The idea here is a beautified, glorified, abstractified column. It became apparent to me as I was exploring other design configurations. This piece is derived from, believe it or not, Ataraxy (version 1). Of course I combined Ataraxy with a few layers of other material. Another example of that result is the piece I posted here back in August, 2015, called Galactic Template (version 2).
As far as common history is concerned, the architectural usage of columns dates back to ancient Egyptian times of around 3000 BCE. The ancient empire of Egypt is said to have originated in that time period. I only theorize that there could have been great civilizations, not alluded to in contemporary history books, that existed thousands, and perhaps tens of thousands, of years prior to ancient Egypt. Associate professor Robert M. Schoch has done considerable research revealing civilizations our current model of history ignores.
I chose to post this piece now because I had noticed my recent usage of the word “column” in my micro-blogging. My blogging is, of course, influenced heavily by what I notice going on in the world, and by other professional bloggers whose information and insights I value. I like to rely on my intuitive sense of informational flows; one way I do that is by noticing repeating patterns, including words, sounds, and images… even feelings. Perhaps especially feelings, as feelings are the place from which most people make decisions anyway.
A column can define a column in a newspaper, or it can define the architectural noun. To me, a column is a symbol of strength, civilization, calculation, order, governance, continuity, and stability. Perhaps this sense is intended to be communicated by journalists’ official use of columns.
At the bottom left and right of this picture are what appear to be stalks of grass, composed of black mosaic pieces. Or maybe they are skeletal impressions of hands beginning to cup and shroud the base of the column. Anyway, whether if the finger-tips of grass, or the phalanges of hands, they look like they are moving into a praying clasp. Hence, the title for this piece: Prayer of a Pillar.
The metaphorical, amorphic fingers merely suggest the form of hands as if each mosaic piece is obeying the non-physical commands of an unseen field moving them to pray. I’ve seen imaginary depictions of what it looked like in ancient Egyptian buildings and temples, and it appears that Egyptian artisans and their governing priesthoods liked to use bright, bold colors to fill in the shapes, forms, hieroglyphs, and figures engraved on their walls and pillars. So my idea of a column here has a more Eastern and ancient character to it, rather than a Western, colorless, marble quality.
This piece has a lot of detail in it—a quality I wanted to achieve—with an appealing sense of balance and order. As many other pieces of mine, this work looks like it could be a still of a kaleidoscope. I also like to imagine that you are looking through a microscope at an exotic, alien world other than what you might normally see as cells and microscopic debris. After all, one of my original pieces in the Micro-Chimerisms series is titled Microscopic Works of Light.
I may add that the black mosaic phalanges coming up into a prayer formation at the bottom of this illustration can also be seen as the petals of a lotus flower. The lotus flower is an Eastern symbol of enlightenment, as they blossom on the surfaces of muddy bodies of water; from the depths of darkness, illusion, suffering, and mud is born enlightenment. So I’m really combining the Western prayer, the column of strength, and an Eastern symbol of enlightenment here.
These layers of materials, collages, drawings, and texts, along with multiple multi-layered symbols creates an idea I want to communicate to you: That we are multi-dimensional beings who perceive multiple meanings in the vast perceptions we receive and emit everyday.
Art of eVan 