The Coming Singularity! media kit

EXHIBITION MEDIA KIT
HUMAN, SOUL
AND
MACHINE:
THE COMING SINGULARITY!
OCTOBER 5, 2013—AUGUST 31, 2014
AMERICAN VISIONARY ART MUSEUM
Human, Soul
and
Machine:
THE COMING SINGULARITY!
“ALL OF A SUDDEN, WE’VE LOST A LOT OF CONTROL . . . WE CAN’T TURN OFF OUR INTERNET; WE
CAN’T TURN OFF OUR SMARTPHONES; WE CAN’T TURN OFF OUR COMPUTERS. YOU USED TO ASK A
SMART PERSON A QUESTION. NOW WHO DO YOU ASK? IT STARTS WITH G-O, AND IT’S NOT GOD . . . ”
—STEVE WOZNIAK, APPLE CO-FOUNDER
Welcome Earthlings, Techies & Luddites!
O
ur American Visionary Art Museum’s 19th original
thematic exhibition is a playful and timely examination
of the serious impact of technology on all our lives, as
seen through the eyes of 40-plus visionary artists, cutting edge
futurists, inventors, and human rights champions. In this show,
we pose a question to Nobel Prize winners and schoolchildren
alike: “Two billion personal computers later, post DNAsequencing, are we on the road to being better, healthier, happier,
less warlike human beings?”
Guided by Albert Einstein’s wise admonition, “If you can’t explain it to a six-year
old, you don’t understand it yourself,” AVAM’s newest exhibition invites all to explore our
most complex subject yet: the rapid and ever-increasing impact of artificial intelligence,
big data, robotics, nanotechnology, genetics and 3-D printing on nearly every aspect of our
lives. We investigate technology’s impact on personal privacy and surveillance, employment
and manufacturing, longevity and health, defense and warfare, farming and food, creative
invention and entertainment. We present some very real, well-funded attempts afoot to
transfer what makes you YOU into an IT that doesn’t grow sick or old. This is high stakes,
new territory never before negotiated by any prior civilization. We want everybody to be
awake and present at the table as these great new powers—with their inherent potential
for both blessing and peril—unfold and alter life on earth.
Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired magazine, defined the Singularity as the point at
which “all the change in the last million years will be superseded by the change in the next
five minutes.”
—MORE—
Curated by myself, a self-confessed luddite, this high-voltage exhibit stars the electric
visual delights of some of this world’s most visionary artists and astute filmmakers. Among
the featured work: Kenny Irwin’s ROBOTMAS, glowing inside a central box theater at the
heart of this exhibition; a selection of Alex Grey’s Sacred Mirrors, which examine the nexus
of soul and body; Adam Kurtzman’s Bride of Frankenstein, representing humankind’s
historic fascination with control over life and death; O.L. Samuels’ 7-foot-tall Godzilla—a
creation first imagined in response to the devastating use of the A-Bomb on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki; Rigo 23’s delicate drawings exploring the ethics of drone usage; Allen Christian’s
life-sized Piano Family, a love song to string theory; and Fred Carter’s massive wooden
carvings, warning of destruction from shortsighted industrial manipulation of nature. This
show is informative, sometimes scary, asks big questions, and is made with love.
May we kindly harness all these immense new powers to greater good,
Rebecca Alban Hoffberger
AVAM Founder & Director
Celebrating in Thankfulness
Our American Visionary Art Museum’s 18 years of Life
“MAN IS RATED THE HIGHEST ANIMAL, AT LEAST AMONG ALL ANIMALS THAT RETURNED THE QUESTIONNAIRE.” —ROBERT BRAUL
ALEX GREY
Gaia
1989
Oil on linen
Collection of Bex Wilkinson
Photo courtesy the artist
800 KEY HWY
•
BALTIMORE, MD
•
21230
•
USA
•
410.244.1900
•
AVAM.ORG
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 2, 2013
Updated: August 1, 2013
MEDIA CONTACT:
Nick Prevas
nick@avam.org
410.244.1900 ext. 241
HUMAN, SOUL & MACHINE: THE COMING SINGULARITY!
October 5, 2013 – August 31, 2014
“FROM THE DAWN OF CIVILIZATION UNTIL 2003, HUMANKIND GENERATED FIVE EXABYTES OF DATA. NOW WE PRODUCE FIVE EXABYTES
EVERY TWO DAYS… AND THE PACE IS ACCELERATING.”
— ERIC SCHMIDT, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, GOOGLE
BALTIMORE, MD—The American Visionary Art Museum’s 19th original thematic
exhibition, Human, Soul & Machine: The Coming Singularity!, is a timely and playful
examination of the serious impact of technology on our lives, as seen through the eyes
of 40+ visionary artists, cutting edge futurists, and inventors. Pleasing to an audience
of Nobel Prize winners and schoolchildren alike, this show asks, “Two billion personal
computers later, post DNA-sequencing, are we on the road to becoming a better, healthier,
happier, less warlike, human race?”
AVAM’s newest exhibition takes on its most complex subject yet: examining the rapid and
ever-increasing impact of artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology, genetics, 3D
printing and Big Data on nearly every aspect of human life. This thought-provoking exhibit
investigates technology’s influence on issues of privacy and surveillance, employment
and manufacturing, longevity and health, defense and warfare, farming and food, access
to global and personal information, creative invention, and entertainment. This is high
stakes, new territory never before negotiated by any prior civilization. Kevin Kelly,
co-founder of Wired Magazine, well-defined the unprecedented nature of our times:
“Singularity is the point at which all the change in the last million years will be superseded
by the change in the next five minutes.”
—MORE—
Curated by AVAM’s Founder and Director, Rebecca Alban Hoffberger, this stirring
show harnesses the enchanting visual delights of remarkable visionary artists and their
masterworks. Among them: Kenny Irwin’s Robolights—glowing inside of a central black
box theater at the heart of this exhibition; a selection of Alex Grey’s Sacred Mirrors;
Adam Kurtzman’s full-sized Bride of Frankenstein; O.L. Samuels’ 7-ft tall Godzilla—a
creation first imagined in response to the devastating use of the A-bomb on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki; Rigo 23’s delicate anti-drone drawings; Allen Christian’s life-sized Piano
Family—a love song to string theory; Fred Carter’s massive wooden carvings—created as
a warning of destruction from industry’s manipulation of nature; and much more!
