The Eye of the Heart. The paintings of Cecil Collins - ACE067.5

Head (1960). Rush-hour crowds. "Our civilisation is the only one not to be based on a metaphysical basis and therefore could be considered abnormal… We have in consequence a one-dimensional civilisation … leaving out the metaphysical dimension in Man." Collins looking out over London office blocks. "modern architecture is merely a mental diagram, it doesn’t come from the life of the psyche [which] is why people feel so alone in modern cities…". Woodland. Painting of a Fool and The Quest (1938). Collins continues to talk about archetypes and the way his art is concerned with Man’s consciousness, rather than being about self-expression. Another painting. Collins believes that "the creative person is … haunted by a perfection." The "reflection of perfection" in his paintings" takes the form of the anima, … the soul", a very ancient archetype. Various paintings of angels, etc.; Collins talks of his "life-giving images" and says that "… the kind of art we shall need in the future is one that actualises the life of the soul…". Office blocks. He believes that the younger generation realises "what a machine our civilisation has become" and that "ultimately this must lead to the concentration camp". The Poet (1941). Another painting. Rush-hour crowds in Underground station. Ants. Corridor in Central School. Collins’s class moving slowly in time to music: his VO says "… the education of the inner life, the emotions, the imagination … is totally neglected…". Collins talks to the students about "poise attention" and "being free" through "inner silence". The Sleeping Fool (1943). "We are all over stimulated … but what is not stimulated is the soul…". Class exercises continue, and Collins talks about an opening of consciousness which results in "an increase of sensibility", saying that creativity comes from vulnerability; students drawing.