As a young boy, Luciano Garbati would go with his family into Florence on the weekends. He would get lost wandering through the Piazza della Signoria, marvelling at the incredible sculptures of some of the world's greatest artists. A copy of Michelangelo's David, a morzocco sculpted by Donatello, Hercules and Cacus by Baccio Bandinelli, all towered above him as he roamed the Piazza. Yet out of all the masterpieces capturing his boyhood attention, Luciano was fascinated with Cellini's Medusa. He had no idea at the time, that decades later, he would walk into his own studio to sculpt a very different perspective of this ancient snake-haired goddess, nor of the global impact his sculpture would have. When asked, where, in 2008, he got the idea for this sculpture that challenges the traditional patriarchal perspective of the myth, he simply says: "You have to pay attention. If you don't pay attention, they don't speak."

Listening to the Symbolic Language of the Creative Unconscious

The art of individuation mandates paying attention to the symbolic language of the creative unconscious that holds both a prophetic trajectory and an emancipatory energy. It's in the liminal space of creative engagement that archetypal imagery comes to life and if we can pay attention, offers up the gift of self-revelatory insight. This creative world offers a respite from the noisy resistance of egoic consciousness and beckons us across a threshold into a world of deep listening. Jung wrote about art as representing "a process of self-regulation in the life of nations and epochs." (CW 15, p.83) Rather than underscoring a historically anecdotal pairing of creativity with madness, Jung emphasized the compensatory intent of the creative unconscious in moving individuals - and nations - towards a more balanced wholeness.

Creative Engagement as Liberator from the Tyranny of the Complex

Whether we are speaking politically of the outer world or psychologically of the inner world, emancipation from tyrannical forces occurs in concert with an embodied engagement with the creative. While an argument could be made that Jung gives us an idealized description of the artist as existing separately from the rest of humanity, there is a reality to artistic process that liberates from the tyrannical rigidity of the complex.

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This course will focus on the inter-connected patterns of art and creative engagement with the emancipatory energy of the creative unconscious intended to move towards wholeness. The focus will be on understanding its role as liberator from the stranglehold of the non-generative complex and the ways in which creative engagement offers the self-revelatory insights needed to facilitate this.

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Dialogue with Internationally Recognized Artists

In this 14 class certificate course, you will engage with internationally recognized artists as they share the behind the scenes stories of their art and their artistic process. Each 60 minute artist dialogue will focus on a particular theme which their work illuminates and include a 15 minute Q & A with the artist. Each artist dialogue session will be followed with a teaching and discussion session. In these sessions, we will draw from a rich variety of theoretical and creative material including: Erich Neumann's Art and the Creative Unconscious, Jung's CW vol. 15, as well as select material from The Red Book and the works of Marion Woodman. At the completion of this course, you will be able to identify key principles in working with the regenerative powers of the creative imagination and the emancipatory energy of the creative unconscious.

Creative Journal and Private Discussion Forum

Students will be encouraged to keep a creative journal as they progress through this course to further deepen and illuminate their engagement with this material. All sessions will be recorded for easy accessibility. In addition, students will be encouraged to share their art, insights and reflections in a private on-line FB forum. Students will receive a Certificate of Completion from The Sophia Center for Transformative Learning.