Location: Little Five Points Community Center
Mood:
cheerful
Music: Georgia Gibbs – The Hula Hoop Song
ART ASHRAM TWO – UNITY – FEBRUARY 8, 2014 L5P COMMUNITY CENTER
Feb 8 Unity – OVERVIEW
Remarks from Tau AHA –
Unity
February 11, 2014 •
This week was the week of our second Art Ashram show titled “Unity” and I have to tell you, this has indeed been an experience in unity. Our first show was a surprising success, I only say surprising, because people really got what we were trying to do. The love and support that they showed us was amazing. So going into this second show, I wasn’t sure what to expect. What we got was another great show full of love, support and of course artistic genius! Because of this I wanted to take a moment to share the experience the best I could with anyone that may have missed it.
The unity show kicked off with us of course running around like crazy people trying to set everything up. We had several last minute cancellations and so we were trying to figure out how to make the space look as full as possible missing several artists. This was when the unity of the energy started to show itself. Max Grimm, who was there to do a performance art piece said he had a massive painting that he brought with him just to show us! I was so excited and asked him to bring it in. That painting stretched the length of one of the walls and really brought the room together. That piece went on to teach us a lot about unity by its unwillingness to stay up!
It took several attempts and the efforts of several artists to keep it in place. However we finely got it all worked out.
This is a good time to mention that we had an artists come just to paint with us. I mean, that is enough to really bring
about the spirit of unity. It really added to the Ashram feel of the room. He was not the only artist making art during the event, we had many junior artists playing with home made clay, drawing and such. Then of course Sashia Agape was also meditatively painting the course of the event.
The event really did begin to take on the Warhol like Ashram quality that we wanted.
This was such an amazing thing to witness, in one space we had very intense meditative artists creating along side our playful junior artists. Their silence made room for the laughter of children. What a beautiful thing!
This wasn’t the end of the many contrasts that became unified during the event. First showers an the same wall as veterans, digital and film photography, oil and watercolors, young and old. This gave way to some amazing conversations I must say. Add to this the interesting performances from the sublimely silent to the gracefully energized. I mean how many art shows include a healing circle as a performance piece!
I would say at this rate we are on to something that is unique and quite beautiful. It is an amazing mix of art and mysticism, community and family. A shining example of what we can do when we work together toward a unified vision. I am just so grateful to be a part of it. I cannot think of a better thing for a Photo-Monk to be doing.
So if you missed the show here is a run down of the awesome show that was the Art Ashram “unity” show:
In Photo-Monk picture form of course as already mentioned we had a healing circle led by Bishop Allen Greenfield, and both art and live painting by Sashia Agape.
One of our contributions was home made clay of many different colors by Michael Miller, this was a big hit with all ages, the table was its own art by the end of the night.
The amazing Poppy Henry, my co-conspirator, showed everyone how to make tape roses, which kicked off the junior artists craft area. This area is always a big hit with the smaller folk.
LaMar George showed his photography for the first time. It was an honor to have him with us, and his old school film photography was a great edition to our unity show.
Our dear friend Max Grimm put together a beautiful and thought provoking performance art piece in which he sat blind folded and held the hand of anyone that sat next to him in silence. This was amazing to watch!
Total strangers of all ages sharing a moment in such a beautiful way! Way to go Max!
All the way from Athens Georgia we had artist Michele Chidester, with her beautiful aerial view painting. Her talk about this peace was equally as beautiful and we look forward to having her back again.
Also from Athens the amazing Scott Stripling came out with his son. He brought us two watercolors that he put together specifically for this show. Scott is one of the people that really jumped in and helped us when we needed it, sitting at the door taking money and stamping people, going that extra mile to be awesome. Thanks Scott!
The lovely Meredith Greer did a dance piece that she put together specifically or the Unity show. I absolutely love being able to have both visual and performance art going on in the same space.
Of course we had some poetry, in this case being read by Amanda Barker. She was nervous, but she did it and that is what the Ashram is all about. It is all about the love kids!
Our friends Anton Channing and Lolita Perdurabo at Alchemical TV made a great video for us that we played in a loop during the entire night. Here we see one of our youngest artists enjoying it. You can see it at http://alchemical.tv/2014/02/05/unity/
I of course had a couple of pieces in the show and did my own poetic rant about unity and made some chili since I think that chili is a food that brings people together.
It was a great show and the next one will be just as great I am sure. look for it the second Saturday of March and it will be on Duality. Until then, thanks all for making is journey happen.
Caleb Storms
The Photo-Monk
Observations on the film made by Anton Channing and Lolita Perdurabo at Alchemical TV in Scotland for this Art Ashram; they plan top make one film for each tmonthly theme:
“Lola and I hope the second Art Ashram went well. We made another video for the event.