AVAM welcomes visitors of all ages into a communal look forward to where much of the SciFi imaginings of the past are now swiftly becoming commonplace reality. Human, Soul &
Machine: The Coming Singularity! is a hot-wired blend of art, science, humor, caution
and hope.
“YOU NEVER CHANGE THINGS BY FIGHTING THE EXISTING REALITY. TO CHANGE SOMETHING, BUILD A NEW MODEL THAT MAKES THE EXISTING
MODEL OBSOLETE.”
—R. BUCKMINSTER FULLER
###
EXHIBITION DATES:
• Media Preview: Wednesday, October 2, 2013 • 10am.
• Human, Soul & Machine: The Preview Party!: Friday, October 4, 2013,
7pm–10pm (AVAM Members Free, $20 General Public).
• Exhibition opens to the public Saturday, October 5, 2013 and runs through
Sunday, August 31, 2014.
HUMAN, SOUL & MACHINE: THE PREVIEW PARTY!
Friday October 4, 2013 • 7pm–10pm • AVAM Members Free, $20 General Public
AVAM welcomes our newest exhibition with our ever-popular, always switched-on Preview
Party! Our 19th original exhibition examines the impact of technology—for both good and
evil—on our modern day lives, as seen through the eyes of 40+ visionary artists, cutting
edge futurists, and inventors. Meet exhibition artists in the bio-flesh and network with
other visionary friends and fans as you get a first hack into this hot-wired blend of art,
science, humor, and imagination. Enjoy lite fare & cocktails, inspired music & dancing, outof-this-world costumes, and one-of-a-kind entertainment, as only AVAM can bring you... a
truly SINGULAR experience! DRESS: ROBO-CHIC! Come in your most technologically
advanced garb to celebrate the futuristic theme of this exhibition. Tickets available at
Missiontix.com.
Human, Soul
Machine:
and
THE COMING SINGULARITY!
ARTISTS
Chris Roberts-Antieau
Lindsey Bessanson
Fred Carter
Allen Christian
Candy Cummings
Rafel Duran
Roy Fender
Dalton M. Ghetti
Temple Grandin
Alex Grey
Neil Harbisson
Ray Kurzweil
Patty Kuzbida
Stephanie Lucas
Christopher Moses
Dean Millien
P.Nosa
PostSecret artists
Barry Ptolemy
Rigo 23
O.L. Samuels
Sean Samoheyl
Julian Harr
Rev. Albert Wagner
Steve Heller
Frank Warren
Kenny Irwin, Jr.
David Knopp
Adam Kurtzman
Jodi Wille
Sally Willowbee
Jack Wright
DALTON GHETTI
Glass Head Man
1987
Graphite and broken light bulb
Collection of the artist
Photo by Sloan Howard
ALLEN CHRISTIAN, Detail: Piano Family: Amorosa, 2012, Spare piano parts, AVAM Permanent Collection
» High-res press images available at: http://avam.org/news-and-events/media-info.shtml «
» Email nick@avam.org for password «
Human, Soul
and
Machine:
THE COMING SINGULARITY!
GALLERIES
& AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST
FIRST FLOOR:
• Entrance Ramp: Chris Roberts-Antieau’s “The Story of Invention” illustrations;
Video of President Eisenhower’s farewell speech; Exhibition Welcome; & more.
• Niche: “You’re Giving Me Good Vibrations!” – Cyborg artist Neil Harbisson’s paintings
& Cyborg Foundation video by Rafel Duran.
• Hallway: Frank Warren’s selection of the best tech PostSecrets.
• Stairwells: Steve Heller’s Robots; "How We Spend Our Money" – essay with rainbow
graph illustrating U.S. Federal Discretionary Spending by category.
2ND FLOOR:
• Niche: O.L. Samuels’ Godzilla.
• Entrance Gallery: Dean Millien’s giant aluminum foil Gorilla; P. Nosa’s embroideries.
"It’s Alive!" – Adam Kurtzman’s Elsa Lanchester as Bride of Frankenstein; and Lindsey
Bessanson’s Cyborg Insects. "Body as Machine/Soul as Consciousness" – Alex Grey’s
Sacred Mirrors and Gaia; Allen Christian’s Piano Family and Ajax sculptures; Kenny
Irwin, Jr.’s large ink drawings; & more!
• Theater: Videos – Ray Kurzweil’s The Singularity is Near and Barry Ptolemy’s
Transcendent Man.
• Bridge Wall & Hallway: Reverend Albert Wagner’s Noah and the Rainbow painting.
• Elevator: Steve Heller’s Spaceships & Motherboard Bench; mirror by Candy Cummings.
—MORE—
Kenny Irwin Jr. inside his ROBOTMAS installation, Photo by Shawn Levin.
2ND FLOOR CONTINUED:
• "Have Yourself A Happy Little Robotmas!" – Kenny Irwin Jr.’s incredible glowing
installation, featuring: Sanmagnetron, Santa’s Mega Casino Stealth Bull, Santa’s Space
Tank, Toilet Bowl Robodeer, Nutcrackonators, Cyclopto Snowman & much more!
• Half Moon Gallery: Fred Carter’s massive wood carvings and paintings; biographical
video of Fred Carter by Jack Wright; Chair by David Knopp; Julian Harr’s Orville
Wright’s American Flyer.
• Rear Hallway (Key Hwy Side): works by Christopher Moses; pencil carvings by
Dalton M. Ghetti; Kenny Irwin Jr.'s childhood notebooks.
• Rear Hallway (Covington St. Side): Stephanie Lucas’ Tomorrow The Dogs, Rigo
23’s Drone drawings, Temple Grandin’s Engineering Plans for the Humane Slaughter of
Animals; Sally Willowbee’s Computer Angels & Code Pink Lights Up The World lamp.
Human, Soul
and
Machine:
THE COMING SINGULARITY!
EXHIBITION AMBASSADORS
• Jo Comerford, Executive Director, National Priorities Project.
• Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, UMBC President included in Time Magazine's
"100 Most Influential People in the World."
• Dr. Joseph N. Pelton, Space Telecommunications Pioneer, Professor, Author,
Futurist & Founding Officer of The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation.
