Labyrinth of Lies, illustration: Sven Sauer.
A small mind always remains trapped in its subjective views. Trapped in a world he believes to be reality. He draws on his own personal experiences and opinions. But paradoxically, our own opinion is often just an enthusiastic repetition of apparently good opinions of apparently good people. The rarest of them actually defend their own point of view. Not to mention that they rarely critically evaluate this view or perhaps admit an error in reasoning.
“The thinking man changes his mind,” said Friedrich Nietzsche.
But this happens extremely rarely, in fact. Instead, someone’s own thought is continually confirmed and reinforced by others with similar thoughts.
But what happens when someone finds that these subjective opinions about life are not enough? How do you escape your own narrow-mindedness? Our spirit exists, after all, only in one body, not in several.
Urban Nation Museum, artwork: Herakut
Art offers the possibility of escaping our intrinsic narrow-mindedness. It is one of the symbols of civilization, intellectuality and culture. Without it, we would be nothing more than an octopus – a very intelligent being, perhaps, but nevertheless, entirely at the mercy of its own instincts.
Man can be so much more.
He creates, he builds, he is a visionary. There is creativity, imagination, dynamism. The arts are a world of endless possibilities. Imagination turns into art, and art is creativity that becomes material. It is perhaps one of the greatest achievements of mankind.
The source of artistic creation is often emotions, such as pain, love, fear, euphoria and hate. It is the ability to think outside the box and the inability to tolerate small minds. People with emotions as deep as the oceans often have a knack for the arts – an outlet for vibrant souls existing in a raw world.
Monalisa, recreated by Die Dixons, Tank, Weisse Seite and FIX77
On the other hand, people who feel little are deeply impressed by the smallest emotions. Practically shaken, even. Everything that does not concern the body, made of flesh and blood, is an unknown sensation. It is perhaps especially these people who should take a closer interest in the arts.
To ignore art is to ignore the possibility of seeing life through the eyes of another. It is then easy to believe that one’s own experiences are the only true ones.
Yet there are so many truths, so many divergent realities. After all, one person’s truth is another person’s lie.
In novels and poems, anyone can put themselves in the place of a queen, a persecuted man, a beggar and a dying person. Even the most extreme or extraordinary event that someone has ever experienced at some point and expressed it through creativity. Paintings, music, dances: they all tell a story.
Halle Am Berghain, “Workers” exhibition
They allow us to enter anyone’s heart and mind. Someone who may be our neighbor or someone who hasn’t been in hundreds of years. And it becomes clear that spirits can connect across the boundaries of space and time.
Our horizon expands without ever having to leave the sofa. It is a gift for those who are bedridden due to illness or disease. It is a solace to all who are surrounded by primitive spirits who crave only physical gratification. A fictional character becomes a close friend. This character can become more real than any real person.
Some may actually still believe that they really have to be the first person to feel a certain way, while others have long known about the infinite spectrum and depth of emotions. And it is the first who are at the same time convinced that if they perceive life in a certain way, all the others must live it in the same way. And the others will sit humbly and be impressed, because they have known for a long time that there is no one true reality.
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Text: Marie F. Trankovits, photos: Frank R. Schröder/iHeartBerlin
Marie F. Trankovits traveled the world until she fell in love with Berlin. Currently working on his writing career.
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