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--Urrealist Manifesto F. Christopher Reynolds Urrealism is a deepening of Surrealism. It was born from the violence of 9/11. I am waging creativity in response to a rising destructive urge around the globe. The best way to get an idea of Urrealism is by clicking to see the Urrealist Gallery Past and Present. Go for a visit and then come back here. Urrealism is a conversation done with any creative form in a spirit of mutual respect. A complete Urrealist work is at least two; an initial "statement" with its "answer". Experienced as a whole, the two parts and the relationship between them is Urreality. Developing the capacity to create, to understand a response, to respond to creation with creation, has the effect of inspiring more creation. Creating, receiving, responding, taken as a whole are Urreality. Urreality is a fuel cell of originality. Urrealism is always done in relationship, intended to serve relationship. Perception deepens when you create in relationship. The Surrealists noticed this in their gaming and automatic writing. When you begin to see the works together, you notice common themes, images, forms. André Breton, described this as "a frequent encounter of elements with similar associational origins." Max Ernst , in a darker tone, called this, "mental contagion." Urrealist Matt Pusti has written, "Our minds were working like ouija boards. Twas scary." It is possible to awaken to the deeper layers that are present. Awakening to those more profound layers increases the meaningfulness of your own originality. It also affects your perception of the world, making it richer, more articulated in what you notice and appreciate, what Joseph Campbell called, "a deep experience of being alive". Urrealism has a spiritual component. The Surrealists noticed this in their creation of texts through automatic writing. Breton uses the term, "oracle", when describing some of the writing. As a deepening what came before, Urrealism has an actual oracle. It is Dr. Michael Olin-Hitt. His gift of prophecy, in the Biblical sense, is the source of our sacred texts. Much of the violence we face now has roots in religion, or stubborn ideology. Urrealism chooses not to dismiss those truths, but to answer them with a prophetic art that is expansive enough to contain them all. Urrealism bears the fingerprint of the times. Creative work that is at the cutting edge, bears the mark of the times. I have found that cosmology best reflects that. For example, the Copernican shift that de-centered the Earth from the center of the universe, repeated itself in all fields of human endeavor. It is for that reason that Urrealism uses an updated cosmology, the ur-constellations. The realization that is slowly dawning and repeating itself through the culture is the knowledge that even the sun is in an orbit around a center of more than 100 billion suns. It is an image that states that there is more than one way of knowing and expressing truth. It is an image that shows that such an expansive view can and does function quite well, even though it embraces the many perspectives. |