• Thomas J. McCabe, Mathematician, Developer of Cyclomatic Complexity Metric.
• Eric Siegel, Director and Chief Content Officer, New York Hall of Science.
• Bert Vogelstein, M.D., Cancer geneticist, Winner, Breakthrough Prize in Life
Science, 2013.
EXHIBITION SPONSORS
PLATINUM: Whiting-Turner Contracting Company.
GOLD: Dobkin Family Foundation, The Philip & Harriet Klein Foundation, Inc.,
Max’s Taphouse, Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence Pakula, Urban Chic.
SILVER: Ann and Harvey Clapp, Jane Daniels, DLA Piper, John J. Leidy
Foundation, Just Folk/Marcy Carsey & Susan Baerwald, Key Tech, Linehan
Family Foundation, Thomas & Linda McCabe, The Alvin & Louise Myerberg
Family Foundation, Arnold & Alison Richman, Sims Recycling Solutions, Sylvan/
Laureate Foundation.
BRONZE: Robert E. Meyerhoff & Rheda Becker, Mary Catherine Bunting,
Richard & Rosalee C. Davison Foundation, Barbara and Louis Denrich, John
Sondheim & Emily Greenberg, George & Betsy Hess/MIDABI Philanthropic
Fund, Maryellyn Lynott, Two Boots Pizza.
—MORE—
SUPPORTER: Charles C. Baum Foundation, Mike & Patti Batza, Lois & Philip
Macht Family Philanthropic Fund, Sayra & Neil Meyerhoff, Joan Develin Coley &
Lee Rice, Eric Siegel & Family, Jan Weinberg.
PUBLIC SUPPORT: AVAM would like to thank the following public institutions for their
generous annual operating support – Maryland State Arts Council, Maryland State
Department of Education, The Citizens of Baltimore County & the Baltimore
County Commission on Arts & Sciences, The Howard County Government & the
Howard County Arts Council.
ALLEN CHRISTIAN
Piano Family: Adagio, Amorosa, Bucky
2012
Spare piano parts
AVAM Permanent Collection
» High-res press images available at: http://avam.org/news-and-events/media-info.shtml «
» Email nick@avam.org for password «
AVAM 101
AMERICAN VISIONARY ART MUSEUM
THE AMERICAN VISIONARY ART MUSEUM is America’s official national museum and education
center for self-taught, intuitive artistry (deemed so by a unanimous vote of the U.S. Congress). SINCE
ITS OPENING IN 1995, the museum has sought to promote the recognition of intuitive, self-reliant,
creative contribution as both an important historic and essential living piece of treasured human legacy.
The ONE-OF-A-KIND American Visionary Art Museum is located on a 1.1 ACRE WONDERLAND
CAMPUS at 800 Key Highway, Baltimore Inner Harbor. Three renovated historic industrial buildings
house wonders created by farmers, housewives, mechanics, retired folk, the disabled, the homeless, as
well as the occasional neurosurgeon – all INSPIRED BY THE FIRE WITHIN. From carved roots to
embroidered rags, tattoos to toothpicks, ‘the visionary’ transforms dreams, loss, hopes, and ideals into
POWERFUL WORKS OF ART.
WHAT IS A VISIONARY?
Visionaries perceive potential and creative relationships where most of us don’t. English writer Jonathan
Swift put it simply, “Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.” Such vision lies at the heart of all true
invention, whether that special vision manifests as an astonishing work of art like those created by the
intuitive artists featured at the American Visionary Art Museum or as a medical breakthrough, a melody
never before sung, some deeper understanding of the cosmos, or as a way in which life could be better,
more justly lived. Visionaries have always constituted human-kind’s greatest “evolutionaries.”
Without visionaries’ willingness to be called fools, to make mistakes, to be wrong, few new “right” things
would ever be birthed. Visionaries are brave scouts at the frontier of the unknown. They explore their
visions with a passionate single-mindedness. Albert Einstein rightly observed, “Imagination is more
important than knowledge.”
Creative acts intended to uplift, defend, and enlighten fulfill every function that can be asked of a work of
art. They inspire us, make us think in new ways, and birth new beauty and dignity into our world.
WHAT IS ART?
The ancients—the Greeks, Egyptians, Hopis, and New Guinea tribesmen—were among earth’s most
prolific art-making peoples. Yet, none had any word for “art” in their respective languages. Rather, they
each had a word that meant “well-made” or “beautifully performed.”
Our American Visionary Art Museum believes that this view of what art really means is as perfect
an understanding of art as ever was. It speaks to an art incumbent upon all its citizens, pervasive
throughout all the acts of our daily life. Its emphasis is on process and consciousness, not mere artifact.
Martin Luther King, Jr. expressed his profound respect for the true artistry each member of a society can
uniquely evidence to bless our communities, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep
streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He
should sweep streets so well that all the Hosts of Heaven and earth would pause to say, Here lived a great
streetsweeper who did his job well.”
SOME HANDY INFO
AMERICAN VISIONARY ART MUSEUM (AVAM)
800 Key Highway • Baltimore, MD • 21230 • 410.244.1900
web: avam.org • facebook: facebook.com/theavam • twitter: @TheAVAM
OUR HOURS
REGULAR ADMISSION
* Open Monday Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as AVAM’s
tribute to teachers–FREE admission for all!
GROUP RATES*
10:00am–6:00pm, Tuesday–Sunday
Closed on Mondays,* Thanksgiving &
Christmas Days.
PARKING
Abundant metered parking on Covington Street
& Key Highway. Handicapped accessible.
Adult
Senior (60 & up)
Student
Children 6 & under
Group Rate (Adult)
Group Rate (College)
Group Rate (K-12)
$15.95
$13.95
$9.95
FREE!
$10 ea.
$8 ea.
$6 ea.
* For Groups of 10 or more people only.
AMERICAN VISIONARY ART MUSEUM
PERMANENT COLLECTION GALLERY
is the official national museum for self-taught, intuitive
artistry! Since our opening in 1995, the museum has
sought to promote the recognition of intuitive, selfreliant, creative contribution as both an important
historic and essential living piece of treasured human
legacy. Don’t miss all three historic, renovated buildings
that house wonders created by farmers, housewives,
mechanics, retired folk, the disabled, the homeless, as
well as the occasional neurosurgeon—all inspired by
the fire within!
