Gurdjieff's Movements and
European Art

Gurdjieff appeared to have used his books, music and dances to mutually sustain and enhance one another. The concept of Gesamtkunstwerk ("whole-art-work"), first used and propagated by Richard Wagner, deeply influenced Russian Symbolism, in which the merging of different arts was to call forth a new vision and ultimately a new form of being, as in a religious service. It is noteworthy that both the composer Alexander Scriabin and the painter Vassily Kandinsky, who were to develop the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk further into the area of "synaesthesia", were personal friends of Thomas de Hartmann.
Movements represent the result of an ultimate effort by Gurdjieff to re-install in people's lives the importance of dances and physical exercises in the processes of self-development. In this sense, Gurdjieff's Movements can be seen as a new liturgy or ritual. They can be a point of reference and study, and can assist transformation both on an individual level and on the level of our society as a whole.