West Meets East: Arts Encounter of a Metaphysical Kind

Abstract

Encounters with the visual, musical, theatrical and other arts of Asia tend also to be encounters with the metaphysical underpinning of those traditions. This paper suggests a model for processing these Asian cultural influences. Examples are taken from Transcultural Synaesthesia (Lachlan, unpublished PhD in progress) which processes and integrates influences from Indian, Chinese and Japanese creative systems. The essence of the model is also explored as a means of processing influences from the products of the creative systems of other non-Western cultures.