Statement of Dennis L. Tucker, Choral Conductor and Teacher of Music

Ostracized? I lived in New York and studied Aesthetic Realism at the Aesthetic Realism Foundation from 1976-77. In studying it, I never joined an organization. Aesthetic Realism is a study, not a club or a cult; there are no “members” as claimed by Adam Mali. My formal study ended in 1977, and I have lived in other states since leaving New York. I currently reside in St. Louis, Missouri. Over the last twenty-seven years I have had consistently friendly contact with several students of Aesthetic Realism whom I knew then, and who have continued to take classes in New York. So much for Mali’s assertion that anyone who ends their formal study of Aesthetic Realism is ostracized.

College: As for his nutty statement that Aesthetic Realism discouraged his desire for a college education, all I can say is that the exact opposite was my experience. I was encouraged by the faculty of the Foundation to pursue my education, and I did—getting a bachelor of music degree from Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, and two master’s degrees in music from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Individualism. What Mali claims about Aesthetic Realism squelching individualism is equally ridiculous. I certainly was more of an individual—freer and far more expressed—after beginning my study of it. After I began to study the principles of Aesthetic Realism—including the principle that everyone’s deepest desire is to like the world on an honest basis—a certain heavy depression that I had had for years lifted from me, and any need for psychotropic drugs ended permanently. As a direct result, I was able to complete my education, and for more than twenty years I have held responsible positions in churches and schools in Michigan, Florida, and Missouri. This philosophy is both profound and eminently practical.