jeff hogue/ bluelab art org

Finish what you've started here
You make your move
just once a year
In the city
in the town
Your happy home
is never found
Second hand
was never planned
The birth was over,
the baby banned
She fled the place
at such a pace
She never even saw your face
So go with me
Inside
Believe
You have so much to give

Switch the light off,
have a go
Force the only one you know
To leave this place
without a trace
A pity
I had seen your face
Where do you think
I will find
This party girl
who was so kind?
Raven hair
and skin so fair
Sadness
never visits there
So go with me
Inside
Believe
You have so much to give

the Delgados
Make Your Move

We didn't sleep too late.
There was a fire in the yard.
All of the tress were in light.
They had no faces to show.
I saw a sign in the sky:
Seven swans,
seven swans,
seven swans.
I heard a voice in my mind:
I will try, I will try, I will try. I will try, I will try, I will try.
We saw the dragon move down.
My father burned into coal.
My mother saw it from far.
She took her purse to the bed.
I saw a sign in the sky:
Seven horns, seven horns, seven horns.
I heard a voice in my mind:
I am Lord, I am Lord, I am Lord.
He said: I am Lord, I am Lord, I am Lord.
He said: I am Lord, I am Lord, I am Lord.
He will take you.
If you run,
He will chase you.
He will take you.
If you run,
He will chase you
'cause He is the Lord.
'Cause He is the Lord...
Seven swans, seven swans, seven swans, seven swans, seven swans...

Sufjan Stevens Seven Swans

“The question is no longer how did we get here, and why? But, where can we possibly go, and how? We live in a society that has drastically narrowed our sensitivity to moral and spiritual issues; the problem we face is how to deal with a belief structure that has blocked both psychological and spiritual development. If there is a new agenda, a new vision now emerging within our society, how might one help put it into practice?”
Suzi Gablik

...bluelab is being developed upon the issue first posed by Einstein, "a problem cannot be solved at the same level of consciousness in which it was created.” It has become evident to many that in order to meet the problems we face as a species we must embrace a radical revision of our beliefs and our behaviors.

bluelab functions upon the strong presumption that artists likely figure significantly into the revisioning of a new world—and the invention of ways to communicate our discoveries. As we all learn more and more about our essential interconnectedness it also becomes increasingly evident that artists can’t function in a social vacuum. The label of “artist” is a problematic one and only used as a signifier of persons with specific media skills and training who are fluent in creative processes and who have some professional link to art. We are working to deconstruct as much as possible the binary--"us vs. them" mentality that still pervades the high art world. It seems to us that consistent with new paradigmatic shifts taking placethroughout all fields--there is a need to reconsider our accepted definitions of "artist" and "audience" all together. bluelab is constructed to offer pathways into higher levels of inclusivity. It is only through true inclusion that we can hope to make work that is deeply inviting and that offers an atmosphere of true love and trust and safety to all.

In terms of the way bluelab will in fact function, we are working to develop a sound and effective approach to community building which relies heavily upon time tested processes that are well understood and are seeking the help of people who are expert in these processes. On practical levels, the sharing and cross fertilization of specific areas of expertise allows for rich and complex works which through communal process are fused unselfconsiously and intuitively making of an organic whole.

Why all the talk of “community”?It is our firm belief that by building works in a heightened communal space we will in fact be building works potent with transformational energies. Jung talked about the distinctions between “liminal”or
transformative space and “liminoid”, or works that are simply entertaining. With a hard look at where we are at as a species and planet—it seems like simple math that we must link art making to the real task at hand—that of saving the earth.

Jesus pushes it back to the edge. Can you even see the image of Christ in the least of the brothers and sisters? He uses that as his only description of the final judgement. Nothing about commandments, nothing about church attendance, nothing about papal infallibility: simply a matter of our ability to see. Can we see Christ in the people, the nobodies who can't play our game of success? They smell. They're a nuisance. They're on welfare. They are a drain on our tax money. If we can, then we are really seeing.

He pushes it even further than that. He says we have to love and recognize the divine image even in our enemies. He teaches what they thought a religious leader could never demand of his followers: love of the enemy. Logically that makes no sense. Soulfully it makes absolute sense, because in terms of the soul, it really is all or nothing. Either we see the divine image in all created things or we don't see it at all. Once we see it, we're trapped. We see it once and the circle keeps moving out. If we still try to exclude some: sick people, blacks, people on welfare, gays (or whomever we've decided to hate), we're not there. We don't understand. If the world is a temple, then our enemies are sacred, too. The ability to respect the outsider is probably the litmus test of true seeing. ...

