Thursday, March 1, 2007
Artist as Shaman
Shamanism is not a religion but rather a "grammar of the mind." I see it as a worldview connecting art, culture, ecology and economy.- Juhna Pentikäinen (Professor of Comparative Religion, Helsinki University Museum). The central idea behind shamanism is the contact with the supernatural world by the ecstatic experience of the shaman. There are four important constituents of shamanism: (1) the ideological premise of the supernatural world and the contacts with it; (2) the shaman as an intermediary on behalf of a human group, (3) the inspiration granted him by his helping spirits; and (4) the extraordinary, ecstatic experiences of the shaman. For his rituals, the shaman uses different objects; some are natural, such as precious stones, bits of metal, teeth and claws of animals, bones, plants, and so on (“ready-mades?”). Then, there are man-made amulets (sculptures?), which include medallions, small figurines, carved knives, drums of all sizes, wheels and masks. These serve as objects for invocation, divination and healing. Since shamanism uses diagrams to establish cosmological renditions of the universe, one could think of these diagrams as aesthetic materials. My point is that in our secular societies of the West, art can be seen as a symbolic condensation of our environment, a way to depict and evaluate our milieu. Artists produce objects that have an aesthetic function for a receiving audience. Think of the parallel between the altar and the artist's studio (or the white cube for that matter) as places of art-convocation. It may be that (as sociologist Jurgen Habermas has suggested), artists have the role of "translating chaotic everydayness into ordered aesthetic symbols for public understanding."
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8 comments:
The idea of a shaman is present in many aspects of life. In religion a shaman is anyone who uses their connection with god to show other people things beyond the world of the senses. A shaman does not have to be viewed in a strictly religious sense although it does have a lot to do with spirituality, because a shaman is like a human doorway into the supernatural. In art there exists someting of excellence, of the supernatural, and i believe that this is why the shaman has great value in the art world. Creating art is like stepping out of the world of reality for a little while and hanging out in the inbetween space, between reality and the unknown. If art exists, and comes from the unknown realm, then the artist himself is a shaman, because he has the ability to take a bit of the supernatural and share it with the public.
Perhaps one can think of Shamanism as a relationship—a relationship with the spirit world. And, perhaps an artist can be thought of in the same way—having a relationship with the spirit world. Artists claim to be inspired—inspired by outside forces. Certainly, they refer to some greater force than themselves. If we accept the belief that all things have a spirit, then the artist is inspired by the spirits of things around them. Therefore, if an artist is ‘inspired by the spirits,’ then one should accept the shaman as artist. The tools of a shaman are intended to inspire or conjure. The art of an artist is also intended to inspire or conjure. But, do artists translate chaos to order? Not always. I honestly believe it is the intent of many contemporary artists to do the exact opposite—to bring chaos to everyday life through their art.
I think this notion of shamanism is rather romantic. Shamans were priest rulers as in the Chavin culture in Precolumbian times and while they may have believed in their practices to some extent it also served their purposes to be the conduit between the people and the "supernatural". Being the voice of god must come with perks.
It is impossible to refer to art as some sort of communication with the supernatural in "metaphorical" terms. Either it is or it isnt supernatural. In my opinion there is no supernatural realm, god etc, and creating art is presenting your own experiences, your view of the world; everything you have absorbed whether conciously or not and presenting it as your own particular version of reality. I think thats what makes art so powerful, having a look at the insides of someone else, not anything supernatural but rather entirely human.
The first time I heard about Shamans is when I started playing a game called World of Warcraft. I read that they're very spiritual creatures that extract magic and energy from nature. They have a strong bond with the animal wolf. In the game they can retain its form to travel. They're also great healers and can resurrect the dead. I think shamanism is important to art because they're influenced by the beauty of nature. In its beauty there lies inspiration and magic. It's different than contemprary art and the things we see everyday. It's wild and it's powerful. With shamanism this type of art heals wounded souls. It kind of take them away from our complex world and let them enter a beautiful natural simplicity.
This is a very out there topic. It is very hard to explain or make sense of. However, to me personally it makes complete sense. Shamanism is a great is great explanation of that deep connection between the artist and the art they are creating. It is intriguing the humanly instinct of creating throughout the centuries. I find it interesting the fact that I am not a religious person. But I find the driving force in my life is the art I make and its process. I find that deeper connection when I am creating art. It is like my own personal form of prayer. I completely agree with when you quote that artist have a role of “translating chaotic everydayness into ordered aesthetic symbols for public understanding.” In fact even just translating for personal understanding.
Shaman’s acquires knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual power from personal helping spirits encountered on journeys into other realities. An artist can acquire knowledge, wisdom, spiritual power etc from encounters with people, animals, nature, and life. Artists can become, inspired from other artist, animals, nature, dreams, nightmares etc and therefore create their art. Shamanism makes interpretation of dreams. Artist just as well can interpert there own dreams and create masterpieces out of them to share with others. Shamanism is the oldest and most widespread form of energy medicine on the earth. When you think about it artists create energy with their art work. For instance, some pieces depending on the color, design, shape could make you feel sad, happy, sick, and calm.
The idea of the artist serving a similar role as a shaman is very interesting. It makes sense in the perception that both act as a bridge from the material world to a world that is more mystical and full of metaphor. An artist uses a special set of tools, much like a shaman, to preform his art making ritual.
The idea of art making as a ritual really speaks to me because when I am doing my own art, I have a set of steps I seem to always follow, a ritual of creation. When I get into that zone of making lines and playing with color, everthing else seems to fade away into the background. It's meditative.
It is also interesting that when an artist is drawing something for someone else, the artist can usually create the image the requester has in mind, with little prompting. I think it has to do with an ability to pull the image from that metaphysical world into the material one; because of the special meditative state of mind artists can reach when they are creating.
I found this card on the side of the road. It said something about rejoicing in the lord or burn in hell. I was quite taken aback by it and a nervous laugh croaked out of me. I stuck it in my pocket and forgot about it only a few minutes later. Interestingly enough, I began painting later that afternoon and was taking a break. As I reached in my pocket to grab a lighter I felt the card and pulled it out. As I read it again, I realized that this card is the lord, and I must immediately rejoice in it. In the middle of my painting it went. I painted, layer after layer, mark after mark, prayer after prayer and rejoiced in the card. My symbol of the lord. God of my own creation only means I'm a creator.
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