It is not so often that one encounters an individual creative in
almost all they do. In an increasingly mechanized and technical
world, the power of creating, especially in the field of social
and community life, appears as a healing balm and inspiration
to do better. Carlo Pietzner was one such individual.
Pietzner was born in 1915, in Vienna, Austria. As a young art
student he was introduced to anthroposophy and to Dr Karl
König, a Viennese pediatrician, who later founded the
international Camphill movement for children and adults in
need of special care in Scotland in 1939. Pietzner was a
member of the founding group and pioneered the work of
Camphill in Northern Ireland, and from 1961 to 1986 further
developed the work of Camphill in North America. His artistic
activities were far-reaching – in stained glass windows,
paintings, essays, novels, plays and several volumes of poetry.
He served on the National Council of the Anthroposophical
Society of America for many years and was known
internationally as a lecturer and consultant. Carlo Pietzner was
the founding President of the Camphill Association of North
America. He died in April, 1986, in Camphill Village, Copake,
New York.
While some of Carlo Pietzner’s writings and artistic works have
been published before, Living Social Art is the first book to
gather the full range of his creative and cultural contributions
in one volume. Included are family photographs, reproductions
of artwork and stained glass, selected plays and poems,
writings for children, and several of his most compelling
lectures.
This book is a resource for anyone who values the
transformative power of art in community life. It speaks to
those who knew Carlo, to those touched by the Camphill
movement, to seekers within the anthroposophical world, and
to readers who simply wish to encounter the unfolding of a
singular, artistic and deeply human life.
