Throughout history, artistic movements have stood as a cultural symbol of their times.

Cubism and the work of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque revolutionized everything from art and writing to music at the turn of the 20th century. Claude Monet’s Impressionism style started a movement with the goal of capturing light through painting at the end of the 19th century. Impressionism forever changed what was deemed “acceptable” in artistic form. Abstract Expressionism made New York City the epicenter of the art world in the late 1940s, thanks to works by Jackson Pollock and William de Kooning.

Today, at the beginnings of the 21st century, a new art movement is emerging. Founded by Energism artist Julia Watkins, and later built upon by five other artists from the United States and Canada, the movement has taken on the name “The Energy Art Movement.”

According to the movement’s manifesto, “Energy Art is the depiction of energy using color, form and composition to create inventive and expressive works of art that resonate with impact and feeling.”

Each piece of art that truly defines the movement captures the energy that emanates from and around every object and being in the universe. The works seek to slow down the world and understand the connection between humans, animals and the environments which give them life.

A basic premise amongst Energy artists is that energy is ever-present and everywhere. Of course, this is also a basic scientific principle. The movement simply seeks to take this universal truth and communicate it artistically. As such, it seems to be one of the most well balanced and spiritual artistic movements to ever emerge. Members of the Energy Art Movement believe that the movement is “a natural evolution of art trends that preceded it, particularly those trends which reflect the complexity of civilization.”

The movement started in September of 2004, when Julia Watkins awoke from a dream and painted “First Dream.” Upon completion of the painting, Watkins both found her niche as an artist and launched a brand new artistic movement. In May of 2008, Giorgio Vaselli, a self-described energetic surrealist, initiated the exchange of ideas amongst artists interested in advancing the Energy Art Movement initiative.

As a result of increased activity amongst members of the movement, ongoing art exhibitions throughout the world and campaigns to raise awareness about both the movement and issues in our world such as the “Green Energy Project,” the movement has really begun to take off in 2009.

This weekend marks the return of Watkins to Breckenridge. Watkins is in town to help celebrate Breckenridge’s Second Saturday Art Walk. She will work on a new painting at Art on a Whim and answer questions about the Energy Art Movement. Her Energism work can be seen in Art on a Whim on a permanent basis, and her newest show runs today through Sunday evening.

About two months after this story was posted, Giorgio Vaselli protested the article, saying that Julia Watkins has no relation to the Energy Art Movement and that her “movement from 2004 never went anywhere.” His information can be found at http://www.energyartmovement.org/about/press-release/