1. Historical precedents

2. Transcendental art

3. Theories

4. Neo-transcendental artists

5. See also

6. References

Neo-transcendental art refers to art that integrates spiritual ideas in the physical-scientific world by means of technology, combining art with cognitive science, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, science of consciousness, and consciousness-based technology.^[1] Neo-transcendental art emerges in response to techno-societal issues such as decentralization of power, environmental crisis, the Anthropocene, rapid development in technology and distributed consciousness.

The essence of transcendence is to become more than we are, transcend ourselves, our biology, our human condition and nature and all other conceivable limitations. Neo-transcendental art takes aspects from spiritual thinking combined with science and creative flexibility of the mind and has been associated with transhumanism, sci-fi, visionary art, ecological art/environmental art, and self-transcendence.^[2]

Historical precedents

In 1973 Martin Schiff associated neo-transcendentalism with the emergence of a ‘dawn of a new national consciousness’ and counter-culture characterized by the student movement of the 1960s in America, as a ‘passionate revolution of creative intelligence’, with transcendalism  as an antecedent. Schiff pointed out a relationship between 'a New Left counter-culture, credited by its supporters with messianic characteristics for national salvation' and a 'nineteenth-century utopianism.'^[3]

Neo-transcendentalism can be rooted in Transcendentalism philosophy that arose in New England in the United States in reaction to intellectualism in the 1830s.^[4] A parallel movement to the ideas introduced with Unitaritarianism, adherents of Transcendentalism yearned for intense spiritual experiences and sought to transcend the purely material world of reason and rationality. Transcendentalists believed in nature as a perfect spiritual state without the need for mediation from the church, prophets or the Bible. Influential transcendentalists were Margaret Fuller (also an early pioneer of feminism), Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody and Louisa May Alcott.^[5]

In the essay "Nature" written by Ralph Waldo Emerson (published in 1836 by James Munroe and Company) he puts forth the foundation of transcendentalism, a belief system that espouses a non-traditional appreciation of nature.^[6]

Transcendental art

Transcendental painting carries similarities with surrealist art and is considered a precursor of the cosmic art of the 1950s,^[14] the psychedelic art of the 1960s, and the visionary art of the 1970s.

Theories

The essence of transcendence is to become more than we are, transcend ourselves, our biology, our human condition and nature and all other conceivable limitations.

Despite a generally non-scientific approach, transcendentalism went along with the earlier transcendental idealism of Kant formultad in Critique of Pure Reason (1781), believing that that we must transcend our senses to understand the world and that knowledge relates to the interplay of senses, reason and intuition, and cannot be derived by any one in isolation.^[7]

In Being and Nothingness, Sartre defines relations with others in terms of transcendence.^[8] Transcendentalism also finds philosophical grounds in the pragmatist philosophy of William James.

Neo-transcendentalism is also influenced by Hindu texts on philosophy of the mind and spirituality, especially the Upanishads. Transcendentalism emphasizes subjective intuition over objective empiricism and holds a core belief in the inherent goodness of people and nature. Transcendentalist beliefs are closely linked with those of the Romantics, but differ by an attempt to embrace or, at least, to not oppose the empiricism of science.^[8]

Neo-transcendentalism has been argued to advocate for a return to less technological driven lifestyles.^[9]

Neo-transcendental artists

Neo-Transcendentalist media artists include Jason Silva, Lucy McRae, Vernor Vinge, Michael Anissimov, Ray Kurzweil, Max More, Ben Goertzel, Peter Diamandis, Zoltan Istvan, David Pearce, Natasha Vita-More, Gray Scott, Teddy Lo, Elle Nicolai, Android Jones.

See also

• Visionary art
• Ecological art
• Environmental art
• Transhumanism
• Science fiction
• Integrated Information Theory

References

• Relic of an Emissary
• Relic of Empire
• Relicord
• Relics attributed to Jesus
• Relics of Muhammad
• Relics of Sainte-Chapelle
• Relics (Pink Floyd album)
• Relic Sunday
• Relict crop
• Relict Lake
• Relict trillium
• Relic woods
• Reli De Vera
• Relief-bas
• Relief church
• Relief column
• Relief Committee for Greeks of Asia Minor
• Relief efforts of the 2010 Pakistan floods
• Relief Hose Company No. 2 Engine House
• Relief Inlet
• Relief, Kentucky
• Relief map (disambiguation)
• Relief mapping
• Relief (minerals)
• Relief, North Carolina