Direct Communication

This piece of music is a major inspiration for me. It has been associated with a movement in music known as spiritual minimalism of which there are about only 3 composers. The song is a true story, taken from inscriptions left on a wall by a soon-to-be executed prisoner at Auschwitz. The beauty of it to me lies in how the prisoner transcends her predicament - the story she leaves on the wall is incredible. The music itself is probably the most beautiful piece of music I have ever heard and perfectly encapsulates the story. The whole opera goes onto deal with death and resurrection - to me, about the movement from one plane of existence to another. Many people say how this opera makes them cry every time. It certainly has that affect on me. I recall the first time I ever heard it I was driving and had no idea what it was about and all of a sudden I had to pull over as I was so emotional. If you check the comments on YouTube about it many people have the same reaction to it. Given it is in Polish (I think) I am interested how this can communicate such strong emotions to people who cannot understand the words. A similar experience happened to me when I saw Barnett Newman's Vir Herocious Sublimus at MoMa for the first time. I was so overwhelmed with emotion I had to leave the room. How can art do this to us? How can it communicate directly with us without even needing us to understand? This to me is my ultimate aim in my visual practice, to cause a direct experience in someone of the idea behind my work. The work must convey this directly into their heart bypassing the rational faculties just the same way this music or that painting does. To me, that is the ultimate and highest function for art - to connect us deeply at a spiritual level, the level at which we are pure light.