&nbps;

Art

“To affect the quality of the day is the highest of the arts”

Henry David Thoreau

Art and Evolution

Art has always been a part of my life.

I could not imagine life without it, and believe that it is an integral part of how evolution works on this planet (will be giving a talk on Art and Evolution in April)

I like to think of art as an evolutionary agent and as a scrambler for neurology. From the first caveman who saw the print of his hand on the wall and realized in awe his own creation, to the pioneers of ever evolving art forms, ever new ways of immersing the beholder, of inspiring – the core is the novelty of the experience, the delight that transcends our normal experience of reality.

Art can be both reactive and proactive (or not active at all, in which case I am wondering if it should be called art at all or merely crafts). Reactive art holds up a mirror in which we see the ugly, that which is “wrong”, painful. As such art serves as a public conscience. Then there is proactive art which shows us utopias of what could be. They are meant to inspire and only become an issue for the open society if we fail to constantly invent them anew.

Art as Spirituality

Art is also a spiritual experience. It is an experience of ourselves as co-creators of our reality when we make it, or dissolution of self in something grander when we experience it.

Art and Evolution

Below a talk I gave in the context of LA Opera’s performances on Richard Wagner’s Ring cycle. It is based on an essay by Wagner about “Art and Revolution”: