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NEGOTIATING NEW SYSTEMS OF PERCEPTION: DARSHAN, DIEGESIS AND BEYOND. |
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Co-authors, Margot Lovejoy and Preminda Jacob. In Proceedings: Consciousness Reframed. Art and Consciousness in the Post-Biological Era. Center for Advanced Inquiry in the Interactive Arts. University of Wales College, Newport, United Kingdom. (Forthcoming) |
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ABSTRACT |
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"New organs of perception come into being as a result of necessity--therefore, increase your necessity so that you may increase your perception." (Jalauddin Rumi, Persian poet 1207-1273)
As technological tools expand consciousness through interactive communication and means of seeing, increased avenues for global cultural exchange today foster negotiation of extremely different systems of perception and communication. We propose a theory about perception which will address the implications of the repositioned viewer, from spectator to participant in interactive, computer-generated artworks. Our formulation evolves from a montage of concepts about aura, the gaze, and media theory. In this paper, we initiate a cross-cultural discussion of two disparate systems of perception: darshan (intense spiritual experience through the effect of the gaze in Hindu practice and philosophy ) and diegesis (intense mediated experience through the construction of reality in the cinematic medium, which can bring about suspension of disbelief). |