19 September 2002 The Art of Damanhur

Damanhur's Art Workshops Unfinished vase and finished cup.

Damanur's emphais on art comes from the belief that art expresses inner beauty, that art enables contact of divine forces, and is a transmission medium (or language) between cultures. Everyone, at one time or another, works on art projects that enrich the cultural life of Damanhur and all who visit it. "What if someone has no artistic talent?" I ask our guide, a chic young woman named Sea Anemone who speaks at least three languages (Italian, English and French has been demonstrated during the tour). Anemone wears a decidedly unspiritual miniskirt, stockings, and thoroughly unsensible white patent leather platform sandals. She smiles a rare smile and returns to her serious demeanor, explaining that "everyone works on the art and even the art you see here has not been done by those who considered themselves professional artists." I will get to know Anemone better in the next few days. She will guide me through the temple, but before then she will give me dancing lessons... yes, you should learn a special dance before you go through the temple, and prepare yourself in other ways as well. I think she must be a temple dancer because she is so graceful, yet she does not make her students feel foolish. A difficult balance to strike. Damanhur has been touted as a modern "wonder of the world" for its art. Perhaps it is because every person is encouraged to be an artist, and a scientist, and a mystic, plus whatever else you're good at. In the glass studio, however, it is apparent that only serious artists are at work. Several kinds of glasswork are in progress for use in the Temple of Humankind and for comissioned work outside of Damanhur: Tiffany-style stained glass, glass mosiac, glass melted into shapes, and a new kind of glass window that involves scraping color from glass. Glass mosiac window being prepared for the temple. Ceramic plate. Mosiac tile. It is impossible to describe Damanhur in its entirety so I will be focusing on a few different aspects of it for now, beginning with this easy one on art. Two or three more dispatches could be created for today... one on the main grounds and outdoor theater, and another on the sacred woods and the music of plants. In the meantime, visit Damanhur on the Web, and look for my next dispatches. I've also put together a small gallery of selfic paintings. < previous | next >