Duncan Laurie is a new media artist whose interests include writing about semiotics and the relationship of subtle energy technology (psychotronic and radionic) to art, and devising sonic plant and mineral communication experiments for artistic presentation. His publications include The Secret Art: A Brief History of Radionic Technology for the Creative Individual. Recently I spoke with Laurie about his influences and ongoing projects.
Dan: How did you first get interested in the arts?
Duncan: My parents were artistic, and they also had artist friends. I grew up in Detroit, and in the 1950's and 60's many top designers and architects worked there. My parents were friends with Ero Saarinen, Charles & Ray Eames, and Alexander Girard, to name a few.
Dan: What is an early memory you have of doing something in the arts?
Duncan: One day as a kid, I painted over one of my great grandfather's Hudson River school landscapes with my own impression of a bird circling a black sun. It didn't go over well at home.
Dan: That's funny! It's interesting how kids intuitively create their own artworks, sometimes regardless of what they use as their "canvases." Who are some of your influences?
Duncan: As a kid I was influenced by Alexander Girard, and later my influences included Maurice Lowe, Neil Welliver, and Robert Engman when I was studying sculpture in graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania. Later, in New York City, Daffi Nathanson, Bjorn Von Schlebrugge, and many of the artists of the Millbrook School.
Dan: The Millbrook School?
Duncan: The estate in Millbrook, NY where a lot of LSD was being 'researched,' and where Timothy Leary was eventually busted. Today, in my sonic and radionic work I've had great help from Steve Nalepa, Todd Thille, Raphael Attias, Brian Kane, Michelle Darling, Terry Goleb, David Last, and their extended group of friends.
Dan: How did you first get interested in nature intelligence? What do you find so compelling about that?
Duncan: Nature Intelligence means non-human intelligence, which implies intelligence that goes beyond the domain of the human ego. Some people call it "The Field," but to me it's more intimate and accessible than that term implies.
Dan: Do you think that nature intelligence has been around for a long time, or do you think of it more as a modern concept?
Duncan: I would suggest that ancient artists and contemporary shamanic practice in indigenous societies utilized this intelligence to heal and to farm and to link with the sacred in life. Today, the emphasis in art is on fame, fortune and producing viable products and entertainment. Let's not forget decoration and amusement either. Eventually, some artists will get bored with all this and want something deeper and more inspirational -- at which point the information I've been writing about may become useful.
Dan: How did you first start working with Gordon Salisbury? Have you and he done much work exploring Nature Intelligence?
Duncan: Over ten years ago I turned to Gordon, who is a retired electronics engineer and instrument designer, for help in understanding what is called "subtle energy" a bit better. Radionics, which is a form of electronic homeopathy, is said to employ subtle energy.
Dan: How did you and Gordon Salisbury decide to reproduce the Baxter Experiment?
Duncan: We wanted to see if this energy could be scientifically verified, or at least examined with instruments. Cleve Baxter's work was a beautiful prototype for such an approach, so we eventually began duplicating some of his experiments with plants.
Dan: What would you say were some surprising results that you and Gordon Salisbury got from that experiment?
Duncan: What I didn't expect to find was the overlay between the small voltages on the leaves and the experience of Nature Intelligence. Yet even Gordon, a huge skeptic at the onset of our work, had to admit things went on in the lab that couldn't be explained, at least within his knowledge of science (which is extensive).
Dan: I find it fascinating to think that until several hundred years ago, there were a lot of prominent innovators who worked in multiple disciplines (Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Edison, etc.), but it seems that more and more these days a lot of people people feel compelled to choose a focus in their career that is increasingly narrow. What are some things that you think are fascinating in terms of intersections between diverse disciplines?
Duncan: Today we are subject to a lot of distractions; no one has any free time just to think, much less conduct experiments or dabble with art, which takes time and money. Jobs in science and art have to be economically productive, therefore specialized and heavily monitored, either for commercial or academic reasons. Despite this fact, computer and media technology have still resulted in basic skill sets being applied in cross-disciplinary contexts, so in a sense the story hasn't changed as much as the venue.
Dan: What other ongoing projects have you been working on?
Duncan: I'm preparing to show a short video I made last summer of a plant communicating with a rock, using a brain wave technology called IBVA.
Dan: Where will that video be shown?
Duncan: It will be part of a show called A Tool Is A Mirror, curated by Elizabeth Keithline. The show will be at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and then it will travel to Mobius in Boston, from March 31st to May 8th.
Dan: What writing projects are you working on?
Duncan: Todd Thille and I are preparing some follow up material from the publication of The Secret Art: A Brief History of Radionic Technology for the Creative Individual, Duncan Laurie, 2009, that will appear on duncanlaurie.com. It will be generally in the form of interviews or email correspondence with persons that have extensive, practical experience in radionics that have taken them beyond healing into consciousness study or art.
Also, the Purr Generator, a large acoustic radionics device assembled by the Dragonline team recently left The American Museum of Visionary Art for extended loan to The Gregg Museum at North Carolina State University.
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Continue reading on Examiner.com: Jeff Chan -- creative music, Asian Improv aRts Midwest, & his clarinet ensemble - National Experimental Arts | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/experimental-arts-in-national/jeff-chan#ixzz1ET0S2Amh
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