Art and Yourself

The philosophy Aesthetic Realism was founded in 1941, as its founder, Eli Siegel, showed for the first time the relation between the concerns of an individual self and the material of art: beginning with the art of poetry. It is he who stated, "The resolution of conflict in self is like the making one of opposites in art." The Terrain Gallery in NYC was founded with this idea at is basis. It thrives today, in its 50th year, and its current exhibition is described on the Gallery's website. On this site you'll see, as well, further explanation of what Aesthetic Realism explains about how art can tell us about who we are. Reading it can be a beginning point for learning so much more. How Aesthetic Realism sees art is taught in a number of classes in the visual arts given at the Aesthetic Realism Foundation, including "The Art of Drawing," taught by printmaker Chaim Koppelman, "The Visual Arts and the Opposites"--a museum and gallery class taught by artist Marcia Rackow, and a class for people currently working in the visual arts: "The Critical Inquiry," taught by painter Dorothy Koppelman. Enjoy!

Aesthetic Realism and Anthropology

Here, I'm glad to point to a website I care for, by anthropologist and Aesthetic Realism consultant Arnold Perey: Aesthetic Realism: A New Perspective for Anthropology. His work breaks new ground, as he shows the place of aesthetics in the study of this social science. Dr. Perey is the author of two recent books. One, the novel Gwe, Young Man of New Guinea, is based on his own field work in that region of the world, and is a moving description of human emotion and experience--including the anthropologist's own. The other, a book for children, is a retelling of a traditional African story: Were They Equal? It's a pleasure to introduce readers to his rich, exciting website.

The Aesthetic Realism Explanation of Poetry

One of the things that I love most is poetry. This love began early in my life, as I heard and read the poems in Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses, and continues in my teaching of high school English. As I think of the beginning of each new school year, one of the things I look forward to most is being able to teach my students about poetry. The basis of my teaching this subject, and every subject, is the following principle, which is central in the Aesthetic Realism Teaching Method: "The world, art, and self explain each other: each is the aesthetic oneness of opposites." I've learned: poetry is not just a lovely thing, but presents what the poet and founder of Aesthetic Realism, Eli Siegel, explained in his essay "The Immediate Need for Poetry," is "a picture of reality at its truest, most useful": useful to us as we meet and think about the world, ourselves, and other people every day. In its music and its meaning, it is accurate about reality as WE NEED TO BE!

I list here several websites that I value very much. They're not only for English teachers, but for everyone to read and enjoy!
http://www.bartleby.com/
http://www.elisiegel.net/poetry/
http://www.oldpoetry.com/
http://www.poemhunter.com/

The Aesthetic Realism Teaching Method: The First of Many Posts

As an English educator for 24 years, I have seen that the Aesthetic Realism Teaching Method is enormously effective, bringing out in young people the desire to learn, and enabling them to do so with pride and pleasure. This great method, which has been used with real success for decades in classes from elementary school through college, and in many subjects, is based on this central principle, stated by the founder of Aesthetic Realism, Eli Siegel: "The world, art, and self explain each other: each is the aesthetic oneness of opposites." I'll be including links to some of my own papers on the subject--on poetry, grammar, short stories and more--which were presented at public seminars at the Aesthetic Realism Foundation in New York City, and also to papers by my colleagues. Today, I'm including a link to one of many exciting papers by Aesthetic Realism Consultant Rosemary Plumstead, high school science teacher. It's about the way aesthetics can help students understand that complex, indispensable thing: our blood. Here it is: "Lesson on Blood."

The Aesthetics of Jazz

In this post, I'm glad to point you to the website and blog of my husband, Alan Shapiro, who is a jazz pianist and music educator. He has written many papers about the way Aesthetic Realism sees the beauty of music of many styles and periods--and especially of jazz. To read some of how Eli Siegel described jazz, click here to read his poem "Hymn to Jazz and the Like." So, here is Alan's website; and his blog: A New Way of Seeing Jazz..

Aesthetic Realism Explains Art & Life: The Aesthetics of...

Welcome to my blog! The philosophy Aesthetic Realism, founded by Eli Siegel, which I've studied for three decades, teaches that aesthetics is not a "flossy" idea, discussed only by artists and academics, but rather the very basis of every aspect of life. "The world, art, and self explain each other," stated Mr. Siegel: "each is the aesthetic oneness of opposites." I propose, on this blog, to give instances of what I have seen, and also writing on this subject by friends and colleagues, about how aesthetics, the seeing of the oneness of opposites, can help us understand various aspects of life--from education (I am an English teacher), to marriage, to cooking, to driving, and more and more. I begin with a subject that interests many people deeply: religion. Click here to go to the blog of Rev. Wayne Plumstead, Methodist minister and Aesthetic Realism consultant. I respect very much what he has seen on this important subject.