digitaldeities

progress ... the Van Alen Fellowship project proposal

Tying together many of my previous posts and research .. I was able to complete and send off a Fellowship Grant to Van Alen Institute on March 6, 2009.  We will see.. what opportunities my future holds!

The project area I focused on was CULTURE AND POLITICS here is what questions they ask.. that I tried my very best to explain below in my proposal!

This project area refers broadly to the ways social forms, norms, identities and institutions are constituted by and through spatial practices in the public realm. The Institute seeks a range of investigations that engage the following questions:

How is public architecture alternately constructed and occupied as a site of freedom, exclusion, resistance, control and uncertainty? How are public spaces made and unmade through social struggles over rights and access? How are they shaped by cultural conflict and political debate over representation? How does design in the public realm variously operate as a vehicle for historical, social, cultural and political meanings and values? What space do different kinds of bodies, behaviors and emotions take up in public? How do they belong or not belong in public life and how might we imagine alternative forms of belonging?

Topics in this project area may include monumentality, collective memory, propriety, property rights, everyday urbanism, identity politics, biopower, homeland security, defensible space, civil liberties, citizenship, geopolitics, multiculturalism, spectatorship and tourism.

Project Proposal – Culture and Politics - Carrie Mae Kreyche

Confiscated Weapons of Mass Construction is an installation of large Yantra symbols, geometrical combination's of circular diagrams used in meditative practice, made with thousands of recycled scissors confiscated from airport security procedures. Constructing these Yantras out of confiscated airport items and placing them back into public spaces, blends together the layers of ancient ritual and modern culture, bringing to the public realm reflections on safety, protection and the role of security measures.  This proposal illuminates how valuable the visual environment is to either soothe or disrupt the emotional and spiritual state of a viewer.     

Public spaces such as shopping malls, airports and motorways are what author Marc Augé calls ‘non-spaces’.  They are public space where individuality is left behind and everyone, especially after passing through security procedures at airports, is on the same level of identity because these public spaces are both everywhere and nowhere.  The public spaces of airports were redefined when the FAA began searching people in airports in 1972 and since 9/11, security measures have been tightened even more thoroughly.  The need for security and the public’s fear of attack makes current airport spaces fertile ground for stringent rules and regulations.  The accessibility and process of national and international travel has become an uncomfortable inconvenience or struggle for many passengers.  The lines are often long and personal space is invaded with random body searches and the confiscation of personal items.  

Most airports are built as spacious urban palaces, with high ceilings, modern materials and cutting edge architecture.  Many cities take pride in the architecture of these high traffic centers and more and more, numerous airports have also begun to hold art exhibitions and rotating shows in glass cases around the terminals.  John F. Kennedy, San Francisco and many other smaller city airports have commissioned artists to build provocative installations in the spaces.  Design in this public arena can operate as a vehicle for social and cultural dialogue. Whether immigration law, ecology or reflection on security regulation, the topic of an installation can bring cultural values to the forefront.  Barbara Kingsolver once wrote that the artists’ role is to be the canary in the coalmine, and when art is silent it means trouble. It is my goal to design an art installation for these public ‘non-spaces’ that will engage people in a deeply moving way. 

When people travel through airports and other busy public urban environments, they are often rushed and stressed.  In a group discussion about airport security lines, my research discovered the metaphorical comparison that the ritual many current day passengers experience while preparing for traveling is similar to the spiritual and cultural rituals that some ascetics have.  As an example, Gandhi owned only 12 items when he died.  (See Image 1 below).

Image 2 – The twelve items Gandhi owned before he died and a modern day suitcase 

The mental process of getting ready for a flight can parallel the preparation for your own spiritual journey (special packing, special clothes/shoes). There are also many traditions of ancient cultures that send deceased ones to the grave with special swords, weapons and other sacred items to ward of evil spirits. Our culture would strip away everyone’s ability to hold these items sacred.  We have even taken it to the absurd extreme as to take away craft and cuticle scissors. Blending the common set of scissors into ancient symbolism offers a playful and provocative (upon closer inspection) visual cue piquing the viewer’s awareness of modern rituals and rules, while offering a moment of harmony to a busy public space.  This project engages one to see and possibly imagine a myriad of other alternative forms to help feel a sense of belonging and to reclaim the materials they once lost in a security search. 

Placing a large symbol that is an archetype of unity in the collective memory of most cultures, touches people on a subconscious level.   Just like a pure resonant note can shatter a glass, the imprint of the beauty of perfection changes the mind and thoughts of a viewer.  Buddhist monks create large sand Mandalas, sacred geometric circular patterns, believing that as a result of viewing them, an imprint will be left that may help one to find greater compassion, awareness, and a greater sense of well being.  These symbols hold the essence of the macrocosm and microcosm, taking the viewer both inside themselves and outside to the world at large.  Circles bring harmony on an intuitive primal level and this is the language and depth this project speaks and creates from. 

