🚀 go-pugleaf

Jean Cocteau said 'Art is a lie which tells the truth.' 


This is the genesis of the notion of Spiritual Masks.  Masks to express
one's spiritual self. Not masks to cover 'imperfection' - not make-up,
rather masks which allow one to express who they are and who they wish
to be. Symbols for the dream self.

The idea of Spiritual Masks  is very loosely based on the teachings of
Carl Jung, who believed there was an unconscious struggle between the
individual and society and used symbolism to explore this phenomena. 
Jung's unconscious being that portion of the psyche which lies outside
conscious awareness. The unconscious expresses itself through dreams,
fantasies,  �Freudian� slips and the like. Jung distinguishes two layers
of the unconscious: the personal unconscious derived from one's own
experience, and the collective unconscious containing the universal
patterns and images called archetypes. Our
collective unconscious appears through our "persona" ("actor's mask" in
Latin) It is the partially calculated public face an individual assumes
in relating to others. The persona is derived from the expectations of
society and early childhood training.  Conforming to the mores of
society is useful both in facilitating contact with others and being
part of the tribe, but can inhibiting when one completely identifies
with it.

Jung believed that we have a "shadow self", like a �dark side� which
harbors our more primal ideas and impulses. Most would act on them,
given the chance. Most of us repress our shadow, or feel guilty when we
"let it out" - feeling that this part of our being is like an �evil
twin.� However, Jung believed we should confront our shadow, explore it
and make friends with it, and that doing so would bring sweet rewards.
He thought that our shadows can help us understand our motivations, 
inspire us to new thoughts, and become a source of invigorating
inspiration. 

The exploration of one�s shadow can then become a process of
"individuation." The conscious realization and fulfillment of one's
unique being. It is associated with unconscious imagery and leads to the
experiencing of the Self as the center of the personality, transcending
the ego. It begins by challenging egocentricity, producing the awareness
that the ego is subordinate to a more comprehensive psychic entity - the
Self. Coming to terms with one's Self - of which one's shadow is a part
-leads one to be more centered in responding to social mores, ideals and
norms. Actions not driven entirely by Ego.

A desire to begin a process of challenging egocentricity begs the
question of how does one go about exploring shadows.  This is where
Spiritual Masks come into play imagery to mirror the Self. Sometimes a
mask can allow more of ourselves to come out by hiding other parts and
leaving us less vulnerable. Masks which allow one to paint a tear when
sad, and warpaint when angry.

Art can allow one to assume roles outside of one�s �Self� - and in so
doing see oneself through a stranger�s eyes. Dance, photography,
illustration, modeling, theatre all allow one to step in to a surreal
playground.



I�m interested in three questions:

1.  What do people think their shadows are?

2.  By what means do people think shadows can be explored?

I'm particularly interested in peoples thoughts on how shadows might be
explored thru dance.



thanx,


nik@websciences.org



~ the dnc project - dance, networks, computing

http://www.websciences.org/dnc/



I do not know which to prefer,
The beauty of inflections
Or the beauty of innuendoes
The blackbird whistling
Or just after.