Spiritual Art and Art Education

Janis Lander

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781138548527
• eBook ISBN: 9781134667963
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Art General

This book is a study of contemporary spirituality as it is practiced in the world today, characterized by its secular and inclusive nature, and applied to art and art education. It identifies the issues facing a formal introduction of contemporary spiritual concepts into a secular and multicultural arts educational environment. Lander begins by separating the notion of "the spiritual" from the study of organized religions. She uses examples of art from different cultures in contemporary spiritual systems, making the study a reference book for contemporary spirituality and spirituality in art education, with usable definitions and practical examples suitable for scholars in art and visual studies, art education, and contemporary spirituality.

1 Overview

1:1	Timely Review
1:2	Theoretical Framework
1:3	Contemporary Systems
1:4	Significance of the Study

1:1 Timely Review

In examining ‘the spiritual’ in relation to the visual arts, it may be observed that:

1. The ‘spiritual’ is a primary source of artistic imagination, representing one explicit source of content and motivation in the arts. Even in science fiction narratives the spiritual is referenced.
2. ‘Spirituality’ is accepted as an ineffable quality emergent within the aesthetic, often used as the basis for critical assessment in the arts.
3. In the secular domain of art education, ‘spirituality’ defies formalist reduction and escapes research-based justification founded on rationalist precepts. Therefore, there is an absence of reference material in the literature of art education.

The objective of this volume is to identify, through a scrutiny of contemporary spiritual concepts having popular currency in the visual arts, but neglected in the literature of art curriculum throughout the world, the problems facing a formal introduction of the subject in a secular, multicultural, educational environment. It looks at how the focus of spirituality on conventions based on ‘energy’ and ‘consciousness’ might engage with art practice in a secular curriculum.

We will focus on the visual language of the spiritual in its designated cognitive aspect, divorced from religious ideology and political affiliations. Spiritual art education claims that art is the visual expression of the search for ‘understanding’ attempted in formal spiritual practices. In this regard, ‘spiritual art’ assumes a critical dimension in any representation of perceptions of self and world.

Through a comparative analysis of three internationally established spiritual systems (not religions) employing art as an instructional device, we are led into a broader discussion of the wider applications of ‘spirit’ via art education.

The study takes advantage of the contemporary convergence of mainstream Internet technologies facilitating—for the first time in history—a global culture. This cultural shift prompts a timely review of a perennial topic, while at the same time providing an international platform for considering the active role that spirituality plays in the visual arts.

In this respect, we will explore the ethos of the spiritual in art as the antithesis of the anthropological philosophy, which seeks to preserve social constructs as the by-product of exclusive cultural units. This study seeks to distil the essence of the spiritual practice from social, cultural, and political constructs, and then to analyse and compare several spiritual systems to characterise a common thread. In this way, a library of material from diverse cultures may be isolated and gathered into a specific domain of knowledge for comparative analysis in relation to art and education.

1:2 Theoretical Framework

We will not be conducting a historical review of the place of spirituality in art; rather, we will look at what it means to embrace what is currently accepted (outside formalised religions) as spirituality in relation to the visual arts. The theoretical framework is developed in the form of a discursive discussion of contemporary spirituality in both formal and informal contexts; its relation to art imagery and art education; and to represent current educational practices through specific examples.

The changing discourse surrounding art education in the 21st century does not provide us with a usable past regarding the spiritual as a subject in art education, because spiritual art education has been confined within individual religions and cultures in a manner difficult to reconcile with the inclusive/expansive directions of the 21st century global culture. This study looks at a kind of visual art that is implicitly educational in intention, and addresses the question: Can the spiritual, as defined in the global culture, be included as a discreet topic in visual arts education, and what problems would this entail?

We begin by separating the notion of ‘the spiritual’ from the study of organised religions, acknowledging that, while religions address certain social imperatives regarding a sense of community and moral order, religions are primarily social constructs with political and fiscal agendas, whereas ‘spirit’, as understood by the writers under investigation, is defined in the literature as a refined consciousness conveying intuitive knowledge to those who experience it. The abstract nature of such a definition positions ‘spirit’ outside of specific religious intentions regarding morality, governance, and fiscal considerations.

