This happened

Skip Kadish will present on the life and work of his uncle Reuben Kadish, the artist behind the WPA commissioned fresco A Dissertation on Alchemy (1937), which survives today on the second floor landing of the Haight Street Art Center. Reuben Kadish (1913–1992) was a young artist living in Los Angeles in the turbulent 1930’s. He rode the wave of left wing politics while studying classical art and surrealist firebrands. He championed the underdog and spiced it with a wry sense of humor. He befriended Jackson Pollock and Philip Guston with whom he collaborated on three major murals. After laying the groundwork for a career in the arts he moved to San Francisco and painted a surreal fresco, Dissertation on Alchemy. Soon he joined the Army to record horrific scenes of World War II. Upon his return his style became edgy and harsh. The latter 40 years were dominated by expressionistic sculpture and graphics. His formative years in California were crucial to a career of earthbound figures influenced by history and ancient myths.

The apex of the Modern Age was signaled, arguably, in 1893, by the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Twenty years later, in the fall of 1913, Jung experienced a series of visions and images—a sea of blood, the foot of a giant stepping on a city, a process of dead multitudes. World War I erupted in August of that year. During WWI, Jung was writing and creating material that would comprise The Red Book. He painted his first mandala in 1916. In late 1918, a “living idea of the self” first came to him. The aftershocks being with us still, we will discuss the spirit of the times of these decades at the turning point of world history.

Transference, the Therapeutic Relationship, and Transformation in Therapy. In this video, Murray Stein and Mario Jacoby examine the deepening stages in long-term therapy and the interplay between the conscious and the unconscious of both therapist and client. This seminar includes an intimate conversation with Dr. Jacoby, now in his 80s, who shares personal stories as an analyst. Group discussion will follow.

This evening’s event will be something different. Four members will report on books that each of them has recently read and enjoyed. John, Jeff, Saundra and Gregory will talk for twenty minutes each. Book topics include: Jung & Germany; the life of Toni Wolff; mandalas and the feminine; and Dionysus. We will enjoy a general discussion after the presentations. We look forward to a lively literary evening for all.