The Finding Silence Project
ABOUT
THE FINDING SILENCE PROJECT
The Finding Silence Project examines the importance of silence in cultivating inner wisdom to enable us to thrive in urban society. Through interviews, portraits, essays, and interactive media the Project will create a bridge between those keepers of knowledge in the silence traditions of the world's major religions, and the modern urban dweller."The small hermit lives on a mountain.
The great hermit lives in a town." -Chinese proverb
For millennia, humans have sought retreat from the cacophony of worldly ambitions, have sought the solace of like-minded simplicity, the sanctuary of stillness, and the rhythmic discipline of inward focus wherein grace might be entreated to descend. The desert, cave and mountain dwellers understood the seminal importance of silence for spiritual growth and the endurance of their traditions bespeaks of great successes.
Through recorded interviews and photographic portraits, a visceral and captivating understanding of the variety, depth and importance of the inner life will be revealed.
Doug Busch is a world renowned fine art photographer. Doug will capture the hidden world of inner silence for today's modern urban audience. Essays will accompany the images of each tradition written by the monks who practice them and other notable luminaries. Bridging the gap between the esoteric and the everyday, the Project will inspire reflection and dialogue about the unspoken and subconscious aspirational assumptions that relentlessly drive the pace of modern living.
Doug and writer/producer Ian Gardner, will travel to the corners of the world to seek out the silence
tradition keepers and capture their stories and knowledge.With your help The Finding Silence Project will unearth the hidden ores of knowledge and refine their essential truths, recording them to endure for all in need of wisdom, to be exhibited in the world's museums and be presented digitally to global citizens, for our generation and beyond. We thank you for considering our request.
PROJECT MEDIA
- - Fine art book.
- - A hand bound, limited edition, hand printed tipped in photograph, letter press printing of essays.
- - A regular edition coffee table book with all essays in three languages.
- - A show catalogue to travel with the exhibitions.
- - Lithographic Posters.
- - Limited Edition continuous tone Lithograph opportunities.
- - iPad App, digital book with video and interviews as well as a photographic version.
- - YouTube video segments to promote the project virally.
- - Lecture series with an educational support arm (UC School System).
- - Visiting lecturers.
- - Retreat facility seminars.
TRAVELING EXHIBITS
Several prominent museums have expressed commitment interest in the project. The Inaugural Exhibitions will open in Germany and the United States. The shows will then travel to other venues worldwide.PROJECT
a BUSCH - GARDNER frequency
For millennia, humans have sought retreat from the cacophony of worldly ambitions, has sought the solace of like-minded simplicity, the sanctuary of stillness, and the rhythmic discipline of inward focus wherein he might entreat the grace of God's descent. The desert, cave and mountain dwellers understood the seminal importance of silence for spiritual growth and the endurance of their traditions bespeaks of great successes.
We have become urban dwellers, and the quickening of life has left modern man with a great yearning for substance, for wisdom, for knowledge of peace and the way to find meaning and purpose. We intuitively feel that answers exist, yet are unsure of where to find them. We do yoga, read scripture, chant mantras and seek teachers, all with the earnest hope of reaching that enduring space where questions cease and there are only answers, calm and confidence in the correctness of our choices. Yet for all our striving, success often eludes us...
"The small hermit lives on a mountain.
The great hermit lives in a town." -Chinese proverb
first.
SILENCE
Talking about the inner life
question.
The garrulous troupe of New Age pundits ceaselessly laude the importance of the inner life. Volumes are devoted to its techniques, keys, secrets, processes and paths. Countless references are made to the value of a rich inner life and its virtues are bandied about amongst the erudite circles of the spiritual elite. But what does that really mean? What is it like? What is the experience of the inner life and how does it affect the rest of my outer life? Why should I care?
The first part of The Finding Silence project will engage an everyman's dialogue with people from all walks of life to understand:
-What does it mean to have an inner life?
-What is the experience like?
-What is the benefit?
-Why is it important?
-How do you cultivate it?
Through recorded interviews and photographic portraits a visceral and captivating understanding of the variety, depth and importance of the inner life will be revealed.
"Silence is becoming increasingly recognized as an intuitive doorway into our authentic capacity for discerning life's steps, resulting in higher choices and more peaceful outcomes---especially in these times of change and uncertainty. Silence is more generous as we listen from our heart." - Doc Childre, Founder, The Heartmath Institute
second.
