Aesthetic Realism: A New Understanding of
Art and Life / Lynette Abel
Here I
write about what I have learned from Aesthetic
Realism, the education founded by the
American philosopher, poet, and scholar Eli Siegel.
In articles,
and in papers presented to the public, I
have written about personal and national
concerns, and their relation, based on what
I have learned. And here, too, are
important articleswritten
by friends and colleagues explaining issues
affecting America and the world today.
I live in New York City and love
it here. When I was 23, I began to study the
education I write of on this website.
For instance, how a person is related to
everything else—and the place of art in
understanding this—is outlined in the
principle "The world, art, and self explain
each other: each is the aesthetic oneness of
opposites."
For more about
this, see the Aesthetic Realism Foundation Online Library and
biographical information about Eli Siegel. A current
schedule of seminar classes can be found on
the Foundation's Calendar. And
information about how to audit particular
classes is available too.
It was the
greatest pleasure and richest life
experience to have attended Aesthetic Realism classes
given by Mr. Siegel in the
years from 1973 to 1978. Included here are
selected reports I gave of some
of those classes of scholarly, humorous,
moving talks he gave on a wide diversity of
subjects—on literature, music, the social
sciences, national ethics, economics, the
human self, and so much more.
Today, my
education continues in professional classes
taught each week by Aesthetic Realism Chair
of Education, Ellen Reiss, whom I
love and respect for her honesty,
scholarship, and great kindness.
During the 60th anniversary of the Beatles
arrival in the USA,
I'm proud to feature this paper on their
great, iconic song, "I Saw Her
Standing There."
The Right of Aesthetic
Realism to Be Known (TRO) is
published
bi-monthly. A remarkable, thrilling
lecture by Eli Siegel is now being
serialized titled, A Poem Is in the
World. In it, he explains, editor
Ellen Reiss writes: "what constitutes
those works called the Great books, or
classics; what an authentic poem is; and
the world itself, in its unity and
manyness. As he does, he is speaking too
about things that are everyday and
intimate for us: feelings and thoughts
that we have, our inner tumult and
mistakes."... Read
more
And, I'm glad to refer you to
a moving, important paper about the life
of the American abolitionist and
activist, Sojourner Truth by Aesthetic
Realism consultant and poet, Karen
Van Outryve. You can read it here.
This website, great in terms of art and
culture, contains prints, paintings,
and writings of these important 20th
century artists, Chaim
& Dorothy Koppelman. As I
read what they wrote about the Aesthetic
Realism of Eli
Siegel, I was stirred to my
depths by the honesty, beauty, and
originality of their expression.
Kevin
Fennell—one of
the best rock 'n' roll writers and critics
today— has
written about Stevie Wonder's great "Fingertips,
Part
II." It's such an exciting paper,
with musical examples throughout. In
it, Mr. Fennell shows powerfully, through
his Aesthetic Realism education, how art
and life are in a dynamic, inextricable
relation. "Anyone
Who
Had a Heart" by Burt Bachrach and
Hal David, is sung by Carrie
Wilson. I'm proud to be one of the
backup singers, along with Meryl
Nietsch-Cooperman, & Ann
Richards.
It was a
tremendous experience to study and see how
the intimate and the wide are in the
Beatles' great song "I
Saw Her Standing There," originally presented as part of
an Aesthetic Realism Music seminar.
To hear "Carol
of the Drum" or "Little Drummer Boy"
by Harry Simeone, Katherine K. Davis, and
Henry Onorati, performed December 2011 by
the Aesthetic Realism Theatre
Company as part of the Special Event
"The Beauty and Urgency of Justice," click
here.
A
wonderful seminar paper
by my colleague, Leila
Rosen, is on this very
important subject: What
in
a Woman Herself, Interferes with Love? from
an Aesthetic Realism seminar, with a
discussion of Neil Simon's 1977 film The Goodbye Girl.
I love
this important essay, The
Ordinary Doom, in which
Eli Siegel explains two large matters: 1.
Why people feel unexpressed and, 2. Why
people feel not understood.
In 1946, Paul Abel began his
career as an airline pilot. Several
years later in 1949, Mr. Abel received
his Master's degree in Music at Syracuse
University, where he was on the faculty
and taught voice. Then in 1969, he began
to study Aesthetic Realism in New York
City in classes with Eli
Siegel. In 1975 he taught voice,
using the Aesthetic
Realism point of view. This is the
point of view of the essay presented
here. What Mr. Abel sees about Verdi'sRigoletto,
I believe, adds importantly to its
beauty and value.
--Editor
