music creates feeling -

and each combination of notes, or chord, has
its own feeling tone

a chord can evoke suspense, sadness, irritation,
mystery, peacefulness . . .

some musicians believe that among the almost
infinite number of possible chords there is one
that is special - the lost chord

when the notes of the lost chord are sounded,
those who really listen, will hear something they’ve
never heard before

and they will feel something that has not been felt
by anyone in a long, long time

this feeling would be life-changing, opening the
listener to a new world of experience

the hope of coming upon the lost chord has
often been felt by those who pick up a guitar,
or sit down at the piano

in the age of the internet, when we sit down
at the computer to surf the net, there is something
that echoes the hope for the lost chord

it is the hope of stumbling upon a unique combination
sights, sounds and information -

a combination that opens us up to a new way of
experiencing the world

it is a hope that keeps us surfing into the wee hours
of the morning

the harvest of a quiet eye
- Austin O’Malley

there is a lot that is beautiful out there, but we
overlook most of it

we tend to focus on something else: an ongoing
stream of consciousness, an internal monologue
about -

events, actions and feelings from the past, or
worries, hopes and plans regarding the future

we need to silence this internal monologue if
we are to reap “the harvest of a quiet eye” -
but how?

philosopher Alan Watts offers a technique in the
soundtrack of the video below

the Big Bang Theory is the most widely accepted
account of the origin of the universe

according to this theory, some 14 billion years ago
all matter in the universe was located in an unimag-
inably small and dense mass

and then suddenly, it exploded in a “Big Bang”,
hurling matter and energy outward; eventually
forming the universe we know today

there are still many unresolved questions about
the Big Bang; among them is,

What caused the explosion?

using string theory, a number of physicists have
suggested an answer to this question;

they have used the notion of membranes moving in
higher-dimensional space to account for the cosmic
explosion

the video below details this account and it pre-
sents some of its chilling implications for the
fate of our universe

the above video is a brief excerpt from NOVA’s
The Elegant Universe, it can be seen in full here

the reality of the psyche is a concept that is a
cornerstone of the work of psychiatrist Carl Jung

Jung defined psyche as, “the totality of all psychic
processes, conscious as well as unconscious.”

he believed that the individual’s inner experience
must not be ignored, written off or explained away;
but rather, it must be respected and explored

Jung wrote: “The ‘reality of the psyche’ is my
working hypothesis and my principle activity
consists in collecting factual material to describe
and explain it”; and

“What most people overlook or seem unable to
understand is the fact that I regard the psyche
as real. They believe only in physical facts…”

the notion is that our inner world doesn’t just
seem real, but for the us, it is real; and those
who want to know us or help us must try to
understand it

Jung’s emphasis on the inner world of the individual
is illustrated the compelling animated video below;

here, he begins the treatment of a very disturbed
young woman by exploring, rather than dismissing,
her delusions and dreams

the above video is an excerpt from a documentary
of Jung’s life and work, The Wisdom of The Dream

can a date be considered a collaborative work of art?
the folks at WOOLOO.org seem to think so; they are
sponsoring a project called AVANT-GARDE DATING

here’s how they describe it,

“Right now, AVANT-GARDE DATING is selecting
individuals to be matched in carefully chosen couples.
The most innovative applicants among these couples
will receive an exhibition in Berlin, Germany during
the Art Forum (Sep-Oct) 2007.

To apply for the AVANT-GARDE DATING experience,
you must request what sort of person you would like
to meet.

In your application, you should explain how this
new relationship will explore the conventions of
monogamous love, challenge the idea of artistic
collaboration and/or explore one of the other
numerous stereotypes of human pairing.

Based on this information, the Dating Board will
match you with another artist somewhere in the
world.

Out of everyone matched, three outstanding
“couples” will each be rewarded a 1-week exhibition
in Berlin to further explore the concept of human
partnering. During their stay in Berlin, the couple will
be living together in the exhibition space.

Additionally, a 20-minute video piece will be made in
collaboration between Wooloo Productions and the
participating artists during the exhibitions. This work
will be shown as part of “In Pursuit: Art on Dating”
at the Ise Cultural Foundation Gallery in New York
from November 16th, 2007 until January 2008.”

Well, dating as collaborative art - why not?

wikipedia defines art as follows,

“Art is a (product of) human activity, made with the
intention of stimulating the human senses as well as
the human mind; thus art is an action, an object,
or a collection of actions and objects created with
the intention of transmitting emotions and/or ideas.”

there is nothing in this definition that is inconsistent
with WOOLOO’s notion of Dating as Art

further, the dating artist, like any artist, must make
judgments, take risks, surprise, and arouse feelings

he or she puts it on the line, takes a leap and ends
up with something that’s really great . . . . or
not so great

let’s be on the lookout for WOOLOO’s 20 minute
video piece to see what the dating artists will have
created