Jay Tolson says, following T.S. Eliot, that "in my beginning is my end." And what an end, one that has led him to see art's power to connect us to one another through a shared reality.He began as an undergraduate studying cultural and intellectual history and after a long career in journalism at US News and World Report, the Wilson Quarterly, and Radio Free Europe, he was asked by the University of Virginia's Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture to serve as editor of The Hedgehog Review. Although he has returned to his origins, his work at The Hedgehog Review brings cultural study to a markedly higher (and sane) level.Jay discusses with us his meeting Peter Pomerantsev, author of Nothing Is True and Everything is Possible, and This is Not Propaganda, two books that recount the author's exposure to the fabricated reality that has become the Putin regime in Russia, but which has also spread across the globe, notably in the West, and into U.S. politics.For Tolson and Pomerantsev, the destabilizing information sector (as opposed to journalism, a discipline that strives to reveal truth), creates a culture that proclaims private or alternate "truths" and seeks to undermine the very idea that truth exists. Hence, the labeling as "fake news" organizations that once could be trusted as seeking truth in reporting. Such destabilization, exacerbated by social media monopolies and app designers, makes it impossible to create norms for what can be considered civil or hateful discourse. A pursuit of truth, then, gives way to the entertaining endorphin highs that social media creates.Tolson goes on to discuss his work on Walker Percy, not only his award-winning biography, Pilgrim in the Ruins, but Percy's work as an ironist, an irreducible and mysterious human characteristic. As a man of faith and an ironist, Percy followed his philosophical mentor, Soren Kierkegaard, who joins faith and doubt, the inescapable existential predicament of any person of faith, even Mother Theresa!But it's Percy's idea of connection through symbols that most excites Tolson, not only the everyday symbols that we share in language, but also the symbols of art, science, poetry, and novels. Art connects us to one another in an awareness that we are not alone, that we share (an often difficult and sad) reality, but a reality that exists beyond each of us and is itself capable of sharing. In this way, artists, scientists, and, yes, journalists move toward a better approximation of truth and reality. Clearly, this endeavor is itself hopeful.A journalist, editor, author, and critic, Jay Tolson covered religion, culture and ideas for U. S. News & World Report after working for more than decade as the literary editor and editor of the Wilson Quarterly. He served as the news director of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague, Czech Republic, directed the French to Africa service of the Voice of America, and launched the Global News Network for the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors.His interest in religion and cultural and intellectual history runs throughout his journalism and criticism and informed his prize-winning biography of novelist Walker Percy, Pilgrim in the Ruins. His work has appeared in the New Republic, Nation, National Review, Wall Street Journal, American Scholar, Times Literary Supplement (London), and other publications.Take a little time to browse Studio Aesculapius,  here you may find something fresh in what may have been stale.

Austin Tichenor loves his work, and it certainly comes through when you speak to him. He's funny, "I've always loved telling stories...and I have an irreverent sense of humor." He also lives in dread of taking himself too seriously. The arts tend to foster that, but he avoids it like the plague.He says he's forever grateful to his father for telling that he would "hate law school" and that he shouldn't go. So he went into theatre, acting, and writing instead. He's been with the Reduced Shakespeare Company for 30 years. When asked "Why reduction?" he says it forces you to get to the point, again avoiding "gas bags," and those who take themselves too seriously.On the arts, Austin says we don't give them enough attention: "We all draw as kids and we make up stories, but we stop because we think they're not important....We all have the impulse....And we have to craft stories all the time, for dates, for jobs, but we have to tell our story to ourselves first." Shakespeare, of course knew that, and he crafted stories that speak to us in our divided times, in our fear of plague, and during this time of war. In many ways Shakespeare's work centered on plague: he wrote amidst the plague, in its wake, and in dread of the anticipation of a next plague. In that way he tells stories of losing one's station (pivoting, if you will) and we respond to the existential fears he addresses, asking ourselves "What is normal?"Nothing is normal about Austin's career, but his love of what he does allows him to suggest that although we often question whether we should be doing something different from what we are doing, particularly during our troubled times, what the arts help us see is that whatever you're doing now is what you're supposed to be doing.Austin Tichenor is the Artistic Director of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, the host of The Shakespeareance, and co-author of nine plays, including William Shakespeare's Long Lost First Play (abridged), which premiered at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Austin has acted off-Broadway, in London's West End, at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, on PBS with The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), with the LA Philharmonic, and in venues around the world. Austin’s television credits include recurring roles on Alias, Ally McBeal, and Felicity; and guest starring roles on The West Wing, Gilmore Girls, ER, and The X-Files.He is also the author of the creative illustrated book Pop-Up Shakespeare, the irreverent reference book Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Guide for the Attention-Impaired (abridged), and the comic memoir How The Bible Changed Our Lives (Mostly for the Better). And Austin produces and hosts the weekly Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast.Take a little time to browse Studio Aesculapius,  here you may find something fresh in what may have been stale.

