Prophetic Activist Art: Handbook for a Spiritual Revolution grows out of Tom Block's 20-year history as an activist artist, writer and art producer. It outlines a specific model of using art to spur social transformation, as an extension of both artistic and spiritual practice. It is unique in that it moves beyond simply documenting past activist projects -- as do the other works in this field -- to developing a model which can be implemented by artists working in any media. Prophetic Activist Art brings together medieval conceptions of prophecy, art's historic purpose to raise the human gaze toward the ineffable and the contemporary "cult of the individual," to propose a mysticism of action, with art as the regenerating force. This theory moves beyond using activist art simply to shock the audience, or raise awareness of social issues, to providing specific and quantifiable social change. As Mr. Block notes in the introduction: "In this short treatise, part manifesto, part handbook, I give an honest assessment of just what specific prophetic impetus an artistcan hope to provide to the general society, and how he or she might do so. The following chapters outline a vision of how artists can use their talents to infuse a moral center into the public worlds of politics, the media and advertising, thereby introducing prophetic inspiration into the general society. I outline specific manners of using art to inspire quantifiable positive social change, believing that contemporary mysticism must be expressed as action. This defines the rejuvenation of creativity's historic purpose, for our era. Here lies the nexus of prophetic inspiration and the contemporary artist's studio. This book is based in the belief that art has had a historic role in helping humankind reach our greatest spiritual potential, and that Prophetic Activist Art provides a manner of reconsidering that role for our era." Hardly a theory that emerged out of thin air, it grows out of Mr. Block's extensive activist artwork. His activism includes being the founding producer of the first ever Amnesty International Human Rights Art Festival (www.humanrightsartfestival.com), the Human Rights Painting Project, in conjunction with Amnesty International (www.humanrightspaintingproject.com), Shalom/Salaam Project (www.tomblock.com/11shalom/index.php), Cousins Public Art Project (www.tomblock.com/10cousins/index.php) and other endeavors. He first published this theory as a paper in the "International Journal of the Arts in Society" (Australia, 2008), and was recently a Research Fellow at the DePaul University International Human Rights Law Institute, where he produced an activist art festival entitled: "Iraq History Project." He presented these ideas as a keynote speaker at a conference in Scotland (October 2011) entitled: "Kandinsky in Govan: Art, Spirituality & the Future," as well as at other venues around North America, Europe, Turkey and the Middle East. Prophetic Activist Art is Mr. Block's fourth book.
About the Author: Tom Block is an author and artist whose first book, Shalom/Salaam: A Story of a Mystical Fraternity, was published in both English (Fons Vitae, Louisville, KY) and Turkish (Bilim + Gonul, Istanbul, Turkey) in 2010. A Fatal Addiction: War in the Name of God (Algora Publisher, NY), exploring the relationship between religion and violence, was published in 2012. His Response to Machiavelli, an exploration of the American political dynamic, was published this past April (Algora Publisher, NY), and his art/activist manifesto: Prophetic Activist Art: Handbook for a Spiritual Revolution, is due out in the fall (Center for Human Ecology, Glasgow, Scotland). He has had several plays produced, in New York, Washington DC and Maryland. Reviewers have said of his plays that they offer "a fascinating and rewarding look at the multiple dimensions of faith, theory, and inspiration" and "if you'd like to explore where theater will be ten years from now it is probably worth a look." Also a visual artist, he has exhibited his artwork in museums, universities and galleries around the United States and Europe. Mr. Block was the founding producer of the first ever Amnesty International Human Rights Art Festival (April 2010), as well as a Research Fellow at the International Human Rights Law Institute at DePaul University (Summer/Fall 2010), where he produced the Iraq History Project Art Festival. He has spoken about his ideas at conferences and universities in Egypt, Turkey, Europe, the United States and Canada. He has been awarded monetary grants and other support for his writing, painting and production work from the Norman Lear Family Foundation (CA), Maryland State Arts Council (MD), Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation (NY), Sugarman Foundation (CA), Nelson Talbott Foundation (MD), Puffin Foundation (NJ), William and Mary Greve Foundation (NY), New York Foundation for the Arts (NY), Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (MD) and Amnesty International (NY). For more information on Mr. Block's work, please visit www.tomblock.com.