The Sutra of the Heart of Transcendent Knowledge--The Heart Sutra, as it is commonly known--is the most widely chanted Buddhist sutra, worldwide. A condensation of the very much longer Prajnaparamita Sutra of 8,000 lines, it is a pith Mahayana Buddhist teaching which includes the famously paradoxical phrase "form is emptiness, emptiness also is form." It was a favorite of Kurt's and often introduced to his classes during his 40 years of teaching. The full text is available.
Mary Jane Superweed's Herbal Aphrodisiacs - 1971
Kurt's interest in all things herbal and psychedelic was long-standing. This little booklet from 1971 was found among his archives.
INTRODUCTION: What is an aphrodisiac? Everybody talks about aphrodisiacs, but no one seems to know anything about them. Many so called "experts" insist that there is no such thing as an aphrodisiac. It is not surprising that only a few decades ago many of the same "experts" assured us that the idea of sexual pleasure and orgasm in the female was "totally absurd". Our own definition of aphrodisiac includes substances which do any one or several of the following things: Produce erections in the male, arouse sexual feeling by stimulation of the genitals or nervous system, increase sensual awareness, relax inhibitions, augment physical energy, strengthen the gonads or other glands involved in sex, improve sexual health, increase the production of semen, help conquer impotence and frigidity (bearing in mind that these maladies are frequently of psychological origin), overcome sexual exhaustion, and prevent premature ejaculation. (Copyright 1971 - Stone Kingdom Syndicate)
Duchamp Regular - Upper and Lower Case plus Readymades
Kurt was trained in typography and lithography during his two years stint in the U.S. Navy, and he never lost his appreciation of fonts and printing. Among his archives was found a type sheet sample of a font based on the handwriting of Marcel Duchamp, and a set of Duchamp "wingdings" modeled on his Readymade sculptures.
The Tibetan Alphabet
Kurt's great facility with language enabled him to master French, Spanish, Greek and German, and the capacity to learn the basics of Japanese, Persian and Tibetan. He was particularly focused on alphabets and mastering the strokes and accents of calligraphy.
The chart of the Tibetan Alphabet below (a system of writing developed to transmit the Dharma) was found among his archives, along with this printed image of Six-Armed Mahakala (painted by Cynthia Moku), a so-called wrathful deity counted among those in Vajrayana Buddhism designated as "Dharma Protectors."
John C. Lilly and Heinz von Foerster discuss inter-species communication
John C. Lilly (1915-2001) became well known for his study of dolphins and research into human/dolphin communication. Heinz von Foerster (1911-2002) was an Austrian-born scientist recognized as one of the pioneers in cybernetics and artificial intelligence. Both John and Heinz were friends of Kurt. This recording was made by Kurt in 1975 during a small conference about inter-species communication. It runs about 20 minutes, and takes a short while to load.
Hopi Teachings and Prophecy
In 1969, Kurt traveled several times to the southwest with his trusty Nagra tape recorder and met with a number of Hopi Elders, including Thomas Banyacya (pictured - 1910-1999). In subsequent years, Thomas was visited by the Dalai Lama, and addressed the United Nations in 1992. He worked tirelessly as a spokesperson for the Hopi ("People of Peace"). The first interview transcript below is of a discussion with Thomas Banyacya and another Tribal Elder named Ralph Selina.
Kurt's questions focus on Hopi philosophy, spiritual views, challenges facing them and their land (including mining operations by Peabody Coal), and the Hopi Prophecies. Notably, the recent reduction of the protected portion of Bear's Ears National Monument by the Trump Administration (2017) directly affects the Hopi homeland.
Kurt also separately interviewed a Hopi tribal member named White Bear; their discussion concerns the author Frank Waters, whose book Book of the Hopi was published in 1963. Their conversation then turns to rabbit hunting, the preparation and ingredients of traditional Hopi meals, and the preservation of Hopi teachings.
Finally, this article includes Hopi commentary selected by Kurt from the transcripts, which he included in his 350,000-word online book, With Hidden Noise.
Over several years, the tapes of these interviews were carefully transcribed by Kurt's students, but generally have been otherwise unavailable.