Ongoing • 1st & 2nd Floors, Main Building
Works selected from a collection that includes
visionaries such as Mary Proctor, Paul Darmafall, Mr.
Imagination, Emily Duffy, Ted Gordon, James Harold
Jennings, Deborah Berger, Wayne Kusy & many more!
HUMAN, SOUL & MACHINE:
THE COMING SINGULARITY!
Oct 5, 2013–Aug 31, 2014 • Throughout Main Building
AVAM’s 19th original thematic exhibition is a timely
and playful examination of the serious impact of
technology on our lives, as seen through the eyes of 40+
visionary artists, cutting edge futurists, and inventors,
including—Kenny Irwin, Jr., Neil Harbisson, Alex
Grey, Temple Grandin, O.L. Samuels, Rigo 23, Allen
Christian, Fred Carter and many more! Human, Soul
& Machine: The Coming Singularity! is a hot-wired
blend of art, science, humor, caution and hope.
DONALD PASS: THE HOPE WE SEEK
Feb. 28, 2014–Feb. 22, 2015 • 3rd Floor, Main Building
AVAM’s celebration of the late British visionary
artist’s ethereal spirit paintings, inspired by his own
life-changing glimpse into the afterworld. Donald
Pass (1930–2010) was a well known painter of
lyrical abstract landscapes until the late 1960s when
he experienced a series of spiritual visions of the
Resurrection that radically and forever changed his
view of reality, and subsequently, his artwork.
JIM ROUSE VISIONARY CENTER
Ongoing • 1st floor: The Cabaret Mechanical
Theatre of London: a collection of whimsical,
interactive automta; Screen Painters Of Baltimore
exhibit: a celebration of the uniquely Baltimore art
form with full-size replica rowhouses displaying screens
painted by Baltimore’s finest & a documentary film
that shines a light on the artists and their desire to
paint; Kinetic Sculpture Race Vehicles (featured
in our annual East Coast Championship Race);
DeVon Smith’s Robot Family; Leonard Knight’s Love
Balloon; Andrew Logan’s giant sculpture of Baltimore
icon Divine; 2nd floor: Remembering Jim Rouse Into
Our Future exhibit; Thou Art Creative Classroom; 3rd
floor: Large banquet room for museum mega-events &
private rentals with access to the Bird’s Nest Balcony.
PUBLIC ART
Ongoing • Throughout Museum Grounds
A three-ton, four-story Whirligig by Vollis Simpson;
Nancy Josephson’s mirror-mosaic Gallery-A-GoGo bus; Andrew Logan’s Cosmic Galaxy Egg; Adam
Kurtzman’s Giant Golden Hand; David Hess’s Bird’s
Nest Balcony; Dick Brown’s Bluebird of Happiness;
the glittering Community Mosaic Wall–the work of a
wonderful apprenticeship program for at-risk youth;
Wildflower Sculpture Garden featuring Ben Wilson’s
wooden Meditation Chapel; Critters by Clyde Jones; Ted
Ludwiczak’s Stone Fountain Heads; and more!
PROGRAMS & EVENTS CALENDAR
2013:
HUMAN, SOUL & MACHINE: THE PREVIEW PARTY!
Fri. October 4 • 7–10pm • AVAM Members Free, $20 Gen. Public*
AVAM welcomes our newest exhibition with our ever-popular,
always switched-on, Preview Party! Meet exhibition artists in
the bio-flesh and network with other visionary friends and fans
as you get a first hack into this hot-wired blend of art, science,
humor, and imagination. Enjoy lite fare & cocktails, inspired
music & dancing, out-of-this-world costumes, and one-of-a-kind
entertainment, as only AVAM can bring you... a truly SINGULAR
experience! *Tickets on-sale @ Missiontix.com!
EDUCATOR OPEN HOUSE
Thurs. October 17 • 4–7pm • *FREE for Teachers!
Educators of all kinds are invited to this exclusive event where
you can collect visionary resources for the classroom and learn
about the educational programming available here at AVAM.
Stop by to pick up our classroom-ready, interdisciplinary
education packet, try your hand at a visionary activity, and
receive a special guided tour through our new exhibition.
*RSVP to amy@avam.org.
AVAM’S FREE FALL HALLOWEEN CELEBRATION!
Wed. October 30 • 4–7pm: FREE Admission, 4pm–6pm: *FREE
Pumpkin Decorating, 7pm: FREE Flick: Beetlejuice! on Fed Hill!
Goblins and ghouls of all ages are invited to PUNK out your
pumpkin or GLAM up your gourd in AVAM's Tall Sculpture Barn
from 4-6pm—*FREE, but please bring your own pumpkin
or gourd, all others materials (paint, bling, etc.) provided. AVAM
will also offer FREE admission from 4-7pm, then bring a blanket
and cozy up for a free screening of Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice on
Federal Hill at 7pm. Don't miss this spooktacular night @ AVAM
in conjunction with Free Fall Baltimore!
BAZAART: HOLIDAY ART MARKET
Sat. November 30 • 10am–5pm • FREE Entry!
AVAM’s annual Holiday Marketplace of original creations by over
50 regional artists and craftspeople. Painting, sculpture, paper
crafts, metalwork, jewelry, textiles, mixed media, and other work
that simply defies categorization! And don't miss the BAZAART
FIRST DIBS RECEPTION: Friday Eve, November 29 • 5:308pm • $20, $10 Members @ the door • Bazaart Location: 3rd floor,
AVAM’s Jim Rouse Visionary Center.
SOCK MONKEY SATURDAY!
Sat. December 14 • 10am–2pm • *FREE Entry!
Don’t let the holidays drive you BANANAS! Relax by making
your very own Sock Monkey—a great last-minute gift, and just
something fun to do with the family. *FREE, but you must
bring 2 pair, clean & colorful socks & scissors to get in!
Location: 3rd floor, AVAM’s Jim Rouse Visionary Center.
2014:
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY CELEBRATION
Mon. January 20 • 10am–6pm • FREE Admission!
A celebration in honor of the life & dreams of one of history’s
greatest visionaries. AVAM opens its doors for FREE all day!
Join us for guided tours, birthday cake, special performances &
more—all celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King’s vision & legacy.
