Art and the Radiance of Existence

“Behind all these manifestations is the one radiance, which shines through all things. The function of art is to reveal this radiance through the created object.”
Joseph Campbell

When a piece of music, or a painting, or a poem has a universal appeal it touches what Alan Watts describes as the “fabric and structure of existence itself”, in Zen we might use the word suchness to describe that structure (for lack of a better term). It transcends description; it is that which cannot be spoken.

In the mornings I listen to Jeff Spurgen on WQXR, the classical music station for New York City. While I was making breakfast the other day, during the “daily Bach” segment he played Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, BWV 147. Standing at the sink in my kitchen, the performance really touched me. Upon the conclusion of the piece, Mr. Spurgen commented that the oboe playing was breathtaking, although he remarked that it sounded like, Daniel Nicholas, the oboist never took a breath.

I had another similar experience at a concert by the band the Flatlanders. Songwriter Butch Hancock was singing one of his songs, and was nailing it, a song that they probably performed at every show. This time it was special. I couldn’t look away; it was such a moving performance. At the conclusion of the song, fellow band member Joe Ely turned to Butch and expressed his own sense of amazement at the depth of the performance. Obviously Joe and I had both recognized something in that performance.
We all possess a common thread that tethers us to the absolute. We are all connected through that thread, at a level that is fundamental to all of reality.
Visual arts also allows for a transmission of mind. Walking into a museum space and being drawn to a painting or a piece of sculpture is another example of transcending the familiar and examining a deeper level of experience. Whether it’s Devinci, or Van Gough, Pollack, Rodin, or Calder, the works of the artists express that which is intangible, – and in making a connection through that which is universal – they bring forward that which underlies our day to day.
Art functions as a conduit for conveying the essence of existence. If that connection could be analyzed and explained in any other way, there would be no need for the arts.