Shell
pen, paper
4”h x 6”w
Squeezing My Ears
acrylic, colored pencil, cardboard
4”h x 6”w
Concave & Vexed Torsos
limestone, pigment, linseed oil
13" x 6" x 4" each
Copyright © 2007. Miriam Martincic. All rights reserved.
Both art-making and yoga have helped me cultivate awareness of the relationship between the body and the mind. State of mind and posture of the body are linked in a variety of ways. A simple example of this is body language which can be seen in animals as well as humans. When my dog is at rest, both her mind and body are quiet. Then she hears a noise; suddenly, both her mind and body are alert.
In yoga, there is not only relationship between body and mind, but cultivation of a steady mind through the body by the practice of asana (yoga postures). In kurmasana, tortoise pose (shown above), a compact forward bending asana, the senses are drawn inward as the limbs of a turtle are drawn into its shell. The drawing “Shell” does not depict a yoga posture but is yogic in the sense that it illustrates pratyahara, withdrawal of the senses. In both the pose kurmasana and the drawing “Shell” there is an analogous relationship between the shape of the body and state of the mind.
“Squeezing My Ears” emphasizes the structure and experience of karnapidasana, ear pressure pose. This pose is compact like kurmasana and, in terms of its effect, is considered to be a cooling posture. State of mind in this piece, however, is not withdrawn as it is in “Shell.” The subject is energized and actively looking back at the viewer.
In representing the body, awareness of perception adds another dimension to the dialog of mind and body. Perception is a broader sense of seeing; it is the sight of the eyes and other senses combined with our ideas and attitudes about whatever we are experiencing. I can make a portrait that emphasizes my physical features, or one that includes more than just my physical appearance, that shows how I “see” myself, what I think of myself. The second portrait conveys non-visual as well as visual information.
In visual art, “objective” physical reality is abstracted or distorted to express non-visual realities such as ideas or feelings. The distortion in “Concave & Vexed Torsos” shows the same body shaped by two contrasting states of mind, one introverted and one extroverted.