Conscience Institute :: Members http://www.conscienceinstitute.org Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:49:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Latest Pictures From Carrara: The Cloak of Conscience http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/latest-pictures-from-carrara-the-cloak-of-conscience/ http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/latest-pictures-from-carrara-the-cloak-of-conscience/#comments Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:49:21 +0000 admin http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/?p=370

Anna Chromy at workIn temperatures up to 40 degrees centigrade, artist Anna Chromy has been working long days to bring The Cloak of Conscience nearer to completion.  The artist works her craft often single-handed because the stage she is at now, in perfecting the folds of the Cloak’s material, requires skill of the highest level. Students have been called upon in the past, to help with the formation of some of the Cloak’s shape, but now that it has reached detail of this level only the most experienced sculpturers can help to transform pure hard marble into a softly draped cloak. Such skill comes from more than 15 years of working with this material.

This work continues in the Cave Michelangelo at Carrara, Italy. Such a gigantic sculpture is not easy to hide, so visiting groups of tourists have been granted a glimpse of the Cloak and their reaction (with awe, astonishment and even tears) has provided an idea of what we can expect once this great symbol is complete.

Anna Chromy on The Cloak of ConscienceAnna Chromy is working long hours in extreme conditions of heat, but she has brushed off fears for her health and is determined to bring The Cloak of Conscience out into the world as soon as possible.

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]]> http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/latest-pictures-from-carrara-the-cloak-of-conscience/feed/ 0 China and the concept of Conscience http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/china-and-the-concept-of-conscience/ http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/china-and-the-concept-of-conscience/#comments Sat, 10 Jul 2010 10:27:24 +0000 wolfgang http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/?p=353

I have just finished reading Tieman H. Dippel’s book “ The Language of Conscience” and I found many theses which match my own experience with China.

When I talk to my friends in the West and want to discuss with them the concept of conscience in China, a country so important for the future of the world, I get at best a laugh, because in their belief a dictatorship cannot have a conscience.  For me this is a sign of the huge cultural gap still seperating our societies.

China usually does what is in its best interest, as its leadership understands it. So the interaction between East and West is best served by building bridges instead of confrontation. To build such bridges is difficult in economics or in politics, but it is possible in culture. This is the task my Chinese friends gave me when they organized my last exhibition in Beijing under the auspices Paris-Beijing, or China-Europe (you can find details on my website www.annachromy.com).

The Chinese Communist Party is a much more democratic institution than we think in the West. It uses its central control and the benefits of this consolidation of power to propel economic growth. But its not only top-down, because it uses the informations collected in the comunities to foster its decisions and discusses them extensively within their own framework. Contrary to the West, where the best and brightest usually are staying away from politics, the Party in China selects the elite to run the country and they understand perfectly the value of culture.

The aim of the leadership is to build a Harmonious Society, a movement to ethical and cultural values, due to the understanding that in the long run materialism is not a sufficient base for a stable society. So how does this compare to  our Western system where the speculative financial markets and the people behing it dictate their law to the governments? Not bad I would think! And where is Conscience driving decisions? Make your own choice!

I would like to finish with a phrase of Lao-tzu: ” Wisdom is knowing others, enlightenment is knowing self”

Help us to build the cultural bridges for our future, because according to an old Chinese proverb you have to be involved in order to understand. The Conscience Institute offers you this possibility.

]]> http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/china-and-the-concept-of-conscience/feed/ 0 Let us create a G20 of the people http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/let-us-create-a-g20-of-the-people/ http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/let-us-create-a-g20-of-the-people/#comments Mon, 05 Jul 2010 05:11:40 +0000 wolfgang http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/?p=343

The only tangible result of the G20 in Toronto has been the devastation of the center of this beautiful city and tens of millions of tax payers money spent to cajole leaders incapable to make a decision. The main goal of the meeting was to create finally a framework for the financial system which could help to avoid further crisis. Nothing was decided on a global level, no bank tax, no tax on financial transactions, no minimum reserves, not even equal accounting standards. In the light of this failure is it reasonable to maintain such a costly and hepless institution and is there a possibility to come up with something more efficient?

