Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2010, Page 131
inspiration. Hypnosis and automatic writing were two avenues of experimentation among his
peers in the Dada and Surrealist movements. The Dadaists sustained a radical individualism
despite their congregation as a movement. They continued to create art and anti-art
without regard for a formal self-realization that required a guru and a guru‘s techniques. As
much as I enjoyed the antics in Dada, I could not identify with that much chaotic creative
energy. I sought a style or teacher with clearer direction, and I thought I finally found that
in 1975. Nicholas Roerich was most successful among Theosophist artists but too many of
his ―7,000‖ paintings depended on ―sacred‖ formulas that used bright orange, purple, green
and blue hues. Roerich wore his guru status on his sleeve, so to speak—he often wore a
Tibetan costume. His peers in Russian art circles regarded him early on as a ―poseur‖
(Tuchman, 1986) that lived in an elitist fantasy world.iv Roerich and Gurdjieff inferred that
they were specially chosen by some higher power yet all that their disciples had for proof
was the guru‘s word and a devotee‘s personal experience of charisma. Is the lesson here
about what we do for our art and not about what our gurus do for our art?
The lesson for me from the cult experience as an artist is complicated. I can no more blame
a group‘s influence for my lack of creativity or success as an artist than I can blame my
career as an exit counselor or mental health professional. Cults like careers take up a lot of
time. I still exhibit a few paintings a year and attract a commission or win an award now
and then but my income from art is negligible. The great artists are not distracted from
their quest by jobs and family matters much less by quirky cults. Art is their job
notwithstanding cultic influences. The damage I think occurs more often to sensitive artists
who are either early in their creative careers or struggling to establish an oeuvre or art
identity. If a struggling artist buys into the notion that a group or guru‘s techniques and
influence are necessary for a personal transformation to find one‘s artistic identity, then the
possibilities of restricting a creative career increase.
A few questions emerged from my struggles under cult influence. When am I adult enough
to run my spiritual life? Maturity comes hard if ever in the submissive cultic relationship.
Why write a novel or paint fine landscapes when I could be chanting and saving myself, not
to mention saving the world? If my creative life proceeds from spirituality, then it becomes
a matter of priority. I thought I was into something new, into a cutting edge revelation that
required submission first to achieve clarification with deep understanding coming later. In
subsequent years I learned that most if not all the ―new‖ religious ideas that so intrigued
and attracted me were recycled notions re-presented in modern drag or, if you will, a
current aesthetic. Cults continue to reinvent the wheels of human spirituality and too often
repeat the mistakes of old and harmful group formations. I also learned that what appears
first as a precious opportunity to transform my soul, if that were even possible, can easily
convert to a cult of endless submission and mindless ritual. The wheels merely ran in ruts
around and around one leader‘s grandiose claims. She wore the crown of the Mother of the
Universe! She had the stamp of an ascended host on her metaphysical curriculum vitae!
She was the most valuable person living on the planet! Was I willing to pay for the privilege
of serving her mission with all I had and with my very life? What was I going to get—really?
It was a tough lesson that fortunately took me far less time to learn than it could have. And
I learned some things about myself as an artist also. Signed ceramic urinals on pedestals
worth millions of dollars have less value to me now than finding an unsigned one in a
junkyard.
Endnotes
i ―Kandinsky was also spiritually influenced by works of H. P. Blavatsky (1831-91), the most important
exponent of Theosophy in modern times. Theosophical theory postulates that creation is a geometrical
progression, beginning with a single point. The creative aspect of the forms is expressed by the
descending series of circles, triangles, and squares. Kandinsky's book Concerning the Spiritual In Art
inspiration. Hypnosis and automatic writing were two avenues of experimentation among his
peers in the Dada and Surrealist movements. The Dadaists sustained a radical individualism
despite their congregation as a movement. They continued to create art and anti-art
without regard for a formal self-realization that required a guru and a guru‘s techniques. As
much as I enjoyed the antics in Dada, I could not identify with that much chaotic creative
energy. I sought a style or teacher with clearer direction, and I thought I finally found that
in 1975. Nicholas Roerich was most successful among Theosophist artists but too many of
his ―7,000‖ paintings depended on ―sacred‖ formulas that used bright orange, purple, green
and blue hues. Roerich wore his guru status on his sleeve, so to speak—he often wore a
Tibetan costume. His peers in Russian art circles regarded him early on as a ―poseur‖
(Tuchman, 1986) that lived in an elitist fantasy world.iv Roerich and Gurdjieff inferred that
they were specially chosen by some higher power yet all that their disciples had for proof
was the guru‘s word and a devotee‘s personal experience of charisma. Is the lesson here
about what we do for our art and not about what our gurus do for our art?
The lesson for me from the cult experience as an artist is complicated. I can no more blame
a group‘s influence for my lack of creativity or success as an artist than I can blame my
career as an exit counselor or mental health professional. Cults like careers take up a lot of
time. I still exhibit a few paintings a year and attract a commission or win an award now
and then but my income from art is negligible. The great artists are not distracted from
their quest by jobs and family matters much less by quirky cults. Art is their job
notwithstanding cultic influences. The damage I think occurs more often to sensitive artists
who are either early in their creative careers or struggling to establish an oeuvre or art
identity. If a struggling artist buys into the notion that a group or guru‘s techniques and
influence are necessary for a personal transformation to find one‘s artistic identity, then the
possibilities of restricting a creative career increase.
A few questions emerged from my struggles under cult influence. When am I adult enough
to run my spiritual life? Maturity comes hard if ever in the submissive cultic relationship.
Why write a novel or paint fine landscapes when I could be chanting and saving myself, not
to mention saving the world? If my creative life proceeds from spirituality, then it becomes
a matter of priority. I thought I was into something new, into a cutting edge revelation that
required submission first to achieve clarification with deep understanding coming later. In
subsequent years I learned that most if not all the ―new‖ religious ideas that so intrigued
and attracted me were recycled notions re-presented in modern drag or, if you will, a
current aesthetic. Cults continue to reinvent the wheels of human spirituality and too often
repeat the mistakes of old and harmful group formations. I also learned that what appears
first as a precious opportunity to transform my soul, if that were even possible, can easily
convert to a cult of endless submission and mindless ritual. The wheels merely ran in ruts
around and around one leader‘s grandiose claims. She wore the crown of the Mother of the
Universe! She had the stamp of an ascended host on her metaphysical curriculum vitae!
She was the most valuable person living on the planet! Was I willing to pay for the privilege
of serving her mission with all I had and with my very life? What was I going to get—really?
It was a tough lesson that fortunately took me far less time to learn than it could have. And
I learned some things about myself as an artist also. Signed ceramic urinals on pedestals
worth millions of dollars have less value to me now than finding an unsigned one in a
junkyard.
Endnotes
i ―Kandinsky was also spiritually influenced by works of H. P. Blavatsky (1831-91), the most important
exponent of Theosophy in modern times. Theosophical theory postulates that creation is a geometrical
progression, beginning with a single point. The creative aspect of the forms is expressed by the
descending series of circles, triangles, and squares. Kandinsky's book Concerning the Spiritual In Art