Alicia Olatuja partially credits Ms. Marsh, one of her elementary school teachers, for her singing career. Ms. Marsh told her she would be a famous singer but warned her not to "get the big head." Alicia's mother and grandmother, both educators, also facilitated her trajectory, giving her a strong worth ethic and a sense of purpose through music.And Alicia has not disappointed. The New York Times has noted her "luscious tone and amiably regal presence." When she found out she had been invited to solo at Barack Obama's second inaugural ceremony, she was so astounded she lay flat on the floor for two hours. Her cat checked on her from time to time to make sure she was okay. Calling on her deep resources, however, Alicia aligned head, heart, and voice to offer a rousing performance, connecting not only with Obama, who gave her a memorable thumbs up, but with herself and the millions in her audience. She giggled to herself at the end, giddy with the stirring presence she found in herself and which had overflowed into her audience. Now she has connected with some of the greats in jazz—Billy Childs, Christian McBride, Stefan Harris—and, like her mother and grandmother, has also become an educator. Through her Vocal Breakthrough Academy, she uses her experience as a performer to invite to a "mental reset" those who have doubts or who have experienced trauma, asking them to make a journey to find their voice, to find presence and connection not only with themselves but with our troubled world.In this way, Alicia's power of voice ripples endlessly, extending beyond stage performance and into the head, hearts and voices of others.You can find more information about Alicia and her music, including her recent album Intuition: Songs from the Minds of Women on her website here.  Her Vocal Breakthrough Academy can be found here.  Alicia’s Instagram photographs and videos can be found here.And, take a little time to browse Studio Aesculapius,  here you may find something fresh in what may have been stale.

Although he studied visual communication as an undergrad at the American University of Sharjah, Mohammed Al Shaibani (Momo) knew that comics were his passion. So his family sold their house and moved into his Grandfather's house so Momo could attend the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) where he would earn an MFA in Sequential Art (Comics). Young and highly energetic, Momo nevertheless classifies himself as a connoisseur of craft. He strives to excel in illustration and story-telling, the marriage of which drives the craft of the comic arts. For him, art involves the "mastery of expression"—image and text—telling a story through both. Momo is part of a vibrant art scene in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, but he sees the small Emirate of Sharjah as producing some of the strongest expressions of Emirati art. For his part, Momo delves into his personal story—compulsory military service (a leveling factor for Emiratis), the death of his grandfather, a crush on a woman—and finds himself turning to art to express and heal. Art in the UAE, like that in other parts of the world, creates both dissonance and consonance, for the artist who makes it and for its viewers.Momo received his Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design from the American University of Sharjah and his Masters of Fine Arts in Sequential Art from the Savannah College of Art and Design. He works traditionally, using any tool that provides an ink line. He has exhibited with Fn Design in their first Fakie Dexhibition and the first Project MEGA Exhibition. He’s also contributed to Amor, A Magazine of Random with his recreation of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns cover, and has been published nationally (Corniche) and internationally (US and Lebanon). Momo also took part in The Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artista Fellowship (SEAF); he resides in Dubai where his drawing time is divided between finishing pieces and chasing his nieces for his materials.Sandstorm is Momo's dedicated comics studio that focuses on developing local talent, investing in new and unique home-grown IP, advancing the work of content creators, and using the comic book platform to showcase authentic and unique stories from the region.And, take a little time to browse Studio Aesculapius, here you may find something fresh in what may have been stale.

