Laurence Caruana

Laurence Caruana (b. February 16, 1962) is a Maltese artist, writer and lecturer noted for his contribution to the contemporary Visionary art movement, particularly through his "Manifesto of Visionary Art." [Published, secondary source references to L. Caruana's Manifesto may be found at:
*Silvia Thyssen, "Boundaries in Question : Examining Visionary Art", Erowid Extracts: Psychoactive Plants and Chemicals, May 2003, p. 18.
*Erik Davis, "The New Eye: Visionary Art and Tradition", Introduction to "True Visions" (Betty Books, 2006 ISBN 88-902372-0-1) pp. 5-8. This article first appeared in the "COSM Journal of Visionary Culture," volume IV (COSM Press, 2006) p. 59.
*"Metamorphosis, 50 Contemporary Surreal, Fantastic and Visionary Artists" edited by Jon Beinart (Beinart Publishing 2007 ISBN 978-0-9803231-0-8) pp. 2-4.]

Biography

Laurence Caruana was born the third son of Maltese parents who met and married in Toronto, Canada. After completing his studies in German and ancient Greek Philosophy (B.A. from the "University of Toronto" 1985), he learned classical techniques of painting at the "Akademie der Bildenden Künste" in Vienna ("Academy of Fine Arts Vienna" 1990). ["Dalis Erben malen Europa", edited by Roger M. Erasmy (Kastner Verlag, 2005) p. 14.]

Caruana then began an itinerant existence, living variously in Toronto, Malta, Vienna, Munich, Monaco and Paris. In that period, he actively pursued visionary experience (dreams, entheogens) as a source for his painting and writing. ["La Mort Transfigurée: L'Art Visionnaire et la Mort" (Galerie l'Arche de Morphée, 2006) p. 79.] After meeting his French fiançée in Munich, L. Caruana settled in Paris. In the year 2000 he met Ernst Fuchs of the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism and subsequently apprenticed under him for a year, working in his studios in Monaco and Castillon, as well as at the St. Egyd chapel in Klagenfurt. ["Dalis Erben malen Europa", edited by Roger M. Erasmy (Kastner Verlag, 2005) p. 14.]

Caruana currently works in his "atelier" in the Bastille, and often travels abroad to exhibit his works or deliver lecture presentations on Visionary art. The year 2008 marks the publication of "Enter Through the Image" (Recluse 2008, ISBN 978-0-9782637-2-0) and his first [http://www.lcaruana.com/webtext/lcmh.seminar.html painting seminar] Visions in the Mischtechnik. [L. Caruana website: http://www.lcaruana.com/webtext/bio.html]

Painting

After apprenticing with Ernst Fuchs, Caruana began using the "Mischtechnik", a painting technique which alternates between glazes of oil color (mixed in an oleo-resinous medium) and water-based whites (mixed in egg tempera or casein).

His art is highly mythological. Through fine lines, strong colors and precise rendering, L. Caruana's work manifests the imagery typical of visionary experience. More uniquely, his work combines symbols and styles from different cultural mythologies.

He has exhibited his works in London, Paris, Munich, Monaco and other cities, both individually and as part of various visionary groups ("les Visionnaires" in France, "Dali's Erben" in Germany, "Society for Art of Imagination" in England).

His work has also appeared on album covers, [The Artaxian Mantra's EP "Luneo": http://www.theartaxianmantra.com] in magazines, ["Elegy" magazine, Fall 2006: http://www.elegy.fr/] as tattoos, trading cards ["The Galactik Trading Card Oracle Complex": http://www.elvism.net/] and in posters for trance gatherings.

Writing

Caruana's creative and critical writing are extensions of his interest in mythology and Visionary art.

Creative writing

In a novel such as "The Hidden Passion" (Recluse 2007 ISBN 978-0-9782637-0-6), the author has retold the tale of Christ from the Gnostic perspective. Though condemned by the early church as a heresy, Gnosticism expands Christian myth by incorporating motifs from other cultures, such as ancient Greece (Platonism) and Egypt (Hermeticism). Throughout the novel, Christ utters the actual sayings ("logia") of the Gnostic gospels found at Nag Hammadi Egypt. L. Caruana's interest in Gnosticism forms part of a much broader fascination with crossing myths from different cultural mythologies. [Caruana, Laurence, "The Hidden Passion: A Novel of the Gnostic Christ, Based on the Nag Hammadi Texts" (Recluse 2007, ISBN 978-0-9782637-0-6) Back cover.]