FINDING SILENCE
The Monastic Tradition and Modern Life
What do the monastic traditions have to offer us today? Is wisdom truly timeless? Or are the years behind doors and within cloistered gardens merely a creaking relic of the past, without tie or relevance to the future? We believe not. The keepers of wisdom have been steadfast in their efforts, sheltering their ways against the surging world around them, and now it is time to seek and bring forth their knowledge to provide solace for those so desperately in need.
We cannot all fully engage the monastic way and reap its benefits, yet to live in the modern world (not merely to survive) we must understand the monks' secrets and adapt them to our ways. The monks walk through the monastery door and enter their cloistered world. In like manner we must learn to enter the door of our own inner stillness, and there find the hidden wisdom, the truth we can find within ourselves, ringing out from the depths of great silence.
Doug Busch is an internationally acclaimed large format black and white photographer, whose visionary artistic talent and uncanny technical expertise has led to collections and shows throughout Europe and the United States. His photographs strive to "present reality more accurately than we can actually see it" via the density of his images. He and writer/producer Ian Gardner, will travel to the corners of the world to seek out the monastic tradition keepers and capture their stories and knowledge.
With your help The Finding Silence Project will unearth the hidden ores of knowledge and refine their essential truths, recording them to endure for all in need of wisdom, to be exhibited in the world's museums and be presented digitally to global citizens, for our generation and beyond. We thank you for considering our request!
THE MONASTIC TRADITIONS
In the stressful busyness of modern life we fantasize about peace and quiet. The travel industry has learned to capitalize on this and offers us promises of idyllic escapes, the salutary effects of which fade all too quickly upon our return home to the consumer treadmill. We imagine the monastic life and it evokes romantic notions of gentle rhythms and solitude, but what lies behind the closed doors and solemn vestibules? Have the monks uncovered secrets about how to live life peacefully and stress free? Are they spoken to in the silence? Are there secrets that might enable us to live in balance while maintaining our modern lifestyle? What can we learn from their thousands of years of tradition?
Never before has the varied power of religious belief been so clearly witnessed on a global scale and the news can scarcely be viewed without a reference to some group's beliefs. Yet most of these religions have their roots anchored far back in time, and during their evolution have developed a sequestered, stillness tradition. The Finding Silence Project will visit these far flung monasteries and talk to those guardians to answer one important question:
"What does the Monastic tradition have to offer us today?"
We will unearth the answer to this question from amongst the religions that comprise our global panoply and have a tradition of practices to cultivate the inner world: Buddhism, Christianity, Sufism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Taoism.
DOUG BUSCH
THE ARTIST: DOUGLAS BUSCH
"I am interested in presenting reality more accurately than I can actually see it. On one level, my work is about a certain density. There is more to see than we can actually see."
Busch's large format black and white photographs, ranging from 8"x10" to 40"x60" (shot with the world's largest portable camera, designed and built by the artist himself), present images of great beauty and irony, great subtlety and elegance. In Busch's photographs, "actuality is not abbreviated but opened into the world, not merely documented but discovered," states Dr. Donald Bartlett Doe, Director of the Mulvane Art Museum, Topeka, KS. Busch's vision and personal sensibilities enable him to capture the monumental in the ordinary, to inform the details of everyday life with sensitivity and clarity.
Robert J. Evans, Director of the Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA, notes, "Busch's combination of technical perfection and personal poetic sensitivity is truly overwhelming. His intense, aesthetic vision combines with his outstanding craftsmanship to produce strong works, simple and direct, yet redolent of the great artistic tradition that preceded him. There is a deeper mood and a quality of light washing through the cityscapes distinct in feeling from what we can see in most American imagery. Busch's sensibility shines through always, creating harmonies that delight the eye."
Busch's technical ability is widely acknowledged and respected. His work has been published in virtually every international photographic magazine. Jannes Art Publishing of Chicago, IL writes, ""Mr. Busch will become, within the next few years, one of the world's outstanding and most noteworthy black and white photographers. The technical caliber of his work is superb, his vision exciting and strong." Numerous publications have cited Busch's technical expertise in inventing and building photographic equipment for large format photography.