For those that were unable to attend (and those that want to see it again or share it with
others) you can see our film ‘Unity’ here:
“Unity explores the mythical travel of the sun through day and night, the Oroborus (Hen to Pan), the Scarab, the Orphic egg, the third eye. Unity as a concept can be understood in terms of the point, the singularity but it also can be perceived as relation of the individual to the rest of the world. We look at the mandala and solar disk, the all seeing eye of the ever present and ever watching consciousness. We evoke the world turtle, the world tree, thunder bird and black sun to explore the concept of transformation through which one becomes all and all becomes one.
“This is the second film in a series we are making for the Art Ashram project.
“Camera and Editing by Anton Channing and Lolita Perdurabo
Music by Mark Subbotin.
Edited using Open Shot on Linux Mint XFCE
Visualisations produced using Project M and Clementine”
Tau Max -“My contribution to Febuary’s Art Ashram was an iInteractive performance piece called ‘Open Palms Healing Wounded Angels.’ Thank you Caleb Storms, Poppy A. Seed and everyone (I lost count how many) who sat and held hands with me.”
I (Allen Greenfield) read Tau Dositheos explanation of the Manta we use in our healing circle during each Arabia Mountain Working, and explained a bit about my own background learning the Mantra in Tucson circa 1979-80 and then receiving the Three Lights Meditation from a Lama circa 1995, with license to pass it along. Here is what Tau Dositheos said; the bold is what I read just prioor to asking all present at Art Ashram “Unity” who wished to to join in a healing circle:
“This may be of interest to those who have participated in the Atlanta healing circles. One of the sources of the mantra that we often use is from a Medicine Buddha sadhana. Here is a quote from a teaching by Ven. Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche regrading the Medicine Buddha. The full mantra is OM HUM TRAM HRI AH ABHIKENTZA HUM. the version we use is a shortened version, as follows: OM HUM TRAM HRI AH. Note the section below specifically mentioning this mantra. As an initiate of Vajrayana myself, I am familiar with some of what is being disused here. In essence, the mantra in the form that we are using it represents the Five Dhyani Buddhas pouring ambrosial nectar into the practitioner who has self-generated in the form of Medicine Buddha, the Buddha of Healing. See highlighted text below.
Peace,
Bill
ADDITIONAL INFO — “This morning we went over the visualization of oneself as the Medicine Buddha, the visualization of the Medicine Buddha in front, and finally the dissolving of the actual wisdom deity into both the self and front visualizations as a remedy for one’s habitual perception of things as impure or ordinary. Having just dissolved the wisdom beings into oneself and into the front visualization—as a remedy for one’s obscurations, one’s wrongdoing, and one’s conceptualization, we then receive empowerment. This phase of the practice is represented in the liturgy simply by the mantra: OM HUM TRAM HRI AH ABHIKENTZA HUM”
“The visualization which accompanies the mantra is as follows: Once again you visualize the three syllables—OM AH HUM—in the three places of oneself as the Medicine Buddha and of the deities of the front visualization, and once again rays of light radiate from them—especially from the HUM in your heart—inviting this time the five male buddhas of the five families with their retinues from their pure realms. The buddhas are holding in their hands precious vases* filled with the ambrosia of wisdom, which they pour into you as the self-visualized Medicine Buddha through the aperture at the very center of the top of your head. The first part of this mantra—OM HUM TRAM HRI AH—represents this empowerment being administered by the five buddhas simultaneously. OM represents Vairocana; HUM, Akshobya; TRAM, Ratnasambhava; HRI, Amitabha; and AH, Amogasiddhi.** Visualizing that this pure ambrosia fills your entire body, you think that it purifies all the wrongdoing, obscurations, and defilements of any kind whatsoever of your body, speech, and mind. The words Abhikentsa mean empowerment”
MAKING SUPERMAN (Written On the Occasion of the Falling of the Berlin Wall) “There ain’t no such thing as a superman…” Gil-Scott Heron Mysticism of Democracy, Doddering tho some say you may be It enthralls my soul, rulers grow old Kings and Tsars, Presidential pretenders appear on legal tender – Eyes in Triangles; Let none dangle the ambrosia taste, The silken lace, the born-free race before even the Simple sons of the soil who toil and drink theitr pain, Toast the sour acid rain, with a superhuman grab Even they may grab, for celebrated, sweeping Democratic creeping from Moscow, Russia to Moscow Idaho; From Lima, Ohio to Lima, Peru even the base must tastwe Such Heady brew — Beware! I say — all you say you are and All you thought you knew. from “Savage Redneck Babylon”
INFORMATION ON CONGREGATIONAL ILLUMINISM CLICK HERE INFORMATION ON ART ASHRAM CLICK HERE
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