Surfing Kanagawa: The Evolutionary Art of Religious Expression

 

Surfing Kanagawa: 

The Evolutionary Art of Religious Expression

J.M. Rogers

. . .

Art is often considered to be the greatest endeavor of humanity. It stands apart from the concepts of survival and species propagation, existing as a purely human enterprise, an enterprise that seeks to express the indescribable by way of relatable imagery. Due to the physical nature of human beings, our ability to understand visual information is incredibly high. No doubt, this tendency toward visual learning was largely due to the evolution of the human eye and its ability to perceive variations in the hue of light. This evolution of sight was key in human beings' survival who utilized the distinction in color and shape to discern edible fruits and their corresponding visual features. Such utilization of color and shape produced the ability to discern incredibly subtle deviations in patterns, which enabled the innovation of highly varied symbols that can convey complex sets of physical data. In a sense, symbols are the evolutionary product of an artistic species seeking a solution to its own relatively poor memory.

It is not surprising, then, to see symbolism dominate the religious sector of human society in both the past and the present. Religion is inexorably connected to the same artistic mindset that created symbols, existing as an abstract expression of human thoughts and emotions concerning the nature of reality. As such, religious expression inherently conveys the nature of a given society and reveals this nature most frequently with symbols, colors, and mediums that followers relate to and understand implicitly. As intended, these symbols convey and reinforce vast amounts of pre-existing data. Some of these symbols have conveyed the same suite of data to generations of followers for millennia.

Though often misinterpreted as purely aesthetic in modern times, the artistic expression of religion is filled with symbolism. From top to bottom, side to side, artwork that seeks to convey a religious message does so through subtext and the overt spectacle of its subject matter. This theme stands true for all religious art, regardless of the order. That includes Islam, which has found ways to convey the concept of the logos through masterful calligraphy (as imagery is considered sacrilegious). Ultimately, everything means something. Even the little vanitas of cranberries nestled in the corner infers data. 

Religion, in and of itself, is not beholden to any specific ideals. They all share themes, and within those themes, they share similar characters (as Jung argued). However, the ideals of any religion are necessarily derived from the interests of the society within which the religion interfaces. “In Shinto, trees, rocks, water, and mountains- especially Mount Fiji – are all manifestations of the kami, which, like kachinas, are the spirits that embody the natural world” (Sayre 13). Such a belief is remarkably similar to Native American belief systems but with its own flair. Whereas the Mississippi River was worshipped in North America, Mount Fiji was worshipped in Japan. Similar themes, but different ideologies. The land is God, but which part is prime? For river dwellers, it is the Grandfather River, for Mountain folk, the high peaks that sheltered them from storms.

Furthermore, in Shinto religious paintings, the subject matter is often centered upon the kami that dominate their region. "Even the natural materials with which artists work, such as clay, wood, and stone, are imbued with the kami and are to be treated with the respect and reverence due a god” (Sayre 13). The same reverence is exhibited toward Kachina masks worn by the Hopi tribes, which while being carved from wood and painted with fundamental hues, are believed to be in and of themselves to be masks of transformative power. In both the Pueblo and Shinto belief systems, the presence of a deeper religious subtext guides the symbolic form of artistic expression and the form in which art is carried out. This is how art produces religious rituals. 

Although art is most frequently thought of as sculptures or paintings, the range of artistic production also includes architecture, pottery, sculpture, shrine-building, embroidery, sand painting, body painting/piercing/tattooing, and an endless array of other art forms. Each production is part ritual, part symbolic expression, and when the two combine, their synergy promotes transcendent physical harmony in the creator and observer. Sand paintings are a wonderful example of this artistic transcendence. "Created using vivid colors of sand and other dry materials such as pollen, the paintings are designed on the floors of hogans and treat illnesses by bringing individuals into alignment with nature. A healer, or singer, selects the painting subjects in consultation with the family of the person being treated; these may include animals, plants and mythic figures” (Brodd 51).  This art-based ritual, practiced by the Navajo, bears many of the themes present in other tribal religions, most notably: the use of animal symbols (an extension of anthropomorphism), natural elements like sand and pollen (each possessing an innate symbolic connection to the greater cosmos), geometric shapes (to symbolize the physical world), and vivid colorings (through which the most fundamental/dynamic concept, light, is conveyed). By adding a physical ritual to the art, the human defines a place for themselves amidst the diorama of reality. Transcendence is enabled. 

