Dear Friends,
My name is Dustin Kuhns, I serve as the Director of Creative Content at C4C. In practice—although we all wear many hats—I oversee the editorial process of our podcast and lead our web development team. In contemplation, I spend substantial time reflecting on the relationship of art and design to the vision of Teilhard and Sr. Ilia.
The unbridled proliferation of communication technology has added layers of complexity to the work of artists and designer. Most creatives cannot afford to invite informed audiences into nuanced reflections on virtue or imaginative futures. Many put food on the table by simply “increasing engagement at all costs.”
I am afraid of what this cost will be when the debt comes due. We all have become maladjusted to images and content which train our minds to serve divisive ends. Exercising self-control, intentionality and patience in this relentless virtual environment is exhausting.
Inspired by Sr. Ilia’s theological vision, C4C is an archetypal organization in a transitional period of our species’ history. Informed by progressive theological wisdom, we can engage contemporary movements innovatively, cultivating future-oriented communities of hope and love.
Throughout our June Fundraiser, we will be using AI generated art. In the piece here, AI was asked to render a cubist illustration of humans tending to an overgrown electronic garden. Following Torah’s Adam and Eve, “cultivation” remains a distinct homo sapiens capacity. Our contemporary minds might benefit from exercising this species-old intuition, developed in the biological wild, to life among technology’s diversifying forms.
A thoughtful, well-designed web presence is pivotal to advancing our global mission. Together, we can continue to strengthen the resolve of our species, and embrace the evolutionary pressures of technology and artificial intelligence.
Thank you for your lasting support.
Dustin Kuhns
Director of Creative Content