Buddha Mind in Contemporary Art

The book I have chosen to study features a collection of essays, written between 2001-2003, by different arts professionals and artists; investigating the relationship between the meditative, creative and perceiving mind. The texts also focus on the relationship between Buddhist practice and the arts in the United States, and the influence it has had on American contemporary culture.

The Teachings of Buddhism

Buddhism is, debatably, more of a philosophy that a religion, depending on what people’s views are of religion. It is a path of practise and spiritual development leading to insight into the true nature of reality.

The Buddhist teachings are straightforward and practical. It does not demand blind faith from its adherents to worship and obey a superior ‘creator’ God. Rather, Buddhism offers words and

teachings that inspire people to develop qualities of awareness, kindness and wisdom. They look towards following a path on enlightenment, which allows people to see the nature of reality clearly so that they can live a fulfilled life, free from suffering.

This culture and way of life is seeing growing numbers in Western societies. There is no one true form, yet all traditions abide by non-violence, lack of dogma (official system of principles or tenants) tolerance of differences and, usually, practise of meditation.

Awake: Art-Life Paradigm

Awake: Art, Buddhism and the Dimensions of Consciousness is a multi-venue collaborative project dedicated to blurring the line between art and life (called the art-life paradigm) and to explore a common ground between the creative mind, the perceiving mind and the meditative mind that is developed in Buddhist practice. They believed that if we live a life awake and engaged, we all in a sense become artists of our own lives.

They hosted many consortium meetings, retreats, lectures and art exhibitions in Los Angeles, Santa Barara, San Francisco and Seattle, April 2001-2005.

Artwork by ‘Awake’

These public programs began in the Bay Area in 2001 with an exhibit of Zen painting and calligraphy at San Francisco's Asian Art Museum, a performance of Mien (Southeast Asian) Ghost Tales at the East Bay Centre for Performing Arts, and a Buddhist film festival at the Castro Theatre. Programs continued into 2004 with "The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditation Art" at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and in 2005 a Richard Tuttle exhibition will begin at the Dallas Museum of Art. Other programs may still be scheduled into 2006 and beyond.

Content Over Experience?

One leading member of the consortium, Michael Roth, brought forward the particularly relevant talking point that if you treat something like a work of art, it has a consequence for the quality of attention you bring on that thing. This statement has caused an afterlife of endless discussions as to whether art is something more hand-crafted; that has had time and effort spent on it, or not.

There were also discussions on how much museums should tell visitors about the art and how they should be looking at it. Does this information take away the ‘art experience’ away from ‘being in the moment’; something that is taught within Buddhist values?

Does the content take away the value of experience?

Marcel Duchamp’s Viewer-Response Art Theory

Artists, like Marcel Duchamp, helped us see that art is everywhere and that everything in our world is worthy of attention. He not only taught us how to experience art differently, but also how to experience life. This act of living with awareness is at the core of Buddhist teachings.

“If you wish, my art would be that of living: each second, each breath is a work which is inscribed nowhere, which is neither visual nor cerebral. It’s sort of a constant euphoria.”

Duchamp’s theory of how art works is the precise opposite to the it’s-art-because-I-say-so attitude, which is often ascribed to him.

His installations of everyday objects were his way of shifting theattention from the artistic product to the ‘process of the perceiver’.

Marcel Duchamp’s Viewer-Response Art Theory

Intention is important, but so is realization. The realization of a work of art, according to Duchamp, has two aspects. “In the creative act,” he said, “the artist goes from intention to realization.

He spoke of “the gap” that represents the inability of the artist to express fully his intention. This is because spectators of art create their own responses, which do not always reflect from the same message the artist intended. This can be referred to as an act of “transubstantiation” or a “phenomenon transmutation”, meaning it is the process of changing of one substance, form or nature into another. Duchamp refers to how the emotive aesthetics do not lie in the artist or the object, rather, it is within the viewer.

