revised thesis continued.
The WombSpace & “Female” Nature of Painted Forms and Composition.
Curvilinear and spiraling compositions have always been intriguing to me and are as natural to my painting as breathing. There is an organic quality to these compositional forms, which may be considered as “feminine”.
Are these thesis works, therefore, inherently sexual, sensual? Do the vortex spaces rendered also connotate the human female anatomy? Are they “merely” multiple vaginas so to speak, as I am merely a female painter?
I am not blind to these associations, and would like to address them. I do find that the paintings exhibit an intense sexuality and allude to the feminine sexual experience: the passageway as vaginal opening and canal, and the penetration of this with the viewer’s gaze, which of course has both a violent and sexual implication. I do not mind the erotic and sensual components present and in fact am intrigued by them, often choosing to explore rather than stifle or negate them.
The work, however, by no means ends there. These associations have the tendency to become accusations, implications that work exhibiting any sort of “femininity” or female sexuality, created by women, is somehow inferior to that of male artists, or work that is not overtly sexual or sensual in any way. I do not understand why this is or why the art created by women would be considered any less valid or deserving of respect than that of men, whether or not it relates to themes and forms stereotypically gendered as “female”. This is oppressive, wrong, and ignorant. I do not want these associations to be a fixation in the critique of my work, yet understand that due to the often subjective relationship between viewer and art, this is not something that I can control, and may be an inevitable distraction from the multiple layers of meaning and intent present in the work itself.
As I am a woman and an artist, I know that my own human experience is subconsciously (as well as of course consciously, when I choose it) reflected and mirrored in my work. Humans are sexual beings. Our artwork will mirror this with sexual components, as it reflects our nature, experience, and identity.
In all three of my thesis paintings, there is a corporeal element, a visceral nature to the work and in general, a figurative quality to the abstractions. I have always been drawn to the figure and body (as, up until recently, I have been primarily a figurative painter), and especially the female figure with its voluptuous and curvilinear forms. Also, for this thesis work, as I have previously mentioned, I have been thinking of the nature of the womb itself, and the concept of the WombSpace, which is especially reflected in the womb-like interior space present in TimeSpace 3.
The womb is an internal space, yet it holds life within it. A body is created and nurtured in this “abstract space”, this WombSpace. The body then comes to a certain maturity and travels from this internal reality, this internal time and space, through the birth canal and out into the external reality which is our physical, everyday world as we know it.
Within the body itself smaller and smaller forms exist: cells, fluids, particles, energy… also reaching into the microscopic in scale. Within our bodies also there exist internal passageways. Blood flows through arteries from the heart, our life force, pumping it through our bodies and propelling our motion, keeping us alive and functioning. This, however, only is a mention of the physical components of the body, not including the soul, the “heart,” the mind.
The abstractions speak not only of the outer realities, but also of these inner realities which comprise our lives and existence.
Immortality: The Ancient Egyptians.
Death is a passageway from this current reality to the theoretical “next” reality, or the “afterlife.” The Ancient Egyptians were fixated on the idea of the Afterlife, the Eternal. Everything in their art pointed to the ultimate goal of attaining immortality. As we see in their art objects, their art focused on the concept of an eternal existence after death. Not only did it speak of this eternal afterlife, but the art provided these ancient peoples with tools and guidebooks, instructions for reaching the afterlife, navigating through the initial passage through the underworld, and also illustrated the nature of this eternal reality. The Ancient Egyptians believed that in this new world, the reality they would now be living in would still be a physical one (an extension of the physical world which they knew), yet its components would transcend those of the previous. For example, vegetation would be grander, life would be better, rivers and waters more abundant. This is of course similar to the concept of a “heaven” in other religions today. The Ancient Egyptians, however, placed significant weight on the believed truth that the ones who would travel over to this new world would need things from their physical lives in the next existence as well. They would need not only their bodies (hence the practice of mummification), but their possessions, their tools, food, and other items in this new life, as it was believed to be a physical one as well, an extension of the previous.
Osiris, the god of the Underworld, is the primary model of this , and the myth associated with the resurrection of his body is the primary inspiration for this Ancient Egyptian practice of mummification, the science of which is integrated with the funerary arts of these ancient peoples.
The Amduat.
The Amduat is a “book” of instructions for the initial journey into and through the underworld, as written by the Ancient Egyptians. At the Portland Art Museum, at my Thesis Advisor’s request, I visited the Quest for Immortality Exhibit, where a reconstruction of the Amduat was installed.