KINETIC VOLUNTEER ROUND-UP
April 2014: *Volunteer Meeting dates TBA
WANTED: The Brave, The Talented, The Mediocre, The
Unsuspecting Few... KINETIC VOLUNTEERS to help in the
grueling, all-day, general insanity of our 16th annual Kinetic
Sculpture Race! *More details TBA, check avam.org or call
410.244.1900.
16TH ANNUAL KINETIC SCULPTURE RACE
Sat. May 3 • All Day! (Race kicks of @ 10am) • FREE!
From AVAM—a race of wacky, imaginative, totally human
powered works of ART designed to travel on LAND, through the
MUD, and over deep harbor WATERS, constructed out of used
bicycles, gears, and parts, created by a lunatic genius who tinkers
around in the garage or backyard (Do you know this person?) The
machines can be simple, small crafts, piloted by only one brave
soul, or they can be over 50 feet long, extremely well-engineered,
sophisticated vehicles powered by a team of pilots. More info,
including handy spectator's guide at kineticbaltimore.com!
VISIONARY PETS ON PARADE
Fri. July 4 • 10am (9:30am Pet Registration) • FREE!
The best dog-gone parade in town! Dress your pet & strut your
stuff. Animal fun! Animal prizes! Trophies awarded for Best
Costume, Most Patriotic, Most Visionary Pet, Owner & Pet looka-likes, Least likely to succeed as a Pet, & more! Friendly pets of
ALL kinds are welcome. H20 & baggies provided.
FLICKS FROM THE HILL
Thursdays in July & August • FREE Screenings at 9pm on
Federal Hill! • Museum Open & Free 5–9pm on Flicks Nights!
Grab a blanket, picnic under the stars, and watch a great
film selection inspired by AVAM’s current exhibition, plus the
museum is open & free from 5–9pm on Flicks nights! Flicks was
featured on Travel & Leisure’s list of “The World’s Best Free
Stuff!” Check avam.org for 2014 dates & flicks schedule.
HUMAN, SOUL & MACHINE: FINAL WEEKEND
Labor Day Weekend 2014 • Regular Admission Applies
August 31, 2014 will be the last chance to experience AVAM’s
19th original exhibition, Human, Soul & Machine: The Coming
Singularity! Don’t miss the wonders of 40+ visionary artists,
futurists & inventors in this playful & timely show. And get
ready for October 2014, when we unveil our 20th annual megaexhibition—stay tuned to avam.org for details!
LINDSEY BESSANSON, Brown Tarantula, n.d., Organic material and metal cogs, Collection of the artist, Photo by Dan Meyers.
» High-res press images available at: http://avam.org/news-and-events/media-info.shtml «
» Email nick@avam.org for password «
ESSAY
S
STEVE HELLER, Not Plain Jane, 2013, Found metal, car parts, toaster, Collection of the artist, Photo by Dan Meyers.
W
YOU’RE GIVING ME
GOOD VIBRATIONS!
ith a nod to The Beach Boys, we welcome all our visitors into what Rod Serling,
the creator and host of The Twilight Zone, described: “a dimension not only of
sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land, whose boundaries
are that of imagination.”
HERE ARE SOME COOL VIBRATORY FACTS:
• One of the seven principles of Universal Law in Hermetic philosophy is that everything
in the universe moves and vibrates at a specific speed, and that those frequencies
fluctuate, like a flame. Nothing is at rest.
• When Comedian Bill Hicks famously reported that “all matter is merely energy
condensed to a slow vibration,” he was not far-off of how some physicists are now
describing the behavior of matter as wavefunction in quantum mechanics. On a
subatomic scale, everything is moving.
• There are some amazing resonances between vibratory systems: there are seven main
colors in the visible light spectrum, and seven notes in a musical scale. The vibratory
frequencies of the three primary colors—red, yellow and blue—can be likened to a major
chord. Within the color spectrum, red is the first color, yellow the third color, and blue
the fifth. Major chords are likewise composed of the root, third and fifth notes in the
musical scale.
• Your specific frequency is uniquely yours, giving you the illusion that you are separate
from the sea of other vibrations, seen and unseen, felt and undetected, to which we
owe our communal existence. All our senses—sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell, and
maybe a sixth sense of hyper-sensitized feeling—are perceived through vibrations that
resonate within our own receptors.
• Synesthesia is a perceptual condition that jumbles these signals—one type of sensory
stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when hearing a sound produces
the visualization of a color. Marilyn Monroe, Leonardo DaVinci, and many famous
musicians and artists were reportedly synesthetes, and they found their unique
—MORE—
combinations of sensory experience to be an aide and a blessing to their experience of
life. Neil Harbisson's Eyeborg mimics the experience of synesthesia, but he does not
actually see colors, and has the extra ability to relate color and sound objectively, unlike
natural synesthetes. Instead he uses the term sonochromatism to define his cyborg
sense.
Here’s wishing you ever greater, brighter, pleasurable and insightful good vibrations!
Cyborg artist Neil Harbisson’s Eyeborg device allows the artist to perceive color through hearing.
Photo by Moon Ribas, courtesy of the Cyborg Foundation.
C
yborg is short for cybernetic organism, meaning part machine, part human. No one
would fault a person for using eyeglasses to see better, a cane or prosthetic leg to
walk, or, most recently, a cochlear implant to enable hearing. The swift evolution of
new technologies may soon produce prostheses to enable the blind not only to see, but to see
better than any human has seen before. In the new world of genomics and nanotechnology,
we are on the cusp of merging human cellular structures with mechanized implants to
correct many inherited and chronic medical diseases. We may be witnessing the accelerated
evolution of a new human species. Leading biotechnology thinker Juan Enriquez reminds
us, “The difference between humans and Neanderthals is .004 percent of gene code. That's
how big the difference is, one species to another.”
MARYLAND:
AMERICA’S MOST POWERFUL DEFENSE
RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY STATE
W
elcome to Maryland, a state long called “America in Miniature.” Maryland’s
economy is fueled and sustained by the U.S. defense and surveillance technology
industries more than that of any other American state.
• 70 of the Top 100 U.S. federal defense contractors are based in Maryland, and many more
in the adjacent state of Virginia.
• Private sector Maryland businesses dependent on defense and intelligence contracts
abound. The mammoth NSA, CIA, NASA and DARPA agencies all have their headquarters
in the greater Baltimore-Washington area.
