Whatever art form you enjoy, which ever school or style you prefer. One thing is certain as you contemplate the art work, is that it needs to be coherent within its own being to make the grade. Half arguments or partial statements, hesitation is not part of the art dialogue. Not to equate that with being boastful nor loud, but art, in order to be experienced as art, must let the viewer immerse themselves within its context, within its rules and paradigm of being. From ballet to story telling, to fresco painting, to totem carving to spoken poetry, to musical ensembles, to acting, to writing and to so much much more, we only get art, it only may succeed, if we get into it. If art was simply about aesthetics or beauty or design, nature would be enough and art would not be considered a separate category.
Art can only be acknowledged as art, when the viewer accepts its reality and can move through this paradigm of its world. This moving through another reality might appear as frivolous and simple daydreaming, but this aspect is assuredly not a luxury. The suspension of reality has many evolutionary benefits for many creatures and humanities ability to revel in this swapping in and out of reality paradigms is crucial to how we define and conduct ourselves. But before we explore this part of our humanity, lets go back to the world of creatures and our common facility to suspend reality. Play.
. Across social status, and across nations and cultures and language and even across species and predator and prey. Play is a common aspect of being and growing up. It is rather astonishing when you consider it. At a time - infancy- when one is at the greatest risk of danger, of not knowing the rules of the game so to speak, we whittle away the time in frivolous pursuits... It is likely by this, not knowing the rules. that play brings so much benefit to so many that it flows across the generations through our genes. For it does bring immense benefit to the evolutionary advantage of those that practice it. It lets us all, learn those rules of the game, without yet being in the game.
. Games, sports and play, all extensions of the same aspect, let us use the rules of the game with minimal risk of permanent damage or loss, so we can learn these rules and master them. Play implicitly acknowledges that this is a time out form reality, it is a suspension of reality so that we can learn about and apprehend reality. Play has rules that protect the participants from reality while learning of that reality. The skills acquired within play, are transferable to reality. Even if that transfer is simply the capacity to learn what the rules of reality might now be. Play lets us within the suspension of reality, better equip ourselves for reality where the risks are real and life threatening.
. Play can be considered play only when the participants can clearly know that there has been a temporary suspension of reality for plays reality and rules. Play benefits the participants only in the moving back forth from the play reality to reality. Daydreaming without applying those creative insights back in reality is a waste of time. There comes a time in growing up that there are fewer and fewer learned insights to bring back and apply in reality. That is why the suspension of reality is temporary, you are there to acquire new mastery of skills of living in our reality.
. That also is why the temporary suspension of reality is voluntary. To be coerced into another paradigm, doesn’t leave the participant the capacity to move back and forth between the suspended reality and reality. Being hostage in another reality is extremely dangerous. play is but a suspension of the rules of reality, it doesn’t negate reality. Reality’s dangers are still real and a play participant needs the ability to move back instantly to reality in case of danger. Play, as much fun as it may be, is above all, an act of shared trust. Play must be a voluntary and temporary suspension of reality. We gotta get back, for it to be of any evolutionary benefit.
- Art as a suspension of reality
- Plays' and sports' parameters
- Plays benefits
- Humour as grounded in the suspension of reality
- Arts parrallel and extension
- Arts parameters
- Arts social benefits
- Arts moving measure - the paradigm shift
- Arts historical examples
- Reactions to otherness
- Continuity in the artistic portion of the human endeavor
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