Invocation of Beauty


Book Description

This exhibition and accompanying publication is the first in-depth study of the life and photography of Soichi Sunami (1885-1971). Soichi Sunami was born in Okayama, Japan, on February 18, 1885. He emigrated to the United States in 1905 and arrived in Seattle on February 24, 1907. His occupation was secured by 1930, when Mrs. John D. Rockefeller Jr. asked him to become the photographer for the recently opened Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). For the next thirty-eight years, he produced more than twenty thousand large-format negatives for the archive of the museum. Using his initial contacts from Seattle, Sunami went on to produce one of the most important bodies of work in the field of dance photography. During his lifetime, his photographs appeared in numerous national and international publications.00Exhibition: Cascadia Art Museum, Edmonds, Washington (11.10.2018-06.01.2019).




An Object of Beauty


Book Description

Lacey Yeager is young, captivating, and ambitious enough to take the NYC art world by storm. Groomed at Sotheby's and hungry to keep climbing the social and career ladders put before her, Lacey charms men and women, old and young, rich and even richer with her magnetic charisma and liveliness. Her ascension to the highest tiers of the city parallel the soaring heights--and, at times, the dark lows--of the art world and the country from the late 1990s through today.




Beauty: A Very Short Introduction


Book Description

In a book that is itself beautifully written, renowned philosopher Roger Scruton explores this timeless concept, asking what makes an object--either in art, in nature, or the human form--beautiful.--From publisher description.




An African Prayer Book


Book Description

The great Archbishop of Capetown, South Africa, shares with us the simple but profound secrets of his extraordinary spiritual strength by unveiling his very own book of prayer. Prayer, our conversation with God, needs no set formulas or flowery phrases. It often needs no words at all. But for most believers, the words of others can be a wonderful aid to devotion, especially when these words come front faithful fellow pilgrims. The African Prayer Book is just such an aid, for in this collection all the spiritual riches of the vast and varied continent of Africa are bravely set forth. Here we may delight in Solomon's splendid encounter with the Queen of Sheba, overhear the simple prayer of a penniless Bushman, and glory in the sensuous sonorities of the mysterious liturgies of the Egyptian Copts. Here are Jesus' own encounters with Africa, which provided him refuge at the beginning of his life (from the murderous King Herod) and aid at its end (in the person of Simon of Cyrene, who helped Jesus carry his cross). Here are the prayers of some of the greatest among the mothers and fathers of the Church -- Monica, Augustine, Clement of Alexandria, Cyprian of Carthag -- as well as the prayers from the African diasporas of North America and the Caribbean. From thunderous multi-invocation litanies to quiet meditations, here are prayers that every heart can speak with strength and confidence. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who is for millions the very soul of Africa, is our guide on this unique spiritual journey. His introduction is destined to become a classic, his characteristic energy and optimism light our way, and the words of his favorite prayers (many composed by the Archbishop himself) will stay with us forever.




Plato and the Question of Beauty


Book Description

Drew A. Hyland, one of Continental philosophy's keenest interpreters of Plato, takes up the question of beauty in three Platonic dialogues, the Hippias Major, Symposium, and Phaedrus. What Plato meant by beauty is not easily characterized, and Hyland's close readings show that Plato ultimately gives up on the possibility of a definition. Plato's failure, however, tells us something important about beauty—that it cannot be reduced to logos. Exploring questions surrounding love, memory, and ideal form, Hyland draws out the connections between beauty, the possibility of philosophy, and philosophical living. This new reading of Plato provides a serious investigation into the meaning of beauty and places it at the very heart of philosophy.







Papers ...


Book Description




Invocations for Beginners


Book Description

Invocation is the imagination of a deity and the subsequent identification with this imagined image of the deity. This procedure is one of the basics of magic, because through such an identification one's own possibilities of perception and action become many times greater. This technique goes back to the late Paleolithic Age, when hunters identified themselves with a panther in order to obtain the strength and speed of a panther during their hunt. Later, the grain god was invoked in the Neolithic period, and then the One God was invoked in kingship. The effectiveness of the technique of invocation, of course, like all magical phenomena, cannot be proven by words, but at least described in such a way that you may try this technique yourself. As with almost all things, patience and practice are beneficial, but there are also some methods, such as dream travel, that make the whole thing much easier and more effective.




The Supplicate Order


Book Description

Supplication captures a universal, cross-cultural approach to spirituality. Authored by Dr. Patricia Brown, The Supplicate Order defines supplication as an expression for the laws and principles that guide a spiritual aspirant toward communion with the sacred (mysteries), progressing toward an expanded perception of life and grateful reception of blessings, positive creativity, healing, and wisdom. It shows how humanity bridges the manifest explicate order and the unmanifest implicate order. Offering a fresh perspective on supplication, The Supplicate Order carries four messages that pertain to spiritual aspirants at any level: Don't abandon yourself (to self-loathing or to another person's or group's absolute power over you) Start with what you know to do (don't be too eager to get exotic or far removed from your resonant spiritual persuasion) Never think you know everything Don't give up Brown explains how key universal principles verify the human capacity to bring forth "gifts of the spirit," while psychological health and development determine invocatory efforts and receptive capacities. The Supplicate Order integrates global spiritual wisdom and psychological knowledge with the trends of new science, highlighting the human invocation of the sacred.




Sounds of Poetry


Book Description