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Critical Reflection

There is a sentence mentioned in the movie Lighting Up the Stars: There is no great event in life except death. This film attempts to convey to viewers the attitude towards death. Looking directly at death is to live better in the present and better understand the meaning of life. But I began to think that if death is the ultimate destination for people, then no matter how much wealth you accumulate during your lifetime, it will return to zero after your death. So, what is the meaning of life? So what’s the point of the art I pursue? I go back to medieval philosophy.

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Lighting Up the Stars 2022

Theory of Forms

Plato believed that human beings rely on feeling and reason to understand the world, but feeling is superficial, one-sided, illusory, and imperfect. By thinking rationally, you can slowly recognize the essence of things and discover the invisible and intangible abstract concept behind things. This is the "idea". The ideal world exists forever, while the real world is changing and illusory. There is a rationale behind everything in the real world. The rational world is perfect. For example, people come in all kinds, with different shapes, looks, races, etc. But why are we collectively called people? It's because there is a rational world behind reality. The ideal type of man is the perfect man. Therefore, people can only get closer to that ideal world through continuous efforts.

The same is true in life. Behind the things we pursue, there is also a corresponding perfect concept. Any dream corresponds to a perfect dream, and what we pursue and strive to achieve in the real world always corresponds to that perfect ideal. The existence of a rational world means that even if people eventually die, life will have meaning. The rational world seems to support me like a kind of faith. Whenever I feel confused, I know there is a perfect world waiting for me to get closer. The rational world not only inspires me but also heals me.

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Marina Abramović

Marina Abramović is known as the "Mother of Performance Art" and the earliest pioneer of performance art experiments. Marina Abramović's works mainly explore three aspects - the relationship between performer and audience, the limits of the body, and the possibility of thinking. the possibilities of the mind). (from "Madness and Freedom of Marina Abramović")

She avoids the use of traditional art materials, bridging the distance between artist and audience by making her own body the medium.

  • "I show these things that you are afraid of in front of the audience. I am like a mirror. I conquer myself in fear, and you can too."
    In her works, the body is the material and the sword and gun are the tools. Performances are real-time and cannot be rehearsed in advance. She tried her best to overcome the pain and death that people were afraid of and to encourage people to overcome themselves.

  • “The only way to change your consciousness, the only way to change the events around you, is to start with yourself.”
    She believes that people always choose to do what they like, so people will not change. But people always complain about various injustices in the world, government corruption, cruelty of war, famine disasters, etc. She believes the solution is to change one's sense of self.

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Marina Abramović 

Marina Abramović proposed in her TED talk that she wanted to establish an institution for immaterial performing arts. An immaterial performance is different from a painting in that you can watch it an unlimited number of times. You can only recall the performance through memories or other people's descriptions. People in institutions must devote time and comply with regulations to isolate themselves from electronic devices. According to the arrangement, you can experience some of the most ordinary things, such as walking, drinking water, sitting, standing and lying down, etc. You will be bored and upset during this process, but in the end, you will gain unexpected peace. I believe that no matter what medium is used to convey the artist's ideas, the most effective way is to let the audience experience it personally. This is also the best way to narrow the distance between art and the audience.

Art Healing

  • Art Healing helps individuals return to their original state through the creative process of art, and solves problems at the individual consciousness level through artistic creation. This kind of healing points to the healing properties of things. Healing is about seeing yourself as you are, exploring the cause of confusion, transforming the inner frequency of consciousness, and living out your true self. Everyone can be healed.

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  • In Poetics, Aristotle analyzes epic, tragedy, and comedy. He emphasized the ideological resonance of tragedy for future generations, and that tragedy promoted the purification of emotions. According to Aristotle, the viewer holds these ideas and imposes them on the work of art. In turn, they will be influenced by the relevant representations in the artwork. In addition to its cognitive value, art also has considerable psychological significance. On the one hand, art reflects the deep aspects of human nature that distinguish humans from animals in general, which is humans’ innate instinct to imitate. In addition to this instinct, people can also feel pleasure when faced with a work of art. Art can help us release our emotions and return to a state of emotional balance. We as humans can be elevated and educated through art.

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Art is a salvation for me, I get an outlet by expressing my thoughts and emotions through art. Just like Yayoi Kusama’s polka dot art, polka dots have become a tool for her to communicate with the world. Frida also depicted her own physical and psychological trauma in her paintings. This is the value and meaning of art. Contemporary art often favors a contest between technology and ideas. Art has become the exclusive preserve of artists and professionals, leading to many people’s misunderstanding of art: art is “incomprehensible”. The connection between art and people is severed, which undoubtedly destroys the value and meaning of art. In my work I try to make healing my purpose and focus.

References​

  1. Plato and Lee, D. (2003) Plato: The republic. London: Penguin.

  2. 评论档案 艺术档案 - artda.cn. Available at: https://www.artda.cn/view.php?tid=1321&cid=29 (Accessed: 23 January 2024).

  3. Poetics (Aristotle) (2011). Betascript Publishing.

  4. Potash, J.S. et al. (2016) ‘Spectrum of art therapy practice: Systematic literature review of art therapy, 1983–2014’, Art Therapy, 33(3), pp. 119–127. doi:10.1080/07421656.2016.1199242.

  5. Gumbrecht, H.U. and Marrinan, M. (2003) Mapping Benjamin: The work of art in the digital age. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

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