- Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible. – Paul Klee
“Mystical Realism” is, I have discovered, a philosophical movement that occurred in Russia.
But that’s not what I mean.
Rather, I use the phrase to refer to my concept of reality (see: WhatIsGod?)
The basic idea is that it is a Realism; we’re not talking about ghosts and fairies that do not exist, super-natural powers, other-worldly Gods or Goddesses, and so on.
However, it is mystical, in that it is based on intuition and inner vision, rather than what our eyes show us, what our senses tell us, and so on.
- Formerly we used to represent things visible on earth, things we either liked to look at or would have liked to see. Today we reveal the reality that is behind visible things, thus expressing the belief that the visible world is merely an isolated case in relation to the universe and that there are many more other, latent realities. Things appear to assume a broader and more diversified meaning, often seemingly contradicting the rational experience of yesterday. There is a striving to emphasize the essential character of the accidental. – Paul Klee
- Reality leaves a lot to the imagination. – John Lennon
For example: The study of mathematics is mystical realism. Participation within a conversation is mystical realism. If you close your eyes, and feel into what it is for there to be 7 people in the room, that is mystical realism.
Mystical realism is connecting with reality, through the vehicle of your heart and mind, rather than the senses.
- “My mirror probes down to the heart. I write words on the forehead and around the corners of the mouth. My human faces are truer than the real ones.” – Paul Klee
If there were artwork reflecting mystical realism, it would show the connections and relationships between people as manifest vision; It’s possible that the Sims is close to mystical realism, for putting the people’s thoughts in balloons in the air.
Example Picture
I don’t know where this picture came from.
I wonder if the effect could be heightened, by increasing the contrast: The “outer” world appears idealized (“what a well-kept lawn!”,) not just the “inner” world. If the outer world were taken from a more ordinary real world environment, would the heightened contrast work more vividly?
See Also
- Religious Naturalism, EvolutionarySpirituality
- KennethBurke
- Rational Mysticism – Secular Humanist on Buddhist Meditation (not my favorite kind, personally)
- C-Systems Inspirations – a Seattle guy working on the hard problem of SecularHumanism?, EupraxSophy?. This page notes the crucial importance of the subjective. He writes: Put succinctly, it is the non-material realm, the immaterial, that is of greater importance, because it is THE source. and: All that is material is in service to that which enhances the immaterial. For some reason, that I can’t discern, he is against ritual.