Deliverance

Visual Growth

Philosophers of embodied meaning draw authority from discoveries in neuroscience which underscore the body as infrastructure for all interaction with the world, the basic relationships to which everything else is compared. It is the basis of our involuntary reactions to the organization of our surroundings. This human heritage is why art from anywhere can move us. The structure and feeling of an image corresponds to the way we relate to the physical world. This common physical heritage is a bridge between cultures. This is why art offers an opportunity to heal artificial divisions between different groups. It’s in the depths that we are the same. At a time when so much attention is directed at surfaces art reminds us of what is beneath opinions and trends. Neither hold any weight next to heartbreak, loss, confusion, triumph, and love which feel the same to all human beings, though strategies for coping can be quite different. Understanding how others cope is often the subject of literature. Their stories give a glimpse into other minds dealing with the struggles of being human. Reading work or looking at art from other cultures show the underlying connection beneath surface differences. Recognizing a feeling prompts a personal story connected to that feeling, reinforcing the shared center. Differences are important if we don’t want our minds to go to sleep. We don’t really take in the familiar so it’s easy to sleepwalk through life if not exposed to enough variety. Instead of making so many distinctions between people according to their variations we might reframe that as how each personal is exceptional. As citizens of one planet, we need to work together. Art is a way to get to know other people we might not cross paths with in life. Variation stimulates the mind and enlarges perceptual sensitivity. Embracing diversity enlarges our conceptual framework with more types of imagery to visualize with. The internet puts art from all over the world at your fingertips and show you more of who you are under the surface. It’s a chance to strengthen the perceptual intelligence essential to any approach to an interconnected world.