detail, back cover

I would like to dedicate this work, in retrospect, to Dan and Stephanie Gaetke, friends who contributed to the book, and who died on July 17th, 1996 when TWA Flight 800 exploded and crashed off of Long Island on its way to Paris.

This is the title of a 300-page photocopy edition (of 55) that was produced from visual and sonic work sent in from around 80 artists and others(?!) from 30 countries. The introductory essay describes the intent. The Museum of Modern Art in NYC just happens to groove on this kind of stuff in their Library collection, so they just accquired a copy for that very musty purpose of Archiving-the-Objects that are spawned from life/art. An earlier form of the essay grew out of a performance I did way back in 1989 entitled Antithesis/Dialogue. Included with the book is a 90-minute audio cassette of sonic material.

One might have put these words in a circle. That is, they form a cycle of active life: the active evolutionary life of the individual as a member of the human collective. As this is the title appearing on the invitations for this project, the assumption is that the works following somehow arise from the vital operation of this cycle. This book and cassette is about all five of these words -- as they relate to carnate be-ing and do-ing and to spiritual development. Your reading of these Words constitutes a definite Action stimulated by Light, leading, perhaps, first to Dialogue, then on to Revolution!

The historical energy behind this project evolved primarily from the writings of Martin Buber and Paolo Freire, and also in part from: Yuri Olesha, J.M.G. LeClezio, Allan Sekula, Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, Lucy Lippard, André Malraux, The Bible, Amiri Baraka, Eugen Herrigel, L.S. Vygotsky, Fela Anikulapokute, Samuel Beckett, William Blake, Victor Burgin, Roland Barthes, Henry Miller, John Heartfield, August Sanders, Albrecht Dürer, Guy Debord, Amadeo Modigliani, Alpha Blondy, Edvard Munch, Snorri Sturlisson, John Coltrane, Bob Marley, John Lennon, Henri Lartigue, David Hockney, Tacitus, Miles Davis, Henry Fox-Talbot, Christian Boltanski, Stan Brakhage, Bruce Elder, Wassily Kandinsky, Simone Weil, Robert Frank, among many others. Energies in the present moment emanate from all of you who are in active contact with one another, sharing your creative spirits.

As an individual human, it is impossible for my contacts to span all human categories, but I feel that this project did cross over some boundaries. The idea of categories that control who-interacts-with-whom-in-life has always been a disagreable concept to me. Why don't scientists talk with artists, artists with workers, workers with non-workers -- in fact, why do these categories exist at all? And of course, what about the most oppressive categories -- those based on physical appearance, gender, genetic history, economic power, or intelligence -- which limit free dialogue among the people in the world? I would not venture to explain here why human culture and behavior is what it is other than to observe we are a species on the brink of Something that we do not fully comprehend. We must, in the words of Martin Buber and without regard to artificial social categories, "enter into dialogue, into a genuine dialogue with one another" ! Direct, un-Media-ted contact! In concept this book&cassette works at creating a truely borderless community space wherein free dialogue might take place. But this kind of project is not an end in itself. The inherent success relies on a continuance, a continuity of living dialogue.

The way that Life is defined, created, and shared is a temporal and cultural reality. This cultural reality must be constantly confronted and critically examined so that both the culture and Life might evolve. By bringing our critical Life energies into productive, honest, and consistent Dialogue with the members of our community, we act as catalysts for cultural change and Living (spiritual) (r)evolution. We must begin to take responsibility for our human rights and obligations through this open contact with each other.

Dialogue stimulates genesis in the Language of Life -- it is a revolutionary art itself when in critical juxtaposition to silence. Dialogue, as pure expression of heart and soul, is the core of all meaningful activism. Even as the literal and visual icons of culture carry dynamic social values, so Dialogue actively carries and transmits the social and spiritual consciousness. Dialogue is critical at all times -- each coming day brings a new imperative for communication. It is essential that we be involved in this living Dialogue, this Logos, in order to catalyze Life on through the Modern Void of Spiritless Commodification, on to a higher plane of Being.

As with the first book project, there is a very special thanks to my partner, Magga Björg Jónsdóttir, for her expansive patience in listening to me complain about responses to my various mailings, and for her good loving. I would then thank those who had the time and energy to submit works for this project, as well as those who had the monetary capital to subscribe. It would have been my wish to simply distribute free copies to all contributors, but I neither had the capital to do this myself, nor wished to take the time and energy to find someone who did. Whatever, it is my hope that this book that you are reading has fallen into your hands at THE auspicious moment of your open-ness. Thank you, and Enjoy!

John Hopkins, 29 December 1991 there are 4 copies of the book left. If you are interested, I would pass one along to you for a cost of U$D75.00 plus postage.