The Confiscated Security Symbols Project uses scissors that were confiscated from passengers and then sold at auction to sellers who re-sell them on e-bay (See Image 2 below).  Currently, seventy-five pounds of recycled scissors from airport excess were purchased for this project from e-bay sellers and it is planned to attend an airport auction for direct purchase of larger quantities of thousands more scissors.  

Image 2 – Bulk confiscated scissors purchased from e-bay 

The two main goals of this fellowship are to complete a solid body of work to exhibit in the gallery during the final weeks and to complete more research about sonic theology, historical use of sound with Yantras and in sacred temples, from both the use of Mantras and older temples designed as acoustic resonators.   I would also continue researching the reoccurrence of sacred geometry and circle shapes in ancient cultures versus and today.  Advertising, pop culture and modern political times have changed the spiritual and ritual value of art.  In Walter Benjamin’s famous essay ‘The Age of Mechanical Reproduction’ he speaks of this shift where ‘mechanical reproduction emancipates the work of art from its parasitical dependence on ritual. Instead of being based on ritual, it begins to be based on another practice – politics.’  Today, modern art critique’s first evaluate the quality of a piece of art on its exhibition value.  My project hope to reverse this function back to Walter Benjamin’s observations and first view the role of art as an instrument of magic and second as an work of art with high exhibition value. 

A larger collection of scissors will be purchased with part of the stipend, along with other materials used to build smaller prototype sculptures.  Gallery size sculptures and installations, which will test and explore different materials, attachments and styles.  These sculptures will be exhibited in the Van Alen exhibition gallery.  Below are some of the current prototypes of construction I have worked on this year. (See image 3 below).

The long-term goal of this project is to build a large-scale installation of thirty feet or more for an airport commission, an airline terminal or another public space.  Building these installations and eventually installing them in modern public spaces, such as airports, would allow a visual dialogue with the symbols that could touch thousands of people.  The result of this fellowship would also allow me to present my iterations, ideas, and prototypes to architects and engineers for collaboration to seamlessly install these works into a final chosen space.   Included below are some digital sketches I drew in 3D with the modeling program SolidWorks and a diagrams to scale in Adobe Illustrator. (See Image 4 below). 

 

My own artistic exploration began with creating mandalas out of found objects and sculptures that reflected my own personal need for boundaries and self-protection.  This focus has shifted away from my personal needs and now looks at these issues on a much broader scale - the scale of our entire nation and even our collective world memory. The concept of how protection has infiltrated our culture now interests me. What makes people feel safe? Security measures at airports? Spiritual support? Something else? What service do physical boundaries provide? 

My research answers this question: What brings a feeling of safety or protection? My own meditation practice profoundly changed me, giving me the ability to heal and to create my own personal definition of protection and boundaries.  Bringing these symbols to the public has a healing affect and helps people feel more uplifted, safe and centered in public spaces.   

Another deliverable, besides the scissor sculptures, is a well-formatted talk or panel discussion.  This discussion covers the historical uses of Sacred Geometry in temple building, Yantras, Mandalas, visual meditation tools and how symmetrical forms in nature all touch upon the universal mystery of perfection. A concept that recently inspires me is how the architecture from the Cistercian Order achieved its visual beauty through designs that conform to the proportional system of musical harmony.  These churches were acoustical resonators that transformed a human choir into celestial music and the founder St Bernard of Clairvaux said of their design, ‘There must be no decoration, only proportion.’  As much of my artistic pursuits have been about decoration, discovering the fundamental template with which the building of temples and Yantra symbols are organized, brings me a new level of understanding of their depth of perfection.

The Yantra comes from Vedic and Hindu cosmology and signifies the cyclical forces in nature, astronomy, and the worship of deities that are given abstract forms.  These forms and their meanings center and ground my current research and life work.  I am passionately drawn to the symmetry and perfection that the circles visual offer. 

Image 5 – Picture 1, Sri Ganash Yantra from http://www.artoflegendindia.com/details/HJAAB003_Shri_Ganesh_Yantra – Picture 2, Mark Pottenger’s planetary mandalas made by tracking with computer algorithm the planetary movement of Jupiter and Uranus from http://www.ccrsdodona.org/m_dilemma/mandalas.html - Picture 3, a diagram of the true stars which are aligned within the Jewish symbol titled ‘Star of David’ from http://www.jesus-kashmir-tomb.com/YantraStarofDavid.html. 

The studio space, publicity, and support of the Van Alen Fellowship would bring the artistic advantage of focus, clarity, and freedom.  A twelve-week residency would allow the necessary space and time to experiment further with different materials and construction options.  This experimental freedom is the foundation for the further success of this project. Through giving a workshop or public talk about this project, the public would be invited to look at the work in progress and dialogue about these important topics of homeland security, monumentality, and collective memory.  The publicity through Van Alen would bring valuable attention to this project to help me reach my professional goal of future collaboration and installation.

notes from colleen

I just found the email from colleen about our reviews.. she took good notes. Here they are...

