The big fish : consciousness as structure, body and space / Anna Bonshek ; with Corrina Bonshek and Lee Fergusson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bonshek, Anna J.

Contributor:

Bonshek, Corrina.

Fergusson, Lee C.

Series:

Consciousness, literature & the arts ; 6.

Consciousness, literature & the arts, 1573-2193 ; 06

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Aesthetics.

Consciousness in art.

Vedic literature--History and criticism.

Vedic literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xviii, 396 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam ; New York, NY : Rodopi, 2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

While debate continues in the fields of the sciences and humanities as to the nature of consciousness and the location of consciousness in the brain or as a field phenomenon, in the Vedic tradition, consciousness has been understood and continues to be articulated as an infinite field of intelligence at the basis of all forms of existence. This infinite field of intelligence is accessible to human awareness, being the very nature of the mind and the structuring dynamics of the physiology—from the DNA, to the cell, tissues, organs, and to the whole body and its sophisticated functioning. This two-part volume, The Big Fish: Consciousness as Structure, Body and Space , considers in Part One the Vedic approach to consciousness, specifically referencing Maharishi Vedic Science, and discusses themes pertinent to the arts, including perception and cognition, memory as awareness, history and culture, artistic performance and social responsibility, observatory instruments as spaces and structures to enhance consciousness, and, beyond metaphor, architectural sites as multi-layered enclosures of the brain detailed in the Shrimad Devi Bhagavatam and, as cosmic habitat or Vastu aligned to the celestial bodies. Presenting some more general consciousness-based readings, Part Two includes essays by various authors on Agnes Martin and her views on art, perfection and the “Classic”, unified field based education and freedom of expression versus censorship in art, prints from the Renaissance to the contemporary era as allegories of consciousness, the work of Australian artist Michael Kane Taylor as beyond a modern / postmodern dichotomy, the photographic series The Ocean of Beauty by Mark Paul Petrick referencing the Vedic text the Saundarya-Lahari , a Deleuzian analysis of the dual-screen multi-arts work Reverie I , and an account of the making of Reverie II , a single-screen video projection inspired by the idea of dynamics of awareness. This book, therefore, presents a broad range of interests and reading while offering a unique, yet profoundly transformative perspective on consciousness.

Contents:

Preliminary Material

Preamble—What is Consciousness?

In Sight—Cognition or Darshana: Expanding Artistic Vision

Memory as Smriti—100% Wakefulness: The Seat of Creativity and Retrieval

Performance as Yagya or Offering: Socially Responsible, Transformational Art

Capturing Light—Outer and Inner The Maharishi Vedic Observatory as Site Specific Cosmic Structure, Astronomically Aligned Monuments and Sun-Dependent Art

In Visible Cities: Metaphor? Or Body and Built Environment as Structures of Wholeness

Foreword

Agnes Martin on Beauty and Perfection in Art by Anna Bonshek and Lee Fergusson

Unified Field Based Art Education: Toward a Socially Responsible College Art Curriculum by Anna Bonshek and Lee Fergusson

Allegories of Consciousness: Perfection in Printmaking From the Renaissance by Anna Bonshek and Lee Fergusson

Signs of Reconciliation Prints by Michael Kane Taylor by Anna Bonshek and Lee Fergusson

Ocean of Beauty In The Mind of the Beholder—A Suite of Photographs by Mark Paul Petrick by Anna Bonshek

Deleuzian Sensation and Unbounded Consciousness in Reverie I by Corrina Bonshek

Reverie II: Revelation, Consciousness and Peace by Anna Bonshek

1 Stands Out

Bibliography

Glossary of Sanskrit terms.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [365]-386).

ISBN:

94-012-0413-6

1-4294-8060-2

OCLC:

714568406

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789401204132 DOI