Conscious Art Helps Raise My State

Conscious Art Helps Raise My State

The bust of Nefertiti stands out as one of the most beautiful objects I have ever seen. I was visiting Berlin in the 1980s and strolling through the Egyptian Museum when I rounded the corner and saw the bust of Pharaoh Akhenaten’s royal wife, Nefertiti, perched in the center of a small room. The androgynous quality of the ancient bust, the inner calmness, upright repose, and conscious smile, drilled right into me. I was more than transfixed – I was transported to a higher place.

Upon reflection, I recalled that Gurdjieff had noted that there is a type of art - objective art - that can penetrate more deeply and produce the same effect more predictably across many people than other types of art. The bust of Nefertiti seems to comport with his definition.

To my great surprise, I recently enjoyed another chance encounter with Nefertiti, while driving alongside the Green River in Southern Utah. We were first puzzled by a tiny roadside sign with the word, “Nefertiti,” on it and then deduced that her likeness must be nearby.

As we made a bend in the canyon, we saw off to our left a rock pinnacle that conveyed a remarkable likeness to the sculptor’s work of Nefertiti. Once again, I was transformed by the natural beauty of the setting and the prominence of the royal visage.

While the similarity was indeed striking what was equally striking was that rafters, hikers and off-road motorists in rural Utah would also know her likeness. It struck me that this effect might be the offshoot of objective art. Such objective art, objects of ethereal beauty, find their way into the minds and hearts of people around the world. An ancient master sculptor captured objective beauty in a bust of a royal Egyptian wife. The iconic work of art is currently housed in Berlin but is also recognized in a prominent rock outcropping for all lucky visitors to see in Utah.

It occurs to me that humans, whether they know it or not, are striving for the universal and eternal, and timeless works of art like Nefertiti nourish us and raise our state and awareness of this common quest. We are what we eat, and objective art (and natural beauty) are forms of food. When digested, objective art calls forth our Higher Centers and our yearning for the divine. Have you noticed the same effect from other works of art or the natural world?

The second state is subjective; the third state is objective. Objective art comes from an objective state and produces eternal divine presence. – The Teacher

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Nefertiti Rock Pinnacle (as seen from upstream), Sego Canyon, Utah and Bust of Nefertiti, Egyptian Museum, Berlin