Meditation can bring about rest and peace as well as enhanced creativity, emotional stability and more. Can meditativeness in art be one of the many steps towards healing and growth, both individual and collective? This paper explores this question in relation to consumerism in the 21st century.

Cover Art: Exploring meditation in contemporary immersive art in relation to consumerism (A dissertation)

Chiharu Shiota's installation named Me Somewhere Else. At the bottom are clay feet from which rises a canopy of red yarn that envelops the room.

Chiharu Shiota – Me Somewhere Else (2018)

Without a doubt, art is a hot commodity and very much a part of capitalism. While the value of art isn’t just monetary, anti-consumerist art may still feel futile if it remains as goods to be viewed, photographed, bought, sold, and therefore consumed. And truly, it would be foolish to suggest that art itself can change the way we consume, as the issue is much more complex than that. With that being said, this paper discusses why it may be only natural to start with the exploration of our own thoughts and emotions, and how art might be able to play an active role in this quest.

Excerpt 1

Psychologist John Eastwood believes that turning to short-term distractions may have long-term effects, as it becomes harder to find ways to engage ourselves. (Weir, 2013) Nowadays, in boredom or ennui we tend to reach for our smartphones to catch up with notifications or scroll social media, but ultimately, this solution is nothing more but a short-term distraction. While external stimuli like social media and apps provide users (but especially children and young people) constant instant gratification, after frequent use they also cause rise in cortisol (the stress hormone). (Price, 2019) Smartphones promise us momentary spikes in dopamine (the pleasure and reward hormone) throughout the day, and consequently become a quick fix and convenient distraction to turn to in any situation. (Haynes, 2018) If smartphones are also responsible for spikes of cortisol, then we can’t reach a relaxed state of mind and hence can’t benefit from increase in dopamine. (Price, 2019)Normally, the rise in dopamine is responsible for creativity as well as motivation to improve and grow. (Graham, 2013) Yet we are at a point, where a ‘dopamine fast’ becomes a popular trend, ‘30 days without Social Media’ is considered a challenge and apparently many people should seek out professional help due to their smartphone addiction. (Price, 2019) Dopamine itself is already quite addictive – obviously, we want to do more of what feels good. However, with smartphones and other devices, we tend to give in to instant gratification much more often. Unluckily for us, it’s the delayed gratification that paradoxically leads to prolonged gratification on the whole. (APA, n.d.) On the bright side, dopamine levels are naturally increased during relaxing activities such as dancing, taking a shower, going for a walk, driving or meditating. (Hussein, 2019)

Excerpt 3

When so many distractions literally consume our energy, it means we have limited amount of it when it’s really needed. As our minds were massively hijacked by the need for instant gratification, it becomes harder for us to gain momentum at work or concentrate for a longer period of time. In this sense, the industrialized world’s enthusiasm to make use of the new-found free time for rest and self-development is practically disdained.It goes without saying that without energy we can hardly think critically, let alone solve problems efficiently. Overall, without any rest we can’t gain any energy, which results in escalating our consumerism, rather than creativity.

Excerpt 2

Dissertation

A short clip shot on a phone, capturing bustling environment in front of entrance to Olafur Eliasson's exhibition at Tate Modern.

An immersive experience outside of the exhibiting room:All the inconspicuous art I could fit into 14 seconds in front of Olafur Eliasson's immersive exhibition In Real Life at Tate Modern.

„The values that have allowed western capitalism to thrive for two centuries now threaten its future: growth, individualism, competition, utility, efficiency, choice, consumption, adaptability and, above all, speed. And the values it has repressed now need to be cultivated: sustainability, community, cooperation, generosity, recollection, reflection, deliberation and, above all, patience.”– Mark C. Taylor, Speed TrapsTaylor, M. C. (2014) ‘Speed Traps’, RSA Journal, vol. 160 (5559), pp. 26-29 Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26204343?seq=1 (Accessed: 11 January 2021).

A key quote

Image shows an old diary entry from 2014 discussing unhealthy relationship with social media.

Diary entry from 2014: Finding balance with social media after creating an Instagram account for the first time. Also pondering the values by which we assess our lives, such as high productivity and good career.

Excerpt from the Research Journal 

APA (n.d.) Delaying Gratification. American Psychological Association. Available at: https://www.apa.org/topics/willpower-gratification.pdf.Graham, L. (2013) Bouncing Back: Rewiring Your Brain for Maximum Resilience and Well-Being. New World Library.Hussein, R. (2019) Functions of Dopamine: What Is Dopamine and How Does It Affect You? Your Brain Health. Available at: https://yourbrain.health/functions-of-dopamine-serve-you.Price, C. (2019) Putting Down Your Phone May Help You Live Longer. The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/well/mind/putting-down-your-phone-may-helpyou-live-longer.html.Weir, K. (2013) Never a dull moment. American Psychological Association. Available at: www.apa.org/monitor/2013/07-08/dull-moment.

References

Meditation can bring about rest and peace as well as enhanced creativity, emotional stability and more. Can meditativeness in art be one of the many steps towards healing and growth, both individual and collective? This paper explores this question in relation to consumerism i...

Karolína Varvařovská

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