Author Interview: Kevin Townley's "Look, Look, Look, Look, Look Again: Buddhist Wisdom Reflected in 26 Artists"

ArtCurious Podcast

ArtCurious

Arts, History, Visual Arts

4.8 • 847 Ratings

🗓️ 20 June 2022

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Want a cool, fun, and funny book about art? How about one about Buddhism? Just want a great read? You’ve got all of it covered with Look, Look, Look, Look, Look Again: Buddhist Wisdom Reflected in 26 Artists. In this book, Kevin Townley leads you to, invites you in, and sometimes springs upon you, the perennial wisdom in the worlds of artists from Artemisia to Hilma af Klint to Marilyn Minter. (All 26 artists are women.) This book is a mad riot of interconnections: art, Buddhism, mandala principle, spiritual pursuits, growing up goth in the 90s, the theories of Marshall McLuhan, and a mongoose–to name but a few. Meditation teacher, filmmaker, writer and art savant Kevin Townley turns his unique gaze upon 26 artists and magnifies the power and meaning of the five Buddhist wisdom energies through explorations of their work. Rather than trying to “explain” these energies, he reveals them to you in familiar visual language while, of course, pushing the boundaries of what you might have thought you saw at first glance. Beautifully written and hilariously disarming, Look, Look, Look, Look, Look Again vibrates with lucid insight into society, history, and establishment, while teaching you a lot about meditation and Buddhism along the way. In exploring the practice, life, and work of these through the lens of the five wisdom energies, you come away with a deeper understanding of yourself, the world, and the true dharma that transcends culture and religion—and a profound gratitude for anyone really willing to look. Please enjoy this bonus episode, featuring my discussion, via Zoom, with Kevin Townley. Be sure to grab your copy of Look, Look, Look, Look, Look Again from Bookshop.org. If you prefer Amazon, that link is here as well. SPONSORS: BetterHelp: Get 10% off your first month of counseling Athletic Greens: Get a FREE 1-year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D and 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase Want to advertise/sponsor our show? We have partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle our advertising/sponsorship requests. They’re great to work with and will help you advertise on our show. Please email [email protected] or click the link below to get started. https://www.advertisecast.com/ArtCuriousPodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:29.7	Hi, Art Curious listeners. I am back with you here today with a bonus episode with another
0:34.6	fantastic interview that I recently did with an author named Kevin Townley.
0:39.6	We spoke about his book, which is called Wonderful Title, Look, Look, Look, Look, Look, Look,
0:45.7	Again, Buddhist wisdom reflected in 26 artists. Look, Look, Look, Look, Look Again by Kevin Townley
0:52.8	teaches beautifully about the five wisdom energies found in Tibetan Buddhism.
0:57.5	He points out that these same energies are present in secular art.
1:01.5	And in this new book, Kevin leads us to, invites us in, and sometimes springs upon us,
1:07.1	the perennial wisdom in the worlds of artists from Artemisia Gentileski to Helma
1:11.8	of Clint all the way to Marilyn Minter. And all 26 artists that he profiles, by the way, are
1:17.7	women. This book is really fun. I have to say it. So fun, so entertaining, so easy to read.
1:25.2	And it's also what the author calls a mad riot of interconnections. So we're
1:29.8	understanding a little bit of everything from art and Buddhism to Mandala principles and spiritual
1:34.7	pursuits, what it was like to grow up goth in the 90s, the theories of Marshall McLuhan,
1:39.9	and a mangoose, just to name but a few. And if I may add, there's also a wonderful reference
1:45.4	to one of the best movies ever made, Clue. So there you have it. Kevin Townley is a meditation
1:51.2	teacher, a filmmaker, writer, and an art savant who turns his unique gaze upon these 26
1:57.1	artists and magnifies the power and meaning of the five Buddhist wisdom energies through
	...

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