Everything becomes enchanting...

Richard Rohr Everything Belongs

“[Suzi] Gablik speaks of the previous paradigm of the Enlightenment period and what it has meant to artists: ‘Individualism, freedom and self-expression are the great modernist buzz words.’ The notion that art could serve collective cultural needs rather than a personal quest for self-expression seems almost ‘presumptuous’ in that worldview. Yet this assumption lies at the base of a paradigm shift in art, a shift ‘from objects to relationships.’ Gablik challenges her coworkers not to settle for abstract theorizing in making this paradigm shift. She personalizes and therefore grounds the transformations that must be undergone when she insists that ‘the way to prepare the ground for a new paradigm shift is to make changes in one’s own life.’ Spirituality is about praxis, she is saying, not just theory.”
Matthew Fox, The Reinvention of Work

Is it possible to create new spiritual structures for collaborative art making and to implement such toward community building with a depth of conviction, courage and inspiration that might move participants beyond self-interest toward truly new possibilities? Is it possible that with rigorous and focused processes artists could joyously make work engaging meaningfully with the specter of our global challenges while together exploring the uncharted territory of their souls? Can community building processes readily pour into art making wherein something meaningful and healing might evolve? Is it possible that these discoveries might be transmitted to the public at large through various new media shedding fresh light upon human potentials? Is it possible that all of this could dovetail with the efforts of important organizations such as The Global Justice Movement, Environmental Defense and Amnesty International toward a healthier and happier planet?

We say hopefully, yes.

What if artists were offered stipends, room and board allowing them to come together and to work intensively and without distraction for substantial blocks of time on film, music and real time performance collaborations? What if artists and thinkers could explore important issues in depth leading to transformational theater, installation, film and music? What if these artists were guided by experts through a structured community building process prior to beginning to create their projects? What if artists were given opportunity to work with and interact with some of the leaders of our time in the fields of art, science, and philosophy? What if these artists were given all the production equipment and technical assistance they might need to produce global quality shows? What if supporters and friends of our organization were given intimate amphitheater access to segments of our artists’ processes as well as early rehearsals, scheduled meals, activities and fellowship? What if the productions could be built and performed with some eventually touring the US and the world?

bluelab has been founded and created out of a perceived need to reconsider art making and professional collaborative art practice proceeding boldly from visionary prerogatives. We don’t find fault with the many artists who will not be drawn to what we are doing—for spiritual practice and its interface with collaborative art making are not for everyone.

In light of our present global endgame scenario it seems frivolous at best to argue over rhetorical issues. bluelab is intended for the “Great Work”--that of joining leaders of many fields worldwide who are engaged in the work of saving the earth. We believe that perhaps the only way to meet our present challenges is to deeply transform ourselves which implies the support of a real community and structured spiritual practice to be determined by each member for her or himself.

When serious professional artists are willing to embrace the rigors of authentic spiritual practice, the work of community building and heightened artistic collaboration will undoubtedly fall quickly into place.

The abundance of quotes from Sufi teachers have been included simply because they are part of my daily practice and do not infer a direct link between bluelab and Sufism. In point of fact, any serious spiritual practitioner must see that there can be no schism between the teachings of true Sufism and any sincere humanitarian interest. In the interest of those who may fear some sort of covert Islamic link, Sufism as it’s practiced and defined by and large in the West is Universalist in its orientation and in fact many Sufi’s roots are Christian and Jewish.

"Emptiness feels empty not because there is nothing present, but because whatever it is we're doing has no egotistic interference. The subtle arteries have no ego plaque in them, nothing to resist the smooth flow of the soul. Without our getting in the way, the life of the soul is rich and full, though unpredictable. But it isn't easy to trust strong desire and the life that keeps pouring into us. We always think we know better what should be and how it should all turn out. That is why the death principle --avoiding, worrying, being moralistic--is so popular." Thomas Moore The Soul's Religion

All through Erikson’s work is the implication that the creative adult (the generative adult) is precisely the person who can infuse his life with play;…the great cultural synthesizers—the religious, political and cultural geniuses such as Luther, Freud and Gandhi—were supreme in their playfulness, especially in their work. Their great words of synthesis were personal attempts to restore the active mastery of their egos in the context of the tensions and dichotomies of their personal and public historical situations. All great historical syntheses are as much play as they are work. They are work because they are indeed attentive to the real contradictions and tensions that most people of a given historical period both sense and suffer. They are a result of play because the creative genius does not simply conform to, adjust to, and accommodate to these tensions. Instead, he bends and reshapes these tensions until they submit to a new synthesis which not only enlivens and activates him but which also enlivens and activates a whole people and an entire era.

