A Note from Prof. Phil:
I am wishing all of you an inspiring New Year ! This year treat
yourself to an awesome painting holiday in Eureka Springs, USA
or in Italy - check out the "OLD MASTERS - NEW VISIONS"
seminars below.LOTS of luscious books coming out! I am happy to
announce that Betty Books of Bologna,Italy will be publishing
my next book. This second book in my trilogy on art and spirit
will be released in September, 2008 and is entitled: “PROMETHEAN
FLAMES - Rekindling and Re-visioning the Creative Fire”,
(in English). It will include a Foreword by Prof. Michael Schwartz
on the text and a Preface from Eric Davis on the 16 color plates
of my paintings. Jon Beinart announces his forthcoming publication;
"METAMORPHOSIS 2" and the fabulous DE ES Schwertberger
has a new catalog out chronicling his recent palace-exhibition
in Vienna. ~ Prof. Phil R.J.
Philip is an artist, writer, philosopher, teacher and visionary.
He holds undergraduate (B.S.) and graduate degrees (M.A., MFA)
in the Studio Arts with complementary studies in Psychology, Philosophy
and Comparative Religion. His work has been exhibited internationally
in more than 90 exhibitions and his writings have been read worldwide
in numerous articles and journals.
He is the author of "DRINKING LIGHTNING - Art, Creativity and
Transformation". He also organizes and teaches seminars, "Old
Masters-New Visions", that encompass the painting techniques of
the old masters. He also offers lectures and workshops on the
topics of inspiration and creativity. Philip is also spear-heading
The MAIA Project, which, as a museum, will serve as a kind of
United Nations of integral artists and as an academy, a forum
for creativity and an agent for transformation in education and
in all walks of life.
Philip's background as a self-taught artist is unique, and complemented
by his studies with the internationally renowned artist, Ernst
Fuchs, at Castle Wartholz, in Vienna, Austria, 1973-1974. During
this time he trained in painting and printmaking techniques of
the Old Masters. This knowledge prevails beneath the unusual versatility
of the artist's work. Rubinov's travels have been extensive, including
India, where he studied Kashmir Shaivism and wandered naked with
a band of Sadhus in 1978. He has studied the world wisdom traditions,
the Martial Arts of Kodakan Judo, Aikido Sword. Through his friendship
with Ken Wilber, the renowned author and philosopher, he has cultivated
many insights into the mysterious forces within the realm of art
and Integral psychology/ philosophy.
He has been a strong proponent for the Fine Arts, especially
in the visionary and fantastic genres', and has been referred
to as "the lynch-pin of visionary art" by Alex Grey. He has served
on several city arts councils, and has been a recipient of a grant
from the New York State Council on the Arts. In 1981 he co-founded
and directed the first Institute for Contemplative Education and
Visionary Art in the United States, located in upstate New York.
In 1995, along with a fabulous staff that he assembled, the professor
founded and directed the new School of Extended Studies at Naropa
University where he served as a dean from 1991-1997. He continues
his work as an artist, writer and teacher, and is an adjunct faculty
member of Vermont College at Norwich University.
A new 2nd Edition of "DRINKING LIGHTNING - Art, Creativity and
Transformation", will also be published and released by MARJA
Publications in November 2004 as well. The artist has been holding
his renowned international summer painting seminars: "Old Masters-New
Visions" since 1997. His works can be viewed at Galerie 10 in
Vienna, Austria, as well as Galerie Paradijs in Holland and The
Dream Masters in the USA. He continues to paint and teach and
is currently working on another three books: "The Hand-Book of
Creativity", "Lightning Strikes Again - The Art of Philip Rubinov
Jacobson" and "Old and New Methods in The Mixed-Technique of Egg
Tempera and Oil Painting".
BOOK TESTIMONIALS
"Phil and I met years ago, just at the beginning of his path - at the entrance to the reality of the imagination. His talents have unfolded the message he has been chosen to give to his students first, and to all those that have set out on an esoteric interpretation of the universe".
Ernst Fuchs
Founder of the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism
"Phil is a courageous artist, part of a unique breed, who, with his visionary paintings and inspirational books, crushes mediocre expectations and the flaccid longings of an art audience driven to anemic values by the tasteless art market machine. He dares/forces the onlooker to explore the depths of their subconscious and the heights of their superconsciousness. His paintings and writings provide the opportunity for each and every one of us to transcend the mundane and re-invigorate our soul"
Roberto Venosa
Visionary Artist
"Phil Jacobson is an artist and mystic of rare intelligence...ever reminding us that creativity and spirituality are One."
Alex Grey
Artist and Author
"Rubinov - Jacobson, artist, author, philosopher and founder of the School of Extended Studies at Naropa University, offers an integral exploration of the relationship between art, creativity, and spirituality. This book emerges as an artistic analog relating to such literary classics in consciousness research as The Variety of Religious Experiences by William James and Spectrum of Consciousness by Ken Wilber. He introduces the reader, for the first time, to the divisions in consciousness that exist between dreams and drug induced states, between sensory experience and realms of imagination, between intuition and divine inspiration while re-visioning and reinstating art as a sacred language and a powerful key to understanding human nature and our inherent qualities. The color reproductions of paintings by the author are equally profound."
Book News, Inc.,
Portland, OR
"It is a great pleasure to be friends with Philip. He is a great Artist, Writer and a man of action. Philip has dedicated a massive amount of energy into a movement that is very close to my heart. The global Fantastic & Visionary Art movement would be more than a man short without Philip's energy. Phil has published books on our movement, featuring many great artists, he's produced an impressive body of work and he has exposed people to the magic of Visionary art with his personable, hands-on seminars. It is my pleasure to Recommend this passionate man to the art world (and the world at large)."
Jon Beinart
Director & Editor, beinArt Publishing
Promethean Flames:
Rekindling & Re-Visioning the Creative Fire
Philip Rubinov Jacobson with a foreword by Prof. Michael Schwartz & prologue by Robyn Sean Peterson
This book is the second in Prof. Phil's trilogy of books about Art & Spirit. In this publication the author delves more deeply into the inner life and spiritual experience of creative workers, exploring what life as an artist and mystic really entails. There is an in-depth exploration of the relationship between creativity and intuition - where a new word has been created - "creatuitive." The integral artist is held up as transformer, inspiring great change in the world, and creating in order to dissolve the illusion of separation between self and God. Prof. Phil has really lived the life as a mystic artist, and he shares his knowledge and experiences with the reader, reminding us all that art making is an act of prayer and can be a spiritual practice. This is an excellent book for artists, creative ministers and other spiritual healers, and those who are interested in the healing power of art.
If you missed the interview with Prof Phil by writer and journalist, Sabrina Albeni, of Italy's ELURIA website, HERE IT IS !
Topics range from Prof Phil's work, art and consciousness, to the visionary aspects of art and artists, and more....
1) I notice a great eclecticism in your works, every painting of your seems different from others. So your style should be considered experimental?
Since I was a boy, I pursued artistic expression in a variety of styles and media. Although I have been identified with Fantastic Realism and Visionary Art, I am not solely one or the other. Many simply have never seen what may be called my Abstract, Expresionistic, Classical, Outsider, Folk-art, and Multi-styled works. Despite the contemporary gallery-emphasis and pressures on 'style', it seemed rather limited and extremely boring to be fixed and identified with any one style so I have always refused to allow myelf to be limited and to enjoy my creative freedom. There is this intense tendency for the mind's reducing valve to put paInters in a designated drawer. I just paint without concern for that. It has always been un-natural for me to paint in 'one' style. In addition, I have always been suspicious of painters who created works that appeared relatively the 'same', decade after decade, as I did not see any growth in their work, any experimentation, searching or versatality. It appears to me, that such artists were always in the same room, and only the wallpaper is changing a little.
Painting begins where words end and often fail us. Artists are commonly asked by galleries to write a statement on their artistic expression and their 'meanings'. Such a request presumes that the art itself is somehow disemboweled, defective and weak in its singular mode of communication and not 'bona fide' until described in words. The tyranny of the word over the image is still affecting the psyches of 21st century minds, hearts and influencing all of the fine arts. Nonetheless, deep within today's order of consumerism, art's mystery is quietly injected into the material world by the visionary tribe. Artistic expression of the spirit eventually and inevitably seeps into the culture at large. A regenerating, rejuvenating and redeeming knowledge must fill the good works. For me to follow one line of aesthetic endeavor would never fulfill the scope of my search, it is as simple as that. Art is serious-play. It can also be playful and free, free to explore any means of expression. Not every painting has to be a masterpiece, it can also be fun and bring happiness, knowlede and contentment.
2) Besides a painter and a sculptor, you are also a writer, philosopher and teacher. How much do all those interests contribute to characterizing your art?
I believe all my endeavors are inextricably and integrally combined, each direction contributing and working with the other. What I learn and feel, what I profess and teach, and what I artistically express all reflect an underlying spiritual quest. Like in the secret doctrines of the ancients, this work is concerned with the mysteries of life and the perenial questions that arise from such a pursuit. The work of integral artists are preserved among a small band of initiated minds since the beginning of the world. And like the Great Arcanum of old, such works of art, through symbol, subtle aesthetic energies, allegory or abstraction, also offer keys that unlock a treasure house of artistic, philosophic, scientific and religious truths. The great art is a spiritual practice that casts aside the fallacies of dogma and tenet, expresses Goodness, Beauty and Truth and is never satisfied with anything substitute or counterfeit. Thus, whether I am painting, sculpting, teaching, writing on art or philosophy - it all comes back to a 'spiritual practice' to express a love for the mysteries and an attempt to unveil and share some partial aspect of the Invisible behind the Visible.
3) How does the study of Eastern philosophy influence your works?
I believe my works from 1975 -1981 were most directly influenced by my studies of Eastern philosophy and my experience and travels in India. During that period my paintings reflected pictorial expressions of the movement of kundalini and shakti within and around me. Light itself moved into my work, illuminating and driving out the darkness; an excavation of the unconcious and dream-states allowed for a genuine awakening assisted by the power of art. Methods of meditation and my experiences in India assisted this transformation within myself - as in the reflected works. Perhaps the most profound revelation I took away from my experience in India as an empirical and 'living' event of the philosophy of the East was the undeniable experience that 'God dwells within you - as you'. I disovered that God can only be fully known by becoming God, as in the manner described in the experiences by both Shankara and Meister Eckhart, by becoming what we 'already and always are', and by the self being taken fully into the divine life and being transformed therein. The idea of man becoming, or being made God may not only be alien to popular religious conceptions of the nature of God and man, it is often perceived as sacrilegious and outrageously arrogant, sinful and blasphemous, usually because of the mistaken presumption that the identification is being made between the 'personal ego' and the Supreme Being. Indeed, many artists, even so-called visionary artists would be, and are, in total disagreement with Meister Eckhart, Shankara, James, Blake, Rumi and all the mystics who have experienced this direct identification with the divine. It is not purely a view or experience of my own, not at all. It is built on the awareness and experiences of many great minds, philosophers, saints and mystics from all the wisdom traditions that support this view. It is a 'shared' view and known 'experience'; it is not my philosophical invention, not by any means. What may be novel and original in my personal view is how I have attached, assimilated and synthesized 'art, artist, creativity and inspiration' into the mix as a transpersonal and spiritual aesthetic practice that complements any chosen path. Eventually I understood that this realization is not only 'Eastern', but 'Western' too, not only of peoples from the 'North' but also of the 'South'. Indeed, there is no one religious group that owns or dispenses the ultimate Truth, or that has a copyright on God. Similarly, there is no one scientific or political group, or artistic genre, including the Visionary and Fantastic, which has exclusive rights on the expression of Reality itself. Such exclusivity just leads to yet another newly formed dogma, another man-made illusion in the mud and matter of Maya. A more inclusive and perennial view is called for. The perennial view is not limited to the people of ancient India. We find the same fundamental idea expressed in the traditional religions of many cultures, including those that are labeled "primitive." For instance, the Australian Aborigines speak of the original Dreamtime in terms reminiscent of the homogeneity of the Source before all creation and the Native American Indians speak of the Great Spirit. The ancient Chinese celebrated the One Being as the Tao or "way." The ancient Egyptians recognized a pantheon of deities, the Neters, who were really functional aspects of the One Divine Light. A similar situation prevailed among the ancient Greeks, many tribal societies in Africa, the Far East, and South America and in the early Germanic people. Belief in a single Reality need not be at odds with the recognition that there are many deities, both male and female, since they can be considered as manifestations, or at least, super-archetypes of the Universal Being.