• Johns Hopkins University is the number one recipient of U.S. defense research and
development monies among American universities ($1.9 billion in 2011), garnering almost
twice that of any other university engaged in defense research. It’s no surprise that
Maryland employs more PhD graduates in science and engineering than any other state.
• Fort Meade, with its 56,000+ employees (located less than 15 miles from where you
stand) is Maryland’s largest employer. Add to it the 11 other Maryland US military bases
with their concentrated expertise in the areas of chemical, biological, nuclear, cyber and
nano warfare, and you get a clear picture of just how unique Maryland is, and how hugely
its actions impact our world.
• The market for the design and manufacture of drones in Maryland has been growing
exponentially. With U.S. government’s projected goal of 30,000 drones in continual flight
over our own American skies by 2020, the Maryland technology job scene looks promising.
• A greater percentage of Maryland families derive their livelihood directly or indirectly
from businesses related to the defense/surveillance industry than do families from any
other state. No other geographic location on Earth concentrates a larger creative pool of
defense research intelligence. If U.S. defense industry funding ceased, Maryland’s economy
would collapse.
—MORE—
With these facts in mind, we could begin to imagine a shift that would refocus and harness
the many brilliant and creative minds in our area to the task of using promising, even
previously classified scientific breakthroughs to rapidly and peacefully solve many of
humanity’s biggest challenges (e.g. stopping Fukushima’s out-of-control radioactive leaks,
the creation of inexhaustible sources of clean energy and water, high quality/low cost public
transportation). This refocusing would result in the creation of positive new industries.
We could then continue to support existing organizational structures and talented minds
with our tax dollars to make an unprecedented positive leap forward to the benefit of
humanity. The brave scientists, engineers, and defense leaders willing to change course
would be humanity’s heroes. Native American wisdom cautions us to test our collective
actions by considering their ultimate impact on the subsequent seven generations, rather
than judging them by short-term profits. We must ask, “What kind of jobs and products are
we creating?” To this end, may Maryland soon lead the way forward.
“OURS IS A WORLD OF NUCLEAR GIANTS AND ETHICAL INFANTS. WE KNOW MORE ABOUT WAR THAN WE KNOW ABOUT PEACE, MORE ABOUT
KILLING THAN WE KNOW ABOUT LIVING. WE HAVE GRASPED THE MYSTERY OF THE ATOM AND REJECTED THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.”
—OMAR NELSON BRADLEY, U.S. FIVE STAR ARMY GENERAL
RIGO 23: (left) MQ-9/Reaper and Yemen
•
(middle) RQ-4/Block 10/Global Hawk
•
(right) MQ-9/Reaper/Variety of Weapons, 2010, Ink on recycled elephant dung paper, Courtesy of Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York, NY.
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THE ART OF WAR
“AND IN SUCH A WORLD OF CONFLICT, A WORLD OF VICTIMS AND EXECUTIONERS, IT IS THE JOB OF THINKING PEOPLE,
AS ALBERT CAMUS SUGGESTED, NOT TO BE ON THE SIDE OF THE EXECUTIONERS.” —HOWARD ZINN
C
onsider Sun Tzu, the legendary 6th century Chinese general and author of The
Art of War, still one of the most widely read books on military strategy. Sun Tzu
taught that the highest form of warfare is to win all your objectives without the
enemy even knowing you were ever engaged in warfare. Never before has the advancement
in weapon technology birthed a greater capacity for stealth warfare and its covert lethal
delivery. In the wrong hands, these new nano, biological, chemical and robotic technologies
are frightening. Post World War II, military patronage of scientists, physicists, chemists,
biologists, and engineers soared, tipping their creativity and focus toward more and
more specialized and covert weaponry systems. This effort has been coupled with an
unprecedented capacity for organized surveillance and information analysis and retrieval.
Couldn’t imagine how it could ever be possible to record and store every single phone call
made in America? Governments can now store and retrieve oceans of personal data at the
rate of yottabytes (one trillion terabytes!), sometimes called "yodabytes" after the Star Wars
wise one.
Recognizing the future power of robots to be misused against humankind as
disproportionately powerful killing forces, science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote his
thoughtful and ethical recommendation, the “Three Laws of Robotics”:
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to
come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would
conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with
the First or Second Law.
Sadly, these rules were never adopted, putting much in peril. New smart gun assault
weapons went on sale to civilians in 2013. Manufactured in Texas, they permit “even an
inexperienced shooter to hit a target 10 football fields away.” As Military use of robotic
—MORE—
drones proliferates, so do stories of collateral damage and civilian deaths. Crowds
celebrated when the Boston police, wielding high-tech heat sensors capable of seeing
through walls, discovered the suspected young Boston Marathon bomber hiding in a boat.
We must remember that the very same technology, if invented only decades before, would
have meant that young Anne Frank, hiding with her family behind a secret wall, would
never have had the time to write her famed diary before being detected.
“I KNOW NOT WITH WHAT WEAPONS WORLD WAR III WILL BE FOUGHT,
BUT WORLD WAR IV WILL BE FOUGHT WITH STICKS AND STONES.” —ALBERT EINSTEIN
“THERE IS NO FLAG LARGE ENOUGH TO COVER THE SHAME OF KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE.” —HOWARD ZINN
"WE MUST DEVISE A SYSTEM IN WHICH PEACE IS MORE REWARDING THAN WAR." —MARGARET MEADE
STEPHANIE LUCAS
Demain les Chiens (Tomorrow the Dogs)
2010
Acrylic on canvas
Gift of the artist, AVAM Permanent Collection
Photo by Dan Meyers
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HOW WE SPEND OUR MONEY
U.S. DISCRETIONARY SPENDING 2013
T
here are lots of ways to compute the very complex spending of our United States
government. We join with The American Friends Service Committee in their
endorsement of the important research undertaken by the National Priorities
Project. The National Priorities Project is a national non-profit, non-partisan research
organization dedicated to making complex federal budget information transparent
and accessible so people can prioritize and influence how their tax dollars are spent.