“Some renaissance theologians worked hard at reconciling paganism with Judaism and Christianity. We have yet to achieve this détente that is essential to the life of the soul. Fragments of our hearts and minds are located in the garden of Gethsemane and in the garden of Epicurus, on the zodiac of the Apostles and on the zodiac of the animals, in the wine of Dionysus and in the wine of the Eucharist, in the psalms of David and in the hymns of Homer.

It is not a matter of belonging to a religion or professing one’s faith, it is a matter of orientation in life and participation in its mysteries.

We can all be pagan in our affirmation of all of life, Christian in our affirmation of communal love, Jewish in our affirmation of the sacredness of family, [Islamic in our affirmation of self-sacrifice,] [Hindu in our affirmation of the multiplicity of God's expression], Buddhist in our affirmation of emptiness, and Taoist in our affirmation of paradox.

The new monk wears invisible robes. Thomas Merton travels across the globe, and in the home of Eastern monks, dies. Isn’t this a myth for our time and about the resurrection of the monastic spirit!”

“Vulnerability, then, is not only the ability to risk being wounded but is most often made manifest by revealing our woundedness: our brokenness, our crippledness, our weaknesses, our failures and inadequacies. I do not think that Jesus walked vulnerably among the outcasts and crippled of the world purely as a sacrificial act. To the contrary, I suspect he did so because he preferred their company. It is only among the overtly imperfect that we can find community and only among the overtly imperfect nations of the world that we can find peace. Our imperfections are among the few things we human beings have in common….Indeed, only honest people can play a healing role in the world.”
M.Scott Peck, M.D., A Different Drum

"In the very first chapter Thomas (Berry) lays before us 'The Great Work.' In each historical epoch, he says, people are given a “Great Work” to do—in one age, the settling of new lands, in another the building of great cathedrals, the creation of artistic, philosophical, religious or scientific works, or the shaping of political structures and ideas. The Great Works of prior periods are seen in such things as the movement of the first people out of Africa in the Paleolithic Period; the creation of language, rituals and social structures in hunter-gatherer communities; the establishment of agriculture communities in the Neolithic Period; the development of the great classical civilizations; and, in the modern period, advances in technology, urban civilization, new
ideals of government and human rights, the modern business enterprise and globalism.

Our Great Work is not something we choose, Thomas says. It is something we find ourselves thrown into by virtue only of being born in a certain time and place. The task may seem
overwhelming, one coming in response to some huge historical difficulty, but, he observes, just as we are given our historical task by some power beyond ourselves, we must also believe we are given the abilities to fulfill this task.
The Great Work into which we and our children are born, Thomas says, comes in response to
the devastation of the planet caused by human activity. We are facing a breakdown in the life
systems that can only be understood by comparison with events that marked the great transitions in the geo-biological eras of Earth’s history, such as the extinction of the dinosaurs and countless other species when the Mesozoic Era ended and our present Cenozoic Era began. Our task is to move from our modern industrial civilization with its devastating impact to that of benign presence. It is an arduous and overwhelming task, one exceeding in its complexity that ever offered to humans, for it is not simply one of adjustment to disturbance of human life patterns, as, for example, that occasioned by the Great Depression or the recent World Wars, but one of dealing with the disruption and termination of the geo-biological system that has governed the functioning of the planet in the 67 million year reign of the Cenozoic Era in the history of the planet Earth."

Ten Sufi Thoughts

from The Way of Illumination by Hazrat Inayat Khan

There are ten principal Sufi thoughts which comprise all the important subjects with which the inner life of man is concerned:
1) There is one God, the Eternal, the Only Being; none else exists save God.
2) There is one Master, the Guiding Spirit of all souls, who constantly leads all followers towards the light.
3) There is one Holy Book, the sacred manuscript of nature, which truly enlightens all readers.
4) There is one Religion, the unswerving progress in the right direction towards the ideal, which fulfils the life's purpose of every soul.
5) There is one Law, the law of Reciprocity, which can be observed by a selfless conscience together with a sense of awakened justice.
6) There is one human Brotherhood, the Brotherhood and Sisterhood which unites the children of earth indiscriminately in the Fatherhood (/Motherhood) of God.
7) There is one Moral Principle, the love which springs forth from self-denial, and blooms in deeds of beneficence.
8) There is one Object of Praise, the beauty which uplifts the heart of its worshipper through all aspects from the seen to the unseen.
9) There is one Truth, the true knowledge of our being within and without which is the essence of all wisdom.
10) There is one Path, the annihilation of the false ego in the real, which raises the mortal to immortality and in which resides all perfection.