The study chooses to focus on a definition of ‘spirit’ emergent from the late 19th into the 20th centuries, derived from a convergence of three streams of knowledge: the impact of Eastern spiritual systems on the West; the parallel re-emergence of the Western stream of esoteric knowledge; and a culture shaped by space age and Internet technology. The definition of ‘spirit’ provided by this tripartite knowledge is a hypothesis framed in the language of energy and consciousness with a provenance stretching back to the first recorded accounts of cognitive and ontological investigations in Vedic and Taoist literature, with supportive imagery from the Neolithic Era onwards.

The definition of ‘spirit’ is framed within the established terminology of the domain. As Georg Feuerstein has noted in his preface to his translation and commentary of The Yoga-Sutras of Patanjali, the work is of a technical nature and “employs technical language” to describe and explain the “philosophical or psychological concepts of the Sanskrit original”. He further explains: “to enter a new conceptual world always means to learn a new language” (Feuerstein, 1979, pp. x–xi).

The proposed definition describes ‘spirit’ as an essential component of consciousness. At the same time, the literature describes ‘knowledge’ embedded in that consciousness, and furthermore positions ‘spirit’ within a structured, multilayered energetic complex of the human being. We will investigate this hypothesis by examining three examples of art education in contemporary spiritual systems that claim an inclusive global agenda. We will look for a recurrent pattern of theory and practice consistent with, and supportive of, this hypothesis. We will examine the role played by art (particularly painting) and judge whether such art graphically illustrates the various experiences practitioners might encounter on the spiritual path reported in the literature:

1. Recording perceptions of the energetic structures in the ‘energy body’ (also referred to as the ‘subtle body’)
2. Charting the development of energy structures during prescribed practices
3. Indicating the types of consciousness experienced during energy practices

1:3 Contemporary Systems

The research for my doctoral thesis focused on three contemporary spiritual systems, strategically selected insofar as they do not declare themselves religions and are not regarded as religions, and that they place due emphasis on art and art practice. They are: Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy, also called Spiritual Science; Swami Satyananda’s Kundalini Tantra; and Choa Kok Sui’s Pranic Healing™.

These were the qualifying criteria:

• They are internationally recognised schools of spiritual study, with many thousands of registered students and teachers in many countries.
• They offer a corpus of literature for independent study.
• The first is representative of the Eastern stream of esoteric practice; the second is representative of the Western stream of esoteric practice; and the third combines elements of both traditions. They fit the research focus of ‘global culture’ and general claims in their established networks and declared agendas.
• All three fit the criteria of integral philosophy common to spiritual practice that seeks to engage the students in a holistic and inclusive human evolutionary path. All three seek to establish a core spiritual experience that transcends cultural differences.
• The teachers undergo a standardised training, available for public scrutiny.
• The systems are not obscure or secretive, but have a large corpus of literature readily available for study and analysis, both online and in hard copy.
• The systems present themselves as contemporary reinventions of historically established traditions of spiritual practice.
• They are transparent in their agendas and, beyond a reasonable service fee, do not demand any extra financial remuneration from members.
• They are not aligned with any government agency or political party.
• All three place strong emphasis on imagery and art in their educational methodology, although each system uses art idiosyncratically: Satyananda commences his training on mental focus and evolving consciousness with the use of (long-established) external symbols and images that are imaginatively ‘internalised’ and used strategically for different effects; Steiner places creative arts at the very centre of his pedagogy, towards a spiritual outcome; Choa Kok Sui uses popular spiritual imagery throughout his books and DVDs to demonstrate both simple and complex energy practices for the purpose of spiritual healing.
• Because women continue to be marginalised in the major religions— forbidden to administer initiations or conduct rites, or in the case of fundamentalist groups, disallowed an education and governed by husbands—the position of women in the case studies came under scrutiny. Although men founded all three systems, the wives (or spiritual companions) were given authority and authored part of the literature and/or practices. Both Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925) and Choa Kok Sui (1952–2007) travelled extensively in a punishing schedule for last twenty years of their lives, each accompanied by his second wife. In each instance, the wives carried on the work of the master after the master’s passing. In the Bihar School, Swami Satsangi travelled continuously with Satyanada during his lifetime and still continues his work. Mirra Alfassa, called ‘the mother’, was the spiritual collaborator and equal of Sri Aurobindo. In all instances, there is no gender bias regarding the spiritual practices.

