The library
Body Signs : Body Decoration and Sensory Symbolism in South America
By : David Howes Sociology and Anthropology Concordia University Montreal . Quebec CANADA H3G 1M8 Westerners are accustomed to seeing photographs of native South Americans with elaborately painted bodies or with lips…
Essay
Wise Mind – A Case for the Integration of Subjective Experience with Objective Reality in the Age of Fragmentation
By: Flore Singer Aaslid (flore.aaslid@svt.ntnu.no) Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Abstract The manner in which reality is perceived and conceptualized has profound implications for many levels of human existence. From…
Essay
Ritual
By : The Bricoleur Ritual can be described in various ways. Here are the most accurate descriptions I can think of: Mircea Eliade, a pioneer in the study of religion and spirituality,…
Essay
Red K Elders Interview
Red K Elders has honoured us with her time and energy to give an interview into the nature of her skillful, potent and aesthetic imagery that invokes powerful principle archetypes, energies and entities of pan-European and Mediterranean mythologies. We hope dear reader you will enjoy this conversation which seeks to explore deep into the practice of this remarkable artist.
Interview
Elisabeth Landgraf Interview – Trancing the Sacred
Elisabeth Landgraf is a remarkable artist whose life journey weaves from the mountainous landscapes of South Korea to the bustling streets of Paris and the picturesque vistas of Scotland. A journey not just across continents, but through the realms of self-discovery
Interview
An Introduction to Ernst Fuchs
Ernst Fuchs was an extraordinarily talented and multifaceted Austrian artist born on February 13, 1930. He was a master of several mediums including painting, drawing, printmaking, and sculpture, and he also ventured into architecture, stage designing, poetry, and singing. Fuchs was a pivotal figure in the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, a movement he co-founded. His legacy places him as one of the pivotal founders of contemporary visionary art and one of the great preservers and reinvigorators of the timeless legacy of sacred art.
Interview
Hesiod, Theogony, Part 1 – Hymn to the Muses
A reading of 'Hymn to the Muses' from Hesiods Theogony. Read by Daniel Mirante and accompanied by high-res closeups of 'Parnassus', by Andrea Mantegna, oil and egg tempera painting.
Essay
Igor Volos Interview
Igor Volos stands as a bridge between the past and the present. His artworks embody a deep reverence for the traditional forms and artistic techniques of various cultures, while infusing them with his own unique vision and contemporary interpretation, inviting viewers to contemplate the intertwining threads of history, culture, and the ever-evolving nature of artistic expression.
Interview
The Subcreation Theory of J.R.R. Tolkien
A discussion delving deep into J.R.R Tolkiens' personal philosophy of the creative process- 'subcreation' and how it was informed by his spirituality.
Essay
Kuba Ambrose – An Interview (2022)
The paintings of Kuba Ambrose explore the timeless and ongoing relationship between humankind and the Creator. We are very grateful to Kuba Ambrose for taking time from his paintings to participate in an interview about his thoughts on art, history and prayer.
Interview
The Art of Summer Gillett
Summer Gillett is an Australian artist practicing in Northern Rivers, New South Wales Australia. Her work is strikingly beautiful and resonates with aesthetic sensibilities that are pre-modern and to a certain extent traditional, but not provincial - imbued with an esoteric dimension that reflects on contemporary spiritual concerns about the role of the priestess figure or oracle in the contemporary world.
Interview
Moses and the Burning Bush by Rick Jacobi
Contemporary painter Rick Jacobi describes the coming about of the biblical symbolism 'Moses and the Burning Bush' painting
Interview
Goddess of the Jewelled Web – The Transmission of the Transpersonal in Visionary Art
Art striving for an existential veracity or 'truth' will be put upon a difficult and confusing road, forking and branching pathways; between on one hand positivist and nominalist systems tending toward rationality (as in 'ratio', to measure), and on the other extreme something akin to pure aesthetics, decor, and the enjoyment of a sensoric object. What we wish to seek here is a deeper meaning for the Arts which put Sacred Art upon a respectable and integral foundation.
Essay
Yearning, Sorrow & Desire – The Capriccio of Monsu Desiderio and Descendents
Ruins hold an enigma for artists concerned with the psycho-archeology of culture. Capricci is a yearning for the archaic, it is also a kind of solace for the broken-hearted who feel they are born to times where the ruins are not physical, but symbolic.
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Psychegnosis
The altruistic and compassionate instinct in humanity seeks for the wellbeing of the entire community if not all sentient beings, and so the reason for application of spiritual effort is not only driven by the individuals longing for Union but also for the spiritual enlightenment of humanity and for the reduction of suffering wherever possible. We can call this collective effort <em>'The Great Work'</em>. As its heart or centre is the individual communion with the Divine, which we have described as <em>autopsychegnosia</em>.
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Flowing Light – The Art of A. Andrew Gonzalez
A. Andrew Gonzalez, of San Antonio, Texas, has been depicting the human form "as temple and vessel sublimed by transformative forces" for over 15 years. Empowered by an artistic mission to "transform the collective imagination",
Interview
Introduction to Transpersonal Perinatal Psychology
The symbolism of regression to the womb can be found in shamanism, myths of great heroes, fairy tales, and initiation rites. Recurring patterns of symbolic regression and rebirth appears to be a fundamental way in which pre- and perinatal experience influences postnatal consciousness.
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The New Eye – Visionary Art and Tradition
The historical lineage of visionary artists masks a deeper and more commanding claim that sets the genre apart from the marvelous idiosyncrasies of outsider art. The claim is that the visionary artist gives personal expression to a transpersonal dimension, a cosmic plane that uncovers the nature that lies beyond naturalism, and that reveals, not an individual imagination, but an imaginal world, a mundus imaginalis.
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Toward a Bio-Ethic in Painting – Part 1
Developing an understanding of eco-friendly materials, and how to make a holistic assessment of their impacts and potentially less impactful materials in our studio practice.
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