Carrie Mae 

Colleen: Very clear and interesting concept! Focus on the site. Instead or before going phys/comp, really go for and investigate the site, how to make a proposal for an airport or respond to an RFP, and make many many mandalas to really work with the material and mounting. (studio time, yay!) 

Eric: Art making background -- is user surveys/design process all new to you? How has it influenced your work? (a project that could relate to more people, larger scale). Large-scale public installations are on the border between design and art. Need to think about a commission of people who are not artists, look at how to make a big commission to work. Not one to undermine the security apparatus. Need to think about the viewers and the people with the $. Christo, ephemera, to be in galleries. Maquettes, prototypes, sketches. Better when the scissors carry the aesthetic weight of the piece. Choose your battles. 

Bobby: on board with the physical manifestation of protection in the yantra with the confiscated objects, think it is smart and very clear. Use of technology feels like a veneer. Like there's expectation of this here. How does tech relate to your idea? Number of scissors in a work could relate to the amount of scissors confiscated in a year, etc... use statistics. Terrorism is the anomaly. Don't do it in a gallery. Do it in the hyper-protected airport space. To put sacredness in a non-place is a really nice move. Christopher Janney.  

Zach: Agree with reviewers about technology. Not to think about tech in the final output, but in the in-between point. Coding, interaction, etc. to produce the visual output. Interested in the context. the interaction is asking the question of the person in the airport. What are you asking the person in the airport to do? Meditate? Specific meaning to the interaction and installation. What is it that you ask of people?

TANTRA, MANTRA, YANTRA

from the glossary of Art of Tantra:

Tantra - a text embodying Tantrik tradition, many Hindu examples being in the form of a dialogue between the ultimate Divine Couple, Siva and Sakti.  (Siva: the most important High God of Hinduism, Sakti: 'power', the great Goddess as supreme power)

Mantra - a Sanskrit syllable or group of syllables, used to concentrate cosmic and psychic energies

Yantra - a diagrammatic symbol for a field of energy

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Art of Tantra by Philip Rawson

Here are the most relevant quoted sections I found from Art of Tantra today

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page 64

Related to mantra is 'yantra', a word for which there is not even the remotest parallel in English.  The function of yantra in the sphere of the visible is analogous to that of mantra in the sphere of sound.    

As mantra is a nucleus of sound by means of which cosmic and bodily forces are concentrated into ritual, so yantra is nucleus of the visible and knowable, a linked diagram of lines by means of which visualized energies are concentrated.

Mantra and yantra complement each other, and are used in conjunction.  A yantra may look at first sight like an abstract design.  But what we may call its 'abstraction' is not the effect of its indicating an abstract concept for a mental class-relationship, but of its concentrating concrete, formulated energy.  Its 'patternness', like the stylized syllable of mantra, is the essential  element of its force; its spareness is not the result of generality, but of condensation of energy and content.  IT PROVIDES THE FOCAL FRAMEWORK FOR ACTS OF MEDITATIVE VISUALIZATION.

All Tantra art thus has in it a special element of yantra.  It provides the relatively 'gross' forms which point forwards and evoke the 'subtle' forms of mental imagery, and cannot be mistaken for anything but what they are.  

To use yantra thus involves a continuous meditative dialectic in which content and concentration drive each other to a higher pitch of intensity.  This is one of the ways in which the psyco-cosmic mechanism is worked.

AND IT IS ALSO ONE OF THE ASPECTS OF TANTRA ART WHICH APPEALS MOST TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE BECOME DISILLUSIONED WITH VAPID CONCEPTUALISM OF MUCH MODERN ART.  Tantra knows, and has long used, reductive methods and optical effects.  But it has used them synthetically, to concentrate an emotive and psychic content, not analytically, to refine abstractions whose only meaning is their relation to other abstractions.

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page 69

    definitions from Glossary in Art of Tantra : 

        Devata - Tantrik divine principles (cf. Deva)

        Deva - a divine figure; the root (div) means 'shrine'

        Sadhaka - one who performs acts of ritual, worship and meditation

        Puja - practical worship-cum-ritual

        Subtle body - the structure of channels and knots parallel to but not identical with the human body through which the latter is imbued with its sense of reality

Diagrammatic yantras are usually centered on a single point, the point upon which meditative concentration can gradually gather and fix itself.  'One-pointedness' of concentration is a necessary achievement of any sadhaka before he can even begin to make any progress.  But the yantras illustrated here are also icons, subtle bodies of devatas, bodies from which the gross physical resemblances have been eliminated in favour of the higher, more inclusive imagery of linked energies.  When the mantra-utterances of power inscribed on it are correctly recited the yantra itself becomes infused with the actual presence of devata; its own physical nature lost; the devata, so to speak, floats up to the surface of the physical object and expands within the mind of the sadhaka as a dense complex identity, the presence of which alters his whole nature.