I was enthralled with the experience of entering and exploring this installation (in fact, I made it a point to visit the exhibit several times in order to conduct my research). The walls of the recreated tomb were covered with Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, in a readable “book” which separated time (and space) into twelve hours. The pharaoh, in the Amduat, is shown as traveling through a certain time and space (that of the underworld, immediately after his death) on a boat, the Solar Boat. On this boat, the pharaoh embarks on a “perilous and dangerous journey” through the underworld, a quest to ultimately be united with and emerge as the Sun God. The passageways are rendered in a linear and horizontal fashion, and the book is divided into a linear grid, with motion shown and read from left to right.
In the final hour of the Amduat, the Pharaoh is pulled through the body of a snake, entering into the tail and emerging out of the head of the snake as the Sun God, symbolized by a scarab beetle. Osiris is pictured in this final hour as well, residing and reigning permanently in the underworld.
The snake in this final hour of the Amduat is the passageway through which the Pharaoh travels. Within this passageway, he undergoes a transformation, a regeneration. In essence, the Pharaoh is traveling from one reality and TimeSpace to another, new reality and state of existence. This directly correlates with my thesis work Bodies moving and residing within space-time have the potential for transformation, rebirth, and regeneration. As artists, we are able to mirror this, to create forms and, through the process of painting, change, morph, abstract, destroy, and even recreate (or in a sense resurrect) them.
The Liminal Waistline
The passage from one reality to the next speaks of a fluidity, a continuity, as well as paradoxically a segmentation between cycles or transition states of existence. Life/Death, Creation/Birth/Rebirth, Suspension/Movement: these are all transitions which may be experienced within this realm. The midpoint between each of these states of being is what I would like to call a “tension point”: the “waistline” of the hourglass, the midpoint of the infinity symbol, the vaginal opening perhaps or birth canal, the snake’s tail. In other terms, this “tension point” is also the “liminal” state of being.
In my thesis work as well, beginning with the form of an hourglass, we see a concavity, and symmetrical to it, convexity, which then creates this “waistline” or liminal passage in between. When peering into an inverted hourglass, so that you as the viewer have the “bird’s eye” view, you are in essence peering into a concave form, which, when traveling through with your gaze, carries you through the convex side progressively. The transition area in between, or the “waist” of the hourglass, is this sort of tunnel, channel, passageway.
Huge concave or concave shapes within visual work may cause a disorienting experience for the viewer. The viewer’s perspective within the environment is distorted and removed from that of everyday life, as the illusory nature of the convexity or concavity pulls the viewer into a direct relationship with the piece. Where does the viewer stop and the piece begin, and vice versa? Is the viewer in effect pulled into a liminal state?
Conclusion.
I have attempted to reach toward the central core of this thesis work through several different fields, models, theories, equations, diagrams, and visual renderings of form. This unification of different fields of study and methods of attack is an attempt to grasp one central conceptual focus or intent.
These varied and diverse fields, when investigated, are like many arrows pointing towards a central and shared truth. This correlates with the linear elements which point inward and guide the viewer’s gaze through the passageways in my paintings, from, within, and into infinity. This also ties to the essence, nature, and exploration of the eternal.
Also paralleling these arrows conceptually are the paintings themselves: three different passageways, varied in approach, through abstraction, opening further into infinite space and time, rendered with the medium of oil paint on canvas. There is considerable variation in the handling of the paint, perspectival relation to the viewer, and methods of abstraction. This differentiation present between the paintings and their components (intrinsic, natural, and crucial to each of their independent resolutions) allows for the flexibility, liveliness, and uniqueness of each piece and its creation, setting each painting apart as its own approach to a complex conceptual puzzle.
Each work, however, is ultimately striving to attain the same goal. This goal is that of relating to and engaging the viewer in an intense, wild, and experiential journey through its passageways, evoking a sense of the infinite, relating and alluding to ideas of the eternal. In addition, I hope the work may serve as a catalyst to further contemplation of the seemingly infinite potential not only within the traditional medium of oil paint, but also that which lies within abstraction and form, and especially in each one of us as artists and human beings. My hope is that we continually strive towards bigger, better, into what lies beyond.
Are we reflected in the specks on a canvas? How universal is our journey? Each individual speck in a painting has meaning, purpose, and impact, just as each of us does. Combined, the specks, globs, lines, and spaces form visually resonant symphonies within a universe in motion, traveling, continually changing, evolving, realizing its potential, dancing through infinity.
We have seen that there is an intrinsic organic or even visceral quality to each of the thesis paintings. The viewer may relate navigating the work to traveling through the human interior, making associations with arteries and internal passageways. In this way, the interior of the human body becomes the infinite, and infinity is then related to residing within each one of us.
Perhaps we do not have to reach too far outside of ourselves to journey to limitless “places” and realize our full potential into limitless possibilities. Perhaps we only have to journey into ourselves and into our hearts, souls, and minds. Through this inward journey, we may experience darkness, we may fall into light, we may realize our true nature, and we may realize the importance of reaching beyond ourselves. In doing so, we may glimpse or touch the Infinite, the Eternal, and quite possibly, the Divine.
