Reflections and Reconfigurations: Conversation with Lisa Kokin Enjoying the sunset on a serene Bay Area country road in late summer while driving to interview Lisa Kokin, and pulling up the driveway of the secluded home she shares with her partner, I once again took note of how artists have a way of seeing the possibilities in things and places that others have overlooked. This was elaborated in our conversation about the many phases of her art career. Found and collected objects, the throwaways of our culture, have been the foundation of her work for many years now. After a tour in Lisa's recently built studio with many examples of her work, new ... Nov 21, 2010, 46060 reads

A Conversation with Professor Ron Howard: Waking Up Prof. Ronald Howard directs the Decisions and Ethics Center at Stanford University. He founded the field of Decision Analysis in the 60s, and has been teaching this subject for almost five decades now. In addition, he also teaches classes on voluntary social systems and ethics. His approach to each of these three subjects is often considered life-changing by those who take it.   I first met Ron as a Masters student in front of the elevator. I was a nobody, and for some reason, he stopped to say hello. We got chatting, and the next thing I knew, I was telling him my story. It had to ... Oct 17, 2013, 45994 reads

A Conversation with Haricharan Das: In the Company of Saints Photo: R. Whittaker 11/20/09 Meeting Haricharan Das was one of those happy improbabilities you could never have made up. My wife had been reminding me for months that the paint on our house was peeling off and that if I didn't get on the ball and deal with it, we'd regret it. So finally I got online and looked at the Berkeley Parents' Network, a great resource for recommendations. I called a painter with rave reviews and a few days later, my doorbell rang. A tall man with a shaved head and olive complexion stood there smiling. He was ready to take a ... Jul 27, 2010, 45986 reads

Who Makes Originals, Ever?: A Conversation with Viola Frey   I first saw a piece of Viola Frey’s work at the Oakland Museum many years ago, a large ceramic figure—maybe nine feet tall, a man in a suit. The figure leaned forward stiffly, shoulders hunched up, and wore an aggressive, threatening expression. The encounter made a lasting impression which settled somewhere in a strangely equivocal inner space.         What was the meaning of the brightly colored glaze on this menacing figure? I tried to read into the oversized, cartoonish figure some knock on the bourgeoisie, but it ... Aug 8, 2002, 45809 reads

WHO AM I? AND FOR WHAT?: From a talk at the Toronto Institute of Noetic Sciences About James George: Although perhaps best known as a distinguished Canadian diplomat and an effective environmental and political activist, James George is first and foremost a spiritual seeker. He has been a devoted student of the Gurdjieff Work for more than fifty years and was a close disciple of the late Madame de Salzmann, one of Gurdjieff's primary students. With her encouragement, he and his wife, Carol, explored the spiritual traditions that formed the foundation for Gurdjieff's early training. While stationed in India, Sri Lanka, and the Middle East, the Georges met with ... Aug 13, 2013, 45021 reads

Interview with John Mason: No Simple Answers photo - r. whittaker Two or three years had passed since my last visit to Los Angeles, and as I neared the LA basin, I felt the stirring of memories. Many were connected with years I spent in Claremont, California. There was even a faint echo of John Mason in there. Sometime in 1964, thanks to a girlfriend at Scripps, I had my first experience of putting hands to clay. That moment had the same magic for me as for so many others. Claremont was full of potters in those days. The mystique of clay and its transformation by fire was one of the several enchantments of that ... Sep 18, 2011, 44949 reads

A Conversation with Ursula von Rydingsvard: Objects of Presence I first heard of Ursula von Rydingsvard from my friend Jane Rosen. "She's a great artist," she told me. "You should interview her." But Ursula lives in New York and I had my hands full in the Bay Area. It didn't seem likely to happen. Then one day I got a call from Jane— Ursula would be in San Francisco to give a talk at the Art Institute. She would be in town only briefly, but perhaps I could arrange to meet her. It turned out that she would be staying with Ann Hatch who had brought Ursula to SF years before for a residency at the Capp Street Project. ... Feb 16, 2003, 44753 reads

Interview: Brian Rood, Avenue Books: Losing Ground, Berkeley 01/16/04 I’d heard the end was near for Avenue Books, the kind of intimate bookstore that now seems to belong the past—Brian had told me himself. It had to be a depressing event, but Rood had not lost his dry wit. I took it as a matter of character. Nothing to be gained by dragging customers into the sad story.  One evening some years ago I’d been strolling north along College Avenue toward the U.C. campus when I discovered the place. Tucked neatly in between neighborhood businesses it could easily have been missed—another feature of its charm. It ... Jan 16, 2004, 44701 reads

Interview: Frederick Sontag: A Time of Searching April 10, 2002 Dr. Frederick Sontag was a much beloved figure at Pomona College where he taught philosophy for over fifty years. His 27 books include Elements of Philosophy, Uncertain Truth, The Future of Theology, A Kierkegaard Handbook and The Mysterious Presence.      I was fortunate enough to cross paths with Dr. Sontag in 1965 while he was a visiting professor at UC Riverside for one semester. I'd signed up for his seminar in German Romantic Philosophy. It was a turning point for me under unlikely circumstances. In short, this had to do ... Apr 10, 2005, 44642 reads

A Conversation with Reverend Heng Sure: Cultivation and Practice Beginning in the summer of 1977, two American monks in the Chinese Mahayana Buddhist tradition committed to taking three steps and one bow for 800 miles along California’s Highway 1. A pilgrimage to bring peace within and without, their journey took them through some of the most beautiful and also some of the most dangerous parts of California. Two and a half years later, they completed their pilgrimage at the steps of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, in Ukiah, Californi One of these monks was bestowed the name Rev. Heng Sure, or “Constantly Real.” Born ... Sep 16, 2014, 44383 reads