“-just as the taste of wine exists not in the vintner or in its bottle, but in the one who drinks it”

Marcel Duchamp’s Viewer-Response Theory of Art

This idea that the artist cannot “make” solid conceptual art and that in fact “the making” resides in the viewer, parallels with the Buddha’s insight that suffering resides not in the events or objects, but in our minds.

“Art cannot be understood through the intellect, but it is felt trough an emotion presenting some analogy with a religious faith or sexual attraction- an aesthetic echo”

What Can We Learn from a Buddhist Approach to Art?

“It depends a lot on the particular artist, but I certainly am convinced that the mind in the moment of creativity and the mind in the moment of meditations are the same mind. It is an openness sometimes called in Buddhist practice ‘the mind of don’t know.” - Yvonne Rand (leader at the Zen Centre in San Fransicsco for 28 years)

She finds it in contemporary artists form Korea whose work was featured in an “Awake” exhibit at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum, and she finds it in a famous modern artists like Degas. “There’s a quality in his sculpture that resonates with anyone engaged in the Buddhist mediation tradition– in shows a capacity and a taste for the unexpected and the constantly changing nature of experience rather than what’s certain.”

Why Are Artists Attracted to Buddhism?

"To appreciate the practice you have to practice. To appreciate Buddhism, you can catch some of the sensibility by being aware of issues like not clinging to things or ideas, and open yourself to the flow of mind and experience---and that's what artists do anyway. In a way, Buddhism shows them what they're already doing, and gives them a larger frame for it.“ – Kay Larson

“Buddhism appeals to people today because it places less emphasis on belief and more on practise. It entails doing something- transforming yourself- through a range of methods and exercises” – Stephen Batchelor, Buddhist writer and photographer.

My Opinion on Buddhism’s Influence on Art

I believe, in order for Buddhism, or any other kind of religion or philosophy to influence your art, it must have an influence on your lifestyle. I am in agreement with the art-life paradigm and that there is a complete parallel between the two. Art is life and life is art.

I also believe that anything can be art, from Marcel Duchamp’s ‘Fountain’ to Tracy Emin’s messy bed, ‘My Bed’. Despite that these are everyday objects, to me, this is a form of artwork. Many people have seeked further, analysed these pieces and ‘experienced’ them. For some, there is an underlying message behind them whichallows them to feel some kind of emotion; maybe comfort, maybe disgust, maybe empathy.

Of course, it is not suited to everyone's taste and many would overlook this form of art as they can see less effort has been spent on its aesthetics in comparison to intricate, decorative paintings or drawings. This does not go to say that it is not art. I believe art is an experience of feeling and being in the moment; such as how Buddhists meditate and focus on their present inner and outer surroundings.

How Has My Work Been Influenced?

Buddhism has influenced my lifestyle and therefore it has had influence on my art.

For my Fine Art taster project, I took an inanimate object that I was unfamiliar with and I explored its characteristics. I was able to make my own judgements and place it in an environment that I felt suited it best. A lot of my work in this project was produced spontaneously; I ran off instinct and personal opinion/feelings.

Art, for me, allows me to focus on the present moment, much like the Buddhist attitude. I love taking photographs as the compositions of my images and photo shoots are rarely planned, I tend to work from my innate responses to the environment and the subject matter I am working on. This occurs regularly with most of my work, I aim to take action more so than planning. For example, for my Indian Festival-inspired photo shoot, I took the images first, then created the narrative later for my Illustration Project.

References

Baas, Jaquelynn and Jacob, Mary Jane, Buddha Mind in Contemporary Art, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California, University of California Press, Ltd. London, England (1998-2003)

Nowhere from Here, Contemporary Art and Buddhism (pg 19-26) from Buddha Mind in Contemporary Art. Baas, Jaquelyn, 2003

Pierre Cabamme, Dialogues with Marcel Duchamp, trans. Ron Padgett (1971; New York: Da Capo Press, 1987), 16

From “The Creative Act,” a talk by Duchamp to the American Federation of Arts in 1957, published in Michel Sanouillet and Elmer Peterson, eds. The writings of Marcel Duchamp (1973; New York: Da Capo Press, 1989), 139-40