The Pursuit of Silence (History/Spirituality/Culture)



Iconography of silence starts with Harpocrates -Ancient Greek God of silence- that is represented with his finger close to his mouth. This endured to be the gesture of silence. In Judeo-Christian creation myth, the cosmos starts with the word of God and silence predates everything (1). 

Being an important part of spirituality, silence is a must to connect with God and utilized as a self-discipline method. Silent retreat is a common practice in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism and Sufism for deepening insight. Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad are often depicted as having their revelations while seeking silence in the religious narratives.

Monasteries have the tradition of ars meditandi (contemplation) in silence since antiquity which was transferred into a secular, personal discipline in the 16th century. In ancient ethics, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius praise meditative silence for focus. In Christianity, oratio interior (inner prayer) is about finding inner silence to be able to hear the voice of God, to accept and heal. (2) In Sufism, silence is required to inwardly renounce the world by turning our attention away from our inner noise (3). 

Although “vow of silence” is generally associated with monasticism, it might be also taken because of personal reasons (self-discipline, grief) or utilized as a political and rhetorical act ( e.g. Silent Parade in 1917) by meaning to neutralize power.

Silence also has a ceremonial aspect for commemorating the dead in many cultures and a sense of togetherness like in the Japanese tea ceremony. In Japanese culture, there is the concept of “ma” which stands for silence and space in between for connecting and expanding to find the truth. The concept is reflected in Japanese architecture and visual arts.(4) 

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For the rest of the term, I’ll be focusing on how this universal and archaic pursuit of silence is reflected in artistic expression. 







(1) Chris P. Miller. (2007). Silence. The Chicago School of Media Theory.

(2) Corbin, A. (2016) History of Silence.

(3) Alireza Nurbakhsh, The Breath is Precious. Sufi Journal.

(4) Azumi Uchitani [Youtube channel]. “Ma”, Japanese art of silence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_A_a_HwHmg&ab_channel=AzumiUchitani

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