I believe the answer is yes. Democracy is not just a way to choose our leaders but a constant participation in the discussions of  government problems. We live today in a totally interdependent world, but our leaders have only been elected to defend their national turf. So we have to help them through a global debate of the world’s citizens, where we examine carefully different opinions and options in order to take “just” decisions. Decisions based on ethics and conscience, shared by a majority of citizens and not forced upon us by the mammoth of world finance.

The Conscience Institute could be the organizer of this new G20 and The cloak its symbol.

]]> http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/let-us-create-a-g20-of-the-people/feed/ 1 The Paper Economy and the Limits to Development http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/the-paper-economy-and-the-limits-to-development/ http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/the-paper-economy-and-the-limits-to-development/#comments Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:00:22 +0000 wolfgang http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/?p=335
Giovanni Sartori Image

Giovanni Sartori

(This is the summary of an article contributed by Giovanni Sartori to Corriere della Sera on Friday 25th June)

The last estimate of the global GDP which dates back several years was 54 trillion dollars, while the global financial assets were 240 trillion dollars.
Today with derivatives and other gimmicks this disproportion has grown exponentially.
This disproportion is not only unhealthy but modifies the notion of our economic system.
There is an economy which produces goods and services and there is an economy which produces speculative paper with the speed of light. It is therefore undisputable that the whole financial economy will have to be regulated and controlled.

But also the real economy has to change drastically to take into account and pay for the poisoning of water, the soils, etc. Such an accounting system shows immediately that the earth has become too small for a population who has grown too fast in the last 30 years. Again the economists have not seen, or did not want to see, the disaster in the making. They seem to be living on a moon twice as large as the earth.

Serge Latouche, Professor at the Paris University, has calculated that the “bioproductive space” (usable soil) of our planet is 24 billion acres. This leaves for every human beeing living today 3,6 acres. Conversely the bioproductive space consumed pro capita is already 4,4 acres. And this ratio does not take into account the enormous disparities. If everybody would live like the Europeans we would need three planets, if everybody would liver like Americans we would need six planets, already now. And global population is expected to grow by another 50% until 2050.

Anybody can understand this simple equations and the fact that we have to start a managed “de-growth” in order to allow future generation to survive.
Use your conscience and support the Conscience Institute to create a global movement to bring this message to our leaders.

]]> http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/the-paper-economy-and-the-limits-to-development/feed/ 1 The Cloak Just Months From Completion http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/the-cloak-just-months-from-completion/ http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/the-cloak-just-months-from-completion/#comments Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:04:11 +0000 webinclu1 http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/?p=328
Anna Chromy's Cloak of Conscience

Anna Chromy considers the enormity of her task in 2007

Following four years of endless toil and careful chiselling, Anna Chromy is nearing completion of The Cloak of Conscience.

The final sculpture will be fifteen feet high and weigh over seventy tonnes with a hollow centre to permit visitors to access the empty void of conscience within.

Due to the size and weight of this massive work of art, it was not possible to transport it beyond Cararra, the quarry from which the block of marble came, so work has been underway outside, under tarpaulin, in all seasons.

Chromy, the only lady winner of the prestigious Michelangelo Award, has said finally that she can see an end coming to her marathon of work on The Cloak of Conscience: The world will soon see its new symbol of conscience in just a matter of months from now.

