Unseen Dimensions: Musings on Art and Life

M. Wayne Cunningham is a past executive director of the Saskatchewan
Arts Board and the former director of Academic and Career Programs at
East Kootenay Community College.

This book by 83-year-old visual artist John Koerner features 12 essays
distilled from the author’s notebook “musings” over the past 20
years. The quintessential Renaissance man, Koerner reflects on a wide
range of topics, including Bohemia, creativity, the sources of his
artistic inspiration, architecture, art education, calligraphy, music,
literature, computers, and the philosophical tenets of Bo Yin Ra.
Neither preachy nor pedantic, the author firmly believes that
“artistic expression ... is deeply rooted in the spiritual sphere.”
He also can write with a twinkle in his eye. For example, he presents
several erudite responses to the question “Are Aesthetics
Necessary?” before concluding the debate with a piece of Ogden Nash
doggerel.

With its color reproductions and its black-and-white illustrations,
Unseen Dimensions is a visual as well as intellectual feast. At one
point, Koerner writes that “it is always the artist’s mission to
offer the whole self, without any reservations”—to which the reader
can only respond, mission accomplished.