Category: art

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“In Pursuit of Silence” – film kickstarter

A Kickstarter campaign to complete Transcendental Media’s film project “In Pursuit of Silence” is nearing deadline, with funds still needed for last production trips and completion of film editing.

The project is described in great detail at the Kickstarter website: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/transcendentalmedia/in-pursuit-of-silence-finish-the-film and on the project’s website: http://www.pursuitofsilence.com

Here is a descriptive excerpt about the film, followed by the trailer:

In Pursuit of Silence is a meditative film about the value of silence, our relationship with sound, and the implications of living in such a noisy world. From the Desert Fathers of the third century AD who became the model for Christian monasticism to John Cage’s seminal work 4’33” which would go onto inspire a generation of artists, humankind has had a long fascination with silence. In our race towards modernity, amidst all the technological innovation and the rapid growth of our cities, silence is now quickly passing into legend. We struggle to hear ourselves think, imagine, and connect with one another. Offering audiences a contemplative cinematic experience, the sights and sounds of this film will work its way through frantic minds, into the quiet spaces of hearts, and help shape a new vision of being.

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Hermit cookies

from a package of Newman’s Own© Organic Hermits (hermit cookies):
“No hermits were harmed, mistreated, pestered or annoyed in the making of these cookies!”
hermit cookies

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Poetry, loneliness, solitude

The Poetry Foundation website includes a page of “Poems about Loneliness and Solitude” with the subheading: “Poetry offers solace for the lonely and a positive perspective on being alone.” Among the categories of selected poems are Celebrating Solitude, Wallowing in Loneliness, and Being Alone in a Crowd. Includes podcasts of readings and reflections on the relationship of poetry, loneliness, and solitude.

URL: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/article/244786

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“The Artful Recluse” art exhibit

ADDENDA (Dec. 6, 2012).
The exhibition “The Artful Recluse” is now at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art through January 20.
URL: http://www.sbma.net/exhibitions/artfulrecluse.web

The Asia Society Museum will present an exhibition titled “The Artful Recluse: Poetry and Politics in 17th century China” in the spring of 2013. From the website, here is a summary of the exhibition organized by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art:

This is the first exhibition to explore the theme of reclusion in Chinese painting and calligraphy within the broader context of political and social changes during the seventeenth century, a time of rich cultural expression and dramatic political change. The rise of major schools of regional painting as well as the trauma of the Ming dynasty’s collapse in 1644 and the Manchu Qing conquest provided an extraordinary context for the creation of historically conscious, often emotionally charged and deeply personal paintings and works of calligraphy. These images, however varied, share an overarching theme of reclusion, a concept of withdrawal and disengagement that has deep and significant roots in China, and which remains relevant in contemporary Chinese art and culture. The exhibition comprises approximately fifty-five works from public and private collections in the United States and Asia.

URL: http://asiasociety.org/new-york/exhibitions/artful-recluse-painting-poetry-and-politics-17th-century-china

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Bevilacqua’s hermit photos in NYT

An exhibition in Corona, Italy, titled “Into the Silence” by the Italian photographer Carlo Bevilacqua is highlighted by the New York Times.

The NYT article is titled “Hermits of the Third Millennium” and includes a slideshow of 20 photos of hermits (some of whom have been included before in Hermitary’s Features section). About the subjects, article writer James Estrin notes:

Mr. Bevilacqua’s subjects live by themselves, separate from others, by choice. Some have had religious visions and pursue study or prayer. Others are spiritually inclined, but not religious in the classical sense. Then, there are those who just don’t like being among other people in modern society. But all live a life of intentional simplicity and isolation.

Re the photographer:

After spending so much time with hermits, Mr. Bevilacqua believes that greater emphasis on accumulating material wealth, along with the growth of the digital and virtual worlds of video games and social media, has brought mankind further from a quiet pursuit of a simple, reflective life.

He says that this series is like a mirror to the viewer.

“I worked all day long for years to pay for my house, and these people live on nothing, nothing,” he said. “Maybe they are right, and I didn’t really choose. Even if you are not a hermit, you can choose your life.”

URL: http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/hermits-of-the-third-millennium/