This letter from Kurt to the Director of the Honors Program at the University of Houston may never have been sent, though this copy was found in a folder marked “carbons.” Kurt did have an on-going relationship with the University of Houston in the late 1960s; he participated in some receptions for composer Morton Feldman, and wrote the text for an art exhibit. But this letter sounds suspiciously tongue-in-cheek, and draws upon his mid-1970’s preoccupation with Omasters. He writes,
“We envisage a reasonably quiet theater piece including: demonstration of a Tantric lymphatic massage technique from the Swar Yoga teachings through Harish Jobari, making tea in the tradition of Shakuhachi Unzen, an early mythical California master and founder of the Teahouse of Necessity.”
A Pyramid Project
Kurt loved to plan projects; even if a project did not come to fruition, the entire process of planning it fascinated him. One such project was a “Pyramid Project” involving the research and coordination of constructing a 45-foot wide pyramid on the campus of Sacramento State University. An interesting discussion between Kurt, university colleague Ken Switras and others involved in the project was recorded and transcribed during the planning process in 1979; a portion of that transcript is presented here. Kurt had already found the subject of pyramids of interest, and exploring his interest within an academic setting suited him just fine.
Ch'ing Ch'ing Goes the Bell
Kurt loved teaching, honored his teachers, and felt gratitude for the entire lineage of teachers who came before him. This was true in his experience of both the academic and spiritual world. In this short, devotional homage we see Kurt’s immersion into Vajrayana Buddhism of the mid-1970s. Of the teachings, he sings, “…up from the mud & Kurt von Meier, through the waters of the Lake Danakoss, wherever it might be as in the Taoist Water Wheel "reversing the flow" of the Golden Light within, onto the lily/lotus flower…”
Study and Travel - 1975
“Refugee cultures reflect, in their adaptation to new spatial surroundings, the temporal changes undergone by cultures which remain in place. The refugee is a 20th Century archetype in which we may see our own process of transformation; like the Hopis, we are refugees in our own country.”
This quote is included in a three-page summary of Kurt’s plans, perhaps in light of an upcoming sabbatical leave. It provides some historical information about Kurt’s activities, but also adds to the considerable store of his written material focused on archteypes, transformation, Laws of Form, and Tibetan Buddhism.
Exhibition Ideas
While an Assistant Professor of Art History at UCLA during the mid-sixties, Kurt von Meier also had responsibility for organizing and planning exhibitions at the university. This list of exhibition ideas was prepared by Kurt at that time, and in retrospect anticipated the shift of paradigm in the art world from “old masters” and “abstract expressionists” to more contemporary forms and materials. Notably, the gallery opening Kurt organized for an exhibit of sculptures by Harold Paris included a number of ideas on this list: four rock bands playing simultaneously accompanied by a “psychedelic” light show. Hyperlinks to later activities initiated by Kurt related to this list of ideas — planned events or articles in magazines for example — have been added.
Letter to SFMOMA Curator Henry Hopkins
Henry Hopkins, painter and museum curator (now deceased, 1928-2009), was instrumental in establishing arts and architecture programs at UCLA in the early 60s, was the director of the LA County Museum of Art, and as such established a cordial relationship with Kurt von Meier, who was teaching art history at UCLA in Southern California at that time.
This letter from Kurt to Hopkins dates from 1983, when Kurt was making plans for his sabbatical leave of 1984 and SFMOMA, then under the leadership of Hopkins, was looking at recruitment for a museum project. It’s an amusing and typically quirky von Meier missive which recounts Kurt’s history (in part) at UCLA and his self-evaluation as a “mythopoeic character.”
