Phenomenology of the image
Introduction
Phenomenology of the Image is a unique approach to photography, painting, creating and viewing images, etc. which Marian Schmidt has created. It is partly based on current neurological research.
A phenomenological approach is a concrete, critical tool for the study of images and any work of Art.
It allows us:
To become conscious of the nature of an image, to learn how to create or perceive an image with a pure regard (without intellectual pollution), to deepen our living experience as spectators of images, to be aware of the expressive potential of an image without words or explanations, to develop our visual sensitivity emotionally and transcendentally and hopefully to learn to express ourselves through images.
The depth of our work will depend on what we experience ourselves and our ability to express it. It can range from simple, basic emotions to a transcendental experience, where we forget ourselves during our creative activity and open up to receive and release an undefined energy, which we transmit to our audience through our work.
The goal of a phenomenological approach is to make accessible a way of preparing the ground – creating the most favorable conditions – for an image that will express our living experiences to come into existence.
"The secret of great works of art is that they are carriers of transcendence, windows allowing us to peer into a different world".
Subjectivity becomes unimportant by being replaced by an objective concept: intersubjectivity. An interaction between at least two people who are blessed with something in common.
A living experience of a creator through his/her work may be experienced by a member of the audience if there is intersubjectivity between them.
Genesis: Music and Images
Music and images have always played an important part in Schmidt’s life. In 1986 Schmidt began to study music (his childhood dream) and learning to play the traverse flute. It was two years later in 1988 that Schmidt strolling down rue de Madrid, near the Paris Conservatory of Music, saw a poster announcing seminars on Phenomenology of Music in Cluny by Sergiu Celibidache. Sergiu Celibiache was considered by Schmidt to be one of the greatest – if not the greatest – orchestra conductors of the XX century.
Schmidt remembered the concert he attended in Caracas as a child and immediately enrolled in the seminars. He studied a Phenomenology of Music with Celibidache in Cluny and Paris from 1988 to 1990. He didn’t miss a single one during three years. The teachings of Celibidache changed completely the way Schmidt listened to music and at the same time confirmed to him that music without the spiritual dimension is only a series of sound effects. Inspired by Celibidache, Schmidt created his own Phenomenology of the Image, which he taught and had started to write a book about. He did not finish it before his Death and it hasn’t been published yet.
"A feeling of inner, spiritual truth is what lies deepest within a human being when looking at paintings, listening to music or when reading literature or poetry. It cannot be defined intellectually. This inner truth is felt - speaking about it does not mean much. In order to experience it, it isn't enough to just look or listen to works of great artists (...). We are also required to look and listen purely: far from any background noises, far from everyday life responsibilities; it requires from us absolute concentration and inner silence - devoid of any unnecessary intellectual associations. Only then is there a possibility for us to experience transcendence in art"