About the muses
Electricka is The Muse of the WorldWide Web©. What's a muse and who is Electricka?
In ancient Greece, people believed that the arts were inspired by muses, supernatural women who haunted, lured, persuaded, or drove men to create great works of art. The women were not themselves the creators of art; they were the agents who inspired men to create, just as mortal women drove men in other, more normal walks of life. The muses were not only sources of artistic inspiration, they were an artist's demons, irrational forces which sometimes drove him mad.
Each art that was practiced had a particular muse—you might say a sponsoring muse. Artists—the practitioners of her art—were her followers and devotees, her instruments. The artist devised new and wonderful creations, but his muse was their ultimate source. All music, poetry, sculpture, history, astronomy, dance and certain other arts sprang from her.
No wonder these views prevailed: In ancient times, the muses were personifications of an inspiration that often seemed magical and unearthly. As such, they were both admired and feared. People saw art as a wild and wonderful creative force of nature, with sacred and unknown places of origin, places beyond ken.
Art could change a man or a society; it could propitiate the gods. In art were awful (awe-full) forces, forces beyond human control or understanding. The artistic process itself was seen as a force of nature, as were the winds, tides, planets, and stars.
Where did these mysterious inspirations come from and how? What was the nature of their power? No mortal could fathom it. Art was mystery.
About Electricka
Today most people are far more sophisticated and better informed than their ancient brethren. Cultures have evolved and advanced to the point at which women and men now often share or exchange the roles of artist and inspirer. Yet the wellsprings of art continue to mystify; it's a case of the same old story.
The muses seldom come to mind as forces of nature anymore, even as metaphors. Yet the picture has not dramatically changed since the days of their greatest presence. Despite significant advances in fields like psychology, philosophy, and medical science, the genesis and effectuality of the arts remain ultimately mysterious; their mechanisms remain uncataloged, except superficially. At bedrock, we still don't even fully understand the emotions of power and awe themselves. Yet the capacity of the arts to engender emotion and to generate understanding continues to awe, to inspire. And we still feel that experiencing power and awe is important, critical to living a complete life.
Though we cannot explain why or how, we can recognize these mysteries when we encounter them. To us, this fact clearly demonstrates that the spirit that dwelt in man's breast in ancient times dwells in us. The arts are just as vibrant and potent today as when man, wide-eyed, first looked inside himself and saw. Why? People have not changed, fundamentally; and so long as people are people, art will be art.
For want of a better name, we call this unending, undiminished mystery Electricka. For us, Electricka is the symbol of mankind's mutual and universal supernal nature, man's incessant longing and striving for something great and grand. We believe that the spirit of Electricka is working in all of us and that she will never stop working as long as people walk the earth.
About Electricka, ETAF, and DCI
Electricka's web is presented by Exploring The Arts Foundation (ETAF). ETAF is the creation of Decision Consulting, Inc, proud sponsor of ETAF.
About the muse of the WorldWide web©
The spirit of Electricka is a worldwide phenomenon. Now that the Web has matured into a worldwide institution, we believe that it is altogether fitting that it becomes Electricka's servant, and that it works to spread her power and mystique, and that of the arts. This web site exists to help make this happen.
As with her sister muses of old, Electricka's spirit haunts and inspires us. Although today we live in the time of the WorldWide Web, at this web site, despite today's modern era of electronics, computers, and the Internet, it's really Electricka who makes things go round at ETAF. She's our muse; she runs the show at this web site and she knows it. To her, technology is only worthwhile when it serves her purposes—technology is just another handmaiden.
We didn't exactly plan it this way. Much of what happens at this web site happens because ETAF, DCI, and visitors are bound in Electricka's clutches. Although we have to pay our own way, where Electricka is concerned it is never only a matter of dollars and cents. We march to Electricka's drum, just as the ancients marched to the drums of their muses.
We don't always know what she's going to say or how she's going to come down on an issue. Our heads spinning, we reel like some bacchante of old. We find ourselves drugged by an overpowering potion. And the wheels of Art and the Internet seem to turn of their own accord.
