E L E M E N T A L G U A R D I A N S
"You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth."
EXODUS 20: 2–17
EXODUS 20: 2–17
The mind is structured in laminations. On the surface is direct experience. Then comes the experience articulated in words. Then pictorial imagery. Then symbols. Then Abstraction. And finally absorbtion of the essence of the experience. The objective of magic is absorbtion. Ritual is the creation of a time and space sympathetic to this process. In reaching this stage we have to go there by this via this route and avoid entanglement at every stage.
fromElemental guardians, as the name suggests, are representatives of the four (five if you include aether) 'classical' elements. They have made their home in the collective unconscious and, as such, they are common to all of humanity regardless of era, race or culture.
The crucial point is that inhabiting the subconscious, and powerful though they undoubtedly are, these are powerful abstract forces and as such are beyond our capacity to express at a conscious level; nevertheless, being human, we have a go. The only resource that we have is symbolism and we have used symbols to represent what are essentially feelings and emotions which well up from the subconscious down the centuries. Symbols, such as this salamander (elemental creature of fire) which appears on the trademark of an Australian asbestos company, are still wi Indeed emblems incorporating mythical elemental creatures still abound; as though it is assumed that the man in the street is still conversant with this ancient symbolism (and maybe at some deeper level he is).
In the first decade of the 21st century, having been exposed to the collective wisdom and revelation of Jungian psychology, quantum physics, and abstract expressionism, surely we should be aware that symbolism just gets in the way of direct experience. Historically it has been the case that if we can't directly describe an experience to our fellows we compare it to the closest shared experience. The literary tool of choice with which to express the inexpressible is the simile; there's only a hip skip and jump to the metaphor and shortly you'll be deep into full-blown anthropomorphism and thereafter idolatory.
So we need to stop thinking of angels with nice fluffy wings, of salamanders, undines, gnomes and sylphs as represented in the mythology and open ourselves to the essence of the elements. Lest you're overcome with virtigo at letting go of representation think how the early Muslems felt, denied of all forms of representation.
"Colour is the key. The eye is the hammer. The soul is the piano with its many chords. The artist is the hand that, by touching this or that key, sets the soul vibrating automatically.""The true work of art is born from the 'artist': a mysterious, enigmatic, and mystical creation. It detaches itself from him, it acquires an autonomous life, becomes a personality, an independent subject, animated with a spiritual breath, the living subject of a real existence of being."Color provokes a psychic vibration. Color hides a power still unknown but real, which acts on every part of the human body. (Wassily Kandinsky)Colors produce a corresponding spiritual vibration, and it is only as a step towards this spiritual vibration that the elementary physical impression is of importance. (WColour is a means of exerting direct influence on the soul.
fromElemental guardians, as the name suggests, are representatives of the four (five if you include aether) 'classical' elements. They have made their home in the collective unconscious and, as such, they are common to all of humanity regardless of era, race or culture.
The crucial point is that inhabiting the subconscious, and powerful though they undoubtedly are, these are powerful abstract forces and as such are beyond our capacity to express at a conscious level; nevertheless, being human, we have a go. The only resource that we have is symbolism and we have used symbols to represent what are essentially feelings and emotions which well up from the subconscious down the centuries. Symbols, such as this salamander (elemental creature of fire) which appears on the trademark of an Australian asbestos company, are still wi Indeed emblems incorporating mythical elemental creatures still abound; as though it is assumed that the man in the street is still conversant with this ancient symbolism (and maybe at some deeper level he is).
In the first decade of the 21st century, having been exposed to the collective wisdom and revelation of Jungian psychology, quantum physics, and abstract expressionism, surely we should be aware that symbolism just gets in the way of direct experience. Historically it has been the case that if we can't directly describe an experience to our fellows we compare it to the closest shared experience. The literary tool of choice with which to express the inexpressible is the simile; there's only a hip skip and jump to the metaphor and shortly you'll be deep into full-blown anthropomorphism and thereafter idolatory.
So we need to stop thinking of angels with nice fluffy wings, of salamanders, undines, gnomes and sylphs as represented in the mythology and open ourselves to the essence of the elements. Lest you're overcome with virtigo at letting go of representation think how the early Muslems felt, denied of all forms of representation.
"Colour is the key. The eye is the hammer. The soul is the piano with its many chords. The artist is the hand that, by touching this or that key, sets the soul vibrating automatically.""The true work of art is born from the 'artist': a mysterious, enigmatic, and mystical creation. It detaches itself from him, it acquires an autonomous life, becomes a personality, an independent subject, animated with a spiritual breath, the living subject of a real existence of being."Color provokes a psychic vibration. Color hides a power still unknown but real, which acts on every part of the human body. (Wassily Kandinsky)Colors produce a corresponding spiritual vibration, and it is only as a step towards this spiritual vibration that the elementary physical impression is of importance. (WColour is a means of exerting direct influence on the soul.
