
Art and Consciousness: The transformative power of observing and participating with art by Mary Attwood
Light, vol. 139, 9-12
“We have been led to believe a lie
when we see not thro’ the eye”
William Blake
For millennia, images and form in art and architecture have carried meaning, inspired people to accomplish enormous feats and been the medium through which hidden realities could be realised.
Today it may seem an odd concept to move beyond just looking at art to perceiving it as a means with which we can wake up, transform consciousness and be informed with a sense of purpose.
Works of art often only scratch the surface of our thoughts as we fit past them in galleries and museums.
Yet there are those occasions when we do encounter art, images or architectural form and space where our heart and imagination fies. We feel we are touching on something quite special and meaningful and we may even have a sense of wonderment, of the sublime, that can bring us to our literal and metaphorical knees.
Without realising it, we have entered a diferent way of looking where we begin to really see both the image and something other beyond it.