The Society of Layerists in Multi-Media (SLMM) is a group of artists, centred in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States formed in 1982. It describes itself as a network for artists and other persons interested in a holistic perspective.
The Society has members at, and affiliations 1999–present with Michigan Tech.
Layering
The society was formed to look at the concept it refers to as "Layering" on a deeper level.
The society describes Layering, in the context it uses the word, as something other than a label for a particular style or medium: rather a way of making art in order to express ultimate connectedness; a way to think about creating art as a synthesis of ideas from many sources: the sciences, philosophy, metaphysics, memories, synchronicities, and the imagination. The society suggests that a sense that something "other" than the visible inhabits a Layered work and that a Layered work is not distinguished by the technique so much as the mind of the artist who makes it; that the Layering is an evanescent, as well as a tangible, metaphor that "grows like moss from living and learning".
Mary Carroll Nelson, founder of SLMM, observes that "In layered art, many events connect at a single point in space; and many points in space are linked at a single moment in time." Alexander Nepote, SLMM’s late mentor, expressed an idea that is relevant to Layering: "Energy that connects everything is a cosmic web—this includes information from the collective unconscious, the metaphysical as well as the physical."
The purpose of SLMM is to offer creative artists a holistic way to relate to one another, as differentiated from the academic structure of professional artists’ associations based on a single medium, such as watercolor, pastel, or sculpture. The network is meant to act as a leavening in a society whose values are based on a system of separation through competition, careerism, and hierarchy. SLMM is a society of equals designed to encourage creative expression and dynamic growth.
The society reports that many members follow a personal path of aesthetics combined with an active interest in wholeness. All new members must join first as Associates. Spouses and significant others have also joined as Associates. Associate Membership is an honored state and a number of artists remain as Associate Members from choice. Those applying for Full Membership must be Associate Members in good standing and then go through the application process.