness the the the extent to to which the the the viewer is amenable to to being moved emotionally and otherwise by the the the artwork Receptivity usu- ally entails the the the willingness to to to sacrifice time to to to to to harness concentration and to to to to to al- low the the artwork artwork to to to to be A lack of openness to to to to the the particular artwork artwork or or or indeed art art art art in in general will not be conducive to to spiritual feelings A final factor that needs to to be be addressed concerns the artists’ inten- tions In many artworks that are described as as eliciting spiritual experiences we can- not not assume that the the artist intended it it it to be so so This does not not devalue the the the experience but demonstrates the the the often personal and subjective nature o of of viewing as as well as as the the the different ways of of engaging with the the spiritual Contemporary media forms and spirituality Since the the late 20th century artists have used a a a a a a a a a a range of of new new media media where the the the latter refers to new new types of of media media as as well as as the the technical term ‘New Media’ New New types of media refer to art forms forms that go beyond the traditional forms forms of painting and sculp- ture These include installation art art art where the art art art is made for a a a a a a a a a a particular location (site-specific or or or site-sensitive) often on on a a a a a a a a a a a a temporary basis it it it it is is characterized by an an an inventive use of space space and an an an internal dia- logue among the the the objects in in in in the the the space space Per- formance art art as as the the the the the name suggests in- volves the the the artist as as performer making the the the work often through interaction with an an audience and using his or or or her body as the platform of creativity New Media is is an an an um- brella term that that refers to changes in elec- tronic communication that that have taken place since the the arrival of digital technology in in the the 1980s such as video and computer art art In contemporary art art that can be be described as spiritual there is a a a a a a a a a a a a a a concep- tual tual and and interpretative shift away from an an an exclusive focus on on content and and imagery which defined the the the approach taken to to art before the the the 20th century to to the the the experiential and and and immersive dimensions that make dif- ferent demands on on the viewer and and and partici- pant The forms described here invite dif- ferent and more intimate types of of interaction than those of of traditional media and revive the sublime in in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a technological medium The passive viewing of a a a a a a a a a a painting on on on a a a a a a a a a a a a wall or a a a a a a a a a a a a sculpture on on on a a a a a a a a a a a a plinth is re- placed by active participation in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a multi- sensory domain that entails much more than viewing and and involves walking around through and and sometimes into the art work work itself It is impossible to to perceive the work work in in in in in in a a a a a single instance of time and continued interaction is required in in in in in in order to to understand the the work Contrary to to the the misconception that technology distances people from their bodies digital multime- dia often heightens the the the the sense o of the the the the phe- nomenological or the the the the embodied Spiritual- ity is felt rather than simply understood Viewers have to to sacrifice more in in in in in accessing the the art art including giving up time negotiating the the artwork (which may in- volve following instructions) interacting with artists and placing themselves at risk This transaction closes the the the the the gap be- tween the the the the the viewer and and the the the the the artwork as the the the the the former becomes immersed in in in the the the the the the art art and and implicated in in in in the the the the the meaning of the the the the the work work In many instances the the the the the work work necessitates the the the the the willing interaction of the the the viewer who be- comes a a a a a a participant sometimes collective- ly in in in in the the making of meaning through ritu- alized action action The interaction with the the the artwork also involves the the potential for for a a a a a a a a a transformation of of our perception of of mun- dane reality Risk is is is involved because the the ‘safety’ of the the the frame or or plinth is is is is withheld and and the the the viewer is is placed in in in a a a a a a a a a more immedi- ate and and and and individualized relation with the the artist and and and and artwork and and and and has to to be receptive to to their supra-intellectual demands An-