A C Grayling, writing in the Times Review 8.10.2003
When individuals get to know one another it is usually impossible for them to like or hate each other on the basis of mere generalities about race, religion or history. To hate successfully, you must hate an abstraction - the totality of Arabs or Jews or whomever - because once you put a face to a person and with it a home, children, an enjoyment of hamburgers or football, all abstractions melt.
This wisdom from AC Grayling was encompassed in the Myndscape workshops which Mundy and Bee set up in the early 2000s. They started when, at a talk to an art group about the portraits which he had painted about people's minds - Myndscapes - Mundy was asked if he would give a demonstration. Artists love demonstrations! He replied that this was not possible because, in doing a mind painting, the artist requres a personal discussion with the 'subject', which, in some cases, can take up many hours, Then he would spend as much time as necessary in deconstruction all the information into symbols that represented what was being said before actually doing the painting. Myndscapes seemed to be a naturally creative combination from his many years as a psychologist and as an artist.
We then suggested to the artists that we could work on a process to develop a workshop whereby he could show them how they could paint their own myndscapes. This we did, and ended up doing many workshops, not only with artists, but with people from various groups, clubs, organisations and corporations - we called the business workshops Teamscapes, because they were often a part of teambuilding exercises.
The workshops were most successful; there was not a single participant who failed to paint their myndscape, despite the fact that many had never painted before. The most striking outcome from these workshops was that it enabled people not only to get to know one another better, but also to get to know themselves better than they had before.
It is widely acknowledged, as the statement by AC Grayling points out, that greater understanding within communities breaks down prejudice, builds empathy and encourages harmony - something the world needs today more than ever before.
Sadly, Mundy died in December 2015, but his spirit lives on through his work.
Bee Mund-Castle 8.6.2017.
When individuals get to know one another it is usually impossible for them to like or hate each other on the basis of mere generalities about race, religion or history. To hate successfully, you must hate an abstraction - the totality of Arabs or Jews or whomever - because once you put a face to a person and with it a home, children, an enjoyment of hamburgers or football, all abstractions melt.
This wisdom from AC Grayling was encompassed in the Myndscape workshops which Mundy and Bee set up in the early 2000s. They started when, at a talk to an art group about the portraits which he had painted about people's minds - Myndscapes - Mundy was asked if he would give a demonstration. Artists love demonstrations! He replied that this was not possible because, in doing a mind painting, the artist requres a personal discussion with the 'subject', which, in some cases, can take up many hours, Then he would spend as much time as necessary in deconstruction all the information into symbols that represented what was being said before actually doing the painting. Myndscapes seemed to be a naturally creative combination from his many years as a psychologist and as an artist.
We then suggested to the artists that we could work on a process to develop a workshop whereby he could show them how they could paint their own myndscapes. This we did, and ended up doing many workshops, not only with artists, but with people from various groups, clubs, organisations and corporations - we called the business workshops Teamscapes, because they were often a part of teambuilding exercises.
The workshops were most successful; there was not a single participant who failed to paint their myndscape, despite the fact that many had never painted before. The most striking outcome from these workshops was that it enabled people not only to get to know one another better, but also to get to know themselves better than they had before.
It is widely acknowledged, as the statement by AC Grayling points out, that greater understanding within communities breaks down prejudice, builds empathy and encourages harmony - something the world needs today more than ever before.
Sadly, Mundy died in December 2015, but his spirit lives on through his work.
Bee Mund-Castle 8.6.2017.
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