Issue No. 36 Autumn-Winter 2011 Spiritual Research: Report on the Visual Art Section Conference at the Goetheanum, Nov. 24-27, 2011 by Michael Howard f the Visual Art Section meeting at the Goetheanum in No- That evening Rik ten Cate warmly welcomed the 70+ members Ivember 2010 was shrouded in a dark and troubling mood, of the Art Section gathered in the Sudatelier (“South Studio”) of the gathering this year was imbued with a more light-filled and the Goetheanum. The Social Ethic Motto given by Rudolf Steiner creative spirit of renewal. to Edith Maryon was spoken in both German and English. Rik then gave a detailed report of all that had happened since the June conference. The following were among the main points: 1. Rik introduced the four other Council Members; Christiane Schwarzweller, Martin Zweifel, Gottfried Caspar, and Michael Howard. He also introduced Tanja Hietsch, who is Seija Zim- mermann’s assistant, but who in recent months had done much of the administrative work for our Section. 2. Rik gave an update on the revising of the contact list of Section members worldwide, emphasizing that a final letter will go out shortly in an effort to have everyone who regards themselves an active member of the Art Section to confirm their contact info or provide an update. 3. While a year ago the Art Section had no budget, Rik was Rik ten Cate Opening the Conference at the Goetheanum pleased to report that we have had a modest but adequate budget since June and a comparable budget of E 60,000 is in place for Significant steps had already been taken at our June 2011 meet- 2012. In addition, our Section has received 2 gifts totaling E1500. ing, concluding with the strong mandate given to Rik ten Cate of Holland to serve as a Section Coordinator for the coming year Rik went on to introduce the two main subjects of this confer- until our conference in May 2012. Rik had been urged to form ence, and outlined the different ways they would be addressed: a Coordinating Council to work with him in attending to the essential business of the Art Section. This included the forming of the two Art Section conferences that traditionally took place in November and May/June of each year. Most particularly, Rik and the Coordinating Council were charged with facilitating the process of finding new organizational forms, and in particular a new organ of leadership, that would serve the future develop- ment of the Art Section. On the afternoon of Thursday, November 24th,before the confer- ence proper began, two First Class Lessons were held in which the Fourth Recapitulation Lesson and Lesson Five were read in German, followed by an open conversation. Conference participants in the SudAtelier with E. Wagner paintings Conference and E. Wagner paintings in the Sudatelier, Goetheanum Elisabeth Wagner explaining her watercolor series Gottfried Caspar, Seija Zimmermann, Christof Wiechert Sculpture by Rik ten Cate Christiane Schwarzweiler speaking, Martin Zweifel to left Dead pear tree in front of Wood House behind Goetheanum Karl-Dieter Bodack addresses the conference circle 2 Issue 36 Autumn-Winter 2011 This issue was produced in the USA by David Adams. Send articles and corrrespondence for Issue 37 (Spring 2012) to Marion Briggs at the address below. Selected back issues are also available. International Art Section Website: http://internationalartsection.bing.com Blogsite of the Art Section in North America: www.northamericanartsection.blogspot.com Art Section Contacts Goetheanum Tanja Hietsch New Zealand Roger & Gertrud Leitch Dornach, Switzerland 11 Woodford Road, Mt. Eden 1003 Tel: +41 61 706 4364/Fax 706 4314 Tel: 09 6315907 Email: tanja.hietsch@ Email: [email protected] goetheanum.ch, [email protected] Sweden Filip Henley, Prisma Arkitekter, Australia Brigitta Gallaher Tuna gard SE, S153 30, Järna 28 Rembrandt Dr., Middle Cove NSW2068 Email: [email protected] Tel. 02 9882 62 99 Email: [email protected] U.K. Marion Briggs 10 Hoathly Hill, West Hoathly Canada Bert Chase, 4700 Mountain Highway, West Sussex RH19 4SJ North Vancouver, BC V7K 2Z9 Tel: 0870 766 9657 Tel: +1 604 988-6458/Fax 988-6451 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] USA Michael Howard, Life Forms Studio Holland Rik ten Cate, Bekensteinselaan44, 528 Pine Street, Bekensteinselaan 44, 3817 AL Amersfoort Amherst, MA 01002-3074 Tel: +31 0033 4616432 Tel: 001 413-549-5954 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Italy Doris Harpers Van James, 1096-F Wainiha Street, Via Venzia 30 Honolulu, Hawaii 96825 Oriago di Mira, Venice 30034 Tel: +1 808 395 1268 Tel. 0039 041472881 Email: [email protected] Subscriptions Annual Subscriptions (2 issues) UK L12.00 US $19.00 CHF19.00 Euro 14.00 NZD 24.00 AUD 17.00 Make checks payable to “Art Section” and send to: United