Chinese Anyone?
This caligraphy was jammed between other documents in a beaten-up manila folder in Kurt's archives but was untranslated. We asked for help, and Phil Shea responded: "I know some Japanese and this Chinese character is used also in Japanese. It means "way" and appears in words like 'calligraphy' (the way of writing), 'Judo' (the gentle way), and 'expressway'. However, using a little 'Google-dou' (the way of Google) I found this link to the use of the character in Taoism - which I think is the most appropriate in this case. Here's the article. There is also this, which is about the character itself, without any assumption of meaning."
Balkan Sobranie Cigarettes
It was always "the best" for Kurt, and for many years he exclusively smoked Balkan Sobranie Cigarettes (since 1879 made only with the topmost leaves of the Yenidje tobacco plant), often combining the tobacco with marijuana. Naturally, he saved all the empty tins, which over time filled large containers.
Read moreCultural Revolution and the Native American Spirit
In 1970 Kurt delivered a guest lecture at Monterey Peninsula College, receiving his customary publicity in the local newspaper. Gratefully, an audio tape of that lecture was among his boxed archives, and has been converted to digital format. Read more to examine the article printed in advance of his lecture and for a link to the digital audio file (MP3) of the lecture itself.
Earth Rose vs. The People of the State of California
The 1960s were a period of transition in court decisions pertaining to obscenity, free speech and artistic expression. In February of 1968, Kurt testified as an expert witness at the obscenity trial of Steve Richmond, a poet and former student at UCLA. Richmond's one-page publication the Earth Rose included a provocative cover with the words "FUCK HATE" and a reverse side that featured poems by Charles Bukowski, a fellow-poet and friend. He was charged with a violation of Penal Code Section 311.2, distributing obscene material, a misdemeanor. Kurt prepared a written statement for submission to the court in advance of his testimony in support of the defendant, Richmond. Court testimony included a protracted discussion of the use of the word "FUCK".
John Lilly's Sensory Deprivation Flotation Tank
Kurt was a longtime friend of researcher John C. Lilly, and in 1975 decided to experience time in one of John's sensory deprivation flotation tanks for himself. In his typical fashion, Kurt completed a type-written report of his time in the tank for his records, which we share with you here.
Female Warriors: Memorial remembers women at war
When Kurt found out that applications were being accepted for the design of a memorial dedicated to female warriors in the military, he jumped at the opportunity to make a submission, and enlisted a number of senior students to help with the application. His efforts received newspaper attention, and though his design concept was not chosen, he and his students had the opportunity to delve deeply into symbolism, mathematics, memorials and design.
The Auto da Fe of Jose Que
As provocateur stand-in for "artist-revolutionary" Jose Que, Kurt lit up the UCLA campus and the local press when as part of the Festival of Experimental Arts he set a tower of books on fire before a crowd of students. Of all his public acts as a professor, it was undoubtedly the most dramatic; a flood of commentary followed and the event may well have contributed to the non-renewal of Kurt's teaching contract. It's a fascinating story filled with mystery, creativity and confusion.
Kurt responds to SF Chronicle columnist Leah Garchik
Always curious, Kurt poured over the daily paper, what he sometimes referred to as the San Francisco "Comical." He read the news articles, but also read the funnies and the "Personals" column by Leah Garchik. Above is her reaction and response to Kurt's remarkable and pithy commentary on her snippet referring to Sandra Day O'Connor (Supreme Court Justice) caught on camera giving "bunny's ears" or "horns" to a fellow justice. His entire commentary is available here and well worth reading, as Leah's reply amply indicates. Web links have been created for the varied references in Kurt's epistle.
The AUM Conference at Esalen - 1973
G. Spencer Brown's book Laws of Form fascinated and preoccupied Kurt and his close friend Clifford Barney for years. One outgrowth of that was a conference held at Esalen, featuring von Meir, Barney, Brown and a gathering of distinguished scientists, gurus, health professionals, mathematicians. Articles and transcripts followed.