As Huxley noted, the most accomplished practitioners of this philosophy are the saints, sages, enlightened beings and artistic mystics of the various cultures on earth. This perennial philosophia ("love of wisdom") revolves around a few focal issues: the singularity of truth, the supreme value of diversity, and the sacredness of existence and of the human individual. Today, from the vantage point of our present place in the unraveling drama of evolution on this planet, we can add another feature: humankinds' wavering potential toward unity consciousness. In our time, the spiritual in anything is always challenged by a materialistic culture and economics. In the fine arts, the spiritual in art becomes a matter of iconomics, a hard sell for a creative mystic in the economic structure of the art marketplace. This tussle between spirit and matter was of particular interest for Schiller who wrote that in order to come to terms with the paradoxical play between freedom and destiny, the finite and infinite, nature and spirit, gross and subtle, and the objective and subjective realms; we enter into the struggle to create. Every human being undergoes a creative struggle of one kind or another. Integral-minded artists, be they painters, writers or musicians, film-makers, actors, sculptors or dancers, or any other type of creative worker, consciously embark on integrating their daily lives, their everyday challenges. Soul-artists wrestle with the forces of creativity to make objective their inner subjective vision. They have responded to the call of beauty, truth and goodness and often must live on courage and faith alone as they both struggle with the challenges and seriously-play within their 'calling'. A transpersonal practice such as meditation (and there are hundreds of them to choose from) fortifies anyone's ability to face the obstacles and chaos of life, as it offers a place of peace to retreat to and to rejuvenate from. That place is not far away, nor does it cost any money. Many spend thousands of dollars at the psychiatrist's office for a little 'peace of mind' when that peace is readily available inside all of us and reachable through the simple practice of meditation and the arts. It is a place where the mind slows down and becomes 'still' and peace flows over it like a stream of warm oil. It is an inner place of rejuvenation. It is the God space within us wherein peace can be found, mystical and aesthetic experiences and transformational events can unfold.
4) What's the function of the light, matter and the natural elements in your art?
Ordinary vision is nothing more than the physical encounter of the eye with the illusion of matter that strikes it. To live and dwell only in the state of ordinary vision is like walking around with snow on our heads, our imaginations frozen, our intuition and soul on ice. To the creative mystic that has awakened to the Reality of the Spiritual Imagination behind the Illusion of Matter, the Invisible behind the Visible; life is not only arranged in the Basin of Space - but is married to Light and Love, the Daughter of the Eternal, the Son of the Infinite. The noble mission of art is to serve and inspire illumination in self and others through an integrating and inherent living force that suspends the mind, causing the ego to temporarily lose its grip on its limited identification. I am speaking of an art that leaves us momentarily breathless, and carries us to the depths of our soul, or uplifts our spirits to lofty states in which we are dignified as human beings.
I have always been facinated with the infinite ways that light can play out in a painting. For many years now, the focus of my painting has invloved 'light' in its myriad manifestations as matter. I do this in numerous forms and ways. One of these ways has been in exploring and expresing the essence of gems and minerals. they hold a fascination for me as forms of 'solid light'. I had a trancendent experience of seeing and feeling the life-essence behind this crystaline kingdom. I saw the causal plane of their origin, even the builders behind their material matrix. I was able to go in and out of this trance-like state, even ask questions of the entities there in this formless realm behind and beyond all forms. It was so fantastic and I have only just begun to paint the 'grossest' form of as I slowly move toward expressing the essence of this 'subtle' experience. I also find it challenging, technically, to paint such imagery.
For the mystic, the creation of images involves a symbolic way of paradoxically expressing the ground beyond all names and forms, yet inclusive of all forms. This universe, this infinite space full of celestial bodies and forms unimaginable; what was here before it? Was there ever a 'before it'? What did that look like? Was there a something to be seen? This ground beyond all names and forms is behind everything that exists and supplies everything with the possibility of being. It is like the tinkling anklet of a divine female dancer whose dancing gracefully weaves the invisible patterns behind infinite worlds. By contemplating on a mass of indefinite light one can get only an intangible something, a slight form of the formless and auspicious body of the Divine; one of the infinitude of ways is in seeing that light is being marshaled in a set pattern of radiant rays. Such energetic patterns composing the spirit of matter eventually weave their way from the intangible to the tangible canvas; the thought clothe of an art of the soul. The patterns consolidate, condensing out of the Whole, creating a microcosm of infinitely smaller wholes. In this way art can also be understood as esthetic holons. A painting can evoke and precipitate this microcosmic process mirroring macrocosmic principles; each individual image being a smaller reflective whole of the larger Whole, in which everything resides. The universe is constantly creating, sustaining and destroying forms. Stars are born, give light and warmth, nova and die. So it is with the MInd, constantly creating, maintaining and destroying thought-forms; mirroring the creative process of the Universe. In this same way, the soul artist, a smaller whole of the larger Whole, begins a creative process within him or herself, of disintegration, reconstruction and re-integration through the soul's path of reunification to Spirit.
5) The transformation motif is very frequent in Visionary Art. What's its meaning for you?
The transformative vision is an artistic reflection of the evolution of conciousness on individual and collective levels. It is often experienced when the mind is quiet and identification with the 'ego' is temporarily suspended, as in the genuine state of meditation. True visionary artists are using their abilities to enter into and express something from a transpersonal state. In the transpersonal experience of meditation (and painting is a form of meditation), or in the 'no I' state of consciousness as in the creative process; although many people attain moments of no self, or no 'I', or being "lost in the present," an experience in which all sense of identity momentarily disappears and unified consciousness arises; such experiences seem incomprehensible to those who haven't had them. For modern conventional scientists, creatures of rational thinking and, for the most part, still enveloped in the 17th century age of 'Enlightenment', claims of mystical awakenings and non-ordinary states of consciousness has long been addressed as self-deception, charlatanism, chemical occurrences in brain matter, mental disorder, gullibility, or all of the above. Non-conceptual thinking is often hard to describe in words. Still, it fires up a description, or subtle picture of intuition, artistic experiences, inspiration, and the indescribable feelings attached to phenomena such as doing complex mathematics, feeling love or grief, experiencing ecstatic visions and finding spiritual enlightenment. Indeed, the state of "no "I" and being 'lost in the present' has been experienced and described down through the centuries as a valid and powerful means of perceiving the wholeness of Reality. This disinterested play of consciousness wherein one 'loses oneself' to the state of 'no I' is also the fertile ground of creativity, genius and tranformation.