Such yantras may be used alone on single occasions or in series during prolonged meditative rites.  They may be used to invoke the subtle bodies of devatas to receive puja, as an intermediate step between using the gross representational images of male and female and using purely internal images.  In practice, only extremely advanced sadhakas can grasp the true forms implicit in yantra and mantra.  For this reason most ordinary Westerners will not be able to grasp them intellectually; even in India the true nature of yantra is normally kept as a secret which can only be indicated verbally between sadhakas, and is never written down.  Perhaps the most subtle yantras of all are those which provide only a blank space on to which the meditaor has to project his own familiar yantra.

**this last underlined statement reminds me of something I read yesterday in We Make Money Not Art blog that I re-post here:  Once is Nothing, made of 'physically absent' artworks. Once is Nothing is based on a previous show, 'Individual Systems' part of the 2003 edition of the Venice Biennale . Devoid of any art piece, the room is nevertheless supposed to be 'full of memories and history.' The exhibition is a pertinent comment on the impossibility to replicate exactly one exhibition and on the pointless demand for innovation that characterizes most art biennials.  

Once is Nothing
Brussels Biennial 1
19.10.2008-04.01.2009

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page 70

There are, however, certain things which can be explained.  First is the obvious fact that it takes a great deal of time and effort to build up the content of the imagery stored in any yantra-mantra complex.  The realities referred to in condensed patterns of sight and sound can become readily available to the mind only after long practice.  To simplify, it is, in a way like learning an extraordinary complicated alphabet and vocabulary at once.  Then again when a yantra is to be used on any given occasion it takes extreme concentration over a long period of time to build up the presence of the devata by means of the mantra-schemes which are its subtle anatomy.  The subtle devata present in the sadhaka's body may be persuaded by a long yogic process to emerge in subtle form from his nostril, and take up residence in the yantra. 

Second, the general pattern followed by most, if not all, yantras tends to be constant.  Around the perimeters a square pattern of re-entrant 'gates'.  This represents the 'enclosure' within which the meditating self is shut (what Jung called the 'tenemos');  the successive 'sheaths' or stages of inwardness, the multiple outer petals or triangles being occupied by 'grosser' forms of energy, which are absorbed and further concentrated in the less multiplied inner circuits.  The centre is the point where all the original radiating energies are finally focused, usually in a single mantra such as 'Om' or "Klim'.  The mantra-identities in all the basic circuits may also be represented in anthropomorphic shape, as devatas.  In the great Sri Yantra, the most important of all Tantrik yantras, each of the outer triangles is occupied by the devatas, which represent the subdivided energy-self of the Goddess. 

Images from Art of Tantra

cork + cuticle scissors

Experiments Brief
November 24th, 2008
Chris Prentice + Colleen Macklin

    My thesis project brings a harmonious focus point to the chaotic transitory space of modern airports.  By using the ancient symbology of yantras made with scissors confiscated from airport security procedures, my large scale installation art pieces both comfort and surprise viewers.  The artwork challenges the audience to question what the meditation symbols mean and how the multiples of scissors transform their individual identity into something much larger, more beautiful and cooperative.
    After my discussion with Chris on November 20th, 2008, I felt re-centered and motivated.  I am clearer about my intentions and the parts of my project I need to focus on before the end of the semester.  I will list them here and document some of the quotes I have read this week that support my intentions about the power of the yantras as meditation tools, centering devices and the semantic roots in sacred geometry and spiritual languages.
    Here is a list of ideas, questions and further explorations from my notes during my discussion with Chris, helpful reflection and further depth:
1.  security line as porthole
2.  parallel of the mental process of getting ready for a flight to preparing for your own spiritual journey (special packing, special clothes/shoes) –trip now and trip to the after life.  The tradition of cultures to send deceased owns to the grave with special swords, weapons and other sacred items to ward of evil spirits.  The photo came to mind of the12 items Gandhi owned before he died and compare it to how people pack for trip and what they bring nowadays.  The idea of simplicity, planning, discernment and how much do we really need to feel secure? - see photos below
              
3.  What is the power of multiples .. show other forms of repetition…  the role of multiplicity in art, design, nature, food, flowers
4.  Interview security line attendees or guards
5.  Write for other artists about my transition from making art from an emotional place to making it from professional place.
6.  Look for public spaces as a studio in spring. (research - swing space in NYC that uses empty office buildings for artists and performers)
7.  Find quotes that support the power of yantras, mandalas and symmetry.
8.  Project touches upon search or universal yearning for freedom – find other examples in movies and art that support this context.

