The Use of Altered States as a Strategy of Constraint in Artistic Production:
A Pathway to the Experience of the Sublime
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33871/sensorium.2025.12.10831Keywords:
Sublime, Constrangimento, Estados Alterados, Arte, Experiência TranscendentalAbstract
This article proposes a critical analysis of the deliberate use of altered states of consciousness as a strategy of constraint in artistic practice, aiming to foster access to intense and transformative aesthetic experiences associated with the concept of the sublime. Drawing on a theoretical review that reconsiders constraint not merely as a limiting factor but as a constitutive element of aesthetic experience, the investigation articulates a multidisciplinary approach involving philosophy of art, consciousness studies, and contemporary artistic practices. Four paradigmatic examples are discussed: the use of psychotropic substances, meditation, hypnosis, and an authorial process of pictorial experimentation centered on the intentional disruption of logic and instinctive response. It is argued that such constraints, by destabilizing the creative subject, function as catalytic devices for sublime experiences, re-signifying the role of art as a mediator of liminal states and expanded perception.
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