Art as Contemplative Practice: Expressive Pathways to the Self

by Michael A. Franklin, Christopher Key Chapple (Foreword by)

Overview

Drawing upon his personal experience as a practitioner-researcher, visual artist, and cancer survivor, Michael A. Franklin offers a rich and thought-provoking guide to art as contemplative practice. His firsthand experience and original artwork complement this extensive discussion by consulting various practice traditions including yoga, rasa and darshan experiences, imaginal intelligence, and the contemplative instincts of select early twentieth-century artists. From this synthesis, Franklin suggests that we treat art as a form of yoga and meditation with the potential to awaken deeper insight into the fundamental nature of the Self. Exercises and rubrics are included that offer accessible instruction for any artist, meditation or yoga practitioner, art educator, or art therapist.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781438464343
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	09/01/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	340
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Michael A. Franklin is Professor and Chair of the Graduate Transpersonal Art Therapy Program at Naropa University.

Table of Contents

List of Figures, Tables, and Rubrics
Foreword
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Simplified Sanskrit Pronunciation Guide
Abbreviated Glossary of Sanskrit Terms

Part I. Foundations, History, and Imaginal Awareness

1. Art as Contemplative Practice: Beginnings

2. Art as Contemplative Practice: Foundations

3. Snapshots of Western History and Lineage in Art as Contemplative Practice

4. Tasting and Seeing the Divine: Rasa, Darśan, and Art as Worship

5. Imaginal Intelligence and Contemplative Practice

Part II. Concerning the Contemplative in Art as Yoga and Meditation

6. Art as Yoga

7. Art as Meditation

8. Karma Yoga, Ahimsā, and the Socially Engaged Artist

9. Expressive Pathways to the Self

Part III. Exercises and Appendices

Appendix A: Imaginal Mindfulness Techniques, Exercises, and Materials
Appendix B: Core Principles of Art as Contemplative Practice and Accompanying Exercises
Appendix C: Rubrics

Notes
References
Illustration Permissions
Index

Editorial Reviews

"This is a thoroughly groundbreaking work that demonstrates how art can be a contemplative way of being and pathway to the Self. It reveals the creative, imaginal side of our humanity to be a sacred ground from which grows the wholeness of both the individual practitioner and the larger community." — Fran Grace, University of Redlands

"One of the book's notable features is the author's honesty, candor, and openness in discussing the healing benefits of contemplative creativity in his own experience." — William K. Mahony, Davidson College

"The book's breadth of experiments and useful images in art therapy and meditative traditions is its greatest strength." — Cliff Edwards, Virginia Commonwealth University

From the Publisher