QUOTES that I have found that support, bridge and express my belief in the value and function of yantras and sacred geometry:

The ancient astronomers designated the movement and position of celestial bodies through angular notation.  The varied angular positions of the sun, moon, planets and stars were related to the cyclical changes in the natural world, such as moon phases, seasons, tides, plant growth, human and animal fertility, etc.  It was the angle which specified the influences of celestial patterns on earthly events. (In this way we can appreciate the similar root of the words angle and angel.) Today the newly emerging science of heliobiology verifies that the angular position of the moon and planets does affect the electromagnetic and cosmic radiations which impact with the earth, and in turn these field fluctuations affect many biological processes.
Page 8 Sacred Geometry: Philosophy and Practice

    Yantras function as revelatory symbols of cosmic truths as instructional charts of the spiritual aspect of human experience.   All primal shapes of a yantra are psychological symbols corresponding to inner states of human consciousness, through which control and expansion of psychic forces are possible.  It is for this reason that a yantra is said to embody a 'function-principle' (Kriya-rupa). 
    By constant reinforcement in ritual worship the apparently inert yantra forms shake off their dormancy and act together as emblems of psychic power.  In this case, the yantra is said to move beyond 'form' and 'function' and emerges as a 'power diagram' endowed with a self-generating propensity to transform a mundane experience into a psychic one.  It is at this point that the yantra is said to be 'revealed'.   Although its outward meaning may be relatively easy to understand, the inner meaning that gives it its efficacy is difficult to grasp because its archetypal forms as basically concerned with the inner facts of psychic experience, gained through intuitive vision.

As the body is to the soul and oil is to the lamp, a yantra is to the deity.  Kularnava Tantra
    Every Yantra is a sacred enclosure, a ‘dwelling’ or receptacle of the chosen, tutelary, deity.  A yantra is a substitute for an anthropomorphic image of the deity.  A deity's yantra may bear no resemblance to the iconographic image, whose proportions and human attributes are fixed by the traditional canon.  The yantra is its 'trans-form' its abstract translation. A yantras retains the supersensible vitality of an image, expressing the sense and spirit of the original.
Page 12 Yantra: The Tantric Symbol of Cosmic Unity

"The Yantra is an archetypal unit, and in the making of every new yantra the archetypal activity and the divine revelations repeat themselves.  Each yantra's consecrated place acts as a dwelling for the gods, a space where movement from the level of profane existence to the level of profound realities is made possible. Symbol and meaning blend so closely that they are one reality, indistinguishable from one another."
Page 30 Yantra: The Tantric Symbol of Cosmic Unity

"…the circle represents the cyclical forces, the contraction and expansion of astronomical revolutions, and the round of cosmic rhythms.  Within this image lies the notion that time has no beginning and no end.  The farthest region of space and the innermost nucleus of an atomic structure are bound by the constant flow of life and the rhythmic energy of creation.  The circle may also be considered, in its concentrated form, as a bindu, or in galactic proportions as the expanding universe; its numerical counterpart is the zero."
 Page 32 Yantra: The Tantric Symbol of Cosmic Unity

The Flight of the Wild Gander: Explorations in the Mythological Dimensions of Fairy Tales, Legends, and Symbols by Joseph Campbell.  He suggests that the appearance of the mandala began after the passing of the hunting age and with the development of agriculture.

"The problem of existing as a mere fraction instead of as a whole imposes certain stresses on the psyche which no primitive hunter ever had to endure, and consequently the symbols giving structure and support to the development of the primitive hunter's psychological balance were radically different from those that arose in the settled villages."  Page 144 The Flight of the Wild Gander

"And we may ask, also, then, whether today, when that economy is giving way to one based on industry, and the cosmological image commensurate with an agricultural horizon has been shattered for us forever- whether today, in this next age of great transformation, the images generated in that earlier period of crisis still are of use, and if so for whom, and why?" 
Page 146 The Flight of the Wild Gander

    Evolution has programmed us to be oversensitive to symmetry.  Those that can spot a pattern with reflectional symmetry in the chaotic tangle of the jungle are more likely to survive.  Symmetry in the undergrowth is either someone about to eat you or something you could eat.   Our brains seem to be hard-wired to find meaning in symmetry.  This is why, in the early twentieth century, Hermann Rorschach developed his symmetrical inkblots as a means of unlocking a patient's unconscious mind.  He believed that humans are so compelled to find a meaning or a message when shown something symmetrical that the patient's response can reveal clues to their psychological state of mind.  Carl Jung also thought that symmetry was important in understanding the unconscious.  But rather than the butterfly-like inkblots of Rorschach, Jung was drawn to the symbolism contained in the mandalas of Hinduism and Buddhism.
    In Buddhist worship the mandala is a sacred diagram made from dyed sawdust or sand.  Mandala is Sanskrit for circle, and the diagram is an intricate network of intertwining circles representing a many-layered universe.  The complexities of the design are meant  to reflect the  turmoil of the human condition on the way to achieving the nirvana at the centre of the mandala.  Each symbol in the mandala's design has some specific meaning.  A diamond represents the mind, the eight-pointed wheel denotes the eightfold path to Nirvana and the 16-leafed lotus is Buddha or Nirvana itself.  The network of shapes acts as a story, guiding the worshiper in a lesson on meditation.
    The mandalas of Tibet are labored over by priests for days in an act of deep and concentrated worship.  The symmetry of the shape is meant to assist the worshiper in achieving a meditative state, yet once finished they are immediately destroyed - an important part of the mandala ritual.  The hands that have painstakingly worked for perfect symmetry pass over the sand, and the symmetry is lost.  It is a lesson n the impermanence of the world and the fragile nature of human existence.  Symmetry is hard to achieve, as those in the animal world with bad genes discover to their cost.  The destruction of the mandala also reinforces the Buddhist belief in the importance of non-attachment.  
Page 276-277 Symmetry: A Journey into the Patterns of Nature by Marcus Du Sautoy

