A book must be the pick ax that shatters the frozen sea within us.”
-Franz Kafka
Leonard Shlain wrote such books. Leonard Shlain, one of my heroes and the father of filmmaker Tiffany Shlain, died last month. He was a surgeon in San Francisco, as well as a genius and best-selling author. His book Art and Physics demonstrated how movements in art predated groundbreaking scientific discoveries. But it was his book The Alphabet versus the Goddess: The Conflict between Word and Image that rocked my soul. He follows the evolution of our culture from a right-brain-image dominant-one to a left-brained-world that is ruled by words and aggression. This book was revolutionary for me.....in a left-brained-word-driven world, we turn our natural resources into weapons. In a more peaceful image-driven-right-brained world, the materials are crafted into art, into decoration, into jewelry. I am hoping that our tattooed children are leading us into a more evolved and peaceful existence. Leonard Shlain had hope for the future.....as we evolve into a more image-driven existence. I salute this brilliant man. His work made its way into my soul.
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