The subconscious mind manages 95 percent of the brain’s capacity. Humans receive two million bits of information every second, of which we can only process 134 bits. We would be unable to perform routine activities if the subconscious mind did not absorb and filter selected information to our conscious mind. Even those apparently conscious activities, such as driving, walking, swallowing food, even breathing or keeping our heart beating, are managed by the subconscious.

Artists are known to tap into the subconscious to allow their creativity to flow through the use of intuition. Most artists speak of suspending organised thought to let their intuition take over, or what one artist called “an overwhelming sense of knowing.” This is not simply a flashlight moment like a hunch, but it involves judgement and emerges from contemplation, introspection and investigation.

William Duggan, author of Strategic Intuition: The Creative Spark in Human Achievement, further separates intuition or immediate insight, practised by experienced doctors, from strategic intuition, which he says is a much slower process. Strategic intuition is at the heart of outstanding achievements in every domain of human endeavour — a system used by scientists, visionaries, artists and inventors.

While the intuition of experts is based on years of experience, strategic intuition works to make new connections that take time for the brain to explore and process. It is common to make a distinction between rational thought and creative imagination, especially after Roger Perry’s 1981 theory of right and left brain functions. Strategic intuition combines both.

Artists have different personal strategies to tap into their subconscious. The Surrealists, who made the subconscious their subject, are an extreme example. Knowing that the conscious and subconscious are most strongly connected just before sleep, Salvador Dali would place a tin plate on the floor and sit with a spoon held over the plate. As he relaxed into a trance-like state, almost falling asleep, the spoon would slip from his hand onto the plate. The noise would wake him and he would immediately paint what his subconscious came up with.

Exquisite Corpse is a game in which participants draw on a piece of paper and fold it for the next person to add to. This became popular amongst artists of the 1920s. Yves, Tanguy, Joan Miro, Man Ray and Max Morise exhibited a painting made collectively called ‘Exquisite Corpse’ (or ‘Cadavre Exquis’).

Automatism as a method of painting suppresses conscious control allowing the unconscious mind to make decisions. Doodling is its simplest form, sometimes elaborated into artworks. Jackson Pollock’s action paintings may be considered a manifestation of strategic intuition. Stream of consciousness became a literary device based on the natural flow of thoughts. Free improvisation is music performed without any rules.

Typically, the subconscious stores information as images, feelings and metaphors rather than words, which makes it a more natural transition to art, music and dance.

It is not only the creator but also the viewer who perceives artworks intuitively, using the senses rather than the conscious mind. The emotional impact of colours and forms has been studied extensively. The Gestalt Theory, developed in Austria and Germany in the early 20th century, describes how certain shapes evoke specific emotions. Interior designers and advertisers use colours that evoke subconscious responses desired by marketing strategists. Using slow music in shopping malls and hotels makes customers stay longer.

The US Navy is investing in research on how intuition can assist in decision-making, especially in asymmetric warfare. While there exists a cultural bias against using one’s intuition, Francis Colle, author of The Intuitive Compass, suggests the aim is not to reject scientific logic, but rather to achieve a balance between the two.

Durriya Kazi is a Karachi-based artist and heads the department of visual studies at the University of Karachi
Email: durriyakazi1918@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, December 22nd, 2019