Spiritual Connection to Art
(written for "Crossing Over" 2006)
Looking back on my travels, I realize that they were driven by my quest for understanding art.
While in Strasbourg, I was amazed by the arcitecture and the overwhelming dominance of art in that city.
Strasbourg is a border town right at the Franco-German border. Its history goes back to the Roman times, when they established a military outpost making Strasbourg part of the Roman provinces. The history of Strasbourg is very dynamic. As the "capital" of the Alsace region, it was successively either French or German. Nowadays, it is of course a French town. The architecture of the city, being a mixture between typical French Gothic style and the German Fachwerkhaus type, displays the aspects of the given dominating culture throughout the history. However, the clash of art and cultures enabled the city to create its own culture connecting those two influences.
The building in Strasbourg that impressed me the most was the Strasbourger Muenster which was completed in 1439. Its classical Gothic architecture combines religious and political stories of the history of the city in form of miniature statues and reaches a height of 142 meters. Walking inside of this church, I was overwhelmed with the vertical space that let me feel the glory and the power of the spiritual culture. It somehow creates an atmosphere of isolation and tranquility. I felt removed from the worldly realm of reality, and transferred into a world that enables a self-reflection in a calm and quiet atmosphere. It seemed to me that I was undergoing some ceremonial process. Walking through the Muenster, taking time to rest within this enormous church and to immerse within myself, shaped an internal transformation. The transformational aspect is, I think, the main purpose of a ceremony; and here, in this church, I felt the spiritual power of transformation.
The Strassbourg Muenster also features an astronomical clock, which dating back to 1843,is a scientific masterpiece for its time. From the positions of the sun and the moon the time was determined. The astronomical clock positioned within the Muenster is an attempt to connect the spiritual and the worldly realms. It is this clock that reminds one of the transience of life and reality. It descends one from the heights of universal spirituality and faces with the outside world and the actual life. The clash of cultures is here transformed into the clash between the spiritual and the reality. This fusion was enabled by art and at the same time art became a medium for cultural transposition, pivoting itself between the tranquility and transience. The Muenster and the clock, within art, thus, are telling a story. Moreover, they engage the viewer into their story creating a mutual connection not only between the art and the viewer but also within oneself. Consequently, art gains a new perspective, trying to mediate an understanding of its creation and perception by the viewer.
The building in Strasbourg that impressed me the most was the Strasbourger Muenster which was completed in 1439. Its classical Gothic architecture combines religious and political stories of the history of the city in form of miniature statues and reaches a height of 142 meters. Walking inside of this church, I was overwhelmed with the vertical space that let me feel the glory and the power of the spiritual culture. It somehow creates an atmosphere of isolation and tranquility. I felt removed from the worldly realm of reality, and transferred into a world that enables a self-reflection in a calm and quiet atmosphere. It seemed to me that I was undergoing some ceremonial process. Walking through the Muenster, taking time to rest within this enormous church and to immerse within myself, shaped an internal transformation. The transformational aspect is, I think, the main purpose of a ceremony; and here, in this church, I felt the spiritual power of transformation.
The Strassbourg Muenster also features an astronomical clock, which dating back to 1843,is a scientific masterpiece for its time. From the positions of the sun and the moon the time was determined. The astronomical clock positioned within the Muenster is an attempt to connect the spiritual and the worldly realms. It is this clock that reminds one of the transience of life and reality. It descends one from the heights of universal spirituality and faces with the outside world and the actual life. The clash of cultures is here transformed into the clash between the spiritual and the reality. This fusion was enabled by art and at the same time art became a medium for cultural transposition, pivoting itself between the tranquility and transience. The Muenster and the clock, within art, thus, are telling a story. Moreover, they engage the viewer into their story creating a mutual connection not only between the art and the viewer but also within oneself. Consequently, art gains a new perspective, trying to mediate an understanding of its creation and perception by the viewer.
Having come to the realization that art is a medium of communication, I started to search for other, hidden stories of art while traveling to different cities. Interestingly, the Dom (church) in Frankfurt had a similar story to tell in terms of, excluding the world from the walls of the church, enabling one to immerse oneself within individual reality. However, Frankfurt, unlike Strasbourg is not a border city, so that the city becomes an exhibition of German culture removing itself from the strong dynamic of the Franco-German culture clash as in Strasbourg. Nevertheless, the function of the church as a spiritual escapist art work is not much different from the Strasbourg Muenster. The Gothic style of the church lets one to become a witness of the common cultural and architectural style throughout Europe during 15-17th centuries. Further, the interior vertical space also creates an atmosphere of overwhelming glory and power of the spiritual aspect of our life. The similar architectural style and the parallel atmospheres of isolation and transformation that both churches create lead me to the observation that art has the ability to cross borders.
While Strasbourg's culture and art style was rather imposed by a dominating nation, be it the French or the German, the cultural art of the Frankfurter Dom displays aspects of cultural exchange. So, the example of the Frankfurter dom shows how art becomes a transformative medium of cultural exchange and thus, universal. Art enables cultures to cross borders and connect to each other. It is interesting to note how art has crossed borders without being a culture that is imposed by a dominating nation as in Strasbourg. Thinking back about the introduction of the medicine wheel during our course, it became obvious for me that the connection to art can be created from the various points of view. Thus, on my journey to question art and to learn from its cultural influence, I connected to art from the spiritual perspective, establishing a physical and emotional connection and drawing intellectual conclusions from my observations. The universality of art then rotates itself within the medicine wheel inviting all of us to participate in its understanding through the four aspects of the human nature, the spiritual, physical, emotional and intellectual.
While Strasbourg's culture and art style was rather imposed by a dominating nation, be it the French or the German, the cultural art of the Frankfurter Dom displays aspects of cultural exchange. So, the example of the Frankfurter dom shows how art becomes a transformative medium of cultural exchange and thus, universal. Art enables cultures to cross borders and connect to each other. It is interesting to note how art has crossed borders without being a culture that is imposed by a dominating nation as in Strasbourg. Thinking back about the introduction of the medicine wheel during our course, it became obvious for me that the connection to art can be created from the various points of view. Thus, on my journey to question art and to learn from its cultural influence, I connected to art from the spiritual perspective, establishing a physical and emotional connection and drawing intellectual conclusions from my observations. The universality of art then rotates itself within the medicine wheel inviting all of us to participate in its understanding through the four aspects of the human nature, the spiritual, physical, emotional and intellectual.
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