Who is Raymond?

Raymond Duncan’s work and influence have not yet been fully explored precisely because he was constantly moving between geographies and disciplines. In his search for alternatives to the traditional models of creation and education, it is important how Raymond embraced both craft and art practices, united in an ongoing dialogue with everyday life. 

Raymond Duncan developed a theory that he called kinematics, “a remarkable synthesis of the motions of work and everyday life” and he believed that the importance of work was the development of the worker, not the production nor the profit. 

In various places where he resided, he created small communities, hybrid spaces between the educational and the performative, to learn and share arts and crafts. Duncan’s ultimate goal was to “perform life” believing that the synthesization of work, arts and physical movement could result in the further development of the human being. 

He also wrote poetry and plays, newspapers and editorials expounding his philosophy of “Actionism.” He produced books in his own printing press, using a typeface he designed himself.