The ecstatic artist exclaims, indeed, we may all excl.. I am the Absolute, the smile and the sorrow, the lion and the sparrow. We may each say: I am the stenching homeless man you pretend not to see and the prisoner you executed, the beautiful child who laughs and the old woman who died next door. We are gazing out of every face; we are carved out of the same ONE light. The ecstatic experience can be a blissful intoxication of sorts, and at the same time a crystal clear meteoric mad-flash of timeless loving light. It is not manic or a form of pathology of any kind. From it you walk away and remember that before this journey you knew everything. That you spoke of yourself to yourself. Time nor space, birth or death was not a condition. There was nothing else to experience. Just a hint of memory comes, a slight feeling if you will, that timeless eternity and ceaseless bliss seemed boring, or at least, lacked awesome creativity. You recall; that is you vaguely remember, creating an illusion to limit the spectrum of your perception. Now whether as a painter or a plumber, you look out at the world of forms from the ecstatic eyes of formlessness. You see forever and afterwards you appear to yourself again as disjointed: as a river, a horse, as a mountain, or as your own cousin, friend or father. Yet, there is also this inner drive, this push toward self-discovery that returns you to total remembrance. You awake and realize that you are on a great pilgrimage that leads back to where you started, to who and what you always were and already are right now, will always be and what you are becoming. The tranformation motif in the works of visionary art reflect and express thi journeyless-journey.
6) What's Visionary Art for you?
For me, and many so-called 'visionary artists' may disagree, Visionary Art is a term describing the work of artistic-mystics, or what I have also called "creatuitive artists' that combine their creativity and intuition in their search for spiritual revelation. I have also described Visionary Art as a kind of Soul-art that leads to God-art. An artist such as this marries pyche and techne in order to tap into universal form and a sacred language. Art is a fluid and sacred language that speaks to us, not only with a resonating solace and serenity but also with a powerful potential for transformation. It can be a sword of fiery change. The most authentic of our visionaries simply 'have visions'. They are ecstatics by nature. They are born already having passed through the Primary Imagination, and are fully partcipating in the Spritual Imagination. They have non-ordinary experiences of conciousness; auditory, clairvoyant and clairsentient experiences. . . often unaided by drugs or by ingesting entheogens of any kind. Following the impulse and forces of an innate creative nature, the artistic mystic passes through membranes of consciousness. Using the tools of their art, their creative manifestations act as a mirror reflecting the signs and symbols of Spirit. Spirit directs artistic practice in transcending our limited and frozen identities toward a more expansive experience of our self and infinite nature. The work produced increasingly reflects a deeper and richer language of the soul. This visual language also acts as symbols and signs for the creative worker and respondents alike, on the spiritual journey. The mind becomes a microcosmic reflection of macrocosmic principles in the universal process of grand creation. As I stated, stars, supernovas, planets, moons, and cosmic material comes and goes; are constantly being created, sustained and destroyed, and so it is with the mind, always bringing new thought forms and images into being, constantly creating, sustaining, and dissolving them – artifexually mirroring the Universal Creative Process until Godhead is perceived, experienced and clearly united with – without any clouding of the eyes of the soul.
The Significant Reality of Imagination as a pathway can lead the creative worker to true contemplation and understanding of both dogma and the nature of illusion. As we consider rare states of consciousness that have evolved out of the spiritual imagination, the description of which no precise and adequate language is available, our task increases in difficulty. The main characteristics of the spiritual imagineer operating at his or her most significant capacity may be summed up as follows. The imagineer can ascend above the multiplicity and divisions of his general consciousness and rise above her/his (egocentric-personality and limited identifications) through the vehicle of a spiritual imagination. Here consciousness of I-hood and the illusion of separateness between the worlds around them begin to dissolve. Thought, love, and will become a unity and feeling and perception that have been fused. In this event, on some level, their art also becomes integral in its essential nature. The creative worker's search, via the bridge from Primary Imagination to Spiritual Imagination, runs parallel with the age-long quest and search for the ultimate Truth which lies hidden beyond all partial truths, behind all the polar opposites which condition human perception, a search that does not end in vain. We need not rest content with the partial truths revealed by astronomy, by archeology, by biology, by history, each true to its own field, sometimes contradicting or seeming to contradict each other, none complete in itself, none giving the whole picture; nor yet with the truth of mathematics and physics, or the truth of language, primarily truths obeying the rules which men themselves have made. Beyond all these, beyond the contradictions of each separate truth, lies concealed the supreme and final whole Truth, the ultimate synthesis, which humanity has longed to find, and has never managed to incorporate harmoniously. Art can take on a profound noetic quality and can bring new knowledge and insight when it moves beyond the fanciful and reveal in-sights that cannot e gained in any other way. This knowledge is acquired not by way of observation, but by way of participation and a fusion between spirit and matter. The imagineer, the subject, does not stand over against the screen of vision, the object; the two merge and unite. In the realm of imagination, even that which is mentally constructed or given as inspired sight, is still a kind of object; even if made of the fine matter of thought, or of the ethereal substance of an inspired in-sight. It is witnessed, initially, as something other than one's self, followed immediately with the experience of fusion, with the knower and the known becoming one. The imagineer can participate in Divinity, and some of them do. The artist has the consciousness of being that which she/he knows and knowing that which she/he is.
There is visionary art that is 'integral' and visionary art that is somehow "partial", a bit warped, or a distorted impression and expression of another state of consciouness. Surrealism, for example, can be potent, emotionally charged - but somehow 'partial' or even warped. There are "visionary artists" that experience altered states and express these experiences, but they often come out cold, lack human feeling, are artificial and lacking, particularly if they are 'fantastic' and rendered in a photographic realism that leaves u only with a snaphot of the Cosmic and yet do not radiate anything on the 'feeling' level. I define 'bad art' as simply that which lacks feeling. An Integral visionary art, like a healthy spirituality, is free from addiction and avoidance and is characterized by an openness and willingness to face reality. An integral art expresses our humanity, diversity and our divinity, our frailty and our strength, our darkness and our light. It inspires reverence for life and enhances our capacity for love, peace, and joy. It affects experience in both the inner and outer worlds and has far-reaching personal, social and cultural implications via its inspirational impact and fusion of experience. A potent art can be found equally among those dedicated artists who have made the choice to live a traditional religious life and among those who do not think themselves as religious at all, perhaps even as atheists. The fruits of both are equally tasty and may be perceived in the presence of a work of art as opposed to its appearance, for art can work into us, into our layers of being, into the marrow of our bones and very soul.