Instinct is immediate.  It is an instant recognition of a pattern, essentially it is a pattern for survival.  Intuition is a force that deliberately extends those patterns of survival.  So instinct is a pump primer and intuition is negotiating and willfully extending those survival patterns.  The spur of creativity, the hidden catalytic is intuition.  The sharper and the more honed the intuition, the more creative the choices.  I feel that pattern is fundamental to; it is everything.
Essay H_edge1
by cecil balmond
Models: 306090 11 (306090)
by Jonathan D. Solomon (Editor)

power diagram

 page 12 from Yantra

Yantras function as revelatory symbols of cosmic truths as instructional charts of the spiritual aspect of human experience. 

All primal shapes of a yantra as psychological symbols corresponding to inner states of human consciousness, through which control and expansion of psychic forces are possible.

It is for this reason that a yantra is said to embody a 'functiona-principle' (Kriya-rupa).

By constant reinforcement in ritual worship the apparently inert yantra forms shake off their dormancy and act together as emblems of psychic power.

In this case, the yantra is said to move beyond 'form' and 'function' and emerges as a 'power diagram'  endowed with a self-generating propensity to transform a mundane experience into a psychic one.

It is at this point that the yantra is said to be 'revealed'. 

Although its outward meaning may be relatively easy to undestand, the inner meaning that gives it its efficacy is difficult to grasp because its archetypal forms as basically concerned with the inner facts of psychic experience, gained through intuitive vision.

A yantra is a substitute for an anthropomorphic image of the deity.... a deity's yantra may bear no resemblance to the iconographic image, whose proportions and human attributes are fixed by the traditional canon.  The yantra is its 'trans-form' its abstract translation. A yantras retains the suprasensible vitality of an image, expressing the sense and spirt of the original.

As the body is to the soul and oil is to the lamp, a yantra is to the deity.
Kularnava Tantra

       

Yantra: The Tantric Symbol of Cosmic Unity by Madhu Khanna and Ajit Mookerjee

 

CWOMC - cwomC - CWoMC

CONFISCATED WEAPONS OF MASS CONSTRUCTION

*cwomC  see

airports represent flying
reaching higher levels of consciousness with meditation is kinda like flying
*flying dragons, white eagles*
making meditation symbols out of confiscated not quite weapons is great
many layers to explore

if you open up the scissors then you have two straight edges of a triangle.. which are everywhere in sacred geometry and yantras... arrange LARGE quantities in circles and mandalas and WOW... now we are talking.

many possible large venues to exhibit in - with lots of traffic all over the world... some with meditation rooms even :o)

I could make art for x-ray machines.. so the photographs seen through suitcases can be a new fine art art form

the book NON-PLACES was recommend by colleen macklin today in thesis studio.. I will give it a read.

       

Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity (Cultural Studies) by Marc Auge and John Howe

construction reminds me of construction paper
which reminds me of the little plastic colorful handles scissors
which reminds me of airport security which takes anything sharp

I made wings years ago .. I like flying in my dreams when I am sleeping .. and now sometimes the expansiveness I feel in meditation is supreme.... or hiking in the desert... that helps for feeling expansive.

I titled them ascendant-see that when one rises above ordinary life you can see the whole picture. (less grasping, more comforting) ..they are painted acrylic on a meta screen with googly eyes epoxied on, ranging from very small to quite large...

they turned out unintentionally to be life sized.. well sort of.. larger than life really... 9 feet tall.. but when I put a stool up and stood in front.. I have wings.

Martin Luther King QUOTE

This is one of my all time favorite quotes... I googled the first line tonight and I found the original speech it is from. 

One of the greatest problems of history is that the concepts of love and power are usually contrasted as polar opposites.

What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive and that love without power is sentimental and anemic.

Martin Luther King Jr.

SOURCE:

King, Martin Luther, Jr. 1967. "Where Do We Go From Here?" Annual Report Delivered at the 11th Convention of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, August 16, Atlanta, GA. (excerpts below)

(The full speech, including the vocal responses from those in attendance, is available at: http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/publications/speeches/Where_do_we_go_from_here.html

... Power properly understood is nothing but the ability to achieve purpose. It is the strength required to bring about social, political, and economic change. 

... Now a lot of us are preachers, and all of us have our moral convictions and concerns, and so often we have problems with power. But there is nothing wrong with power if power is used correctly.

You see, what happened is that some of our philosophers got off base. And one of the great problems of history is that the concepts of love and power have usually been contrasted as opposites, polar opposites, so that love is identified with a resignation of power, and power with a denial of love. It was this misinterpretation that caused the philosopher Nietzsche, who was a philosopher of the will to power, to reject the Christian concept of love. It was this same misinterpretation which induced Christian theologians to reject Nietzsche's philosophy of the will to power in the name of the Christian idea of love.

