Art and Anthroposophy

Book excerpt: Steiner's idea of art included the renewal of society in general and more particularly certain human endeavors such as science, economy, and religion. He was convinced that his approach would in turn lead to a fundamental renewal of contemporary art. In his introduction, Mattke writes "to the extent that we humans adopt a modern mindset, the more we will be divided from the reality that surrounds us." In response to this profoundly challenging situation, Steiner recommends that we do not assume a New Age paradigm, or a "back-to-nature" attitude such as Rousseau advocated. Rather, according to Steiner and anthroposophy, contemporary humanity needs to develop and practice new ways of thinking, feeling, and willing in order to reconnect to the spiritual character of human life and of the cosmos in a conscious way. Steiner's conception of art is one of the ways to effect this reconnection. Today's art calls for an individual encounter from ego to ego, for conscious work to meet the artist's intentions and foremost for intense work on one's own habitual thought systems and so called "normal" feelings. Losing the crutches of trained intellectual conclusions as well as the comfortable wellness of one's familiar feelings is surely an intense learning process, a real threshold experience. Art & Anthroposophy includes articles ranging from a very personal account of conversations between Margarita Woloschin and Rudolf Steiner; the significance of the First Goetheanum; an article by David Adams on Joseph Beuys; and a tribute to Beppe Assenza by Arthur Zajonc.