On page 257 he gets into the spatial aspects of sense experience, and it creates a very visual metaphor for me, of a human walking through the world with senses that extend out to varying limits, all mutually informing one another about the environment. He says,
"It is neither contradictory nor impossible that each sense should constitute a small world within the larger one, and it is even in virtue of its peculiarity that it is necessary to the whole and opens upon the whole."
I like the idea that each sense has a sort of spatial realm, that helps to inform us about the greater picture. He uses the example of the spatial sense of hearing that gives a more vast understanding of space than does sight:
"When, in the concert hall, I open my eyes, visible space seems to me cramped compared to that other space through which, a moment ago, the music was being unfolded, and even if I keep my eyes open while the piece is being played, I have the impression that the music is not really contained within this circumscribed and unimpressive space."
Though the sense of hearing seems to extend the environment beyond the walls of the concert hall, sight traps the experience in a container. Though the sound may not actually permeate out into the night, the sense of sight and sound toghether inform us about the environment both inside and outside I think. I'm rambling now, so I'll finish with:
"It brings a new dimension stealing through visible space, and in this it surges forward...Like the perspective of other people making its impact on the world for me, the spatial realm of each sense is an unknowable absolute for the others, and to that extent limits their spatiality....the unity of space can be discovered only in the interplay of the sensory realms."
I'm hoping to make a case for this wholeness of sensual experience in the art museum context.
Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Music Hall courtesy of Daily Dose of Imagery
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