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Love is our shared country of origin.

But this word, “love”, is a minefield of distortions & misunderstandings.

It has been instrumentalized, and drained of its unifying capacity.

It has been conquered and brutalized by commerce and capitalism, by coercive political rhetoric, by an acquisitive and consumerist culture.

“Love” has been exploited in the name of self-interest to conceal abuses of power, on both personal and political levels.

“Love” has been largely dismissed by the ivory tower of elitist culture, academia, “high art” institutions, and many rationalists who have turned to cynicism as a refuge from the ungraspable and disquieting nature of the human condition.

a case for LOVE-STUDIES

This project was born during the COVID crisis - a period when the need for love became sharply evident through mass isolation. We were all asked to find new forms of connection, to source new paths of support, and for many of us, to forge new visions of purpose as the world around us became increasingly polarized.

 

Developing an appreciation for differences, instead of a fear of them, will strengthen the ontological immune system of our species. And that begins with curiosity. Curiosity is the first necessary step towards love.

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Love-Studies should exist.


Why wouldn’t we strive to understand something we so clearly share as the most profound source of motivation in shaping our lives? Love is accepted and understood as irrefutably important, but also simultaneously rejected as having no place in the conversation of serious and rigorous study. Why?

It makes people uncomfortable.

As creators - courage is perhaps the most fundamental quality that defines the agency of a creative practice. Why would we allow discomfort to stop us from approaching this complex, tangled, confused, burdened, chaotic, intricate…. and yet essential question of Love?
 

Since the start of this project in 2021, many have told me that if we want to attract the brilliant and discerning minds of today's contemporary art and theory communities, we must abandon the word "love." It is overly used. It is sticky. It is misleading. It is trite.

 

I understand the risks. Those risks do not make this conversation less important, but rather more important. Think of this as a rescue mission.


We must not be intimidated. We must be courageous.

I used to joke by saying, “Love is the most inexhaustible source of renewable energy.” Yes, this is bumper-sticker wisdom. But does it feel real? Will we allow our disillusionment to create indifference? Will we lose our courage?

I do not wish to write easy words about love.

This present-day cult of the individual has turned love into something strictly personal (and therefore inappropriate as a ground of institutional consideration). And so it must be said:

We will move beyond assuming that personal experience is irrelevant for study the moment that the commonalities between us become more visible and compelling than our differences.

So to answer your concerns - no, the study of Love is NOT:

sentimental
idealistic
naive
frivolous
blind
silly
moralistic

easy
dogmatic
fanciful
irrelevant
lighthearted
ridiculous
new-agey

propagandist
banal
absurd
approximate
escapist
cute
impossible

... though it can also be all of these things. Because the study of love will also help us understand why we face these persistent resistances to such a clearly common ground.

In a world of increasing loneliness, exploitation, divisiveness, polarization, intolerance and complacency - it is perhaps time to re-envision the human story and write ourselves out of this present plot (that will surely bury us). Love, that mysterious force which propels us into action, is surely an experience worth understanding.

It comes down to this:
Are we consumers of the world or creators of it? The answer is determined by the scope of our courage. So this is what I am calling for.

And please, for the sake of all whose lives are touched by love (ie. - all of us) - do NOT make this about sex, or some shallow hippie-commune-fantasy, or some perpetual, groundless dream of world harmony and eternal global peace. Do not make love smaller or simpler than it is. And do not make the study of it tedious or foolish through these cliches that reveal a closed and undisciplined mind more than the limitations of the topic.

One thing is sure. Love cannot be understood theoretically. It must be lived and explored through experience. So at La SOURCE, we do exactly that. We live. We live, create and study together. With the trust that reflective, disciplined and open minds can source new tools, new methods, new insights and a new visions that can guide us forward. As individuals, and as a connected whole.

We are working to find the courage to face all institutional taboos*.


We are working to get our hands dirty in the most intimate matters of life.

Many creators claim their freedom to engage the primary taboos of institutional culture.

 

However, creators also work in various milieu or disciplinary cultures that perpetuate their own specific contextual taboos.

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A radically inclusive and integral approach to research would include space for all of these voices and considerations. The taboos of all fields must be welcomed as vital spaces of inquiry. Safely, respectfully, and always in consideration of the impact it will have on those around us - but nevertheless, we cannot continue to exile these voices as they, too, contribute profoundly to shaping the shared world.

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*A taboo is a sociocultural prohibition or restriction on certain behaviors, actions, or topics that are considered inappropriate, unacceptable, or forbidden within a particular society or community. Taboos are closely related to conventions, but they are often more deeply ingrained and carry stronger negative consequences if violated.

Love

Soul

Money

Food

Sex

God

War

Politics

Death

Grief

Fertility

Pregnancy

Parenting

Addiction

Faith

Prejudice

Shame

Desire

Despair

Forgiveness

Rage

Insecurity

a word on TABOOS.

no idea what I'm talking about?

a few taboos in the “Culture of Thinking”

(ex. - academia, intellectual & cultural institutions):

​

  • Love

  • Faith and Intuition

  • Soul / Spirit

  • Sentimentality

  • Ethics and Morality

 

a few taboos in the “Culture of Feeling”

(ex. - intentional communities, eco-villages, self-help/heart-culture):

​

  • Judgment and Criticality

  • Destruction and Aggressivity

  • Analytical thinking

  • Man-made worlds and objects (from plastics to virtual reality)

  • Competition and Consumption

 

a few Taboos in the “Culture of Acting”

(ex. - advocacy, activism, innovation):

​

  • Passivity, Complacency, and Inaction

  • Chaos and Confusion

  • Incoherence

  • Abstract and philosophical thinking

  • Transcendence and Metaphysics

 

Some Taboos in the “Culture of Believing”

(ex. - faith-based, spiritual and religious congregations):

​

  • Pleasure and Enjoyment

  • Sensuality and Sexuality

  • Emotionality and reactivity/impulsivity

  • Technology

  • “Human”, Ordinary, Daily and Worldly Concerns

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Obviously - these are generalizations. Obviously - there are exceptions. And obviously - the exceptions can teach us volumes about integrative methods to break institutional conventions. 

The text on this page has been written by one individual and as such is not necessarily a direct reflection of the others living here on campus. We live in a rich field of shared values, with diverse ideas and varied visions that are all invited to be shared. This is a non-dogmatic space. 

Elise Goldstein, 15.08.2024

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