Now, we got to get this thing right. What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and that love without power is sentimental and anemic. (Yes) Power at its best [applause], power at its best is love (Yes) implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love. (Speak) And this is what we must see as we move on.

... I'm concerned about a better world. I'm concerned about justice; I'm concerned about brotherhood; I'm concerned about truth. (That’s right) And when one is concerned about that, he can never advocate violence. For through violence you may murder a murderer, but you can't murder murder. (Yes) Through violence you may murder a liar, but you can't establish truth. (That's right) Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can't murder hate through violence. (All right, That’s right) Darkness cannot put out darkness; only light can do that. [applause]

And I say to you, I have also decided to stick with love, for I know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankind's problems. (Yes) And I'm going to talk about it everywhere I go. I know it isn't popular to talk about it in some circles today. (No) And I'm not talking about emotional bosh when I talk about love; I'm talking about a strong, demanding love. (Yes) For I have seen too much hate. (Yes) I've seen too much hate on the faces of sheriffs in the South. (Yeah) I've seen hate on the faces of too many Klansmen and too many White Citizens Councilors in the South to want to hate, myself, because every time I see it, I know that it does something to their faces and their personalities, and I say to myself that hate is too great a burden to bear. (Yes, That’s right) I have decided to love. [applause] If you are seeking the highest good, I think you can find it through love.

LUXURYCULTURE.COM

I LOVE THE INTERNET.

Right now I will outline my circuitous route to new discoveries this morning on the lovely, oh so lovely, ever expanding world brain of the internet.

Each day of the week I receive

Today I was browsing and I clicked on the article Will fashion zines leave Anna Wintour quaking behind her bob?  I read this paragraph below and clicked on the link b/c the lace dipped collars and cuffs sounded interesting.

Well-heeled fans of Luxuryculture.com, based in Paris, will encounter a multipage feature about Aurelie Bidermann, a jewelry designer whose silver-dipped lace collars and cuffs are sold at upscale stores. Fashion is part of a rarefied lineup that includes articles on the emergent art scene in Qatar and Abu Dhabi and a lavish pictorial on family safaris in Africa.

Under the ARTS PORTFOLIO in the EXPERIMENTAL section of luxuryculture.com I found these images.

These are from a show that was in Paris march 28 - may 3 2008 by artist Anne and Patrick Poirier.  Below I posted the short article about them, their conceptual work and the Temple of Mirrors they built.

I have only heard of giclee prints and I did not know what diasec prints were ... so I went on wikipedia and found out.  Perhaps I will make some prints of my work someday soon?

Diasec

Diasec is a patented process used for facemounting prints like photographs on acrylic glass. The process was invented by Heinz Sovilla-Brulhart in 1969.  Because of the different light penetration and refraction of acrylic glass compared to normal glass, the colours are more brilliant and the image sharper then compared to standard glass in a picture frame. A Diasec mount is usually of a high gloss finish. Because the print is glued to the acrylic glass, the result is a completely flat mount of the image.
The print is also resistant to UV-radiation because of the properties of acrylic glass. There are other processes to achieve similar results, these are in the photographic or art world sometimes also called Diasec prints. Diasec is however a registered trademark.

 Process

The whole process is dedicated to mounting the print without air bubbles or smears. The image is face mounted and bonded to the acrylic glass with a silicone sealant. The silicone sealant, which has a consistency of a gel, acts as a glue between the print and the acrylic glass. Normally the print is placed on a carrier at the backside. This is usually dibond, a composite plate of aluminium and plastic. Aluminium or other materials are also possible. If the print has to be backlit, translucent materials are necessary.

Giclée

Giclée (pronounced [ʒiːˈkleɪ] "zhee-clay" or /dʒiːˈkleɪ, from French IPA: [ʒiˈkle]), is an invented name (i.e. a neologism) for the process of making fine art prints from a digital source using ink-jet printing. The word "giclée" is derived from the French language word "le gicleur" meaning "nozzle", or more specifically "gicler" meaning "to squirt, spurt, or spray"^[1]. It was coined by Jack Duganne, a printmaker working in the field, to represent any inkjet-based digital print used as fine art. The intent of that name was to distinguish commonly known industrial "Iris proofs" from the type of fine art prints artists were producing on those same types of printers. The name was originally applied to fine art prints created on Iris printers in a process invented in the early 1990s but has since come to mean any high quality ink-jet print and is often used in galleries and print shops to denote such prints.

life is like a hot skillet (or cauldron)

what is to give light must endure burning - victor frankel

BEAUTY of DEVASTATING proportions

Today, I expand on this quote

BEAUTY WILL SAVE THE WORLD -dostoevsky

I saved this business card below from a wonderful clothing boutique in Prescott, AZ called the Llama House.  I have hung it on my fridge and in my sight for a few years and now it is specially placed in my sketch book.   I have long been inspired by beauty, symmetry, body decoration and outrageous (haute couture) fashion. 