Fr. Sean Duggan, OSB, knew as a teen that he wanted to find a way to combine his love of music with his call to a religious life. He ultimately found that combination by joining the community of Benedictine Monks at St. Joseph Abbey in Covington, Louisiana, where liturgy and music thrive. Fr. Duggan sees music, like the other arts, as an opportunity to approach God through beauty, and though he has mastered the work of countless composers, he's drawn time and again to Johann Sebastian Bach.For Fr. Duggan, Bach's music is endlessly infectious and playful, intellectually stimulating, and always interesting. He finds balance in Bach, who doesn't point to himself in his artistry, but points to something higher and transcendent. Sean thinks Bach, more popular today than ever before, reminds us of the godliness that resides in humanity—the ability of humans, like God, to create spiritual beauty—even in our era of loss, imbalance, and malaise. In so doing, Bach's music re-centers, restores balance, and heals.Sean Brett Duggan was born in Jersey City. Piano lessons for Sean started at age 10 with the local church organist. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance at Loyola University in New Orleans and his Master of Fine Arts degree at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh in 1979. For three years he was the Pittsburgh Opera Company’s pianist and assistant chorus master. He also taught piano at Carnegie Mellon and was a member of the Carnegie Mellon Piano Trio.Sean left Pittsburgh to enter the Benedictine order at St. Joseph Abbey near Covington, Louisiana, in 1982 he graduated with a Master of Arts degree in Theology from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1988.In September 1983, Sean won first prize in the Johann Sebastian Bach International Competition for pianists in Washington. In the “Bach Year” 1985, he gave complete performances of J.S. Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier in New Orleans, Pittsburgh, and Birmingham to critical acclaim. In 1991 he participated again in the Bach Competition in Washington; he was one of three first-place winners.Sean was a visiting professor of piano at Eastman School of Music, and member of the piano faculty at the University of Michigan. He is currently on the faculty at SUNY Fredonia. And, the video of his faculty recital in December of 2020 can be found here.And, take a little time to browse Studio Aesculapius,  here you may find something fresh in what may have been stale.

Vincent Valdez says he began drawing when he was four and "hasn't looked back." We are the happy recipients of his forty-four years of learning to "tell a story through images."He happily cuts against the grain of contemporary art, he says, and though he didn't start out with the idea of critiquing what Gore Vidal calls "the United States of Amnesia," he can't turn away from what he sees.Rich in detail, his images wake the viewer from somnambulance. If, three days later, that viewer, still haunted by Valdez's powerful work, looks up more about his subject matter, then Valdez considers he has made a small contribution to ameliorating the "trauma of living in 21st century America."His efforts are very large indeed, painted with the deft strokes of one who remembers his Mexican-American heritage, all the while proclaiming his "American" voice as well.Vincent's artist statement: "I create images as instruments to probe the past in order to reveal an immediacy to what is occurring today. To remark on a universal struggle within various socio-political arenas and eras. I am alarmed by the denial of history. I will continue to create counter-images, to impede the social amnesia that incites our fateful desire to repeat it. I offer this work as a report. My visual testimony of transformation, hope, love and survival in twenty-first century America."Vincent’s website is here.  Vincent’s 2020 PBS American Masters Special: Vincent Valdez: The Beginning is Near can be found here.And, take a little time to browse Studio Aesculapius,  here you may find something fresh in what may have been stale.

René Paul Barilleaux knew he had a problem with reading when he was young, but no one did anything to help him overcome it. Instead, he drifted toward what he knew he liked—images, objects, drawings. It is no wonder, then, that he became a visual artist and later a curator, now head of curatorial affairs at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas.In our inaugural program, René discusses his everyday work, "something new all the time," and those moments when he walks from his office through the galleries at the McNay to see people "staring at things, just standing and staring," and he thinks "about what they're seeing and how they're connecting."In the post-pandemic world, René says people "come to museums...to reconnect with beauty, to transport them, and to take them away from the everyday."René finished his Masters of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute. He subsequently served as a Fellow at the Center for Curatorial Leadership in New York, and is the recipient of the Award of Excellence from the Association of Art Museum Curators.ManMade! Gay Folk, Craft, and Visionary Art is the first exhibition to focus exclusively on folk art and craftwork created by gay men, often exploring issues of gay identity and culture. René notes, "all people can gather around objects—whether quilts, collages, or sculptures—and appreciate them for their artistry and the artists’ courage to share, especially the vulnerable and sacred parts of themselves." The exhibition is currently in development.More information on René and the McNay Art Museum is available here.And, take a little time to browse Studio Aesculapius,  here you may find something fresh in what may have been stale.