The Link Between Spiritual Practice And Art Essays Example

Visual arts are forms of art that are visual in nature. They include ceramics, drawings, sculptures, photography and even paintings. These forms of art are used to exhibit different things that are part and parcel of human life. There are times when works of visual art exhibit some kind of spiritual practice. Religions such as Buddhism use a lot of visual art in their worship to such an extent it has a wide range of sculptures which serve as their Gods. In the art gallery there are various sculptures, paintings and drawings that prove this fact. Many of these paintings have religious connotations written on them which prove for a fact that they are religious. Many of those that are spiritually oriented show a culture that has embraced the form of art and has made it part of their worship. Apart from the spiritual aspect of visual art, cultural practices are also evident in the wide range of pieces that are in the gallery.
There are several pieces that have embraced religion and more so Buddhism. A good example is the pieces labeled Maitreaya, Buddha of the Future. Buddha was a legendary prince who founded the religion many years ago. Many of the sculptures in the gallery are those of Buddha in a meditation position. There before I believed that any work of visual art had no meaning and that it was just inspired by various aspects of life including religion. Upon thorough scrutiny and study of some of the pieces of art more so those of Buddha, I now understand that there is more to these pieces than meets the eye. There is a connection existing between the art and the way it is produced and the spiritual representation of it.
I would still use the Buddha sculptures to elaborate further on the rituals that are attached to it. The position in which the sculptures are made is that of Buddhist meditation. When in prayer, there is a kind of sitting position that they must assume. All the pieces of Buddha are curved with him in the spiritual meditation position with his hands clasped together. This is a good example of a ritual that is seen among Buddhists and by it being incorporated in the sculpture; it is a clear indication of the meaning given to their religious practices. Those that do not have the clasped arms are in the sitting position assumed when people are in prayer and meditation. Even those that were labeled Bodhidharma represented a religious figure who some Buddhists hold very highly because of his teachings. The gallery was as educative as it was informative as I got to learn more about how visual art is used in religion.
Looking at this art in person felt a lot different from what I have been seeing on books and on the internet. I got a different feeling and touch of religion in visual art than what I have had from lectures and photographs. The one on one feeling got me thinking how the sculptures, painters and photographers took their time to capture the pieces. When learning about these pieces theoretically, one gets to visualize and just imagine how they look like in real life. But when a person gets to see these pieces of art in person, it is different because they become engraved in the mind and I believe such memories last longer. These pieces struck me as very special and representing a culture and religious beliefs of people in a more elaborate way that even a visitor can understand.
There are those pieces that stood out and attracted me to such an extent that I feel I should go do more research on them. The most outstanding of all and my favorite were those of Arhat. I would wish to know more about him and his religious teachings. This is so because of the way in which the pieces were organized and presented. The sculptures were different and were also organized in such a way that I thought they represented the case system of India. What made me think so is because the variety of sculptures showed different persons, some seated while others are standing, all of them doing different things. I then felt that there was more to Arhat than meets the eye. But one that I thought not so good was the Daruma Head. This is so because if one picked it and put it in isolation, a person may not know what it is all about.
Visiting the gallery has made me start looking at any piece of visual art from a different perspective. I have come to know that when an artist gets down to paint, draw and even curve, there is always something that they want the viewer to see. There is always some hidden meanings in their work. About religion in visual art, I have come to learn that, art pieces communicate a lot and are more religious oriented than one may think. After identifying my favorite and least favorite, I have also come to know that these pieces are appreciated differently by different people.