“Discretionary spending, which accounts for 31 percent of the President’s proposed 2013
budget, does not include earned-benefit programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Rather, it includes programs whose funding levels are set each year by lawmakers
during the appropriations process, including the military, education, job training, and the
environment.” The proportions for how President Obama proposed to spend 1.15 trillion
dollars in discretionary spending this year are presented here as an easy-to-read rainbow
graph that runs the length of two ascending floors of the Marilyn Meyerhoff Stairway to
the Stars. For more detailed information on our U.S. government and its discretionary
funding spending, go to the National Priorities project website: nationalpriorities.org
“WHAT YOU FEED GROWS, WHAT YOU STARVE DIES.” —ANONYMOUS
GRAPHENE:
FROM HUMBLE PENCIL TO
TOMORROW’S WONDER SUBSTANCE!
STRONGER THAN DIAMOND, MORE FLEXIBLE THAN RUBBER, MIND-BOGGLINGLY CONDUCTIVE,
AN ELEGANT ONE-ATOM THICK, AND RIGHT UNDER ALL OUR NOSES—AT THE TIP OF A SCHOOLCHILD’S PENCIL!
In 2010, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, two Russian scientists
employed at the University of Manchester, received the Nobel Prize in
Physics for isolating graphene (a one-atom-thick layer of graphite) using
a piece of scotch tape, and for their insight into its game-changing
revolutionary applications.
The global race is now on to master a cheap transformation process
of graphite into ultra-thin nano-graphene. With graphene, we can
already imagine tomorrow’s flexible cell phones that could be folded
up like a piece of paper, airplane wings with invisible built-in deicers,
efficient solar roofs and plentiful, super strong and lightweight energy
transmitters. Graphene absorbs and emits light over the widest range
of wavelengths known for any material and does so more quickly than
with any prior known material. Graphene conducts electricity 30x
faster than silicon—and unlike silicon, which is brittle, graphene is
flexible, stretchable, and can even be thrown into the washing machine
and emerge undamaged.
Visionaries see new potential in the everyday. The biographies of
many of our greatest inventors reveal that most get their best ideas in
dreams, in the shower, walking alone in the woods, observing nature,
or tinkering in backyard garages. The Wright Brothers were fascinated
by the propeller-like twirling pods of Maple trees. Wonder and wisdom
lies beneath all our feet.
“SCIENTISTS MAY HAVE SOPHISTICATED LABORATORIES, BUT NEVER FORGET
‘EUREKA’ WAS INSPIRED IN A BATHTUB." —TOBA BETA, BETELGEUSE INCIDENT
DALTON GHETTI, Pencil Pencil, 1996, Graphite and wood (regular No.2 pencil), Collection of the artist, Photo by Sloan Howard
TRUE VALUE:
THE SHIFT FROM SCARCITY TO ABUNDANCE, FROM
NEVER ENOUGH TO THANKFULNESS FOR PLENTY
H
istorically, market values have been driven by scarcity. Prior to commercial
electrical generation in the early 1880s, aluminum was exceedingly difficult
to extract from its various ores. This made pure aluminum far more valuable
than gold! Aluminum bars were displayed next to the French Crown Jewels at the Paris
Exposition of 1855, and in 1884, aluminum was selected as the exclusive capstone material
for the Washington Monument. When Napoleon III wanted to impress his most highly
honored banquet guests, he served them on aluminum dinner sets, leaving the gold and
silver sets for his lesser guests. As the process of extracting aluminum became streamlined,
aluminum quickly dropped its value and became the stuff we wrap our hotdogs in and then
throw in the trash. Can we imagine what a costly marvel artist Dean Millien’s aluminum
Gorilla would have been in Napoleon’s day?
Diamonds are actually abundant minerals. Their market availability has been tightly
controlled to artificially keep their price high. With molecular duplication and 3-D printing,
the notion of what has and does not have value will need rewriting—an exciting thought as
humanity rides out the swift changes in manufacturing and production with a fresh eye to
establishing what is truly desirable and precious to us all. Those answers might cease to be
thing-oriented at all.
“WHO IS RICH? THE FEW CONTENT WITH THEIR PORTION.” —PIRKEI AVOT (ETHICS OF THE FATHERS)
STEVE HELLER
Star Trek flying saucer
2013
Found metal, car parts, shrunk-down Captain Kirk and Friends
Collection of the artist
Photo by Dan Meyers
DEAN MILLIEN
Gorilla
2011
100% Aluminum Foil
Collection of Paul Yandura
Photo by Dan Meyers
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P
BINARY CODE:
IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO
lease use this Binary Code graph to write your name using only zeroes and ones.
You can also use it to decode the message our walls are visually whispering to
you! For centuries, wise African drummers communicated their messages out
across many miles by a series of long and short raps, much like audible Morse Code system
of dashes and dots. Some Native American tribes expertly sent short and long smoke
signals which could be read in the sky at great distance. Electricity is based on negative
and positive charge. Magnetism is based on the balanced attraction and repulsion of north
and south charges. Everything a modern computer does is based on the language of ones
and zeroes. Even your heart speaks in a two-stage, rhythmic “Baah-Bump,” as your lungs
signal life with an inhalation sound distinct from the exhalation sound. Yin and Yang, light
and darkness, these are all universal two-step dances.
LINDSEY BESSANSON, Bombardier Beetle Pocket Watch, 2012, Organic material and metal cogs, Collection of the artist, Photo by Dan Meyers.
ALEX GREY
Psychic Energy System
1980
Acrylic on linen
Collection of the artist
Photo courtesy the artist
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LIGHT AS A FEATHER:
DEFINING SOUL
"WE ARE NOT HUMAN BEINGS HAVING A SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE.
WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS HAVING A HUMAN EXPERIENCE." —PIERRE TEILHARD DE CHARDIN
Just as the existence of germs was once ridiculed by those in the medical establishment
with insufficient technology to detect them, the existence of a soul and/or consciousness
that precedes, animates and transcends bodily existence has been hotly debated since
before the time of the ancient Greek philosophers. Whatever our doubts, it is not surprising
that nearly all languages have a word for the Soul. Einstein put it this way: “The more I
study physics, the more I am drawn to metaphysics.”
Using the popular childhood levitation game whose first mention dates back to the 1600s,
“Light As A Feather, Stiff As a Board,” and its multi-cultural global variants build a bridge
of first-hand experiential understanding that there are indeed unforeseen forces at hand
that seem to trump the everyday mechanics of our physical reality.
