BACK SHOP

Michel Foucault exclaimed “knowledge is power” 30 years ago. Thus, one can conclude, if one possesses a collection of “universal knowledge” of the world, one has ultimate power. Establishing comprehensive, global collections of knowledge has already been fascinating mankind for thousands of years. This site is an attempt to amass information for free use. It comes as a result of the musings of a few artists and intellectuals, the unveiling of their “innermost folds,” a product of their decades-long studies and gathering of international experience. Something like the essays of Michel de Montaigne, who decided he would “reserve a back shop (arrière boutique) all our own, entirely free, in which to establish our real liberty and our principle retreat and solitude.” Terminology and media tend to change and always appropriate new words, but the essence does not change: we all want to share our innermost predilections, express our gratitude to the ones who gave us knowledge, rejoice in the creative energy we were given and in communication and technical skills we are trying to develop. As Foucault has also established, however, the nature of perceiving knowledge has also changed. Whereas earlier it involved a spiritual transformation, now it is considered a mere gathering of information. For that reason, this site includes parts of “the science of sciences.” Thank you for visiting and please come again.