Each system is intrinsically important as an individual example of ‘the spiritual’ taught as a discreet concept and practice outside of organised religion. Each system was scrutinised to determine whether any religious bias creeps in via cultural conditioning and whether ‘spiritual concepts’—that is, concepts regarding the supposed ‘spiritual nature’ of humans—may be discussed and taught outside of established religions in a secular pedagogic environment. Each system provided the opportunity to determine how art and art practice are used in the dissemination of spiritual information and education.

This book is condensed and does not allow inclusion of the amount of detail a true analysis of cases studies requires; however, I will reference these systems throughout the book, in contrast to the philosophy of secular curricula. While the systems differ in details, they are united in their educational goals. In particular, Satyananda and Choa Kok Sui both attempt an integration of Eastern and Western paradigms of spirituality, in keeping with the 21st century global culture.

Data analysed include source literature, curriculum literature, the type of art used in teaching spiritual concepts, and the concept of art practice as a spiritual practice. (In addition, I compare Satyananda’s tantric practices with Lama Yeshe’s tantric practices from the Tibetan tradition, since Lama Yeshe also taught extensively in the West and both systems are derived from the tradition of Indian yoga).

As a matter of interest, as Robert Stake (2006, p. 1) has noted, the researcher must work “vigorously to understand each particular case (one case at a time)”, and I found it interesting that, while studying each spiritual construct over a lengthy period—by both reading the literature and practising the techniques—the universe appeared to rearrange itself according to the very specific viewpoint of each system. Steiner’s universe is unique and specific to Steiner’s vision, and the same may be said for Choa Kok Sui and for Satyananda. Entering each different system willingly, with suspension of disbelief, is like entering a self-contained universe. Stake refers to this phenomenon as “the case-quintain dilemma”, (2006, pp. 6–7) where “the researcher is pulled toward attending more to both the pieces and the whole”, and there appears to be a conflict between generalization and particularization. It is fundamental to the purpose of this investigation to test how inclusive the particular is, and this issue is addressed in the concluding chapter.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: When I first began to talk to my peers at university about my research into spirituality in art education, it was assumed that I would include Australian Indigenous Art as one of the spiritual systems. This powerful art tradition encompasses many hundreds of artists working and experimenting in diverse styles and materials all over the continent. It is immediately acknowledged to be ‘spiritual’ by the international art community, and it is the only Australian body of art that is internationally identified as such. The art itself is the historical document, the tradition being oral and visual (Cowan & Beard, 1991, pp. 14–15)—a visual record of ritual practices, spiritual beings, personal incidents, tribal history, and tribal law. As such, the art objects fall under the scrutiny of anthropologists, and the special circumstances of the indigenous peoples has attracted the attention of social scientists. The field has been exhaustively researched and documented in the last forty years by teachers and curators Geoffrey Bardon, Judith Ryan, Vivian Johnson, Christine Nicholls, and many other specialists in the domains of anthropology and social studies, all of whom have given insight into the spiritual nature of aboriginal art.

However, and most importantly, the core ritual and spiritual practices, of greatest interest to this researcher are safeguarded by the elders of the different language groups as ‘secret business’, so that an academic analysis of this sensitive and private material would be regarded by the artists themselves as disrespectful and intrusive (Cowan & Beard, 1991, pp. 164–166). Therefore, out of respect for the customs of the indigenous peoples of Australia, I am confining the main focus of my analysis to the three case studies indicated.

1:4 Significance of the Study

There is a gap in the literature of curriculum theory in art education in the U.S., the UK, and Australia covering explanations relating to the issue of spirituality in art. This study poses the question: What is the nature of spirituality and what is its place in a secular environment in art and education? It seeks to describe the concept of spiritual art within its current theory and practice. It isolates the concept of spirituality from prescribed teachings of organised religions and seeks to separate one from the other. It seeks to establish a basis for further discourse at the academic level.

In order to position the role of spirituality in art education, we review the practice of spiritual art where it is already part of a curriculum, choo...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Original Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Overview
• 2 The Religious and the Spiritual
• 3 Concepts and Terms
• 4 Spiritual Images and Spiritual Narratives in Contemporary Culture
• 5 Art, Energy, and Consciousness
• 6 Spiritual Art in the Classroom
• Bibliography
• Index