Al Weber comments, "Busch's genius is his ability to combine his artistic talent with an uncanny technical expertise in a way which has placed him in a unique position within the international photographic field. By those who are familiar with his work, he is considered one of the most talented and accomplished large format black and white photographers anywhere."
IAN GARDNER
THE WRITER: IAN GARDNER
"To be able to move seamlessly between the liquid and digital realms, between the depths of the spiritual and the excitement of the material, is the highest goal of modern living."
Ian's spiritual and professional lives have crisscrossed the planet and traditions. A seasoned and successful entrepreneur he has started and sold companies in biotech and renewable energy. A pre-med student in his undergraduate training his first job out of college was with the prestigious international development arm of Duke Energy, where he worked on projects in China, SE Asia and Latin America. Several years later he left for California where he became a manage- ment consultant with the white shoe consulting firm, The Boston Consulting Group, working engagements throughout South America, northern Europe and Australia. While earning an MBA from The University of California Los Angeles, Ian was introduced to yoga and meditation and developed a devoted practice in both areas, studying under the renowned Bikram Choudhury, and exploring the meditative paths of Transcendental Meditation, The Self Realization Fellowship, Eckankar and Mudrashram.
In 2001 Ian journeyed to Allahabad, India to participate in the Maha Kumbh Mehla, attended by over 60 million Hindu devotees and occurring only once every 144 years. While at the month long festival he spent time questioning the sadhus, bathing in the Ganges, meditating and talking with mendicants from the remote reaches of India. Upon his return he entered a year in seclusion, living simply, meditating up to 8 hours a day, and writing about his inner experiences.
In 2003 his first book, "Voices of Ancient Bethlehem: A Dialogue with Jesus and the Twelve Disciples," was published by The Jodere Group to positive acclaim within the esoteric Christian community. He has written five additional books related to the esoteric teachings that are available on a limited basis.
Ian also spent two years working for The Esalen Institute in Big Sur, spending time with numerous luminaries in the human potential field and observing and contemplating the vast variety of teachings and paths. He returned to entrepreneurial efforts in 2004 and subsequently co-founded and sold two companies. He currently is an investment banker focused on clean technology, and resides in Los Angeles, CA with his young daughter. He meditates up to two hours daily and has several spirituality focused media projects in development.
SCOTT GARDNER
THE CINEMATOGRAPHER: SCOTT GARDNER
Scott Gardner is a photographer and cinematographer whose focus includes documentaries, music videos, unscripted television series, and feature films. As a photographer, recent credits include the poster for the film Take Shelter, directed by Jeff Nichols and starring Academy Award nominees Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain, which won the International Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival in 2011, and was distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.
Credits as a cinematographer include the award winning documentary The Rough South of Larry Brown, 2nd unit cinematographer of the breakout Sundance 2012 film Compliance, music videos for bands Tweaker, Reazon, and D1, and the new Discovery Channel's Alaska: The Last Frontier. Scott shoots production stills for a range of film projects for corporate clients and charities worldwide including.
MEDIA
IMAGES AND ESSAYSA world renowned fine art photographer, Douglas will capture the hidden world of inner silence for today's modern urban audience. Essays will accompany the images of each tradition written by the monks who practice them and other notable luminaries. Bridging the gap between the esoteric and the everyday, the Project will inspire reflection and dialogue about the unspoken and subconscious aspirational assumptions that relentlessly drive the pace of modern living.
Douglas Busch has built the world's largest portable cameras. He will focus these cameras on the living architecture and monks who dwell within these monasteries. To identify the common threads in the architecture and the monks' daily lives, and to record on film this "silence of wisdom." The monks will be interviewed and recorded to create a lasting record of their wisdom, and essays will be solicited by leading figures in their respective traditions.
PROJECT MEDIA
- Fine art book.
- A hand bound, limited edition, hand printed tipped in photograph, letter press printing of essays.
- A regular edition coffee table book with all essays in three languages.
- A show catalogue to travel with the exhibitions.
- Posters.
- Limited Edition continuous tone Lithograph opportunities.
- iPad App, digital book with video and interviews as well as a photographic version.
- YouTube video segments to promote the project virally.
- Lecture series with an educational support arm (UC School System).
- Visiting lecturers.
- Retreat facility seminars.