The following are shared objectives for bluelab and were first articulated as such by Hazrat Inayat Khan who is credited as the first to bring Sufism to the West--in the early 20th century.

The objectives of the Sufi path:

1) To realize and spread the knowledge of unity, the religion of love and wisdom, so that the bias of faiths and beliefs may of itself fall away, the human heart may overflow with love, and all hatred caused by distinctions and differences may be rooted out.

2) To discover the light and power latent in man, the secret of all religion, the power of mysticism, and the essence of philosophy, without interfering with customs or belief.

3) To help to bring the world's two opposite poles, East and West, closer together by the interchange of thought and ideals that the Universal Brotherhood may form of itself and man may see with man beyond the narrow national and racial boundaries.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Dear David,

I was moved by your comments to write you and ask for your help. I have been deeply interested in community and community building for 26 and 1/2 years now. I am working to build an org called "bluelab" http://www.communalart.blogspot.com/ which has been conceived as a paradigmatic shift for professional artists to reconsider the course of their careers--at least in intervals--and to work together in carefully and organically structured communities toward making new media work for the public that might have the potential to truly change hearts.

Jung talked a good deal about the distinction that must be made between "liminal" and "liminoid" works--being transformative vs.simply entertaining. It would seem that we're drowning in entertainment which is generally crafted by highly skilled artists and creatives in the service of the big corporate interests. This present economic regime is destroying the planet, exploiting citizens the world over, and creating an ever greater imbalance in the world economy.
bluelab seeks to employ spirituality, community, and real art to counter these trends. David Goff has graciously agreed to work as an adviser--and he truly is a world class community building pundit-- better put, a sage. I have been blessed to talk with him on extended phone calls more than once and even with his health challenges-- is incredibly helpful.

I am approaching you because I sense a similar visionary drive, resourcefulness and willingness. Please glance at my blog and while you're there--glance at the board of advisers--I am proud to say that they are quite accomplished figures.

Keep the faith, Jeff

Dear Jeff,
Meant to reply before, but for some reason got carried away -- been kind of busy these last few weeks. For whatever reason my memory just kicked in and I looked back through my flagged emails and found yours OK...
I am at your service but not sure how I can help. Have read your earlier posts on the CB list with interest and looked at your BlueLab blog with equal interest. But I'm not myself an artist.
I'd agree that much of what we have in our culture misses the point, is steeped in materialism, lacks spiritual and deeper values. My own path to understand the structure of nature in consciousness and our own evolutionary potential has been through TM, which i learned in 1973. For me the ability to return to a simplest state of awareness has been a great gift, this has blossomed into a wider study of vedic science...
Your posted quote from Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan "The plain truth is too simple for the seeker after complexity, who is looking for things he cannot understand." resonates deeply, and is nicely counterpointed by Einstein's "Everything should be as simple as possible, but no simpler." And "I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Me, I'm glad I can find inner silence when needed, and thereby restructure my own experience and knowledge. But I'm not an artist, and wonder what you feel I can add. My own chosen path is through business, and this is also the advice I was given by a master in the vedic tradition. So I apply myself to transformation in, and through, this field.
I've enjoyed studying other traditions and dialogue with those who practice their disciplines -- at one point I devoured as many Sufi works (especially Idries Shah) as i could find and am still enchanted and inspired by the works of Rumi. I believe that a planetary transition in consciousness is in process, and that we can all consciously participate. What I 'do' is what you see me doing on the CB list, and in other places. If everyone in their own field is actively involved in transforming it, as well as raising their own consciousness, I'm sure we'll get there...
I'm not sure this helps, but am open to taking it further, current turbulence on CB list notwithstanding... ;-)
David

Dear David,

Thanks for your email. Perhaps I have not conveyed my vision for bluelab very effectively. In my mind bluelab will be a place where people of many professional backgrounds can interface their expertise with others. The primary outcome will be "art" but as with any artistic production in today's world--we need people representative of many professions in order to make work as a sustainable enterprise. We hope that many different professionals can pour their gifts and skills into a communal effort that will be truly greater than the sum of its parts.