 

In the last few weeks I have received layers of this same message from various sources - resonance with me and this notion of devastating beauty.

A quote from this book

The Gods Are Wise (Atlantean Secrets)     by Samuel Sagan

(15.1 page 257)

More than beauty - perfection.
Perfection shakes the depths of your being.
. . . . .
But why did it hurt so much?
Infinite nostalgia versus infinite unity.  The sorrows of the kingdom like an abyss under my feet.
Past a certain degree, there is something devastating about beauty.
Such a fine line between opening and being ripped open.

A quote from this cd - Grief and Praise by Martin Prechtel, which you can order from www.floweringmountain.com  

In this talk Martin says:

Praise is a skill.  It is not just saying a lot of florid words.  The idea of eloquence is to hit the mark.  To devastate the other persons hatred with beauty.

A quote from the Tibetan sand painting website, www.namgyal.org/mandalas

Simply viewing a mandala is believed by Buddhists to be enough to change one's mind stream by creating a strong imprint of the beauty of perfection of the Buddha's mind, as is represented in the mandala itself. As a result of this imprint, one may be able to find greater compassion, awareness, and a better sense of well-being.

I personally believe that seeing any great work of art, costume, dress or mandala can create an imprint of the beauty of perfection and create a sense of well-being.  This is my goal with my artwork!!  Here are s few pictures of dresses, costumes and artwork that I have made over the years.

   

Ripe Dress
Spring 2008

-seed pods, wire, juju fruit candy, acrylic paint

Armor de Amor
Spring 2007

-agave stalks, gold leafing, silk ribbon, wire, pins, thistle heads, leaves

Sexy Fruit and Vegetable party costume.
Banana (unpeelable)
Fall 2000

-plastic vinyl, beads, snaps

 

This is a top I hand-sewed out of glass seed beads and peacock feathers.  I wore it to a millenium party to celebrate the new century.

Here are images that inspire me from other artists and wearable designers

Latifa Medjdoub www.latifadesign.com

Ron Isaacs 'painted birch construction' life-size
Photo/ Katie Gingrass Gallery Milwaukee, WI

Björk bell dress from her music video "Who Is It"

more desert delight by carolyn schmitz www.desertdada.com

Here are a few images I have saved for years from fashion magazine .. I don't remember which one.

symmetry . evolution . Jung .QUOTE

Symmetry: A Journey into the Patterns of Nature by Marcus Du Sautoy

page 276-277

Evolution has programmed us to be oversensitive to symmetry.  Those that can spot a pattern with reflectional symmetry in the chaotic tangle of the jungle are more likely to survive.  Symmetry in the undergrowth is either someone about to eat you or something you could eat.   Our brains  seem to be hard-wired to find meaning in symmetry.  This is why, in the early twentieth century, Hermann Rorschach developed his symmetrical inkblots as a means of unlocking a patient's unconscious mind.  He believed that humans are so compelled to find a meaning or a message when shown something symmetrical that the patient's response can reveal clues to their psychological state of mind.  Carl Jung also thought that symmetry was important in understanding the unconscious.  But rather than the butterfly-like inkblots of Rorschach, Jung was drawn to the symbolism contained in the mandalas of Hinduism and Buddhism.

In Buddhist worship the mandala is a sacred diagram made from dyed sawdust or sand.  Mandala is Sanskrit for circle, and the diagram is an intricate network of intertwining circles representing a many layered universe.  The complexities of the design are meant  to reflect the  turmoil of the human condition on the way to achieving the nirvana at the centre of the mandala.  Each symbol in the mandala's design has some specific meaning.  A diamond represents the mind, the eight-pointed wheel denotes the eightfold path to Nirvana and the 16-leafed lotus is Buddha or Nirvana itself.  The network of shapes acts as a story, guiding th worshiper in a lesson on meditation.

The mandalas of Tibet are laboured over by priests for days in an act of deep and concentrated worship.  The symmetry of the shape is meant to assist the worshiper in achieving a meditative state, yet once finished they are immediately destroyed - an important part of the mandala ritual.  The hands that have painstakingly worked for perfect symmetry pass over the sand, and the symmetry is lost.  It is a lesson n the impermanence of the world and the fragile nature of human existence.  Symmetry is hard to achieve, as those in the animal world with bad genes discover to their cost.  The destruction of the mandala also reinforces the Buddhist belief in the importance of non-attachment.   

Instinct . Intuition . Creativity .QUOTE

Quote from this book

Models: 306090 11 (306090)

by Jonathan D. Solomon (Editor)

Instinct is immediate.  It is an instant recognition of a pattern, essentially it is a pattern for survival.

Intuition is a force that deliberately extends those patterns of survival. 

So instinct is a pump primer and intuition is negotiating and willfully extending those survival patterns.

The spur of creativity, the hidden catalytic is intuition.  The sharper and the more honed the intuition, the more creative the choices.

I feel that pattern is fundamental to; it is everything.

Essay H_edge1
by cecil balmond