Claudio Marins:
“The language of
art speaks
directly to the
heart”
The president of
the Brazilian
Association of
Spiritist
Artists talks
about the arts
in the light of Spiritism
 |
Claudio Marins (photo)
is the
presidente of
ABRARTE, The
Brazilian
Association of
Spiritist
Artists. He
lives in Belo
Horizonte, the
capital of Minas
Gerais state,
where he works a
volunteer in the
Spiritist
Movement. He is
also a Spiritist
speaker. In this
interview, he
shares with us
his thoughts on
art and the
Teachings.
|
|
Is there such a
thing as
Spiritist art? |
If you take it
as art produced
under the
inspiration of
the Spiritist
principles, yes,
there is
Spiritist art.
In December
1860, Allan
Kardec mentions
the term for the
first time in an
article of the
Spiritist Revue
entitled “Pagan
Art, Christian
Art, Spiritist
Art”. He wrote:
“…By that I mean
that the
Spiritist
Teachings will
imprint a
particular mark
on the
productions of
the mind, in the
same way it
happened with
the Christian
ideas and
beliefs.” We
should not,
however,
understand
Spiritist art
only as art
produced by
mediums or
wrongly classify
it as an
artistic genre,
like the musical
styles such as
jazz and gospel,
or drama, comedy
and terror in
the cinema.
In which way
does art
influence human
sensibility for
the better?
The language of
art speaks
directly to the
heart! Music,
the theatre,
poetry, dance,
painting,
cinema,
architecture,
sculpture, all
forms of art
have their own
mechanisms that
reach deep
inside of us.
When the
motivation and
inspiration to
produce art are
higher, noble
ideals, they
“wake up” the
hearts of men
and drive them
towards doing
good, through
inspiring,
spiritual
messages.
Tell us a
remarkable
experience you
have lived with
ABRARTE.
I have been
through a number
of remarkable
experiences in
the company of
so many friends
in the
organisation. I
admire what this
amazing group of
volunteers have
been doing for
Spiritism, with
very little
financial
resources. I
fear I could be
unfair by
highlighting any
particular
experience here.
I would just
like to ask for
their
understanding to
mention one
event, the IX
National Forum
of Spiritist
Art, which took
place in a
convent in the
town of Caucaia,
in Ceara state.
That in itself
was amazing. But
at end the
Spiritist
artists prepared
a special
ceremony to show
our appreciation
to our Catholic
sisters. It was
moving to see
250 Spiritist
artists singing
a Spiritist song
for all the
brothers and
sisters from the
convent,
followed by the
St Francis
prayer. It all
took place in an
atmosphere of
fraternity and
mutual respect.
How does
Spiritism
influence art?
Spiritism works
as a filter, a
purifier of the
art we know, as
it provides
artists with
clarification
and internal
enlightenment.
Once artists are
aware of and
accept the
spiritual
reality, they
get their
inspiration from
the higher
spheres and
naturally lose
touch with the
materialistic
approach. The
art produced by
those artists
will depict such
harmony and
beauty that we
will all
benefit, being
in a better
position to
transcend the
narrow
boundaries of
materialism.
