Over a few glasses of wine, a wise friend of mine articulated the sublime in art in a way that showed real understanding of artistic intention. I want to try and share the gist of it but apologies if I mess it up now that I’m sober... I’ve included some of the philosophical definitions at the end.
My friend defined the sublime in contrast with the profane which is common and measurable and a thing that we can understand and comprehend with our senses and reason. Something that is sublime, on the other hand, is boundless, fathomless and impossible to define. We were discussing the Rastafari ideology of finding faith and inspiration within oneself instead of having a set of religious rules imposed dogmatically. The Bible for Rastas is a sublime pathway to a self-defined sense of rightness and my friend and I likened that to way artists often refuse to explain their paintings or artforms.
Below are a few works that have very specific associations for me. They were inspired by a time, place, person or experience. When you look at them they may remind you of someone you know, or of yourself at times, or a memory, or an experience... My specific is not greater or more correct than yours so sharing my PERSONAL meaning is more likely to detract from your connection to my art than to enhance it. My painting should ideally be able to speak to you, perhaps even inspire you to a thought, feeling or action that is internally driven. You, the viewer, have the power to unlock the mysteries and meanings in each work that are relevant and specific to YOU.
The sublime is often related to a feeling of awe and humility before something much greater than our selves. It relates to the sense of being a tiny, frail and insignificant being but simultaneously being part of something enormous and important like nature and the Earth we stand on, the cosmos, or a shared belief and purpose. Art is sublime for existing through barriers of time and space that people can’t pass through to inspire and communicate with many people in many different ways. When we look at art, we can feel connected to its history and a shared experience but hopefully are also aware of, and value, the unique and personal interaction with it. Art won't always speak to you but I hope you will always try to listen.
Kant - Sublime shows ‘a faculty of the mind surpassing every standard of Sense.’
Schopenhauer - A range from beautiful to sublime that changes as feelings of danger and mortality increase while viewing art or objects.
Hegel - A formless aesthetic inspires an overwhelming sense of awe.
Victor Hugo - A combination of the grotesque and beautiful.
Jean-Francois Lyotard - Rhetoric and ambiguity of meaning reveals the multiplicity and instability of the postmodern world.
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