Statement by Albert Corvino, former student of Aesthetic Realism

As a former student of Aesthetic Realism, I am writing this letter about the knowledge I have always loved. I have learned many things from my studies; among them, a deeper way of seeing both the world and myself. One which makes sense.

Aesthetic Realism helped me through a very difficult period in my life. In classes, seminars and consultations, I was presented a way of seeing the world that was new and refreshing, much different than what I had grown accustomed to. When I read Eli Siegel’s Self and World, I was overwhelmed by the clarity and understanding of the self which Eli Siegel expressed. I developed a greater appreciation for music, literature and art. Ethics began to take on a new meaning for me.

Aesthetic Realism never deserved the horrible treatment it received in the past, nor does it deserve the insults currently being spread across the Internet. A case is being made that persons who study Aesthetic Realism are misguided, foolish, cultish, etc. (in other words “Zombies”); that students do not take vacations, they abandon their families and friends, they talk and act the same way, and they all live within close proximity! I am an IT Systems Manager currently employed by a large New York Medical Center, I have a wife and four children, and have always lived in Westchester County. What I am not is a brainwashed Communist who needs deprogramming.

With the current situation in our world, logic and beauty are needed now more than ever. Aesthetic Realism will continue to stand the test of time, despite these latest attacks. (It has for me.)

Sincerely,

Albert Corvino