A genuine aspiration in integral art, like spirituality, presupposes certain qualities, including awareness of a transcendent dimension, a sense of wonder, love, and gratitude, compassion and kindness and the desire to connect to the Absolute, the supreme essence of Living Light. This integrated spirituality supports freedom, autonomy, self-esteem, and social responsibility. It does not deny our humanity, or depend on suppression or denial of emotions, sexuality or the beliefs of others. It is inclusive; it is not exclusive. On the contrary, it encourages listening to the heart and trusting the wisdom of intuition, and includes, even involves the soul, mind, life and body all together where it finds ultimate expression in the arts and in our interaction with life through all these mediums and vessels. Characteristics of an integral art and spirituality are also characteristics of psychological maturity. Underlying both personal impulses to growth and all creative enterprise is the fundamental impulse that seeks a unified consciousness. It is here that many would doubt that a creative worker with atheistic perspectives would ever experience the most subtle states of consciousness and vision, as a state of exclusiveness may already rule out the 'inclusiveness' and openness required to experience such subtle states that mystics describe as a 'union with the divine'. Nonetheless, I am not convinced that such experiences are unavailable to an 'atheist', even if it is only the catalyst that transforms one's belief system. All motivational drives are subsets of the fundamental spiritual drive to attain unity with the Absolute, consciously or unconsciously. Each successive stage of psycho-spiritual development achieves a higher order of unity. At each stage the self seeks unity in accordance with the constraints of the particular self-concept with which it identifies. The gratifications of each stage are also illusions that prevent liberation if we mistake them for the end of the path. With clarity and continuance, such a process is a hyper-advanced expansion of Maslow's premise of the cumulative effect of 'peak-experiences'. In Wilber's work he weaves this into the everyday experience of human spiritual growth and not the occasional and rare occurrence described in Maslow's thesis, or as an epiphany of self-realization and life. Artistic practice affords these peak-experiences and sub-set states continuously when woven into the fabric of a transpersonal practice that inevitably leads to progressive stages of consciousness and a growing connection to the Cosmos itself. So I also see Visionary Art as working hand-in-hand within a larger spiritual practice.
7) When I've read your biography, I've noticed that you've carried out different projects of art schools and centres of collaboration among creative minds. What's the function, today, of these projects?
All my projects will one day, soon, culminate in a place I call "Villa Visionaria", which I plan to establish in Italy. This will be a place of artistic retreat, study and creative production. A small number of kindrid spirits living as creative-community will reside there. Part of the year it will also be open to the public as a gallery, academy and forum for collaborative art-projects with the community - at - large, education, industry, the arts and sciences. In esence it will serve as a consolidated effort of all my past efforts and events and will transcend but include all that had come before.
8) Is it possible that a collaboration between artists can be unaffected by conflicts and rivalries?
Artists need to take a new perspective on collaboration, as opposed to the outdated outlook that is offered by one of my peer's who has written; :". . . artists are, at best, friendly enemies". The jealousy, resentment, and sibling rivalry must end and a new mode of cooperation must begin. The key term here is creative-community-cooperation. When we speak of painters, sculptors, composers or writers, that is, non-performing artists, it is obvious that their work requires a somewhat cloistered existence already, which can color the personality and induce a form of autonomy and a life of isolation. In light of that, an effort must be made to add contact with the world at large to cultivate and maintain an emotional and psychological balance. Even for the 'spiritual'' artist, it is also unnatural and contradictory, somehow inhuman, to allow prayer, meditation, or artistic practice to create a kind of 'spiritual-isolation'. When artistic practice, prayer or meditation becomes an elixir for isolation, when it consists almost exclusively of a beautiful and blissful contemplation of paradisiacal divinity, it loses much of its socializing influence, its integral-loving essence (to embrace, receive and give), and tends to isolate the practitioner and deprive the world of another positive force. There is a certain danger and loss of both personal and collective human integration with overly private praying, meditating, or creating; which is balanced in the company of others, depending on the 'company', of course, but that is also a matter of choice and selection. It is important now for artists everywhere to move toward creative integration and contribution, to bring their creative abilities and potency into the mainstream. And it is equally important, that the community at large engages and interacts with the world of the artist. The world desperately needs this infusion and integral relationship. All of the 'isolating factors' of the visionary-type of creative worker are not falling entirely in his or her court, much of this separation is due to the visionary being pushed to the outside and fringe of the community as well. The genuinely creative opportunities made available by the community and political forces are rare, and when they are available; they are almost always geared toward the conventional, commercially acceptable and 'appropriate' artist representing their own community-based belief system. So integration must be a dual-effort. Art as a transpersonal practice is a direction involving the cultivation of consciousness of the Presence of God, and that is altogether praiseworthy, but when such practices or experiences lead to social isolation or culminate in religious fanaticism, intellectual arrogance and exclusiveness, they are all but reprehensible. Artists must guard against such failings. Due to the overwhelming nature of the artistic journey and the challenges the world presents, the creative mystic may shrink from the mundane world and shroud him or herself into a cloistered existence, or in a polarized fashion, cushioning him/herself in a kind of armor in the surrounding comforts of fame, pomp, glitter and glory, with a selected circle of appointed admirers. I think it is extremely important, therefore, for the creative mystic to keep an eye out on these tendencies toward isolation, whether in poverty or pomp and glory. I work against thi tendency by organizing seminars for painting via a genuine 'creative community' and circle of learning and inspiration, by lecturing and meeting with the public, y writing book for the pulic, and by organizing various events that bring artists and the public together.