Cryptic Quito Camera Club
After a visit to Sacramento State University from Latin American photographer Jaime Pereira in 1988, Kurt and Jaime hatched a scheme to help aspiring photographers in Equador acquire camera equipment through the donation of used, older and broken cameras owned by Sac State students. In his usual fashion, Kurt promoted the idea creatively by creating the Cryptic Quito Camera Club. “Let's face it: cameras are expensive.,” Kurt wrote, “And those of us who appreciate good design, or who become fascinated with the delicate intricacy of precision technology, just cannot bear to throw away something like a camera. That would seem so illogical. And so it is, despite all the conditioning from the throw-away society in which we live.” This article contains Kurt’s full description of the program.
Four Pages from a Notebook: May 1996
Kurt’s hand filled thousands of pages of paper in his daily notebooks, a practice he maintained for at least 40 years. A combination of poems, reflections, discursive writings, doctor appointment dates, meal planning, teaching ideas and more, they documented Kurt’s daily experience of oracles and signs. These four pages from a May, 1996 lined pad are representative of his style and mode of contemplation. For the student, they are a treasure trove of scholarship and insight.
Carlos the Horse-fly or Carlos the Bull-fly
A visit to Kurt’s sister Kathie yielded this story written by Kurt when he was in seventh grade in Carmel, CA, and published in the Carmel Pine Cone newspaper. Kurt was very athletic but among his peers, a bit short of stature; accordingly, this story about a small horse-fly that accomplishes a grand task reflects Kurt’s desire for greatness and glory, desire that later fueled both his academic and social ambitions.
WANG DU (dBan gDus)
Kurt penned this short contemplation in July, 1972, on his Birthday while at Karma Dzong in Colorado, reflecting upon his Tibetan Buddhist name, it’s connection to the great Tibetan sage Tilopa (The Fisherman) and his father Julian “the great fisherman” (photo above, to the right of Kurt in overalls in 1938). He sees the reflection of his father in his own photo with his own fish, a Mahi Mahi (Dolphin fish) caught in Mexico in the Sea of Cortez.
Letter to James Keys (G. Spencer Brown)
Having received a letter during October, 1976, from James Keys (aka G. Spencer Brown, author of Laws of Form) in which Keys suggests he plans to move to California to take up residence, Kurt sent Keys a letter inviting him to the Diamond Sufi Ranch in Napa Valley. After noting the beauty and amenities of the area, Kurt goes on to describe his current work and interests. "I understand Laws of Form as the mathematical basis for the practical work of translating the teaching of the Dharma as preserved by the Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism, and based upon the Heart Sutra (Prajnaparamita Hridya Sutra)....Curious though, some of my questions about mathematics have led to citations from manuscripts apparently concerned with prediction and prognostication, said to be virtually unreadable or unintelligible save for the very few exceptional people. Sounds rather like the response of my students to Laws of Form."
Sabbatical Leave Request - 1982
In this draft, Kurt requests Sabbatical leave in order to "continue and complete research in the area of Formal Art." Seeking to bring his interest in esoteric systems of knowledge and wisdom into western institutional education had been a pet project for many years; in this leave request, Kurt formalizes that project. "Much of the subject matter referred to in this outline has been introduced en classes at CSUS (Mandala, Art and Mythology, Art 3); the expansion and refinement of the curriculum are projected as obvious benefits."
2wallymail - June 15, 1996
Here's an email Kurt composed to Cliff (Walter) Barney in 1996, in response to an email Cliff sent Kurt in May (delivered in printed form to Kurt in June). The original email noted (and the package contained) the cover of TIME magazine, featuring an article - "Can Machines Think?" Both Kurt and Cliff had steeped themselves in the cybernetic theories of Heinz von Foerster, and the writings of Warren McCulloch. Kurt's reply is typically wide-ranging, well-informed and entertaining, and reveals his frustrations with the emerging use of email and "spellcheck." Accordingly, he notes inaccuracies and inconsistencies in spelling in several sources of information. "Jene LaRue used to say that while spelling rules--the rightness of orthography--were conventional, it was most important (deepest, oldest, most prior) to spell correctly the names of the gods and presumably, in hierarchical order, those of the demi-gods, heroes, daimons, distinguished colleagues, scientists, artists, authors because they are the notational forms that enjoin (or sustain) being invoked, so one had best get it right, or at least as right as possible." He also carefully examines the magazine cover, noting the number of cogs on the gear wheels.