Kingdom North America Australia New Zealand Marion Briggs David Adams Mark Baxter Roger Leitch 10 Hoathly Hill, West Hoathly 14487 Burlington Parkway Level 2, 37-39 The Corso 11 Woodford Road, Mt. Eden West Sussex RH19 4SJ Penn Valley, California 95946 Manly, NSW 1095 Tel: 09 6315907 Tel: 0870 766 9657 Tel: 001 530 432 8712 Tel: (02) 9977 7648 Email: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]; www.bja.net.au Contents of This Issue Spiritual Research: Report on the November Conference 1 The Electronic Light Art of Leo Villareal 21 Report on the September Meeting in Dornach 8 Imre Makovecz 27 60th Birthday of Christian Hitsch: Near to the Ideal 10 Lee Ufan: “Marking Infinity” 28 Form – “A Method for Resounding Limits” 11 Book Reviews: Christian Hitsch in North America 14 The Goetheanum Cupola Paintings .... 29 Organic Forms: A Proposal 17 Easter– Rudolf Steiner’s Watercolour Painting 30 Restoring the Balance of Tao through Art 18 Wharton Esherick books 31 Report from Free Columbia 20 Image-Arts from the Perspective of Spiritual Reality 32 3 1.Exploring the question of spiritual scientific research within to Rudolf Steiner’s painting sketches. As the fruit of a life’s work, the realm of the visual arts. it deserved a more in-depth presentation than the occasion al- a. Two full lectures by Pieter van der Ree and Heinz Georg lowed, but it was inspiring nevertheless. Haussler; b. 8 workshops meeting three times each. I. Spiritual Research in the Realm of the Visual Arts: 2.Continuing the process of reforming the Art Section. a. Four formal presentations by Willi Grass, Espen Tharaldsen, 1. Lecture by Pieter van der Ree: Michael Howard, and Christiane Schwarzweller; b. Four discussion groups meeting two times, plus one session Pieter began with the question: How can spiritual-scientific for reporting; research in architecture contribute to mainstream architecture? c. Two plenum discussions. He took us on a journey through the history of architecture from the igloo to the 2007 BMW Welt Building in Munich by Coop Rik concluded his introduction to the conference with three Himmelblau (see photograph). Through this, Pieter drew our questions intended to guide our deliberations about the future attention to the incredible freedom given to the architect today of the Art Section: through the technological developments of recent decades that no longer limit architecture to the box. But all this freedom begs the question: Are we any closer to architecture truly serving human life and human development? More and more buildings draw upon the full spec- trum of the language of form and have an organic, free-form quality to them, but what is needed for this freedom of form to more truly serve the hu- man being? Pieter’s main point was that we have a long way to go in developing the capacities for a living architecture, for this depends on our de- veloping to a much greater extent the capacity for living thinking. Pieter concluded by showing some examples of his students’ work to indicate how the schooling of architects must strengthen the middle Coop Himmelblau BMW Welt Building Munich, 2003-2007, view from crosswalk realm, where living, pictorial thinking can mediate between abstract thinking, on the one hand, and the 1. What does the Art Section need to realize its spiritual tasks? practical demands of the physical world, on the other. 2. What organizational and leadership forms will serve those needs? 2. Lecture by Heinz Georg Haussler: 3. What process will bring us to the new leadership of the Art Section? Heinz Georg recalled how from his earliest days as a student he had the question: Are there laws of sculpture? He soon realized The evening concluded with Elisabeth Wagner saying a few that no one could answer this question for him, that he would have words about her research with regard to developing 8 sets of 12 to search for answers himself. He then described the profound paintings that were exhibited in the Sudatelier throughout the and humbling shock of seeing the work of Michelangelo – what conference (see photographs). Each set of 12 paintings started was left to achieve in sculpture? In 1961 he had a further shock with placing on successive pages a different colored wash ac- when he saw the second Goetheanum and the photographs and cording to Steiner’s twelvefold color circle related to the zodiac. models of the first Goetheanum. Much of his subsequent work To each of these different ground colors Elisabeth brought the has been based on exploring the relationships between the for- same sequence of four colors. mative forces at work in Michelangelo’s sculptures and those of the Goetheanum buildings. Each set of 12 paintings was based on the four colors Rudolf Steiner indicated were related to a particular vowel sound.