Disney's "Artistic Eye" Project
In 1981, Walt Disney Productions and CBS Entertainment enlisted Kurt to help them in a project to connect the world of fine art to children, "to demystify art and make it relevant to our young audience...." Specifically, Kurt (along with other contributors) prepared remarks under the title "Turning youngsters on to art".
Standards of decency for The Daily Bruin at UCLA
Kurt occasionally wrote for The Daily Bruin, the student newspaper at UCLA, the five-days-per-week newspaper started in 1925. From time to time, the content of the student-run paper caught the attention of the university administration which objected to the content or style of the paper. The photo above was found in the Archives of von Meier, and includes a typewritten list of words not meeting a "standard of decency." To the typewritten list additional words have been scrawled all over the sheet, raising the total to at least 154 words. Kurt and the students obviously turned the matter on its head. Ronald Reagan is number 143.
Kurt and Andy Warhol
Kurt understood Andy Warhol earlier than most in the art community. Warhol skillfully fulfilled Marshall McLuhan's dictum that "the medium is the message" by utilizing everyday objects like a can of Campbell's Tomato Soup and returning an image of that object back to the culture from which it originally emerged, as Art, à la Marcel Duchamp, another of Kurt's favorites. The artistry, of course, included Andy's mastery of the art world itself, as well as his willingness to break rules both socially and artistically. Andy dropped in on Kurt's classes at UCLA. Obviously, this photo found in Kurt's files was not taken in the classroom and no, that is not Kurt sitting next to Andy.
And below is an entertaining little snippet about Andy and Kurt's appearance on a local Los Angeles TV show in 1967. Kurt is not mentioned by name, but is referred to as a "savant" UCLA professor there as an "interpretor" [sic] of Warhol's "far-out language".
This was not Kurt's only television appearance with Andy Warhol; they both appeared on Station KHJ-TV's "Nine on the Line" program on 3-21-67. No record of that appearance seems to exist, but a letter of complaint was sent to the head of UCLA (with copies to Governor Ronald Reagan and Max Rafferty, State Superintendent of Education.
A Ball of Twine: Marcel Duchamp’s “With Hidden Noise"
Kurt spent several years working on an analysis of western art through an exploration of a ready-made sculpture created by Marcel Duchamp in 1916 called "with hidden noise" (shown below). The "hidden noise" emanates from an object placed within the open core of the ball of twine when it's turned upside down. Speculating on what the object is, Kurt's 350,000-word opus (edited by his close friend Clifford Barney) is the culmination of a lifetime of scholarship and learning, knitting together art, history, culture and society into a well-woven fabric.
You can read Kurt's "Pretext" here or...
The entire work resides on a server at Sacramento State University; here's the link.
L.A. PARTY 1968
A former student of Kurt's recently provided this poster announcing a Kurt von Meier event at the Douglas Gallery in Los Angeles in 1968, entitled "L.A. Party". It's a classic Kurt conception of its time; the L.A. riots and student anti-war demonstrations were all over the news, and the title "L.A. Party" is simultaneously ironic social commentary and invitation. Close inspection of the poster shows strong horizontal scan lines, like the enlargement of the image on a black and white television tube. Kurt appreciated Marshall McLuhan's take on media and TV - "The medium is the message" - and his poster doubles down on TV coverage of riots, wars and demonstrations as a form of "entertainment."
A semiotic analysis of the image, and Kurt deeply appreciated semiotics, reveals three L.A. cops in helmets "man-handling" a petite woman, who is faceless in the image. The cop on the right is looking at the cop on the left somewhat anxiously, who (stripes of authority on his uniform) seems to be either directing the activity or interceding; the expression on his face shows some amusement. Meanwhile, "the kid," probably a rookie not much older than the young woman, is doing the work of handcuffing. To the left of the young woman's hair one can see a small image of a black woman, hands cuffed behind her back, being walked down the sidewalk by two helmeted policemen. If he were present, Kurt might remark on the way some things never change.
The image, Kurt would have noted, also displays a classical composition employing diagonals forming a triangle; the young woman is a the lowest point of an inverted triangle in the center of the image, and the two older cops each occupy the corners of the upper points of the triangle.