The spooky game is still practiced today at slumber parties and college dorms around
the world. Those lifting, who begin by experiencing the heavy physical weight of the body
and then, after the short series of group incantations, experience the ease of the subject’s
rise (even works with the heaviest of subjects), “Light As a Feather” becomes a powerful
participatory rite few can easily forget.
Today, many labs around the world have taken up the charge to document such things as
the existence of free will, remote viewing (when a person can send their consciousness a
great distance from their body to accurately retrieve information) and what we mean by
words like “you” and “me.” From the ancients who taught our inescapable, individualized
part within a vast web of life to the kindred energetic web of consciousness expressed
artfully within this series of Sacred Mirrors by Alex Grey, scientists and artists,
philosophers and physicists are attempting to articulate the view that our bodies are
exquisitely complex machines and our souls animating, hyper-conscious real forces.
“THE DAY SCIENCE BEGINS TO STUDY NON-PHYSICAL PHENOMENA, IT WILL MAKE MORE PROGRESS
IN ONE DECADE THAN IN ALL THE PREVIOUS CENTURIES OF ITS EXISTENCE.” —NIKOLA TESLA
“I WANT TO LIVE FOREVER!”
HUMANKIND’S STRUGGLE TO
OUTWIT DEATH & ILLNESS
“WHATEVER HAPPENS TO YOUR BODY YOUR SOUL WILL SURVIVE, UNTOUCHED…” —J. K. ROWLING, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS
Futuristic and high tech as the current, seriously well-funded transhumanist movement
may be, the longing for immortality has its ancient roots in Eve, who discussed death and
its finality with both the creator and the serpent in the Garden of Eden.
Today, young Russian billionaire entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov has marked the year 2045
as an achievable projected date to enable a download of what makes you you, into a
mechanized holographic host that won’t get ill and won’t ever die. Itskov is far from alone in
these sincere efforts.
We all learned in grade school that 16th century Spanish explorer, Ponce de Leon, was
passionately inspired to search for the Fountain of Youth after hearing rumors of eternityimparting waters hidden among the native peoples he met in Florida and Puerto Rico.
Consider the current vampire, watcher and zombie craze, along with the many comic
book characters endowed with superhero powers that include not aging, rapid bodily
regeneration, and super-strengths and abilities.
From Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray, whose aging was transposed onto a portrait; to the
alchemists in search of an elixir for insuring eternal life; the tale of Jesus raising four
days dead Lazarus from his grave; the “I wanna be a real boy” story of Pinocchio; Mary
Shelley’s Frankenstein; the Jewish Golem figure brought to life out of mud; to the legend
and eye-witness accounts of the Count de St Germaine who transcended several centuries
looking youthful—rumors, pure fantasy, and possible truths of humans beating physical
decline abound and always have. The big difference today is that science is now getting
exponentially closer to identifying and describing that elusive force called Life, plus
the physiological mechanism for individualized memory, and mapping the domain of
consciousness. There are those who would argue we are already immortal, as tiny sparks of
that which is infinite.
“HOW CAN PART OF THE WORLD LEAVE THE WORLD, HOW CAN WETNESS LEAVE WATER? ” —RUMI
ADAM KURTZMAN, Elsa Lanchester as Bride of Frankenstein, 1999, Oil paint and graphite on papier-mache, Collection of Michal Makarovich.
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NOAH, HIS PLOW
& SOME REALLY DUMB AND
DISASTROUS INVENTIONS
All of us have made mistakes. Few individuals have made ones that devastated thousands
or caused irrevocable grand-scale harm to living systems worldwide. But some corporations
have! Today, we nervously laugh in horror as we watch this 1950s face cream commercial,
in which real radioactive particles are sprinkled liberally on the face of the model to prove a
product's effectiveness. Actually for several decades radium was added to beauty products,
promising its users renewed youth and skin 'glow.'
This was one of many REALLY bad ideas that seemed good to somebody at the time:
• Thalidomide: First prescribed by doctors in the late 1950s to treat anxiety, insomnia
and morning sickness, it was withdrawn from the market in the early 1960s when
doctors learned that it had caused devastating birth defects in about 10,000 children
around the world.
• Asbestos, liberally used in construction and insulation for many decades, still causes as
many as 10,000 American deaths every year from mesothelioma, asbestos lung cancer
or asbestosis.
• Silver tooth fillings containing mercury.
• Chlorinated and brominated flame retardants have contaminated the environment and
accumulate in the human body. One reason North Americans have the highest body
burden of PBDEs in the world, with fire fighters having one of highest rates of cancer in
the world is polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been linked to doing damage
to the nervous and reproductive systems and impairing thyroid function. Europe had
banned BVO’s in beverages, but the US is still fighting that battle. Read the labels
before you put things in your body.
• Lead in the pipes of drinking water (Rome suffered from this) and in house paint,
causing mental impairment in children and tendency to violence.
—MORE—
• Cigarettes.
• Nuclear power plant construction on known earthquake fault lines, resulting in core
meltdowns at large plants like Fukushima.
• Use of depleted uranium in weapons, injures civilians for decades to come through
pollution of air, water and land, directly causing deformities and illness.
• Sinkholes and leaking containment of toxic wastes.
• Not joining with most other developed countries to advocate for more independent,
care-oriented controls on all chemical, pharmaceutical, and food modification processes.
Because we bowed to corporate pressures to not label genetically modified foods like 64
countries around the world, many of our U.S. foods are banned from export.
Religious scholars credit Noah with the invention of the plow. The name Noah comes from
the original Hebrew, Noach, meaning rest or comfort. Noah’s father predicted Noah would
give mankind rest from toil. But after the Great Flood, legend has it humanity started
to eat meat for the very first time. Together with the plow, although handy, humanity’s
patriarch Noah marked a time when humans had further distanced themselves from a
natural cooperative harmony with Nature, and initiated a path to violate the Earth to
force it give to up its bounty—a state well below the original heavenly Eden first provided
humankind.
"WE ARE STARDUST
BILLION YEAR OLD CARBON
WE ARE GOLDEN
CAUGHT IN THE DEVIL'S BARGAIN
AND WE'VE GOT TO GET OURSELVES
BACK TO THE GARDEN."
—LAST LINE OF JONI MITCHELL’S SONG, “WOODSTOCK”