Art - Hirsh Gallery

TM,*

Prior to regularly practicing TM,* I knew I wanted to
do something in the arts, but I wasn't certain what
or why. I was drawn to the idea of being an artist
but I was confused because I didn't understand what
the artist's role was in modern society
I felt trapped and restrained by a lack of talent
initiative, and experiential and intellectual understanding
which led to a lack of artistic fulfillment

Maharishi frequently says that it is impossible to solve a
problem on the level of the problem: to get rid of the darkness
don't search the darkness for a solution, simply turn on the light
TM was the light that cleared away my questions and doubts
As I evolved as a person due to my regular practice of TM
I began to understand that artists had lost sight of their
role in society and were groping in the darkness, trying in
their own desperate ways to turn on the light. I saw that
artists were marching and protesting in their own manner
through political art, or simply shocking, grotesque art
A sick sort of circus show had gotten the better of the art world
a show where first prize generally went to the most bizarre
"cutting edge" work, or to the artist who had best marketed
and packaged themselves. The art world had done an about-face
perhaps via the introduction of galleries, and the artist
and the size of the artist's ego, was suddenly more important
than the work itself. The art world had become a place where
"anything goes"--yet it was pass? to work from life, even
scorned to study painting and drawing in the traditional manner
In many artistic circles, traditional techniques discovered
during the Renaissance, such as perspective, were shunned
Instead, the free, emotional, imaginative styles from the
Dark Ages were preferred

There is a good argument for shunning traditional methods
as they can bog the artist down and suck all of the life out
of the work. However, I realized that I wanted a foundation to
spring from: I wanted to master traditional methods, I wanted
to be a master like Michelangelo, Leonardo, or Rembrandt
before I moved on to new things. It wasn't enough for me to
know that someone else had mastered proportions or perspective
I wanted to do it myself, to know how it was done. My curiosity
had gotten the better of me. It was the regular practice of TM
and the words of Maharishi, which showed me how to gain artistic
mastery, and gave me the patience to gain it: I realized that
artistic mastery was like enlightenment. It was something that
was there all along, but walls had to come down to get to it
at first, I had to fight between my mind telling me that an
arm or a leg looked a certain way, and my eyes telling me
they looked entirely different

Just as it is important to regularly practice TM I learned
that it took commitment to master the pencil or paintbrush
I had to sketch, look, and study. I had to have the determination
to come up against difficulties and overcome them. This determination
was backed up by the knowledge that Maharishi encouraged the
artist to work from life; I knew that TM was a foundation for life
a basis in the Absolute, which led to success in the relative
I saw that Maharishi was encouraging art based on life as that
way to build a foundation and gain mastery. That was all the
encouragement I needed. However, I soon saw that mastery wasn't
where art ended, it was simply where it began: as my skill increased
I began to wonder, once again, what the purpose of the artist was
in the modern world

My answer came to me gradually: first, it was based in the feeling
of bliss and timelessness when deep in the transcendent. Usually
I experience the transcendent during TM, but I found myself also
experiencing it as I painted. Finally, I experienced transcendence
and absolute healing while standing in front of a painting by
Leonardo da Vinci. After several hours in front of that single painting
I knew what I wanted to do with my life: I wanted to create art
that would uplift, heal, and enlighten the viewer. I wanted each
painting to be a gift to the world, to act as a comfort and solace
to any world-weary individual
Several months after realizing the purpose of the artist
I came across a quote by Maharishi: "The purpose of art
is to elevate the viewer, to raise his level of consciousness
The artist, while creating, dives deep within
contacts the field of pure creative intelligence
and rises to express creativity. The viewer experiences
the artist's work of art from the outside and through the work of art
dives deep within himself. The work of art does not sit permanently
or statically. The consciousness that the art reflects and contains
bounces into the viewer and enlivens his being. Successful art
keeps enlivening infinity in the people who enjoy it
and continues to resonate infinity in itself generation after generation

I can say, with complete honesty, that the experience and
practice of TM changed, and continues to change, my perception of the world
of myself, and of my purpose as a human being and an artist
TM is the greatest thing that ever happened to me
because the experience of transcendence and pure creative
intelligence act as the light in my life, obliterating the darkness

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