Angelo Plessas, The Noospheric Society, 2016
The Noospheric Society:
Rituals and Attempts to Transform Consciousness
Coordinated by Angelo Plessas
“As we keep gaining knowledge and wisdom from the cybersphere, at some point we will transform into wise human beings who are able to detach from it. This is when we will finally reach the highest levels of cosmic and earth consciousness, known as the ‘Noosphere.’”
—José Argüelles, Manifesto for the Noosphere (2011)
The noosphere, identified in the early twentieth century as intrinsic to the next stage of human and terrestrial evolution, is defined as the Earth’s “mental sphere,” or its stratum of human thought. Manifesto for the Noosphere, the final work by renowned author José Argüelles, predicted that the noosphere would be fully accessed on December 21, 2012—but warned that we will only successfully make this evolutionary jump through an act of collective consciousness among humans on Earth. The ascension to the noosphere or Supermind (using the terminology of Sri Aurobindo), Argüelles wrote, would be an unprecedented “mind shift” mirroring the emergence on the planet of life itself.
Argüelles’s Manifesto for the Noosphere is intended to inform humanity and prepare it for the nature and magnitude of this shift. Argüelles draws on the Mayan long-count calendar, radical theories about the nature of time, advanced states of consciousness, and the possible intervention of galactic intelligence. He carefully details the role of the noosphere in relation to other planetary strata (atmosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere) as well as the history and nature of the biosphere-noosphere transition and the intermediary phases of the technosphere and cybersphere.
The Noospheric Society is a communal place created by artist Angelo Plessas to rest in contemplation, an altar of digital detox, a therapy session, a place to explore our bodies and minds, a social environment surrounded by ideas and particles, and an attempt to float freely in space and time.
Through sharing stories from people, places, and experiences, the gatherings are pragmatic responses to the expanded horizons of our over-communicated life. As a social environment, the Society provides a variety of opportunities to rest in contemplation and illuminate issues of spirituality, cultural heterogeneity, cosmic life, and open-air education. The Noospheric Society is preparation for the development of the brotherhood.
Angelo Plessas is an artist. The focus of his work is networking the offline with the online in ways that help us understand both conditions. Plessas’s activities range from performances to artist residencies; from self-publishing to interactive websites; from sculptures to live-stream events and educational projects. Over the last four years he has organized annual, weeklong gatherings of The Eternal Internet Brother/Sisterhood and most recently of the Experimental Education Protocol. Plessas’s work has been exhibited internationally in venues including Centre Pompidou and Jeu de Paume, Paris; the DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art and National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens; and Frieze Projects 2013, London. He is a Fulbright alumni and the 2015 recipient of the DESTE Prize. Plessas lives and works in Athens.
The Noospheric Society is free and open to the public.