……………………
Curvilinear and spiraling compositions have always been intriguing to me and are as natural to my painting as breathing. There is an organic quality to these compositional forms, which may be considered as “feminine”.
Are these thesis works, therefore, inherently sexual, sensual? Do the vortex spaces rendered also connotate the human female anatomy? Are they “merely” multiple vaginas so to speak, as I am merely a female painter?
I am not blind to these associations, and would like to address them. I do find that the paintings exhibit an intense sexuality and allude to the feminine sexual experience: the passageway as vaginal opening and canal, and the penetration of this with the viewer’s gaze, which of course has both a violent and sexual implication. I do not mind the erotic and sensual components present and in fact am intrigued by them, often choosing to explore rather than stifle or negate them.
The work, however, by no means ends there. These associations have the tendency to become accusations, implications that work exhibiting any sort of “femininity” or female sexuality, created by women, is somehow inferior to that of male artists, or work that is not overtly sexual or sensual in any way. I do not understand why this is or why the art created by women would be considered any less valid or deserving of respect than that of men, whether or not it relates to themes and forms stereotypically gendered as “female”. This is oppressive, wrong, and ignorant. I do not want these associations to be a fixation in the critique of my work, yet understand that due to the often subjective relationship between viewer and art, this is not something that I can control, and may be an inevitable distraction from the multiple layers of meaning and intent present in the work itself.
As I am a woman and an artist, I know that my own human experience is subconsciously (as well as of course consciously, when I choose it) reflected and mirrored in my work. Humans are sexual beings. Our artwork will mirror this with sexual components, as it reflects our nature, experience, and identity.
In all three of my thesis paintings, there is a corporeal element, a visceral nature to the work and in general, a figurative quality to the abstractions. I have always been drawn to the figure and body (as, up until recently, I have been primarily a figurative painter), and especially the female figure with its voluptuous and curvilinear forms. Also, for this thesis work, as I have previously mentioned, I have been thinking of the nature of the womb itself, and the concept of the WombSpace, which is especially reflected in the womb-like interior space present in TimeSpace 3.
The womb is an internal space, yet it holds life within it. A body is created and nurtured in this “abstract space”, this WombSpace. The body then comes to a certain maturity and travels from this internal reality, this internal time and space, through the birth canal and out into the external reality which is our physical, everyday world as we know it.
Within the body itself smaller and smaller forms exist: cells, fluids, particles, energy… also reaching into the microscopic in scale. Within our bodies also there exist internal passageways. Blood flows through arteries from the heart, our life force, pumping it through our bodies and propelling our motion, keeping us alive and functioning. This, however, only is a mention of the physical components of the body, not including the soul, the “heart,” the mind.
The abstractions speak not only of the outer realities, but also of these inner realities which comprise our lives and existence.
Immortality: The Ancient Egyptians.
Death is a passageway from this current reality to the theoretical “next” reality, or the “afterlife.” The Ancient Egyptians were fixated on the idea of the Afterlife, the Eternal. Everything in their art pointed to the ultimate goal of attaining immortality. As we see in their art objects, their art focused on the concept of an eternal existence after death. Not only did it speak of this eternal afterlife, but the art provided these ancient peoples with tools and guidebooks, instructions for reaching the afterlife, navigating through the initial passage through the underworld, and also illustrated the nature of this eternal reality. The Ancient Egyptians believed that in this new world, the reality they would now be living in would still be a physical one (an extension of the physical world which they knew), yet its components would transcend those of the previous. For example, vegetation would be grander, life would be better, rivers and waters more abundant. This is of course similar to the concept of a “heaven” in other religions today. The Ancient Egyptians, however, placed significant weight on the believed truth that the ones who would travel over to this new world would need things from their physical lives in the next existence as well. They would need not only their bodies (hence the practice of mummification), but their possessions, their tools, food, and other items in this new life, as it was believed to be a physical one as well, an extension of the previous.
Osiris, the god of the Underworld, is the primary model of this , and the myth associated with the resurrection of his body is the primary inspiration for this Ancient Egyptian practice of mummification, the science of which is integrated with the funerary arts of these ancient peoples.
The Amduat.
The Amduat is a “book” of instructions for the initial journey into and through the underworld, as written by the Ancient Egyptians. At the Portland Art Museum, at my Thesis Advisor’s request, I visited the Quest for Immortality Exhibit, where a reconstruction of the Amduat was installed.
I was enthralled with the experience of entering and exploring this installation (in fact, I made it a point to visit the exhibit several times in order to conduct my research). The walls of the recreated tomb were covered with Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, in a readable “book” which separated time (and space) into twelve hours. The pharaoh, in the Amduat, is shown as traveling through a certain time and space (that of the underworld, immediately after his death) on a boat, the Solar Boat. On this boat, the pharaoh embarks on a “perilous and dangerous journey” through the underworld, a quest to ultimately be united with and emerge as the Sun God. The passageways are rendered in a linear and horizontal fashion, and the book is divided into a linear grid, with motion shown and read from left to right.