TRAVELING EXHIBITS
Several prominent museums have expressed commitment interest in the project. The Inaugural Exhibitions will open in Germany and the United States. The shows will then travel to other venues worldwide
AESTHETIC SUPPORT"In the soon to be produced portfolio and traveling shows, each photograph will depict contrasts which are a part of the late 21st century social cultures around the world and how it can be a timeless vision into ourselves. There will be pictures of monasteries and their inhabitants in transition, kept from transformation by the impact of the outside world."
"The spaces within Busch's photographs are themselves complex. Sky, out of the picture, is reflected in the water in the picture. Monasteries rise out of undulating landscape. Within these spatially complex, carefully presented images there is a sense of silence, wisdom and solitude. The images present a scenario in which we may anticipate an event to happen in our own lives."
"The extraordinary richness of these images in part derives from the enormous cameras Busch uses. Each photograph is a contact print, neither cropped nor enlarged, but presents edge to edge precisely what the photographer framed through his camera as he worked on location. Only this unique 1800's process of photography is capable of such great beauty... soft in tonality and continuous in gradation, with remarkable definition of detail."
"In his photographs the actuality is not abbreviated but opened into the world, not merely documented but discovered. This monastic world provides a resource for the highest dramatic art."
SPONSORSHIP
SPONSOR BENEFITSFrom this effort, 50 original signed and numbered photographs will be produced. The photographs will be black and white Silver Chloride prints, each printed by the photographer and processed to meet archival standards. Each negative will be limited to 5 prints, at which time the negatives will be retired and no additional prints will be available of that size. Each print will be signed and num- bered on the colophon by the artist, then mounted and overmatted.
Busch has financed the development and manufacturing of the camera, darkroom, and all accessories needed. The Sponsors will fund the shooting and printing of the resulting photographs, books, electronic media, posters, and travel for the "Finding Silence" Project and the Inaugural Exhibition.
PLATINUM CIRCLE : $1,000,000 AND ABOVE
- The opportunity to travel overseas with the project team and visit a monastery, talk to the practitioners and experience their life firsthand.
- Press and promotional association.
- Gift of up to 10 (pre-publication, up to 5 post-publication) original signed and numbered contact prints overmatted on 8-ply 100% acid free rag museum board.
- Gift of signed coffee table book.
GOLD CIRCLE: $25,000-$250,000
- International identification with "Finding Silence."
- Complete press and promotions plan book and the implementation thereof locally, regionally, nationally, and worldwide.
- 50 original signed and numbered contact prints overmatted on 8-ply 100% acid free rag museum board.
- Unlimited reproduction rights of 5 images of prime sponsor's choice.
SILVER CIRCLE: $5,000-$24,000
- The opportunity to learn large format photography from Doug Busch in a private lesson including hand development of film and production of 3 images.
- Gift of up to 5 (pre-publication, up to 3 post-publication) original signed and numbered contact prints overmatted on 8-ply 100% acid-free rag museum board.
BRONZE CIRCLE: $500-$4,999
- Gift of up to 3 (pre-publication, 1 post-publication) original signed and numbered lithograph or contact print overmatted on 8-ply 100% acid-free rag museum board.
PATRONS CIRCLE: $25-$499
- Gift of up to 3 (pre-publication, 1 post publication) continuous tone lithograph signed in the plate by Doug Busch.
PROJECT SUPPORT
The Finding Silence Project is sponsored by the:
a 501(c)(3) organization. All donations are tax deductible. The foundation is a grant-making organization, based in Los Angeles, whose primary mission is to award monetary support to individual photographers whose work in the past and whose promise for the future needs to be recognized and supported. www.NoStringsFoundation.org
DONORS: IN-KIND
These corporate sponsors have shown their belief in the importance of this project as evidenced by their generous technical and in-kind support. They believe, as we believe, that to preserve this historic moment in time and to capture the spirit of this ageless wisdom, the Project will serve as a documentary for generations to come... a great artistic vision of the times.
Eastman Kodak has donated all the supplies necessary to bring this project to fruition. No strings or conditions. Just support.
"The Professional Photography Division of Eastman Kodak Co. is proud to be a sponsor of your exciting project and looks forward to participation in this worthwhile endeavor."
Rodenstock Optical Co., based in Germany, has donated the only lens manufactured today with resolution power beyond the human eye.
"We would love to have three prints, one for each of our International headquarters to validate all those who will support your truly ambitious and important project."