A new worldview is needed. A world-centric, even a theo-centric perspective and integral art are called for. The artists' model of the rugged, isolated individual is ineffective now and a more collaborative approach between both artist and community is essential and can be initiated. The contemporary artists who have bridged and reconciled their interior experience with the outer world through spiritual practice, have now posited themselves as potential 'points of inspiration' for creative community development and therefore for the Larger Tribe, although one would also be surprised to find how few of these artists exist and genuinely practice what they preach and paint, even among the hordes of creative workers that label themselves as 'visionary', or servants of Spirit. The creative mystic, having inwardly married psyche (soul), the realm of mind/spirit, with the world of matter, techne (body/technique), is competent in a role enabling him or herself to guide, to show responsible creative activity and actions. The highest role of the artist is to INSPIRE, rather than make autonomous decisions, or merely negative art commenting on negative events and negative conditions, without any sort of positive vision, or creative solutions in its stead, or healing action, or other aesthetic possibilities to inspire an evolved awareness in others. Unveiling political and worldly wrong doing through art is certainly a noble use of skill, but would be more complete with an offer of creative solution, even if only in the form of expressing some higher ideal, creative solution or vision. Certainly there is room in all of our art museums to also include such an integral art, although we rarely see it. I am not talking about replacing the usual objects of modern art, but of including that which is intentionally left out. Through a newly formed cooperative relationship between community and creative worker, the function of the artist-planner expands and the integral-minded 'political artist' can take on a more positive and constructive role. New approaches for and by the community would allow for innovative work and solutions to emerge unhampered by previous limitations self-imposed by a community unfamiliar with direct creative experience, the expression of non-ordinary states and the power of a transcendent vision and art. Whereas the communities of our time negate artistic talent coupled with spiritual vision, they would incorporate and partner with these creative agents of transformation.
Artists that evolve to look beyond their traditional role, as not only form-makers themselves and 'rugged individualists', will accept a responsibility for the creative drives of their fellow creative workers and total community. In addition, artists reluctant to aid their fellow creative workers are merely enveloped in fear and insecurities. They remain in a selfish and competitive mode that further isolates them, warps their personality and state of well-being. Through the resultant understanding of an active integral art, the artist becomes aware of h/her interior life and then can understand the larger exterior life of the community, responding to both individual and collective needs and truly emerges as an integral artist, otherwise, where is the humanity in being a 'visionary'? The result is visionary artists longing to make museums to themselves, honoring only themselves, not unilke that of a pharoh. Artists that take a true responsibility for h/her actions, and through their increased visibility, the community takes responsibility through integrating artists instead of exiling them to the status of outsiders. An artist aspiring to become integral has more of a chance to achieve that in a community that integrates the artist in the first place. Can we accuse the artist with an anti-social and imbalanced nature for being that way in a culture that rarely integrates, appreciates or acknowledges their potential, practical and visionary artistic contributions in the first place?
I am still envisioning what this new symbiotic role for artists and community could be like. Villa Visionaria will explore that. The intention of community participation will vary with the art form but this new artistic-social-political and spiritual relationship can have universal implications. In theater it may energize and reveal archetypal experiences. In community development it is to allow people to contribute to the design, architecture, development and life of their own community, education, cultural activities, business and ultimately their lifestyle - which would become sensitized and broadened through the creative process of participation. This is a way for people to become spiritually FREE, and freedom always includes CREATIVITY and creativity always includes RESPONSIBILITY, and all this raises the collective consciousness by truly merging creative learning experiences with living life itself. It encompasses that which happens to us and what we make happen. Instead, in our present situation we have a political-corporate enslavement to a technocracy bent on nipple-feeding people who have lost their creative courage through the crunch of an industrialized education and political indoctrination. And we have a society that has become complacent, content on sucking that artificial milk, sometimes even when poisoned milk is being fed to them; the lies, the mind-set, the marketing, the politically correct agenda that is incorrect, military and economic agendas and unnatural feelings of nationalism entwined with twisted roots of fear-based propaganda. I am talking about returning creative freedom and responsibility to the individual and community as an integrated partnership.
9) How was your artistic experience with Ernst Fuchs?
Your question reminds me of the most significant words I heard from my mentor, Ernst Fuchs, who said; 'the artist is called, as surely as the prophet.' More important than the knowledge of the old masters that he shared with me, was the instilling of an attitude; that art is noble, indeed, that it is a lofty service to the divine. As a 19 - 20 year old American in Vienna, studying with this great master was indeed one of the most magical and mystical times of my life. I will forever honor and treasure that time. Ernst was my artistic father and reinforced my creativity as a mystic, while he shared his knowledge of the old masters with me. He sparked the flame within me and fueled an honoring and perception of creative activity as a sacred and mystical practice. The experience was invaluable and magical.
Now, my esteemed mentor is a Christian mystic in his practice and in his art, and I respect his beliefs. However, I cannot ignore the fact that all my studies and spiritual pursuits have led me to the conclusion that all paths contain some partial truth. In the pursuit of philosophy and art, in searching to become stationed in illumination, it is wise to exercise an especially liberated intelligence in which the human mind is set free and the spirit can soar. Untrammeled by limitations of the temporal and the particular, art recognizes no laws save those that govern its own reasoning, or created reality. This disinterested activity in which the quest of the freely functioning mind explores, is a tremendous good. It opens the doors of inspiration, and is among the greatest experiences a human being can gain and enjoy. This is the activity of the modern artistic mystic and could be the collaborative and associated activity of our cultural institutions. Art is a noble skill, an offspring of the material mind of mortal man, inspired by a cosmic loom that carries the fabric on which the self, the small 'i', weaves the patterns of universal character with the supreme self, the capital 'I', and holds enduring values and spiritual expression. Artists serve as humanities' eyes of the soul. In so far as the evolving being becomes permeated by truth, beauty, and goodness as the value-realization of an illumined consciousness, and this applies to each and every one of us, not just 'artists', such a resultant being can become a force of indestructible love. I do not believe the artist is a special kind of person but that each person is special kind of artist and all are subject to the same spiritual tasks. If a soul does not seek eternal values and love, then mortal existence is without meaning and life itself, becomes an inescapable and tragic illusion.
Ultimately, I believe my old mentor and friend would agree with me that all artists should work for Love and in service to the One without a second, to Illumination and to illuminating the Mystery. A famous aphorism from the philosopher Herbert Spencer is a definition of our association to Deity that is wonderful:
"God is infinite intelligence, infinitely diversified through infinite time and infinite space, manifesting through an infinitude of ever-evolving individualities."
10) You had visited and taught in Italy. What do you think of our cultural context?
Of all the places I have been to on Earth, Italy is the most beloved and the place I would like to finally call 'home'.
