Muses
Good People, most royal greening verdancy, rooted in the sun, you shine with radiant light. — Hildegard von Bingen
Erika Spring, Sonic Muse
For our Fall 2021 launch, Hildegaard partnered with Artist and healer Erika Spring — Indie music legend, David Lynch darling and front woman of synth-pop trio Au Revoir Simone. Lia Chavez and Erika Spring are long-time friends and have collaborated on many artistic endeavors, including the acclaimed work, "The Octave of Visible Light: A Meditation Nightclub" at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. To honor their shared vision for humanity's place within the cosmic order, Hildegaard has commissioned Erika to create a sonic interpretation of the inaugural collection, "Creation: Internal and External.” The composition will accompany various artistic activations such as the Hildegaard Contemplative Facial Study, an experiential artwork incorporating touch, sound and Hildegaard haute botanical creations.
In conversation with Erika Spring, she credits working collaboratively as the foundation of her creative process.
The potential for chemistry, mutual support, generating ideas and the thrill of making something sound amazing and then to share that excitement is what inspires me the most.
- Erika Spring
Describe an aspect of Nature that has had a significant impact on you on your thinking:
“Watching things grow and change. Whether I’m watering plants, observing the changes in the trees around my neighborhood, watching my son grow and change — these are all reminders that I am part of the natural world and that, I too, am here to grow. Checking in with my life through that lens helps me feel in alignment and to cultivate the confidence to stand up to my inner critic.”
What is your favorite ritual for orienting yourself to happiness?
“Finding ways to relax my physical body helps me feel more present and easy and happy. I tend to hold my energy pretty high up, so connecting with my breath, allowing my energy to move downward, feeling my feet connect with the earth and relaxing my belly all help me sink down into myself. It can take a lot of effort for me to relax and it’s an ongoing practice. Also being in community! I love connecting with friends and remembering the aspects of being human that we all share.”
What is your current favorite raw material?
“Clay and soil. Soil holds so much and is an incredible micro world with so much going on with its ability to regenerate and heal. And clay… I get all kinds of different clay from my mom. I use it as a face mask, foot soak, detox drink, first aid…and I’m still experimenting.”
Tell us about a meaningful experience you had in Nature:
“Sleeping in a tent on the ground in Kauai: feeling how alive the earth was and the relationship between my body and the ground, feeling them speak to each other and all kinds of adjustments and movement happening within me. I will never forget that trip.”
Tell us about a creation that you consider to be the most significant in your career thus far:
“The song “Scars” from my last EP. It was one of those songs that just channeled through me and the interlocking piano parts are so poignant to me still. Playing it is like a meditation. And the emotion is that sad, but longing and hopeful kind-of-thing.”
How are you actively experimenting right now?
“I’ve been experimenting with eye contact and sharing facial expressions- especially after a year of wearing masks. There’s so much to observe and figure out and the weirdness has given me a little more space to be intentional about it.”
What role does the artist play in society?
“Helping us feel our feelings, inviting us into new spectrums of experience and consciousness beyond language and what is already known.”
What do you hope to create next?
“I wanna make some dance music.”
Daniel Walters, Curatorial Muse
Daniel Walters, New York-based writer and curator is a master of the art of community building. With a passion for renewal of the city and its cultural landscape, Daniel curates events and exhibitions, hosts his show at Soho Radio and acts as the Content Director for Morrison Hotel Gallery.
In conversation with Daniel Walters, he describes his tenacity for unearthing fresh cultural phenomena in New York City.
social sculpture postulates that everything and everyone possesses the capacity to be art and, in fact, already is with society itself acting as the penultimate masterpiece.
-Daniel Walters
Tell us about a creation that you consider to be the most significant in your career thus far:
“From writing and painting to performance and photography, I have felt called to create through myriad of mediums at various points. Throughout the process, I have grown increasingly inspired by a growing population of exceptional artists who lack the tools, skills or support systems necessary to their efflorescence. I feel the most passion and pride in facilitating meaningful exchanges between art, artists and their intended audiences.”
What is the most significant wisdom you have gleaned from the plant world?
“There is something at once incredibly galvanizing and liberating that comes with the understanding that our somatic existence is composed of the very same (virtually indestructible) matter as all that is presently around us -- and it will continue to be in countless iterations for millennia to come. I'm fascinated by the possibility of atoms possessing the ability to retain the impression of individual experience, transcribing information from previous phases of existence into a collective memory.”
What role does the artist play in society?
“Suspending delineation between art(ist) and society, what's been incredibly formative to my own practice is Joseph Beuys's concept of social sculpture. Borrowing from Anthroposophy, the overarching idea is that art (like spirituality) is not bound to physical forms, but rather has a propensity for universal, existential experience. Building on this, social sculpture postulates that everything and everyone possesses the capacity to be art and, in fact, already is with society itself acting as the penultimate masterpiece.”
Who inspires you most in your life?
“My mother, with whom I share a birthday and affinity for the arts. My partner, Jack (James), with whom I share an extraordinary life.”
what do you hope to create next?
“In my continued devotion to the cultivation of art and community, I've been giving a lot of thought to the idea of hosting a recurring party for artists and art patrons outside the orthodox spaces like galleries and museums. I envision it to be something like Gertrude Stein's salons but with more dancing and champagne for all. Giving visibility and noncommittal agency to participating artists as well as inclusive camaraderie to a wider community, the idea isn't necessarily unprecedented but it is one that has largely fallen to the wayside in New York City nightlife.
“There are other projects in the works, including a book and several music events coming to New York this autumn but let's just leave it there for now.”
