Friends of Aesthetic Realism
       Countering the Lies
“It’s a lie, and not a well told one at that.
  It grins out like a copper dollar.”

                  —Abraham Lincoln

Statement of Ken Kimmelman, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker & Aesthetic Realism Consultant

The lies about Aesthetic Realism and Eli Siegel are also attacks on my professional reputation. I am an award-winning filmmaker, and received one of my Emmy Awards for my anti-prejudice public service film based on these powerful and kind words by Eli Siegel, which are so much for life and respect for people: “It will be found that Black and white man have the same goodnesses, the same temptations, and can be criticized in the same way. The skin may be different but the aorta is quite the same.” This film has been shown all over America and the world, including by the U.S. Department of Defense; it has affected people deeply and well, and continues to do so.

Many of my films, including those produced for the United Nations, are based on my knowledge of Aesthetic Realism. I studied with Eli Siegel from 1966 to 1978, and in that time, I saw in him honesty, great knowledge and kindness, and beautiful humor. In Aesthetic Realism he described the aesthetic structure of the world—which can be seen in this principle: “The world, art, and self explain each other: each is the aesthetic oneness of opposites.” I have studied that principle—as a filmmaker, husband, son, citizen—and have seen that it is true.

As a consultant on the faculty of the Aesthetic Realism Foundation, and as a teacher of film at New York University, School of Visual Arts, and the Pratt-Phoenix School of Design, among other educational institutions, and as a speaker on film and the solution to racism and homelessness at many schools and universities, I’ve seen the large and useful effect of Aesthetic Realism on the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds.

Throughout history there have been persons who have spat at, mocked, and tried to destroy what is true and beautiful. Think of what was done in St. Peter’s in Rome out of fury at the beauty of Michelangelo’s Pietà—a man attacked it with a hammer. This, I believe, is the state of mind of Michael Bluejay, who sees the beauty and goodness of Aesthetic Realism as a threat to his ego.

READ WHAT'S TRUE—
  • Read statements by many individual men and women
  • Reviews from the NY Times Book Review, Saturday Review, Library Journal, Harlem Times, Popular Photography, and more
  • The poetry by Eli Siegel, so greatly respected by William Carlos Williams and many others
  • Read lectures by Eli Siegel on subjects as diverse as literature, love, & economics
  • What is learned in classes taught by Ellen Reiss

  • A Little Anthology of Comments (Some Funny We Hope) on Further Misrepresentations.

    >> Continue

    "On the Pleasures and Advantages of Anonymity: An Ode"—
    >> Continue

    A Dramatic and Cautionary Tale about an Unknown and Very Unimportant Person

    There once was a young man of ancient Greece named Milos. And Milos knew Socrates. He did not like Socrates because the great man asked far too many questions.... >> Continue
    Statements by Friends of Aesthetic Realism

    Barbara Allen
    Frances Amello
    Jerry Amello
    Christopher Balchin
    Mara Bennici
    David Berger
    Alice Bernstein
    Rachel J. Bernstein
    Barbara Buehler
    Gina Buffone
    Beverly Sue Burk
    Maureen Butler
    Jeffrey Carduner
    Margot Carpenter
    Lori & Robert Colavito
    Albert Corvino
    Nicholas Corvino
    Henry D'Amico
    Matthew D’Amico
    Ernest DeFilippis
    Vincent DiPietro
    Carol Driscoll
    Donita Ellison
    Anne Fielding
    Lorraine Galkowski, RN
    Pamela Goren
    Edward Green
    Avi Gvili
    Ames Huntting
    Mark Lale
    Dale Laurin
    Rose Levy
    Timothy Lynch
    Lorraine Mahoney, RN
    Derek Mali
    Glenn Mariano
    Haroldo Mauro Jr.
    Joseph Meglino
    Pauline Meglino
    Allan Michael
    Marvin Mondlin
    Robert Murphy
    Michael J. Nadeau
    Meryl Nietsch-Cooperman
    Ruth Oron
    Arnold Perey, PhD
    Lauren Phillips
    Jack Plumstead
    Maria Plumstead
    Rosemary Plumstead
    Rev. Wayne Plumstead
    Marcia Rackow
    Zvia Ratz
    Ann Richards
    Anthony C. Romeo
    Leila Rosen
    Rhonda Rosenthal
    Sally Ross
    Claudia Senatore
    Sheldon Silverman
    Jeffrey Sosinsky, MD
    Barbara Spetly McClung
    Joseph Spetly
    Faith K. Stern
    John Stern
    Arlene Sulkis
    Devorah Tarrow
    Jaime R. Torres, DPM
    Dennis L. Tucker
    Francine Weber
    Steve Weiner
    Miriam Weiss
    Carrie Wilson

    Also see the Aesthetic Realism Online Library  the Aesthetic Realism Foundation  Terrain Gallery  What scholars, writers, artists & teachers are saying  the Aesthetic Realism Theatre Company  & Links

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