Beneddettto Croce, is one who delineated the role of intuition and inspiration in art in his extremely profound philosophical tenets. Croce, an early twentieth century Italian philosopher, is the founding architect of the modern system of art education in Italy, which is still in effect today in all the universities of that nation. The art student in Italy must also, today, equally study philosophy along with the arts, as Croce sees these two paths as two sides of the same coin. His philosophical approach to inspiration and art is in conveying what art is, and what it is not, and by citing the realm of feeling as the apex and doorway to intuitive expression, and, not unlike a Vedantic scholar exclaiming: "neti-neti", not this - not that! This Western philosopher, Croce, conceives of aesthetics as a general linguistics because its concern is with all expressive media, all forms of human symbol-construction, the paradigm of which is a universal artistic language. Croce's position clearly contains this doctrine and his "circle of spiritual activity", is, in my opinion, an accurate beginning for a description of an "Integral Art". In his analysis of intuition, Croce identifies spirit with artistic expression and maintains that the externalization of intuition is secondary to its appearance in the consciousness of the artist. It is on this ground - that expression is meaningful apart from its embodiment or projection in a work of art. With this achievement art becomes 'a symbol of feeling', a symbol of Nature, a symbol of soul and a symbol of God.
I find Italy to be the place where i am inspired the most. Its rich history, innumerable materpieces, architecture, people and landcapes are a precious resource for the world. I love it there. In summer 2008 I will return to Italy to teach, this time in Papiano - Perugia.
Thank you Sabrina for your kind invitation to answer your excellent questions,
With great love and repect,
Prof. Phil
THE DALLAS FINE ART EXAMINER: Sonia Semone
Artist Interview Philip Rubinov Jacobson Q & A
Do you have a formal art education or are you a self taught artist: Although I hold 5 academic degrees in the Studio Arts, Psychology, Philosophy and Comparative Religion, I learned nothing in academia about 'how to paint'. Formal art education is engrossed in the 'what' to paint, as they too often have nothing to say or teach on the 'how'. There is little or no knowledge of methods and materials of painting in American art schools and universities. So much of what I know has come from self-study, experimentation and practice and from an invaluable apprenticeship with the great master Ernst Fuchs, when my study of old masters techniques ensued in Vienna, Austria. As a 19 - 20 year old American in Vienna, studying with this great master was indeed one of the most magical and mystical times of my life. I will forever honor and treasure that time. Ernst was my artistic father and reinforced my creativity as an artistic mystic, while he shared his knowledge of the old masters with me. He sparked the flame within me and fueled an honoring and perception of creative activity as a sacred and powerful practice. The experience was invaluable and magical.
What is the style of your pieces: Since I was a boy, I pursued artistic expression in a variety of styles and media. Although I have been identified with Fantastic Realism and Visionary Art, I am not solely one or the other. Many simply have never seen what may be called my Abstract, Expressionistic, Classical, Outsider, Folk-art, and pluralistic works. Despite the contemporary gallery emphasis and pressures on 'style' and 'series' works, it seemed rather limiting and extremely boring to be fixed and identified with any one style so I have always refused to allow myself to be limited and to enjoy my creative freedom. There is this intense tendency for the mind's reducing valve to put paInters in a designated drawer. I just paint without concern for that. It has always been unnatural for me to paint in 'one' style. In addition, I have always been suspicious of painters who created works that appeared relatively the 'same', decade after decade, as I did not see any growth in their work, any experimentation, searching or versatility. Versatility, a quality I most admire in artists, is not something valued by most galleries. It appears to me, that artists who have a show in which all the works look virtually the same, are simply living in one room, and only the wallpaper is changing a little. Often I use my artistic abilities to enter into and express something from a transpersonal state without the aid of drugs or entheogens of any kind. I suppose the best description for my work would be to call it an Integral Art or a Creatuitive Art that combines 'creativity and intuition' in my experience and search for revelation and a deeper expression.
Painting begins where words end and often fail us. Artists are commonly asked by galleries to write a statement on their artistic expression and their 'meanings'. Such a request presumes that the art itself is somehow disemboweled, defective and weak in its singular mode of communication and not 'bona fide' until described in words. The tyranny of the word over the image is still affecting the psyche the 21st century mind and heart, influencing all of the fine arts. Nonetheless, deep within today's order of consumerism, art's mystery is quietly injected into the material world by the Visionary Tribe. Artistic expression of the spirit eventually and inevitably seeps into the culture at large. A regenerating, rejuvenating and redeeming knowledge must fill the good works. For me to follow one line of aesthetic endeavor would never fulfill the scope of my search, it is as simple as that. Art playful and free, free to explore any means of expression. Although some of my work is serious, intense, I also know it is important to understand that every painting does not have to be a masterpiece, it can also be fun and bring happiness, humor, or contentment.
What is the medium in which you work: In painting, I do contemporary works in a Renaissance approach of egg tempera and resin-oils, a method known as the 'mish', or mixed-technique, which comes down to us from the old Flemish and German masters such as Van Eyck, Memling, Durer and later Bocklin. I teach this rare knowledge of painting to a few private students locally and in my summer painting seminars in the USA, Austria and Italy. I have also worked in ceramic and bronze sculpture, printmaking, jewelry and as poet and writer on art, creativity, inspiration and aesthetics. As an artist, author, philosopher and teacher, I believe all my endeavors are inextricably and integrally combined, each direction contributing and working with the other. What I learn and feel, what I profess and teach, and what I artistically express, all reflect an underlying spiritual quest. Like in the secret doctrines of the ancients, this work is concerned with the mysteries of life and the perennial questions that arise from such a pursuit. The work of integral artists are preserved among a small band of initiated minds since the beginning of the world. And like the Great Arcanum of old, such works of art, through symbol, subtle aesthetic energies, allegory or abstraction, also offer keys that unlock a treasure house of artistic, philosophic, scientific and spiritual truths. The great art is a practice that casts aside the fallacies of dogma and tenet, expresses Goodness, Beauty and Truth and is never satisfied with anything substitute or counterfeit. Thus, whether I am painting, sculpting, teaching, writing on art or philosophy - it all comes back to a 'spiritual practice' to express a love for the mysteries and an attempt to unveil and share some partial aspect of the Invisible behind the Visible.
What started you on your path as an artist: My immersion on the path of art coincided with my learning to walk, but I could say that my grandfather, Samuel S.Cohen, a master artist in every media was highly encouraging. When I was a boy-artist, he would always say to me , in his W.C. Fields manner : "You're the best in the country!" Since I was a little boy, my grandfather and my parents were instrumental in instilling a sense of adventure, value and confidence on my path as an artist.