In the final hour of the Amduat, the Pharaoh is pulled through the body of a snake, entering into the tail and emerging out of the head of the snake as the Sun God, symbolized by a scarab beetle. Osiris is pictured in this final hour as well, residing and reigning permanently in the underworld.
The snake in this final hour of the Amduat is the passageway through which the Pharaoh travels. Within this passageway, he undergoes a transformation, a regeneration. In essence, the Pharaoh is traveling from one reality and TimeSpace to another, new reality and state of existence. This directly correlates with my thesis work Bodies moving and residing within space-time have the potential for transformation, rebirth, and regeneration. As artists, we are able to mirror this, to create forms and, through the process of painting, change, morph, abstract, destroy, and even recreate (or in a sense resurrect) them.
The Liminal Waistline
The passage from one reality to the next speaks of a fluidity, a continuity, as well as paradoxically a segmentation between cycles or transition states of existence. Life/Death, Creation/Birth/Rebirth, Suspension/Movement: these are all transitions which may be experienced within this realm. The midpoint between each of these states of being is what I would like to call a “tension point”: the “waistline” of the hourglass, the midpoint of the infinity symbol, the vaginal opening perhaps or birth canal, the snake’s tail. In other terms, this “tension point” is also the “liminal” state of being.
In my thesis work as well, beginning with the form of an hourglass, we see a concavity, and symmetrical to it, convexity, which then creates this “waistline” or liminal passage in between. When peering into an inverted hourglass, so that you as the viewer have the “bird’s eye” view, you are in essence peering into a concave form, which, when traveling through with your gaze, carries you through the convex side progressively. The transition area in between, or the “waist” of the hourglass, is this sort of tunnel, channel, passageway.
Huge concave or concave shapes within visual work may cause a disorienting experience for the viewer. The viewer’s perspective within the environment is distorted and removed from that of everyday life, as the illusory nature of the convexity or concavity pulls the viewer into a direct relationship with the piece. Where does the viewer stop and the piece begin, and vice versa? Is the viewer in effect pulled into a liminal state?
Conclusion.
I have attempted to reach toward the central core of this thesis work through several different fields, models, theories, equations, diagrams, and visual renderings of form. This unification of different fields of study and methods of attack is an attempt to grasp one central conceptual focus or intent.
These varied and diverse fields, when investigated, are like many arrows pointing towards a central and shared truth. This correlates with the linear elements which point inward and guide the viewer’s gaze through the passageways in my paintings, from, within, and into infinity. This also ties to the essence, nature, and exploration of the eternal.
Also paralleling these arrows conceptually are the paintings themselves: three different passageways, varied in approach, through abstraction, opening further into infinite space and time, rendered with the medium of oil paint on canvas. There is considerable variation in the handling of the paint, perspectival relation to the viewer, and methods of abstraction. This differentiation present between the paintings and their components (intrinsic, natural, and crucial to each of their independent resolutions) allows for the flexibility, liveliness, and uniqueness of each piece and its creation, setting each painting apart as its own approach to a complex conceptual puzzle.
Each work, however, is ultimately striving to attain the same goal. This goal is that of relating to and engaging the viewer in an intense, wild, and experiential journey through its passageways, evoking a sense of the infinite, relating and alluding to ideas of the eternal. In addition, I hope the work may serve as a catalyst to further contemplation of the seemingly infinite potential not only within the traditional medium of oil paint, but also that which lies within abstraction and form, and especially in each one of us as artists and human beings. My hope is that we continually strive towards bigger, better, into what lies beyond.
Are we reflected in the specks on a canvas? How universal is our journey? Each individual speck in a painting has meaning, purpose, and impact, just as each of us does. Combined, the specks, globs, lines, and spaces form visually resonant symphonies within a universe in motion, traveling, continually changing, evolving, realizing its potential, dancing through infinity.
We have seen that there is an intrinsic organic or even visceral quality to each of the thesis paintings. The viewer may relate navigating the work to traveling through the human interior, making associations with arteries and internal passageways. In this way, the interior of the human body becomes the infinite, and infinity is then related to residing within each one of us.
Perhaps we do not have to reach too far outside of ourselves to journey to limitless “places” and realize our full potential into limitless possibilities. Perhaps we only have to journey into ourselves and into our hearts, souls, and minds. Through this inward journey, we may experience darkness, we may fall into light, we may realize our true nature, and we may realize the importance of reaching beyond ourselves. In doing so, we may glimpse or touch the Infinite, the Eternal, and quite possibly, the Divine.
……………………