I see the two threads as basically the same. The many forms of artistic expression are all ways of expressing spirituality. These are the ways we humans capture the spiritual essence of life and bring it into the physical realm for sharing.
Two of the examples that Misha gave of artistic expression in sustainable agriculture were ones that I experienced personally. Both occurred during the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society/Association for the Study of Food and Society meetings in Madison. Both had an impact on me that is at once profound and yet not easily described.
The food fest on the lake where Chefs Collaborative 2000, Homegrown Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin Housing (chefs used their kitchens) and the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems hosted conference attendees outside under the huge, gracious oaks at lake's edge. The food was the art. A beauty that still enchants me as I think back. The humans that had produced the food and then those that transformed it into the beautiful dishes stood there while we applauded their creations. I felt as if our whole group had been transported into a higher level of being. For a moment we felt our commonality of spirit more clearly.
The other was "Rural Voices" which was a theatrical event. I do not have the brochure from that night so I don't have the right words to describe this wonderful experience. There were songs, a series of vignettes, and a discussion following. My 80 something mother was there in the audience with me. She was a dairy farmer with my father for at least 40 years. One of the vignettes was about a farm accident. Afterwards we talked about our own farm accident that had taken my brother's arm so many years ago. The play took us to a place where we could share more about what we had felt back then than either of us had before. To talk of it would have been too painful.
Sustainable agriculture with its focus on the earth, social justice, future generations, and community has always offered something to me that science and business can not. It has always been about the spirit.
I hope our art grows and with each year more fully captures that spirituality. We will be better people for it.
Kate Smith
Philadelphia
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