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California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Soka University Japan - Transcend Art and Peace
Created: February 28, 2004
Latest Update: December 24, 2004
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

Art Transformed by Understanding and Cynicism

Site Copyright: Jeanne Curran and Susan R. Takata and Individual Authors, December 2004.
"Fair use" encouraged.

Herewith I transmit a dialogue without meanings: "1870-1974, 1974" - Photo Giorgio Colombo, Milano. Photo n.1050/013/02. Vincenzo Agnetti. Backup

Monte Schatz: The Evil Djin Dialectic {deus ex machina} . . Backup. From Schatz' essay:

"Joseph Beuys, the late German artist, believed that thought itself was sculpture; that everywhere he "thought" was the Academy. Taking his belief deep within myself, I can conclude that we all harbor a phantom art within ourselves. The word "phantom" implies that we may not be aware of what we elusively know...until we force it to the surface of consciousness, where it becomes art. "Beuys, a brilliant and highly influential artist and a great teacher, had been a Nazi Luftwaffe pilot during the darkest period of the 20th century, perhaps in some ways the most extreme era of evil in history. Throughout the extraordinary body of art that he created after the war, he referred continually to the following event: in winter, his plane had crashed, and he was rescued by being wrapped in fat and gray felt, and carried on a snow sled to a farm house where he was nursed back to health. These elements were used throughout his work. "Recent evidence has suggested that he lied about this rescue, and many of his admirers feel betrayed by his self-invented mythology. I disagree. What's important for me is that art was a way for him to atone and make some form of reparation for his Nazi involvement."

Beuys Model by Hajo Schilperoort, 2001

Joseph Beuys; Myth of Living Death Hajo Schilperoort, 2004.

The Five Wounds of Christ
by New Zealand artist, Colin McCahon.
From the Dunedin Public Art Gallery.

Victory over Death: The Paintings of Colin McCahon The Essence of a Young Culture. Video clips and video available. On high resolution you can see the whole video on Real Player. Takes almost an hour. But gives a really comprehensive understanding on Colin McCahon's religious paintings, primarily Christian.

Colin McCahon Victory over Death, detail