Michaell was born in Vienna-Austria and now lives in California. He is a Multimedia Artist, writer, and advisor/educator, who is trying to raise our awareness to the true potential of humanity and nature, which are continuously diminished by man-made systems like technology and the economy. Michaell's value was "experiencing his humanness", meaning he looks to experience all aspects of life to try to tap into our human superpowers of creativity, healthy discourse and wisdom.

Art was obviously a big part of the conversation with Michaell and I found it really valuable to deep dive into "art" and understand what role it plays in our lives. Michaell believes one of art's main functions is that it allows meaning to reveal itself. We live in a world filled with dichotomies, contradictions, and paradoxes. We know we should seek the truth about life, but we also know we will likely never find any concrete answers. We all recognize the beauty of freedom and openness, but we also understand the need for systems and structure. I spend a lot of time thinking about these dichotomies and trying to make sense of them. Michaell helped me start to realize the role art plays in bridging the gap. Maybe my favorite quote of the show was "art wants one thing, to be created and exposed." There is something beautiful in that. Something that feels very related to the concept of "truth." Just like art, truth doesn't care about biases, flaws, or insecurities--it just cares about being what it is. 

It made me think that if we want solve many of the issues in the world today, we all need to embrace more of an artistic mindset. It doesn't mean we all have to become painters or musicians, but it would benefit us greatly to not be so finite in our thinking. Michaell believes we have an amazing potential as humans but we limit ourselves with finite and fixed systems. Art is perhaps the most powerful tool we have to rise above those systems and experience life for what it is meant to be.