Joseph Anthony Arguelles better known as José Argüelles, was a world-renowned author, artist, visionary and educator died he was , 72.. He was the founder of Planet Art Network and the Foundation for the Law of Time. He held a Ph.D. in Art History and Aesthetics from the University of Chicago and taught at numerous colleges, including Princeton University and the San Francisco Art Institute. He was the twin brother of poet Ivan Argüelles. As one of the originators of the Earth Day concept, Argüelles founded the first Whole Earth Festival in 1970, at Davis, California.(January 24, 1939 – March 23, 2011),
Artist
As a painter and visual artist, he provided illustrations for numerous books, as well as mural paintings at different universities. However, his scope as an artist included his education as an Art History Professor, and his views on art as a "psychophysical aesthetic" can be found in his doctoral dissertation Charles Henry and the Formation of a Psychophysical Aesthetic (Chicago University Press, 1972). When teaching as a professor in the University of California, Davis - one of his final exams to his students was to create "something they believed in" [3] - this became a living art event which eventually became the basis for the annual Whole Earth Festival, still held today at the University of California, Davis. After experimenting with LSD in the mid-1960s, Argüelles produced a series of psychedelic art paintings [4] that Humphrey Osmond—who originally coined the work "psychedelic"—named "The Doors of Perception" (after Aldous Huxley's 1954 book of the same name, itself a title drawn from William Blake's 18th-century poem). In a 2002 interview Argüelles says of his artwork, "as fantastic as painting was, it was a limited medium in terms of audience."[5]Fame
José Argüelles was known for his role in organizing the Harmonic Convergence event of 1987[citation needed], and his book The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology, published the same year. In The Mayan Factor Argüelles devises a complicated numerological system by combining elements taken from the pre-Columbian Maya calendar with the I Ching and other esoteric influences, interspersed with concepts drawn from modern sciences such as "genetic codes" and "galactic convergences".[6] The book first popularized the Hunab Ku design as a symbol within New Age discourse, after altering its appearance from that originally presented by Mexican anthropologist Domingo Martínez Parédez ( 1904–1984 ) in his 1953 publication Hunab Kú: Síntesis del pensamiento filosófico maya.
Argüelles produced "Dreamspell: The Journey of Timeship Earth 2013" and a game/tool "Telektonon: The Talking Stone of Prophesy". The former is the source of Arguelles' 13 Moon/28 Day Calendar. This calendar begins on July 26 (heliacal rising of the star Sirius) and runs for 364 days. The remaining date, July 25, is celebrated in some quarters as the "Day out of Time/Peace through Culture Festival".[7] - celebrated in over 90 countries around the world.
The Law of Time
In his 2002 book Time and the Technosphere, Argüelles devises and promotes a notion that he calls the "Law of Time", in part framed by his interpretations of how Maya calendrical mathematics functioned. In this notional framework Argüelles claims to have identified a "fundamental law" involving two timing frequencies: one he calls "mechanised time" with a "12:60 frequency", and the other "natural [time] codified by the Maya [that is] understood to be the frequency 13:20".[8] To Argüelles, "the irregular 12-month [Gregorian] calendar and artificial, mechanised 60-minute hour" is a construct that artificially regulates human affairs, and is out-of-step with the natural "synchronic order". He proposes the universal abandonment of the Gregorian calendar and its replacement with athirteen moon, 28 day calendar, in order to "get the human race back on course" by the adoption of this calendar of perfect harmony so the human race could straighten its mind out again."[9]
Criticism
Argüelles stated that his tools and calendar were not the Mayan Calendar, yet criticism has focused on the lack of support for his work by any professional Mayanist scholar[citation needed]. Critics claim[who?] that his new interpretation merely co-opts an ancient tradition by recasting it in New Age terms, although his approach could be defined as a Synthesis. Many religious and spiritual concepts throughout history have involved the eclectic syncretism of one or more previously existing worldviews. Many of Dreamspell's influences come from non-Maya sources, such as the 13-moon/28-day calendar, the I Ching, numerology, and assorted mystical and pseudohistorical works like Erich von Däniken's earlier Chariots of the Gods?.[10] Argüelles' calendar is based on a different day-count than the traditional Maya calendar. For example, in the traditional count January 1, 2005 is 5 Muluk, while in the Dreamspell it is 2 Etznab. As mathematician Michael Finley notes:
"Since the 365 day Maya haab makes no provision for leap years, its starting date in the Gregorian Calendar advances by one day every four years. The beginning of Argüelles' year is fixed to July 26. Thus his count of days departs from the haab as it was known to Maya scribes before the Spanish conquest. Argüelles claims that the Thirteen Moon Calendar is synchronized with the calendar round. Clearly, it is not."[11]
In defence Argüelles has stated that his calendar is "correct and biologically accurate...for the whole planet", and that he is the "heir of the legacy of Pacal Votan and the instrument of his prophecy, Telektonon". [2] Argüelles is one of several individuals who have contributed to the spread of Mayanism, a collection of beliefs based on speculation about the ancient Maya.
