Archetypal aesthetics: viewing art through states of consciousness

Abstract

A Jungian and archetypal psychology approach to aesthetics includes noticing which archetypes are activated when viewing or engaging with art. Archetypes provide vitality to art and can be accessed by viewers through attention to bodily responses and emotional awareness enhanced by imagination. Connecting these personal experiences to the collective requires framing viewers' responses within comprehensible patterns. Joan Kellogg's theory ‘The Archetypal Stages of the Great Round of Mandala’ offers a system for identifying archetypes as states of consciousness and making them accessible to a wide audience in order to aid understanding of one's responses to art.

Keywords:

• archetypes
• aesthetics
• Joan Kellogg
• Great Round
• states of consciousness

Acknowledgement

I express my gratitude to Carol Thayer Cox, who introduced and mentored me in the work of Joan Kellogg and supported my amplification of her teachings.

Notes on contributor

Jordan S. Potash is a US-registered and board certified art therapist (ATR-BC), licensed creative arts therapist (LCAT) and registered expressive arts therapist (REAT). He has taught coursework in Jungian, archetypal and imaginal psychology and expressive arts therapy in the United States, Hong Kong and Israel. He is co-editor of Art Therapy in Asia: To the Bone or Wrapped in Silk (Jessica Kingsley), as well as author of articles regarding social change, art therapy and health. To view his art portfolio and learn about his work, please visit: www.jordanpotash.com.