Showing 81 articles
The Art of Devotion
Author: Kanika MehraJuly 29, 2018
In the wee hours of the morning, Emperor Akbar awoke to the sweet melodious singing of Haridas, guru of the celebrated singer of his court, Tansen. Haridas had been singing a dawn raga. Overwhelmed, Akbar inquired why Tansen was not able to sing like his guru Haridas. Tansen replied that there was one big difference [...]
Haiku: Abundance in Brevity
Author: Trishya ScrewvalaJuly 29, 2018
The Japanese poetic form of haiku, is a very succinct poem that exemplifies simplicity. It is one of the most recognizable and popular forms of poetry today and has travelled far beyond Japan’s shores, with writers composing haiku in Spanish, English and even Bengali as seen in the works of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. It [...]
The Power of the Photograph
Author: Tom MoranJune 3, 2018
Photography is a process of image-making that is less than 200 years old, yet at the time of its invention, no one could have imagined the impact it would have on the global population, becoming a form of communication that could rival the English Language for its universality. What is it that obsesses us about [...]
Improvisation in Art and Life
Author: Natalia LemaMarch 8, 2018
According to Stephen Nachmanovitch, an American improvisational violinist, improvisation can be used as a tool to aid creativity, which will lead us into a joyful journey. Bach and Mozart were great examples of this approach and were highly imaginative improvisers. The word ‘improvisation’ implies, on the one hand, an absence of preparation. But it also [...]
Empowering Real Change: Philosophy & Art Panel Discussion on World Philosophy Day 2017
Author: Compiled by Harianto H MehtaJanuary 21, 2018
For New Acropolis members across the globe, every day in a way, is World Philosophy Day. Through history, classical traditions have employed philosophy as the central axis of education, recognizing the pivotal role of wisdom and ethics, in the formation of human civilization. Therefore, we mark the special opportunity of UNESCO’s annual endorsement of World [...]
Reflections on the Metaphysics of Music with Shubha Mudgal
Author: Manjula NanavatiOctober 19, 2017
“When the soul hears music, it drops its best guard.” – Socrates Music is perhaps the most philosophically puzzling of all the arts. Unlike painting or sculpture it does not culminate in a physical object. Unlike literature and drama, instrumental music has no semantic value. Yet every tune, melody, theme, raga or symphony is steeped [...]
Raphael: The Drawings
Author: Siobhan FarrarOctober 19, 2017
Raphael was born in 1483 and by the age of 17 he had been given the title of ‘Magister’, meaning independent master. This exhibition of his drawings and studies at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford takes a look at the essence of the artist. The opening lines of the exhibition’s guide read as follows: ’Drawing [...]
Yunus Emre, a Sufi Poet from Anatolia
Author: Pinar AkhanOctober 19, 2017
It is said that anyone in Turkey – even the illiterate – will have heard of Yunus Emre. Although he is not as popular here as he is in Turkey, the new TV series “Yunus Emre” is one of the attempts to make him known in the English-speaking world. What made him famous was not [...]
Classical Dance: A Stairway to Spirituality
Author: Purbasha GhoshAugust 27, 2017
In our perpetual pursuit of the perceived definition of success, our minds and bodies are incessantly engaged in surface level occupations; being ‘busy’ appears to be a natural choice to satiate our voracious material and intellectual needs. Nevertheless, somewhere a higher center within us remains starved and an intense yearning to unite with something larger [...]
More than Melody – Boethius’ Music of the Spheres
Author: Siobhan FarrarAugust 27, 2017
The Music of the Spheres begins in Ancient Greece with Pythagoras who, upon passing a blacksmiths is said to have heard consonance in the different sounds of the hammer. By this he was inspired to discover the connection between vibration, frequencies and pitch. For Pythagoras the octave ratio of 1:2 is considered a symbol of [...]
Ancient Technology
Author: Florimond KrinsMay 13, 2017
When looking at ancient archaeological features one can be mesmerised by the beauty, complexity and grandeur of some of the buildings, statues or artefacts. In most cases these structures were created at a time of prosperity when skills of a high standard and workforce were abundant. However, in the cases of the Old kingdom of [...]
Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages
Author: Julian ScottMay 13, 2017
The title of this article comes from a book by Umberto Eco, an Italian philosopher, essayist, professor of literature and novelist, most famous for his medieval whodunnit The Name of the Rose, which was made into a film starring Sean Connery. In this book, Eco introduces us to a culture very different from our own. [...]