Transformations: Art and Spirit
Publication information:
Abstract
Artist Talk: Art and spirit are not separate. When they are harmoniously unified, they build in parallel process a coherent synthesis of the here and now, the past and the future. All times are inherent in the present. When that is recognized and accepted, transformational change is possible. It is only by accepting the power of the immediate present and the forces of the past that a transformation of future possibility can be attained.
The vocabulary of words and images, of self, community and possibility, when deeply recognized, can build transformational understanding. This process will be discussed and explored in a written paper, a presentation and works of visual art to share community and faith in the possibility of human action.
Presenter Biography
Susan Farist Butler, RN, MSN, PhD has always worked in words and arts to build connection, understanding and expression of self as fundamental to community, faith and future possibility. Her clinical work includes intensive care direct practice nursing and community mental health nursing direct care, administration and teaching.
Her academic work in experimental psychology of Judgment and Decision Making includes the founding of the Laboratory for Probabilistic Reasoning with Ray Nickerson, 2000-2020. Numerous articles in psychology of judgment and decision making were published from the work in that laboratory. She presented her dissertation at the first research seminar on Behavioral Economics at the Federal Reserve Bank, Boston. She continues her academic work and artistic and healing practice in her work at Harvard Divinity School where she was a Visiting Scholar at Harvard Divinity School from 2020-2023.