Hans-Georg Türstig: hmmm, born in Germany, inspired by India, PhD(phew!), living in
America, translator of the Upanishads,.. Hey!, there's something shining through
them thar images
Hans-Georg Tuerstig |
I was born and
raised in Germany and as long as I remember I was drawn to art and loved
to paint, take photographs and write poetry. After finishing school I
wanted to go to the art school (Kunstakademie) in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Though I was admitted, I did not choose this path. More than the serious
resistance of my family, the argument of a good artist friend of mine
was responsible for this decision: "If you want your creativity
stifled and bent to the ideas of other artists, go." I didn't.
Instead, I studied Indology (Eastern Indian languages, religions and
philosophy) and received my Ph.D. from the University of Heidelberg,
Germany, in 1979. More than 13 years of post graduate research in India
followed, which brought me in contact with spiritual masters and many
great Indian musicians and artists. I became deeply engrossed in all
aspects of Indian culture, received the name Sautamali and increasingly
devoted time to express my experiences, thoughts and beliefs through
drawings, paintings, photographs and poetry. |
Digital artwork is
based on a computer and appropriate software, technological tools that
have pushed the limits of creativity far beyond the possibilities of
more traditional art. Yet, how an artist uses these exciting tools and
explores their possibilities and limitations is as with any other
medium and tool - determined by each artist's skill and talent. A unique feature
of digital art is the possibility to share it with the world immediately
and with fantastic speed via the internet. New venues of transverbal
communication are thus opened up. Whether or not an image carries a
message beyond itself, it certainly contributes to an international
understanding and transcultural exchange that may well become the
necessary ground on which lasting peace on this planet is feasible. Thus I see my
digital artwork as a way to share my life experience and non-verbal
understanding with people all over the world, initiating a dialogue that
bypasses all seeming differences. This unmediated directness is
infinitely more personal, leaves less space for misunderstanding, moves
us closer together and helps us realize once again that we are all
interconnected and more alike than unalike. It is my firm
conviction that this fast, active and interactive creative process of
sharing digital art is a step on the way of us humans back to our place
as part of nature rather than this self-proclaimed final peak of
evolution and selfimposed rulers of our home planet. This humbling
realization may well turn out to facilitate enlightened and conscious
global awareness. Besides being an
artist, I work as author and translator of mostly spiritual books for
various publishers in Germany. My new translation from Sanskrit into
German of the major Upanishads came out in 1996. For more details visit
my website at www.turstig.net. Recently my wife Bee Zollo and I moved to
Santa Fe, NM, and in this artistic atmosphere my creativity found new
ways to manifest and to express my metaphysical interests and insights.
I developed a composite technique working with my own photographs, with
digital enhancement using various computer software, different printing
methods on diverse surfaces and additional drawing and painting by hand. ~
|