One of Ken Wilber’s chief insights of Integral Philosophy is his model of
Four Quadrants that describe the relationship between inner and outer
worlds, the individual self and the collective. I’ve applied his theory
to gain understanding about how art may help transform or evolve
consciousness.
First, a vision illuminates the artist’s inner world; this correspondsto the upper left quadrant in Wilber’s model, the subjective consciousinterior of an individual. To use the example of the Net of Being,this step would be when I first experienced the image on a mysticalayahuasca journey. Second, the vision or subjective state of the artistis expressed into an individual aesthetic artifact—such as a painting,story, or dance. Related to the Net of Being, “outputting the vision”took several years. Third, the artifact enters the collective systems ofaesthetic reception, the gallery, museums, newspapers, magazines, andwebsites—like when the painting was reproduced by TOOL on theiralbum, on banners at concerts, on T-shirts and other merchandise,and so on. Fourth, the artifact is absorbed into the meme-stream of thecultural psyche by a public interpretation of the meaning of the artwork,potentially transforming the collective interior. Like a tincture added toa body of water alters the entire body, so artworks can color and anchora collective’s understanding of itself, birthing a unique worldview ofcultural meaning for that community. The altered zeitgeist becomesa context for the next phase of visionary aesthetic inspiration, and thegrand round of art continues on its evolutionary path.,...
...Alex and Allyson
The Psychology of Art and the Evolution of the Conscious Brain (Bradford Books)
How did the human brain evolve so that consciousness of art could develop? In The Psychology of Art and the Evolution of the Conscious Brain, Robert Solso describes how a consciousness that evolved for other purposes perceives and creates art.Drawing on his earlier book Cognition and the Visual Arts and ten years of new findings in cognitive research (as well as new ideas in anthropology and art history), Solso shows that consciousness developed gradually, with distinct components that evolved over time. One of these components is an adaptive consciousness that includes the ability to imagine objects that are not present--an ability that allows us to create (and perceive) visual art.Solso describes the neurological, perceptual, and cognitive sequence that occurs when we view art, and the often inexpressible effect that a work of art has on us. He shows that there are two aspects to viewing art: nativistic perception--the synchronicity of eye and brain that transforms electromagnetic energy into neuro-chemical codes--which is "hard-wired" into the sensory-cognitive system; and directed perception, which incorporates personal history and knowledge--the entire set of our expectations and past experiences. Both forms of perception are part of the appreciation of art, and both are products of the evolution of the conscious brain over hundreds of thousands of years.Solso also investigates the related issues of neurological and artistic perception of the human face, the effects of visual illusions, and the use of perspective. The many works of art used as examples are drawn from a wide range of artistic traditions, from ancient Egypt to Africa and India and the European Renaissance.
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