Co-creating a new conversation about Art
WHAT IS ART FOR? WHAT IS ITS ROLE — IN YOUR LIFE, AND IN THE EVOLUTION OF HUMANKIND?
- What if Art is here to keep the humankind in touch with its own highest and truest nature?
- What if it opens a portal to conscious living, to expanded vision and awareness, to seeing more so that we can be more, beyond what we have ever allowed ourselves to be:
- — to be the change we want to see in the world?
- What if the magnificent art of the past holds a key to humanity’s emergent future?
- What if it has the power to catalyze the shift in awareness so urgently needed at this critical point in our history
- — the birth of a new, more beautiful world, and a new humanity?
- What if it has the power to catalyze the shift in awareness so urgently needed at this critical point in our history
IF YOU LOVE ART (and why else would you be here?)
… then you know that there is much more to it than our current “cultural story” tells us, than the mainstream paradigm of life allows for.
Even so, it is not at all easy to free yourself from this story and live from this deep knowing.
The old story has been shaping the social, political, economical conditions of life for ages. It is the environment we live in. We interact with it, day in and day out. How can it fail to affect our choices, our actions, our thoughts and beliefs?
As an artist and an art lover, I struggled with this inner disconnect for years.
A part of me has always known that art is essential for our evolution (and even for the very survival of the human species)…
… that it is more real than the transient conditions of “real life”,
… that it opens a path to deeper insights into the nature of things than the “rational” mind can possibly imagine.
But the rational mind within me still clung to the old, familiar story, to the old paradigm. This story kept clashing with my inner knowing and recreating the wall of separation between art and life.
This disconnect sent me on a long journey of exploration and discovery, gradually piecing together a new story, a new paradigm, a new understanding of the role of Art in the evolution of human consciousness.
What can set us free from the limitations of the old story?
There was nothing really new about my new story: it was all out there (just like this fairy-tale town just outside the blue house…)
… in notebooks and letters of great artists,
… in some well-known and some obscure books on history and philosophy of art.
Scattered all around in disparate bits and pieces.
But here is the thing: the new story cannot be just read in any book or “learned” from any “guru”. It can only be co-created, to be shared and lived. It is in the process of co-creation that the new story emerges.
It is in this ongoing conversation with artists and thinkers of all times — and with one another — that we transform the very environment inhabited by our minds.
And it is this transformation that can set us free from the limiting, age-conditioned ways of thinking about Self, Art and the World.
This is what “Art and Consciousness Circle” is all about…
It is my invitation to co-create a new conversation about Art, and the unfolding co-evolution of Art and Consciousness, in a series of book-club style conversations in a small group of artists and art lovers (the circle is limited to twelve participants).
- Every month, we will deeply explore just one insight or idea (no more than one book chapter, often less). I will share a key excerpt from a book in advance, with some questions for contemplation (so that you can participate in the conversation even if you don’t have time to read the whole chapter).
- Every week, I will share a reproduction of a masterpiece to complement the insight of the month: an artwork which either expresses the same message (in its own language) or “illustrates” how it works.
- We will have a private discussion area on Sutra.co for ongoing co-creative exchange of responses and ideas, in words and in pictures.
- And once a month, we will meet for a live conversation (on Zoom), usually on the third week of the month. (and, of course, all conversations will be recorded).
Who is “Art and Consciousness Circle” for?
- For artists who want to see their life’s work in its true context, as an intrinsic part of the grand story of co-evolution between art and consciousness.
- For art lovers who want to deepen and expand their experience of art, and integrate its insights into their life.
- For introverts and outsiders longing for deep connections and meaningful conversations.
But it is probably not for you
- If your relationship with art is purely intuitive and experiential and you shy away from “intellectual” conversations.
- If you prefer “passive” learning and reading.
- If you are not ready or willing to enter this conversation as a co-creator.
Because this is an invitation to co-create a new conversation
… and its success depends on your commitment, on what you are willing to bring to the conversation. The “Art and Consciousness Circle” is limited to twelve participants, and if you are not sure you are going to actually participate, it is better to leave the spot open for someone else.
Registration options
“Art and Consciousness Circle” is designed as a monthly membership: if its first, “pilot” year is a success, it will be here to stay for years to come (because its themes are infinite!)
But since commitment is so essential at this stage, I would like to invite you to join us for the whole year, for $270 instead of $27 a month (= two free months). Please choose the option most convenient to you:
Frequently Asked Questions
Which books will we be reading?
Here is a preliminary list of books (open to your suggestions):
- Collier, Graham. Art and Creative Consciousness. 1972.
- Gebser, Jean. The Ever-Present Origin. 1984.
- Greenblatt, Stephen. The Swerve. How the World Became Modern. 1994, 2012.
- Greenblatt, Stephen. Renaissance Self-Fashioning. From More to Shakespeare. 1980, 2005.
- Jaynes, Julian. The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. 1976. 1990, 2000
- Kandel, Erik R. The Age of Insight: the Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind, and Brain, from Vienna 1900 to the Present. 2012.
- Kandinsky, Wassily. Concerning the Spiritual in Art.
- Lewis-Williams, David. The Mind in the Cave. Consciousness and the Origins of Art. 2002, 2011.
- Richter, Gottfried. Art and Human Consciousness. 1982.
- Rilke, Rainer Maria. Letters on Cezanne. 2002.
In January, we will start with Kandinsky’s ideas on the relationship between temporary and eternal in art.
What is the time slot for live meetings?
I will choose the time slot once the group is filled, so as to make it as mutually convenient as possible (based on a survey of all time preferences and constraints).
What if I’ll have to miss some meetings?
All meetings will be recorded and posted in our circle on Sutra.co.
What if I don’t have time to read the book?
The suggested reading material will never be the whole book, and usually less than a chapter. But a short excerpt I will share in advance will be enough to participate in the conversation.
Is there a guarantee?
No, the nature of this program doesn’t really lend itself to any refunds.
What is the deadline to join?
The circle will close its doors for 2020 on January 11, 2020, or when it is filled. As I said, there are twelve spots in the group.