The second Biblical commandment warns in the strongest terms against the error of anthropomorphising primal forces; explicitly noting three (and by implication the fourth) of the 'classical' elements. Islam took this commandment to it's logical extreme (as they do) and the world of visual expression benefited massively as a whole new culture evolved devoid of representation. From this world of abstraction flowered a renaissance in art, architecture, mathematics, geometry and algebra which massively influenced the development of the western world.
Truly great artists the like of Van Gogh or Samuel Taylor Coleridge or Motzart have expressive resources which are denied to the majority of humanity. Throughout history towering figures such as these act as a 'conduit of glory' creating the facility for the rest of us to glimpse, albeit through the glass darkly, that same vision. But these are powerful forces indeed, and the process takes it's toll; many are broken by the intensity of experience or abused by those with whom they are attempting to share. Forget those idiots in dog collars; it is my belief that, by channelling primal forces, painters, poets, and composers form our true priesthood (and always did).
If the major art forms of the 20th century are telling us anything it is that we should see beyond representation. As humans we spend our lives reducing the abstract multi-dimensional actuality of the universe into a manageable three dimensions. In the visual arts; abstraction exists in even ostensibly representational of works. But our intellect, desperately wrestling with the contradiction of three dimensions existing on a two dimensional surface, misses the richness of the underlying abstraction. (In this context I bless my British inability with language that allows me enjoy the abstract beauty of the great operas without the distraction of understanding the words).
Make a pilgrimage to the Tate Modern (ask nicely and I'll come with you) and get yourself in front of a Mark Rothko (Black on Maroon, 1959, is a good start). Shut down the robotic reflex to rationalise and allow yourself to be absorbed into the colour (or vice versa); it's an awesome (in its true sense) experience. It is this naked primal awe which our tendancy to to anthropomorphise denies us. So take off the stabilisers and stop thinking in concrete representational terms. Join the mystics, concentrate on essence, open yourself to the influence of the elements and bathe in their glory (however they chose to reveal themselves). And remember that any communication is two way; the more you know about the elements, the more the elements know about you.
Below are four paintings by Mark Rothko that (for me ) represent the abstract qualities of the four 'classical' elements.
Truly great artists the like of Van Gogh or Samuel Taylor Coleridge or Motzart have expressive resources which are denied to the majority of humanity. Throughout history towering figures such as these act as a 'conduit of glory' creating the facility for the rest of us to glimpse, albeit through the glass darkly, that same vision. But these are powerful forces indeed, and the process takes it's toll; many are broken by the intensity of experience or abused by those with whom they are attempting to share. Forget those idiots in dog collars; it is my belief that, by channelling primal forces, painters, poets, and composers form our true priesthood (and always did).
If the major art forms of the 20th century are telling us anything it is that we should see beyond representation. As humans we spend our lives reducing the abstract multi-dimensional actuality of the universe into a manageable three dimensions. In the visual arts; abstraction exists in even ostensibly representational of works. But our intellect, desperately wrestling with the contradiction of three dimensions existing on a two dimensional surface, misses the richness of the underlying abstraction. (In this context I bless my British inability with language that allows me enjoy the abstract beauty of the great operas without the distraction of understanding the words).
Make a pilgrimage to the Tate Modern (ask nicely and I'll come with you) and get yourself in front of a Mark Rothko (Black on Maroon, 1959, is a good start). Shut down the robotic reflex to rationalise and allow yourself to be absorbed into the colour (or vice versa); it's an awesome (in its true sense) experience. It is this naked primal awe which our tendancy to to anthropomorphise denies us. So take off the stabilisers and stop thinking in concrete representational terms. Join the mystics, concentrate on essence, open yourself to the influence of the elements and bathe in their glory (however they chose to reveal themselves). And remember that any communication is two way; the more you know about the elements, the more the elements know about you.
Below are four paintings by Mark Rothko that (for me ) represent the abstract qualities of the four 'classical' elements.
“Art is a marriage of the conscious and the unconscious."
JEAN COCTEAU
JEAN COCTEAU
Typical reaction to a Mark Rothko painting:
"His work never comes through in reproduction. No camera could possibly stand in for the old rods and cones. I never understood why people liked him until I stood in front of this massive painting and felt the color vibrate at the edges of my vision. Incredible." |
“Magic becomes art when it has nothing to hide.”
BEN OKRI
BEN OKRI