What is one of the most important things that art has brought to your life: The healing force of art has been an elixir for the physical, emotional and spiritual wounds and challenges I have had to overcome. Beyond that, art has led me into the calm vistas of truth, beauty and love and this has been and will continue to be an incredibly exhilarating journey. The noble mission of art is to serve and inspire illumination in self and others through an integrating and inherent living force that suspends the mind, causing the ego to temporarily lose its grip on its limited identification. I am speaking of an art that leaves us momentarily breathless, and carries us to the depths of our soul, or uplifts our spirits to lofty states in which we are dignified as human beings. In that, being an artist and engaged as a creative worker has given me the good fortune to meet some of the most extraordinary human beings of our time. Great lovers, poets, painters, musicians, scientists, philosophers, spiritual teachers and humanitarians have comprised a constellation of characters that have enriched my life. Art can take on a profound noetic quality and can bring new knowledge and insight when it moves beyond the superficial, decorative and fanciful and reveal insights that cannot be gained in any other way. This knowledge is acquired not by way of observation, but by way of participation and a fusion of spirit and matter. Perhaps most importantly, is the unswerving belief art has brought to my life; that Art is noble, and we are all ennobled by it, and that a significant art helps all of us to transcend our limited and frozen identities and move toward a more expansive experience of our self and infinite nature and the interconnectedness of all things.
What is your favorite genre of art besides the one you work in: If by genre' you mean 'style' or 'schools of art', then I am particularly moved by the Preraphaelites, German Expressionists, the Symbolists and High Renaissance art.
Do you have art showings, and if so what are they typically like: I have participated in 100+ exhibitions internationally, many of which have been one and two-person shows. I have enjoyed the manner in which the Europeans present an artist and their art. In Italy, Austria, Germany and so on, an esteemed delegate opens the show, speaks on the artist and their work, then the artist speaks to those who are attending the opening or 'vernisage'. A dialogue with the artist and responders ensue. It is a real 'living' and cultural experience that uplifts aesthetic awareness and educates. As a result, people relate more intimately with the art and understand and feel what is being presented to them. Here in the USA, an exhibition occurs, people wander aimlessly, stay for a while and leave. Often no one even knows who the artist is or what the art is about...there are no introductions, no relationships established, no awareness and understanding imparted....no dialogue. It is pitiful, empty, uninspired and sad. That needs to change.
Do you have a certain set of clothes you make art in: Unlike my mentor, Ernst Fuchs of Vienna, who paints in $3,000+ suits, I often paint naked, or in my underwear, or in funky old clothes. I like to be totally comfortable when I am painting.
What has been the most frustrating part of being an artist: As a central figure in what I call the Visionary Tribe, perhaps the most frustrating thing as a painter of visions, intuitive art and the spiritual imagination, is to see how the conventional art world has not been inclusive of this genre'. This has made the ability to survive and thrive a difficult challenge. In our time, the spiritual in anything is always challenged by a materialistic pop culture and economics. In the fine arts, it has become a matter of 'iconomics', and the work of a creative mystic in this economic structure has become a 'hard sell' in the art marketplace. So many fads, trends and superficial scams fill too many galleries and museums. Bad art is simply work that is 'vacant of feeling', and there are simply too many contemporary galleries and museums that present and support work that is simply uninspiring and vacant. The highest role of the artist is to INSPIRE, rather than make merely negative or empty, art that is without meaning, without feeling, without any sort of vision, instead of genuinely creative works that heal, unify, inspire an evolved awareness, higher ideal, vision or significant reality. Certainly there is room on the conventional art scene to also include an integral and deeper art, although we rarely see it. I am not talking about replacing the usual objects of modern art, but of including that which is intentionally left out. I can say that I am beginning to see the pendulum begin to swing back as people and responders to art, are no longer afraid to question what they see before them and are simply fed up with an art scene that embraces and enacts the story of the 'Emperor's New Clothes'. None of the above realities have slowed me down and I always move forward in my art and keep the flames blazing.
What is your favorite sandwich of all time: Well, when I was younger, it would be a Philip sandwich between two beautiful girls, now...it is simply a Hot Pastrami sandwich or Brisket.
Has this year brought about any changes in your work, and if so what are they: Art is a fluid and sacred language that speaks to us, not only with a resonating solace and serenity but also with a powerful potential for transformation. It can be a sword of fiery change. Ordinary vision is nothing more than the physical encounter of the eye with the illusion of matter that strikes it. To live and dwell only in the state of ordinary vision is like walking around with snow on our heads, our imaginations frozen, our intuition and soul on ice. For an artist that has awakened to the Reality of the Spiritual Imagination behind the Illusion of Matter, the Invisible behind the Visible; changes in one's work is progressive, evolutionary and non-repetitive. I have always been fascinated with the infinite ways that light can play out in a painting. Lately, the focus of my painting has involved 'light' in its myriad manifestations as matter. I do this in numerous forms and ways. One of these ways has been in exploring and expressing the essence of gems and minerals. They hold a fascination for me as forms of 'solid light'. I find it challenging, technically, to paint such imagery. I have begun a number of paintings that involve 'muses' who are embodied or connected to a variety of gems and minerals...they are living entities, like goddesses that impart inspiration and light. This has been so much fun and has held such fascination for me. I have also been exploring the cross-roads between realism and abstraction in a number of works and trying to achieve a genuine integration between these two modes of expression.
Who is your favorite artist alive or dead: Michelangelo Buonarotti
What is the most moving piece of artwork that you have seen in person: Michelangelo's 'David', Arnold Bocklin's 'Isle of the Dead' and William Blake's original engravings all have touched me deeply.
Do you have any animals, and what do they think of your work: My little dog, Rumi, a Yorky, loves to sit and watch me paint all day. He loves my work and when I ask him if this or that particular piece is coming along well, he tilts his head and winks at me.
Do you have any up coming exhibitions you would like to share with us: I am currently searching for Gallery representation and/or commissions in Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston.
Some recent exhibitions:
The Annual Interdimensional Art 2009
May 3rd : San Francisco, California
Temple Nightclub - 540 Howard st.
May 9th : Montreal, Quebec
"Eastern Block" 7240 rue Clark
May 23rd : Seattle, Washington
Columbia City Theatre - 4918 Rainier Ave S
June 4th : Eugene, Oregon
Fenario Gallery - 881 Willamette St. Gallery opening with a month long viewing.
"Blu/Azzurro" Kunstlerhaus Graz, The Landesmuseum of Austria, June 18 to July 18, 2009.
'The Magical Mystery Tour' at the Mobile Art Museum, Dec.15 - Feb 15, 2010