I have been asking the Universe for the help of someone like you. I need someone with real business skills and talent who can help put all the pieces of this puzzle together in a way that will clarify our model and attract assistance from donors and investors. My assumption is that with enough money we can rapidly gear up and be fully self sustaining in a few years.

Please give me a chance to interact with you further before you make any kind of decision about involvement. From reading your emails you'd be perfect for bluelab as a board member--if you want to be. This would entail some sacrifices--but my hope is that everyone will be so enriched that they'll be deeply happy in terms of their involvement. If bluelab becomes what I pray it will, the atmosphere will be joyous and electric and involvement in projects though at times strenuous will be exhilarating and nourishing....

warmly, Jeff

Dear Jeff,
Thanks. I don't yet have a picture of what Bluelab might be, but I like your energy and vision, and commitment to bringing spiritual vision to revitalise art and culture. Renaissances don't just happen, but this time a lot of people are committed to a true transformation in science, art culture, technology, civilisation, spirit.
I tend to feel a little concerned when anyone suggests I might be what the universe has sent along to help out. Right now the jury is out on my business skills and talent, as you'll have seen from my interaction with Lawrence. But at the same time the vision of a new energy system, to go with a shift in consciousness, is putting me in touch with a lot of great people -- in answer to MY asking the universe for help. So maybe it can happen.
I certainly already have a picture of a learning community that embraces arts, sciences, culture, sustainability, spirit and so on, which I outlined nearly 4 years ago now (shoot!) at www.ceu.ork.uk/proposal/CEU-proposal.doc -- you'll see a summary page early on with five sets of bullet points on society, economics, environment, culture education, with 5 sub-points on culture. Possibly needing an update, but the bottom line is it's something of an integrated vision.
I'd hesitate to help plan a purely artistic venture -- it's not my field, and I'm nothing like an expert or even an informed amateur. But I'd be interested to see art and culture integrated in the kind of learning community that a radical new university would imply. Perhaps a Bluelab faculty or institute? Realistically, I believe the easiest way to raise funds for the arts is to make a lot of money in business, so there is no pinch -- and that 'space energy' can do just that and help establish and endow a new kind of university.
I believe that these new energy systems will be ubiquitous in a very short space of time -- the advantages will be so obvious, and manufacturing companies will flock to be part of it. A three year timeframe was first suggested to me by an Indian Vedic astrologer, and I see no reason why this shouldn't be the case. It'll be a while before many other people think this way...
It would be premature to shift my focus from the present start-up efforts I'm involved in, but I'm happy to stay in touch and see how both our plans and programmes evolve, and to what extent they might start to resonate and become supportive...
Best regards, David

David,

Thanks for your response. I have no expectations. Essentially bluelab is a structure by which to create a physical atmosphere and process so that talented artists and visionaries in the fields of science, technology, and philosophy can meet, play, share in communal processes under expert guides and spiritual teachers, and ultimately through the establishing of a mystical body--a true community move into production on performances, films, and installations. We need pros from all fields for all the support and technical assistance we can muster.

The central operating assertion is that true community as defined by pioneers such as Scott Peck will make it possible to imbue works with authentic liminal energies making public works in new media that are capable of evoking and transmitting radically transformative energies and ideas---toward inspired public engagement, civility, transcultural spiritual maturity, and meaningful social impact toward political peace and Eco responsibility.

Joseph Campbell wisely defined the "aesthetic" as "that which inspires reverence" and the "sublime" as "that which inspires awe." bluelab will seek to provide for both experiences. Our perception is that one symptom of the distractability of our information laden 1st world culture is that we tend to be desensitized to both the aesthetic and sublime. My personal experience has supported and validated what Jung taught--that the key to healing is the significant "noumenal" moment. By focused and concentrated environment and process we hope to activate these deeper energies within ourselves individually, collectively and through our work to transmit these to those around us.
bluelab is about inducing these moments in the structure of community which fill function to contain these energies and to properly funnel or distribute them...

tall order--but what else is new?

We can do all things through Love which strengthens us... (in breath smiling, out breath grateful) Tich Nat Hahn

I am deeply grateful to meet you and to have a chance to have meaningful interaction. Let's keep talking.

Peace to you, Jeff