]]> http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/the-cloak-just-months-from-completion/feed/ 2 The Global Conscience Center http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/the-global-conscience-center/ http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/the-global-conscience-center/#comments Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:48:15 +0000 webinclu1 http://www.conscienceinstitute.org/?p=239

“The Void contains everything. There is nothing fuller than the void.
Harmony is born in the void of the central spaces”

During the development of human civilization the heptagonal geometrical network of lines called the “Golden Section” or “Golden Ratio” has evolved as a way to fix the principles of harmony. The Golden Section exists in the human body as well as in human buildings like the Egyptian Pyramids, and in particular the Pyramid of Cheops. The shape of the pyramid has thus come to symbolize Knowledge.
Until recently there has been no design to symbolize Conscience, another essential, but invisible, part of human life. The artist Anna Chromy has created with the Archi-sculpture “Cloakof Conscience” a symbol which contains the Conscience in its void. The void allows the visitor to experience the tremendous energy of the marble and to feel the uplifting effect of the Conscience when it dissolves within the Cosmic or Universal Conscience.
Five meters high, carved into a single block of white marble of 200 tons from the famous Michelangelo quarry in Carrara, Tuscany, this masterwork combines the highest achievement in arts with the deepest feelings of our soul. The Pyramid (Knowledge) covering the Cloak (Conscience) is the perfect Symbol for the new Age of Harmony which mankind will have to reach in order to survive.
Installed in an outstanding location with suggestive lighting and ample visitor facilities it will become the global focus for new developments and a major attraction for visitors from all parts of the world.
The Archi-sculpture will be linked to the world-wide web through webcams, touch-screen computers and other communication devices, giving every visitor the possibility to leave his message and contribution. The Cloak of Conscience will be the unifying design of all activities of the Conscience Institute, such as websites and web2 applications of the Conscience Net, the trophy of the annual ceremony for the Conscience Awards, the public sculptures of the Conscience Sites and the World Tour, television programming and educational material etc.
The Cloak will also come in the form of a large balloon at events like the Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change, it will be carved into the top of an ice-berg drifting in the Antarctic, it will be the indicator for the rising sea level in Bangladesh, and many other special events organized by the Conscience Institute in order to focus people’s attention on conscience related questions. Everybody will be able to participate in these ventures via Twitter, Face book and other parts of the social network and will be able to access the essential information on the Institutes websites, Google earth etc.

During the development of human civilization the heptagonal geometrical network of lines called the “Golden Section” or “Golden Ratio” has evolved as a way to fix the principles of harmony. The Golden Section exists in the human body as well as in human buildings like the Egyptian Pyramids, and in particular the Pyramid of Cheops. The shape of the pyramid has thus come to symbolize Knowledge.Until our days there has been no design to symbolize Conscience, another essential, but invisible, part of human life. The artist Anna Chromy has created with the Archi-sculpture “Coat of Conscience” a symbol which contains the Conscience in its void. The void allows the visitor to experience the tremendous energy of the marble and to feel the uplifting effect of the Conscience when it dissolves within the Cosmic or Universal Conscience.

Five meters high, carved into a single bloc of white marble of 200 tons from the famous Michelangelo quarry in Carrara, Tuscany, this masterwork combines the highest achievement in arts with the deepest feelings of our soul. The Pyramid (Knowledge) covering the Coat (Conscience) is the perfect Symbol for the new Age of Harmony which mankind will have to reach in order to survive.  Installed in an outstanding location with suggestive lighting and ample visitor facilities it will become the global focus for new developments and a major attraction for visitors from all parts of the world.The Archi-sculpture will be linked to the world-wide web through webcams, touch-screen computers and other communication devices, giving every visitor the possibility to leave his message and contribution.

The Cloak of Conscience will be the unifying design of all activities of the Conscience Institute, such as websites and web2 applications of the Conscience Net, the trophy of the annual ceremony for the Conscience Awards, the public sculptures of the Conscience Sites and the World Tour, television programming and educational material, etc.

The Cloak will also come in the form of a large balloon at events like the Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change, it will be carved into the top of an ice-berg drifting in the Antarctic, it will be the indicator for the rising sea level in Bangladesh, and many other special events organized by the Conscience Institute in order to focus people’s attention on conscience related questions. Everybody will be able to participate in these ventures via Twitter, Face book and other parts of the social network and will be able to access the essential information on the Institutes websites, Google earth etc.

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