This use of art as a conduit between humanity and the divine (transcendent) takes on a greater significance within the practice of Shinto shrine building. Take, for example, the Ise Shrine in Japan, “only natural cypress wood is used for the main structures, and only hand tools are allowed to work on the wood. There are no metal braces or nails used in construction, and the different parts of the shrine are held together by complex and intricate wood joints. The cypress wood is carefully selected years in advance of the rebuilding” (Brodd 322). In any modern art installment, using specific materials to create a stylized piece would be considered artistic design. This tendency toward medium represents an intentional artistic expression rather than a production of functionality alone. In addition to using specific mediums, the Shinto also depict various animals at these shrines, each symbolizing a human trait as determined by anthropomorphic reasoning. One can also observe the use of symbolic colors upon the torii (cross barred gateways that lead into shrines), which “in its most characteristic form is painted red and consists of two upright posts joined by one or two crossbeams, with the upper crossbeam gently curved in the middle toward the ground. This use of red paint and the curved line in the upper crossbeam indicates both Chinese and Buddhist influence” (Brodd 321). Even in the simple structure of a red, post-and-lintel, Shinto religious symbolism is profuse. Everything means something. 

Perhaps the most identifiable, and yet somehow most enigmatic, are the artistic expressions of the Egyptians. The Great Pyramid of Giza stands as one of the largest pieces of religious art in the known world. “The pyramid was the first monumental royal tomb. A massive physical manifestation of the reality of the king’s death, it was also the symbolic embodiment of his eternal life” (Sayre 30). Everything from the shape, size, location, and design of the pyramids was guided towards the supreme goal of creating a suitable passageway for their god-kings into the afterlife, and by extension, creating a suitable life for all those who live under the reign of the god-king. This preoccupation with death and the afterlife produced some of the most stunning works of art in prehistory, including massive sculptures, friezes, and palettes. “Monumental royal sculpture was designed to embody the enduring nature of the royal ka, (“soul” or “life force”). The word for sculpture in Egyptian is the same as that for giving birth. Indeed, funerary sculpture served the same purpose as the pyramids themselves to preserve add guarantee the king’s existence after death, thereby providing a kind of rebirth” (Sayre 31). Just as with Hopi and Shinto beliefs, the medium used for sculptures held as much symbolism as the sculptures themselves. “The stone materials used for funerary images had to be the hardest, most durable kind, as enduring as the ka itself. Sandstone or limestone would not do. The materials of choice were diorite, schist and granite” and with all possessing a high degree of hardness and the ability to be polished, the symbolic importance of these minerals is as implicit as the cypress used in the Ise Shrine (Sayre 33). 

From the annals of prehistory, one can find human sculptures bearing animal heads, burial chambers with human remains and offerings, ceremonial masks worn during religious rituals to communicate with the gods, and paintings aggrandizing the beauty of nature’s spirit.  Descriptions of transcendence and the profound are most easily conveyed using symbols that are familiar and indelible to human civilizations. The image of a waterfall, picturesque and noble, can symbolize a vast array of things to generations of people while at the same time serving as a reminder of the abstract harmony that exists beyond the chaotic reality of the practical world. Art, even more than language, communicates the tenets of individual religions, and artistic ritual embeds those tenets into our physical processes.  As such, one could argue that humans have evolved to create art and subsequently adapted that evolutionary skill to create religious expressions to relay the standards and beliefs of society through symbols based on highly diverse colors, shapes, and mediums. 

 

Works Cited:

Brodd, Jeffrey. Introduction to World Religions. Third ed., New York, Oxford University Press, 2019, pp. 51-322.

Sayre, Henry M. Discovering the Humanities. 3rd ed., Boston, Pearson, 2016, pp. 13-33