Planet Art Network
Argüelles co-founded the Planet Art Network (PAN) with Lloydine in 1983 as an autonomous, meta-political, worldwide peace organization engaging in art and spirituality. Active in over 90 countries, PAN upholds the Nicholas Roerich Peace Pact and Banner of Peace, symbolizing "Peace Through Culture".
The Planet Art Network operates as a network of self-organized collectives, centralized by a shared focus of promoting the worldwide adoption of Argüelles' Dreamspell 13-Moon/28 day Calendar. The network upholds the slogan "Time is Art", suggesting that time is a vehicle for our creative experience, instead of the familiar saying "Time is Money".
The British anthropologist and journalist Will Black has investigated the Planet Art Network, 2012 prophecies and other millenarian movements and cults. The experience of attending PAN events is documented in his 2010 book Beyond the End of the World – 2012 and Apocalypse. The book covers the history of millenarian thought and cults from their ancient roots to present day, examining everything from Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, the Hopi and the Maya.
Having spent years at PAN events and immersed himself in the thinking of Jose Arguelles and other PAN leaders, Will Black strongly satirises the organisation and the leadership. Drawing on the writing of Arguelles, Black points out that prophecies Jose made about the years leading up to 2012 have failed. For example, Argüelles had predicted that the 13 moon calendar would be widely used long before 2012 but it has not been. Having also studied with shamans and the Maya, Will Black contrasts New Age movements, such as PAN, with ancient shamanic cultures, such as the Maya. In that analysis Arguelles is portrayed as someone appropriating and misrepresenting the Maya in an exploitative manner.
Black is rather more sympathetic towards the Maya than to Arguelles and PAN and consequently his book includes a chapter called ‘Returning the Mayan calendar to the Maya’ and sections in which gritty realities of modern Central American life are outlined, including the impact of drug wars and poverty.
First Noosphere World Forum
At the time of his death, he was the director of the Noosphere II project of the Foundation's Galactic Research Institute, inclusive of the First Noosphere World Forum, a project that involves creating a dialogue that unifies a network of organizations working to promote a positive shift of consciousness by 2012 with the vision of the whole earth as a work of art.
Bibliography
- Argüelles, José (1972). Mandala. Shambhala Publications.
- Argüelles, José (1975). The Transformative Vision: Reflections on the Nature and History of Human Expression. Shambhala Publications.
- Argüelles, José (1987). The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology. Inner Traditions/Bear & Company. ISBN 0939680386.
- Argüelles, José (1988). Earth Ascending: An Illustrated Treatise on Law Governing Whole Systems. Inner Traditions/Bear & Company. ISBN 0939680459. (note - the 1st edition of this book was published in 1984, prior to The Mayan Factor, by Shambhala Publications)
- Argüelles, José (1989). Surfers of the Zuvuya: Tales of Interdimensional Travel. Inner Traditions/Bear & Company. ISBN 0939680556.
- Argüelles, José; Miriam Arguelles, Chogyam Trungpa (Foreword) (1995). Mandala. Shambhala. ISBN 1570621209.
- Argüelles, José (1996). The Arcturus Probe: Tales and Reports of an Ongoing Investigation. Light Technology Publishing. ISBN 0929385756.
- Argüelles, José (1996). The Call of Pacal Votan: Time is the Fourth Dimension. Altea Publishing. ISBN 0952455560.
- Argüelles, Jose (2002). Time and the Technosphere: The Law of Time in Human Affairs. Inner Traditions/Bear & Company. ISBN 1879181991.
Notes
4. ^ Arguelles, Jose Mandala 1972 (The psychedelic mandala-like paintings of Jose Arguelles are reproduced on color plates in the back of the book)
8. ^ Terminology and statements in quotation marks taken from 2002 interview with Argüelles, as transcribed in Moynihan (2002)
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