The Art of Religion of Art

When searching for the definition of feeling, I came across about 20 different responses. They referred to the sensation of touch, the examination of sensitivity, and even an aspect of health and well being. Out of the definitions presented to me I chose 2. Feeling (n)- an emotional state or reaction;(v)-consider oneself to be in a particular state or exhibiting particular qualities.


Why am I talking about feelings you may ask? As I think back to our last class a major component of our discussion was tied to the correlation between art and religion and how each one projects a certain feeling from you. Gnoli highlights this fact:


"The successful imitation by the actor of the characters and their experiences is no doubt, Sankuka says, artificial and unreal, but is not realized to be so by the spectators, who forget the difference between the actors and the characters, and in the difference between the actors and the characters, and inferentially experience the mental state of the characters themselves."                XIX-Gnoli

After truly considering the two seemingly different entities, I ended up really uncovering more similarities. Both art and religion are forms of expression, whether it be separate or through each other. The two forms are also respected for the feelings that they evoke. It is in the presence of true art and religion that one can feel happy, sad, emotional, and nostalgic in one piece (or writing). The concept of beauty being in the eye of the beholder can be replaced with either art or religion and still be held plausible. These thoughts made me further consider the fact that each can be used within the other. Art can be used in the expression of religion and religion can be an inspiration to art.

As both an artist and a spiritual person, I find it fascinating to view this concept and really think about it. Sometimes I find it so difficult to understand how people can believe that everything does not have relation to each other. This cycle, in my personal opinion, is what has allowed the formation of the world that we live in today. I cannot exist without everything else in this world existing. The absence one thing in a sense is the absence of all things. We are products of not only our thoughts, actions and experiences but those of us around us as well. You disagree? If so, stop reading- your contradicting yourself.