NEW MIND’S EYE—SIX

This is New Mind’s Eye Six that includes writing on Art in connection with philosophy, history and sociology. There is a range of themes: the avant-garde’s interest in esoteric thought, Sufism, the development of the alphabet, social movements, the responsibility of intellectuals, Plato’s Cave and Photography, analysis of the the situation in Lebanon, Yoko Ono and Zen, Neo-Appropriative art, the effect of Gran Bienal Tropical on Puerto Rican artists, falsehood and myth, the art gallery as a church, the environmental revolution, Chinese pragmatism, Clement Greenberg, Gordon Matta-Clark and Aldo Rossi, Bas Jan Alder and Performance art.

What unites them is that the writers care about their subjects—the writing shares is an interest in authenticity, a desire for something spiritual, a purposeful questioning of social movements and why they fail. They express optimism and a justified distrust of the dominant forces in art and culture. Together they represent the need for a critical edge that it honest in its approach, one that moves away from the negativism and cynicism and obscurantism that has haunted cultural debate.

PHILOSOPHY

Alfie Strong — What was the attraction of esoteric thought to avant-garde artists?

Jingyi Li — What does Plato’s cave tell us about photography？

Mahsaneh Poosti — In Iran, are the Sufis the only ones in peace?

Jessica Power — The gallery as a place of worship: How is the art gallery like a church?

Ned Pooler — What does falsehood give to knowledge within the framework of logic and ecstatic truth? A study of veracity within myths, fables and tales.

Alexander A. Cameron—PLUS ULTRA: Original Forms & Functions in Sacred Art.

SOCIOLOGY

— Analyzing Hassan Nasrallah’s Leadership Prominence Through Max Weber’s Ideal Types of Authority: How do people consciously and subconsciously support his vision?

Žarko Dumičić — The Impact of the Development of the Alphabet on Society

William Walters — Improving engagement with the environmental revolution: are general emotional appeals effective in increasing self-efficacy of the uninterested?

Elin Tobias Wahlstedt — Do contemporary European social movements lack a radical social imaginary?

Yangfan Zou — Exploring Chinese pragmatism—Matchmaking Corner

ART HISTORY

Chimzuruoke Anucha — Does the Responsibility of Intellectuals include Artists?

Sarah Diviney — Is the female body still an art object: can performance art give the female nude authority?

Lindsay Leboyer — Why has Neo-Appropriative Art lost its critical power?

Man Li — Was Zen Buddhism an influence on Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece in the 1960s?

Shemol Rahman — Silence and Void: Absence in the work of Gordon Matta-Clark and Aldo Rossi

Laura McGlinchey — Clement Greenberg: a descriptive history

Laura Van Der Tas — Of Tragedy and Satire: The Significance of Meaning in the works of Bas Jan Ader

Alexandra Santos Ocasio — What was the genuine effect of Gran Bienal Tropical on art in Puerto Rico?

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