Critical writing

Due to his deep involvement with the Visionary Art movement, L. Caruana has also become one of its spokesmen. Through his on-line [http://visionaryrevue.com "Visionary Revue"] , he has documented the history and evolution of this international movement. His "Manifesto of Visionary Art" (Recluse 2001, English and French editions) was published on-line and in print to an enthusiastic response. [See, for example:
*Silvia Thyssen, "Boundaries in Question : Examining Visionary Art", Erowid Extracts: Psychoactive Plants and Chemicals, May 2003, which also exists on-line at: [http://www.erowid.org/culture/art/art_article1.shtml Article] .
*Erik Davis, "The New Eye: Visionary Art and Tradition", Introduction to "True Visions" (Betty Books, 2006 ISBN 88-902372-0-1), which first appeared in the COSM Journal, issue 4 and also appears on-line at [http://www.techgnosis.com/chunkshow-single.php?chunk=chunkfrom-2006-09-11-1818-0.txt Article] ] The creative essays "Myrette" and "A Mirror Delirious", which appear in [http://visionaryrevue.com issue 4] , bring up to date all the author’s thoughts and insights into Visionary art since the publication of the Manifesto. [ [http://www.visionaryrevue.com/webtext4/editorial4.html Visionary Revue ] ]

Caruana's life-long pursuit of 'the ancient image-language' reached fruition in a book entitled "Enter Through the
Caruana, Laurence, "Enter Through the
]

Lectures

From his "atelier" in the Bastille, L. Caruana often travels abroad to deliver lectures on Visionary art. He has spoken at such venues as the "École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales" in Paris, [See the RISC (Relais d'information sur les sciences de la cognition) website: http://hallucinations.risc.cnrs.fr/] the [http://www.metageum.org "Metageum"] conference in Malta, [Metageum conference: http://www.metageum.org/] and Alex Grey's Chapel of Sacred Mirrors in New York. [Chapel of Sacred Mirrors: http://www.cosm.org/]

Publications

By L. Caruana

*"The Hidden Passion: A Novel of the Gnostic Christ, Based on the Nag Hammadi Texts" (Recluse 2007, ISBN 978-0-9782637-0-6).
*"Enter Through the

*"A Manifesto of Visionary Art" (Recluse 2001, English and French editions).
*"Fragments: The First Accumulation of Works" (Recluse 1989).

On (or including) L. Caruana

*"Metamorphosis, 50 Contemporary Surreal, Fantastic and Visionary Artists" edited by Jon Beinart (Beinart Publishing 2007 ISBN 978-0-9803231-0-8)
*Erik Davis, "The New Eye: Visionary Art and Tradition", Introduction to "True Visions" (Betty Books, 2006 ISBN 88-902372-0-1), which first appeared in the COSM Journal of Visionary Culture, volume IV (COSM Press, 2006).
*Silvia Thyssen, "Boundaries in Question : Examining Visionary Art", Erowid Extracts: Psychoactive Plants and Chemicals, May 2003.
*COSM Journal of Visionary Culture, volume V (COSM Press, 2008)
*"La Mort Transfigurée: L'Art Visionnaire et la Mort" (Galerie l'Arche de Morphée, 2006)
*"Dalis Erben malen Europa", edited by Roger M. Erasmy (Kastner Verlag, 2005)

Links

* [http://lcaruana.com L. Caruana main site]
* [http://visionaryrevue.com Visionary Revue] edited by L. Caruana.
* [http://gnosticq.com The Gnostic Q] featuring "The Hidden Passion".
* [http://www.erowid.org/culture/art/art_article1.shtml Article] on Visionary Art (with reference to L. Caruana). Silvia Thyssen, "Boundaries in Question : Examining Visionary Art", [http://www.erowid.org/general/newsletter/erowid_newsletter4.pdf Erowid Extract] , May 2003.
* [http://www.techgnosis.com/chunkshow-single.php?chunk=chunkfrom-2006-09-11-1818-0.txt Article] on Visionary Art (with reference to L. Caruana). Erik Davis, "The New Eye: Visionary Art and Tradition", Introduction to True Visions (Betty Books, 2006 ISBN 88-902372-0-1), which first appeared in the COSM Journal, issue 4.
* [http://www.erowid.org/culture/art/artists_c/art_caruana_laurence.shtml L. Caruana] in Erowid's Visionary Art Vaults.
* [http://beinart.org/artists/laurence-caruana L. Caruana] in the Visionary Art Collective.

References