The Life and Work of Carlo Pietzner

It is not so often that one encounters an individual creative in

almost all they do. In an increasingly mechanized and technical

world, the power of creating, especially in the field of social

and community life, appears as a healing balm and inspiration

to do better. Carlo Pietzner was one such individual.

Pietzner was born in 1915, in Vienna, Austria. As a young art

student he was introduced to anthroposophy and to Dr Karl

König, a Viennese pediatrician, who later founded the

international Camphill movement for children and adults in

need of special care in Scotland in 1939. Pietzner was a

member of the founding group and pioneered the work of

Camphill in Northern Ireland, and from 1961 to 1986 further

developed the work of Camphill in North America. His artistic

activities were far-reaching – in stained glass windows,

paintings, essays, novels, plays and several volumes of poetry.

He served on the National Council of the Anthroposophical

Society of America for many years and was known

internationally as a lecturer and consultant. Carlo Pietzner was

the founding President of the Camphill Association of North

America. He died in April, 1986, in Camphill Village, Copake,

New York.

While some of Carlo Pietzner’s writings and artistic works have

been published before, Living Social Art is the first book to

gather the full range of his creative and cultural contributions

in one volume. Included are family photographs, reproductions

of artwork and stained glass, selected plays and poems,

writings for children, and several of his most compelling

lectures.

This book is a resource for anyone who values the

transformative power of art in community life. It speaks to

those who knew Carlo, to those touched by the Camphill

movement, to seekers within the anthroposophical world, and

to readers who simply wish to encounter the unfolding of a

singular, artistic and deeply human life.