Anna BONSHEK, Corrina BONSHEK et Lee FERGUSSON, The Big Fish. Consciousness as Structure, Body and Space, Amsterdam/New York, Rodopi (Consciousness, Literature and the Arts), 2007, 396 p.
ISBN 978-90-420-2172-3
SUMMARY
While debate continues in the fields of the sciences and humanities asto the nature of consciousness and the location of consciousness in thebrain or as a field phenomenon, in the Vedic tradition, consciousnesshas been understood and continues to be articulated as an infinitefield of intelligence at the basis of all forms of existence. Thisinfinite field of intelligence is accessible to human awareness, beingthe very nature of the mind and the structuring dynamics of thephysiology—from the DNA, to the cell, tissues, organs, and to the wholebody 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, specificallyreferencing Maharishi Vedic Science, and discusses themes pertinent tothe arts, including perception and cognition, memory as awareness,history and culture, artistic performance and social responsibility,observatory instruments as spaces and structures to enhanceconsciousness, and, beyond metaphor, architectural sites asmulti-layered enclosures of the brain detailed in the Shrimad Devi Bhagavatam and, as cosmic habitat or Vastu aligned to the celestial bodies.
Presentingsome more general consciousness-based readings, Part Two includesessays by various authors on Agnes Martin and her views on art,perfection and the “Classic”, unified field based education and freedomof expression versus censorship in art, prints from the Renaissance tothe contemporary era as allegories of consciousness, the work ofAustralian artist Michael Kane Taylor as beyond a modern / postmoderndichotomy, 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.
Thisbook, therefore, presents a broad range of interests and reading whileoffering a unique, yet profoundly transformative perspective onconsciousness.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Contributors
Introduction
Part One: Infinite Mind/Infinite Body: Awakening & Re-envisioning Consciousness
Anna BONSHEK
Preamble—What is Consciousness?
In Sight: Darshana or Cognition Expanding Artistic Vision
Memory as Smriti—100% Wakefulness The Seat of Creativity & Retrieval
Performance as Yagya or Offering: Socially Responsible Transformational Art
CapturingLight—Inner and Outer. The Maharishi Vedic Observatory as Site SpecificCosmic Structure In the Context of Astronomically Aligned Monuments& Sun-Dependent Art
In Visible Cities: Metaphor? Or Body & Built Environment as Structures of Wholeness
Part Two: Expressions, Visions, Perspectives
Foreword
Anna BONSHEK & Lee FERGUSSON: Agnes Martin on Beauty & Perfection in Art
Anna BONSHEK & Lee FERGUSSON: Unified Field Based Art Education: Toward a Socially Responsible College Art Curriculum
Anna BONSHEK & Lee FERGUSSON: Allegories of Consciousness: Perfection in Printmaking from the Renaissance
Anna BONSHEK & Lee FERGUSSON: Signs of Reconciliation—Prints by Michael Kane Taylor
Anna BONSHEK: Ocean of Beauty In the Mind of the Beholder —A Suite of Photographs by Mark Paul Petrick
Corrina BONSHEK: Deleuzian Sensation & Unbounded Consciousness in Reverie I
Anna BONSHEK: Reverie II: Revelation, Consciousness and Peace
Anna BONSHEK: 1 Stands Out
Bibliography
Part One: Infinite Mind/Infinite Body
Part Two: Expressions, Visions, Perspectives
Glossary of Sanskrit Terms