Week 33 8/18/19

Imagination alone does not overcome obstacles, setbacks, disasters, and the like.

The mythology of the epic tale demands the cultural hero contend with forces beyond all expectation or control in search of a great need or desire.  This expression reflects the reality of life.  It is no false "construct" created to obfuscate or manipulate.

Art is problem-solving, an aspect of bringing vision into being.

Week 32 8/11/19

Perceive without bias. 

Experience the world directly, unfettered by "narratives".

Week 31 8/4/19

Culture fails without freedom of perspective.

Obstacles to freedom must be transcended if they are to be overcome.

Week 30 7/28/19

The first step is to set aside subjectivity.

Observation, perception, comprehension, without falsification. These are central to creative perspectives.

Week 29 7/21/19

Stop.

Something is happening right in front of you, but you must chose to become aware of what it is.

What is the first step?

Week 28 7/14/19

Keep to the One.

This expression is associated with the Celestial Way.  It implies honesty, nobility, and a connectedness with the phenomena of existence.  

One has an understanding of these things, or one does not, and one lives accordingly.  

What has this to do with art and music?

Week 27 7/7/19

Creativity is an arc of idea and action.

Beyond control of the medium, the artist must exert influence upon the dynamic and momentum of aesthetic progress.  This is the craft of gesture, a guide and illumination to the creative impulse.

Week 26 6/30/19

Expand awareness.

Expand thinking.

These simple statements are understood by very few.

Week 25 6/23/19

The critical ear discerns and discriminates.

Neither praise nor opprobrium bears weight with the creative act itself, especially in terms of active listening.  Wait- now do you hear that?

Week 24 6/16/19

Perception, and art, can be more than the semblance of reality.

Objectivity is necessary, beginning with efforts toward development of discernment.  One must see, not merely look; one must listen, not simply rely on ordinary hearing.

Week 23 2/9/19

No need for explanation or justification.

One accepts, or one does not.  There is a difference between art and propaganda, and it is profound.

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Week 22 6/2/19

Assume any point of view.

What is essential is to separate the false from the true, and appearance from reality.

Week 21 5/26/19

Creative works reflect degrees of contemplation.

Some are thorough in critical and aesthetic perspective, some shallow.  The former expression reveals, intentionally or not, a sense of tradition, while the latter attempts to conceal ignorance.

Week 20 5/19/19

Art expands thinking.

Abstract views of possibilities imply a critical understanding of things that can happen and, of equal importance, things that will not happen.

Week 19 5/12/19

Observe the ways visual perspectives are recorded and represented.

How are these representations understood in the context of time and space?

Consider a myriad of sounds juxtaposed in the same manner.

Week 18 5/5/19

Observe a singular force from separate points of view.

Consider ways by which recorded sound may express such perspectives. What is Impressionism?  What is Cubism?

Internalized information and understanding is knowledge.   Hollow words are meaningless.

Week 17 4/28/19

Concepts of forward movement and expansion imply different perspectives.

Perceptions of sound and time are not the same for everyone. Some are self-evidently accurate, while others are distorted. What is coincidence?

Week 16 4/14/19

Expand awareness, grasp meaning.

Refine impression, realize being, free understanding and experience.

Week 15 4/7/19

Mythology and folklore speak of music as a magical force.

When music is central to tales of the strange and paranormal, attempts to evoke its nature falter. It is invariably described as ethereal, beautiful, mystical... and altogether unlike anything that would fit a modern definition of "music". It defies remembering, and thus cannot be replicated, leaving only a deep, lasting impression of high strangeness.

Recognizing this distinction, Black Mountain School strives to create sonic atmospheres that evoke the uncanny and otherworldly perspectives of art and imagination.

Week 14 4/7/19

Think beyond beginning and end.

Look past the commonplace narrative and the linear chain of events.  What are signs and signals? What are symbols?

Allow a perspective of experience that is objective as well as personal and subjective.