New Zealand and the Arts of the South Pacific
Many of us today have experienced New Zealand as the spectacular setting for Hollywood movies. Kurt spent two years teaching at the University of Auckland in New Zealand in the early 1960s, and it left an indelible impression on him. He continued to follow "The Blacks" rugby team for the rest of his life. His two years were not without controversy, however; his newspaper article criticizing the new fine arts building at the University's Elam School of Fine Arts made him enemies, and he returned to the United States where he taught for one year at Princeton before moving on to UCLA. This article, prepared for a talk he gave while in New Zealand, probably raised a few eyebrows as well. Kurt takes it upon himself to make a series of critical suggestions to insure that New Zealand's native Maori art remains accessible and ways to insure that New Zealand's art history program develops properly as an academic discipline.
Meierbücher
As early as 1965 Kurt was already conceptualizing a book about his life, as these pages from one of his notebooks indicate. At the time he'd just turned thirty years old, a rising-star-assistant-professor at UCLA and beginning to write furiously in magazines about the world of fine art and art history. In a sense, his life had barely begun; many additional chapters had yet to be recorded. Though his penchant for self-documentation was well established, Kurt's Meierbücher never got written. That task was left to others, as this website attests.
Kurt also made a list of books he planned to write; that list is shown as well. He completed one and wrote others he never imagined.
Kurt's Letter from India - 1984
In this 1984 letter to Cliff Barney while Kurt and his girlfriend Victoria were in Varansi, India, we get a glimpse not only of Kurt's fine handwriting (nary a crossed-out word to be found!) but also how he felt about India's social conditions. "The poor burn patties made from straw & cow dung (goat, dog, donkey) plastered in discs to dry on walls exposed to the sun. Of course, this is ecologically corrupt." And, "The leprous extremities. The iodine deficiency, so simple to prevent with iodized salt." His travel plans included Nepal next; he'd traveled to Thailand before India.
Georg Kolbe - Kurt's Doctoral Dissertation
Kurt submitted his doctoral dissertation on the German sculptor Georg Kolbe (1877-1947) to the Department of Art and Archaeology at Princeton University in 1965. Combined, the text, notes and illustrations numbered over 800 pages, far too much to upload to this website. However, the Introduction has been scanned and converted to digital text (and a few images added) so that it can be included with the rest of Kurt's archives.
Pages from the Notebooks of von Meier
Kurt's blue-lined notebook was never far from hand. Tucked into a manila folder, it sat by his spot on the couch ready for his pen whenever a thought or event stimulated Kurt's mind or heart (which happened frequently and easily). There are many dozens of these notebooks stretching over a 40-year period.
Here are two pages from 1990; not all of it is immediately understandable, given Kurt's personal "shorthand." But overall, these pages are revealing.
Having Shit, Soaked and Shaved
One part biographical, one part fantasy, Kurt's dip into Sheisshumor takes place, naturally, in the bathroom of the Teahouse of Necessity, aka, The Diamond Sufi Ranch, where "on the back of the john door was mystic-taped the yantra of Elimination." In keeping with all things "Kurt" he finds both amusement and profundity in the mundane. Quoting the revered Tibetan Lama Longchempa, he notes, "Since everything is but an apparition, having nothing to do with good or evil, acceptance or rejection, one may as well burst out laughing."
The Best Cook in the World
Here's biographical snippet, an excerpt from an early draft of Kurt's history of the Diamond Sutra Restaurant which he did not include in its completed version. Turns out a Carmel High School Home Economics class played a vital part in his culinary preoccupations. "Mrs. Bourne graciously took the boys into her Home Economics classroom and taught them to cook it all, from soup to roast turkey and the trimmings, to baking bread and cakes (with measuring)."
