There is the world that we create, and there is the world that has created us. These two worlds must come together. That is the goal of the journey.

–Dieter Duhm

What does art mean today, after all the different developments of the 20th century? What meaning does it have in the world and for our lives? Is there an architect who has created me?
Who is thinking, when I am thinking?
Who is painting, when I am painting?
Were we ever in awe about the miracle of our own existence? Or about the miracle that occurs when a blade of grass grows through a layer of concrete?

Since the beginning of the industrial-technical world, art and philosophy have been driven into oblivion and have been replaced by international multinational corporations, weapons arsenals, space programs, mass media and advertising. Now, we find ourselves at the beginning of something new. Slowly but surely we are moving toward new patterns of life.

Art as the design of a life that is being dreamed, as a new state of being among people, as a medium of liberation, celebration and gratitude. A special kind of humor and joy of life arises when a group of people makes art together. We keep experiencing this during the art courses that Dieter Duhm has facilitated since 1984. When “IT” occurs, then this is a very special healing experience for all those involved. What is happening there, and why does it occur?

The context for the work that is documented here is always the project for which Dieter Duhm has been working as an initiator and researcher since 1978: developing and creating “healing biotopes”, i.e. concrete model communities that are based on a peace-engendering way for humans, humans and animals, humans and nature, men and women, and adults and children to live together.

At heart, the history of the project is the history of the creation of a community, which began in 1978 and keeps continuing. We have researched art as a design principle during numerous intensive courses, spiritual exercises and other adventures. Art became an essential element of the creation of community. “No community without art” was a realization that emerged out of the “Great Autumn of Art” in the garden in Schwand in the Black Forest in 1986.

May this book be a catalyst for the establishment of further “TAMERA ARTS”, the provisional name for this new idea of art.