I created this painting for a class in my visual arts diploma. So much research and thought went into this painting. Even leaving the piece untitled was a conscious decision. It's all abstract symbolism, so if you prefer to gaze at paintings and come to your own conclusion, read no further. You can consider the artist dead, in that case. However, if you want to take a peek into my brain and see how I came up with this, I'd love for you to keep reading.
Artists that directly inspired this painting were Piet Mondrian mainly, along with Hilma af Klint, though I was also inspired by my research into psychology, history, and philosophy.
Initial artist research: Piet Mondrian
Piet Mondrian was a Dutch artist who lived and worked in the Netherlands, Paris, and New York City. He was born in the Netherlands on the 7th of March, 1872, and died in New York City, USA, on the 1st of February, 1944, at the age of 71. Mondrian was involved in many movements, both in his artistic career and his personal life.
He was an abstract artist, mostly, working within the movement ‘De Stijl’, or ‘The Style’, in which Mondrian was prominent, and Neoplasticism, in which Mondrian was a founder. Mondrian is more known now for his work during the Neoplasticism movement, which focussed on the most elemental principles of art. These Compositions are his paintings with black lines and square and rectangles in primary colours.
Composition with Red, Yellow and Blue
Piet Mondrian, 1930
Oil on canvas
This painting is part of Mondrian’s work in Neoplasticism. Painting with black, white, and the primary colours, Mondrian is distilling colour down to its essence. While he didn’t seem to ascribe heavy symbolism to the colours themselves, Mondrian saw red as being more “real” and “earthy”. (p205, Blotkamp, 1994)
The expression of colour is very strong in these paintings of Mondrian’s, and they are in the style for which Mondrian is best known. Now, Mondrian’s work is associated with modernism, largely because of Yves Saint Laurent’s Mondrian collection in 1965, which used Compositions.
Mondrian was a dedicated Theosophist throughout his life, a member of the Theosophy Society from 1909. Many of Mondrian’s paintings were inspired by his theosophical beliefs, especially those painted after 1909. This is expressed through the symbolism included by Mondrian. Overall, Mondrian’s artistic style can be described as symbolic and precise, highly considered, and metaphysical.
Evolution
Piet Mondrian, 1910-1911
Triptych, oil on canvas
“Influential painter, Pieter Cornelis ‘Piet’ Mondrian (1872-1944), became a member of the Dutch section of the Theosophical Society in 1909 and much of the artist’s work for the rest of his life was inspired by his search for that spiritual knowledge. While Mondrian was still experimenting with Symbolist art, he painted Evolution – a triptych that made use of mystical triangles, hexagons, and Stars of David. The images, from left to right, depict a movement from the material to the spiritual, a common concept in Theosophy.”
p128, Elisabeth, 2020
This slightly contrasts with Blotkamp’s text, which reads the paintings in the following order from the left: 1, 3, 2, and points out that the middle canvas is taller and positioned slightly higher than the other two. From this reading, the middle painting is the final “state of supreme insight” (p54, Blotkamp, 1994).
The shapes in this triptych and faces on each of the figures are fascinating. I can see where Mondrian is going with his art, as in the journey between this artwork, which is dabbling in cubism, and his future Compositions with primary colours. It’s so different, but there is still a limited palette, the execution is still precise, and Mondrian is still conveying meaning. In Evolution, Mondrian is leaning heavily on symbolism, but it’s abstract enough that the artwork isn’t didactic.
Lighthouse in Westkapelle
Piet Mondrian, 1910
Oil on canvas
The church-tower is here purely as a symbol of “spiritual edification found in cultures the world over”, rather than a place-making or context-making device (p49, Blotkamp, 1994). Earlier paintings treat churches more figuratively.
The pointillism and colour palette in this painting drew my eye, mainly because of the light. For me, it feels like a peaceful moment, like monk in prayer. This was the first artwork that directly inspired my painting.
Research: Carl Jung and archetypes
Carl Jung (1875-1961) was a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, a contemporary of Sigmund Freud. According to The Jung Page, a website full of Jungian resources, Jung was “one of the creators of modern depth psychology, which seeks to facilitate a conversation with the unconscious energies which move through each of us.” (Hollis, J., n.d.)
One of the things I got to understand about Jungian theory was about archetypes, concepts that tend to pop up in human stories and seem to be a part of the human psyche. For example:
- The mother
- The woman
- The trickster
- The quester
- The shadow
- The old man
- The alchemist
People can find these archetype images within themselves, as motifs in patterns or behaviours, and are primarily metaphorical. (The Jung Page, n.d.)
Research: Theosophy & the occult
Theosophy is a religion, founded in 19th Century USA by Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, who was a Russian mystic, and there is substantial evidence that many of Blavatsky’s claims were fraudulent. Theosophy itself is complex, and you could argue that it’s purposefully so. As I understand it, Theosophy teaches that there is a secret brotherhood of spiritual ‘Masters’ – all spiritually or physically centred in Tibet – with wisdom and supernatural powers, who all telepathically shared their knowledge with Blavatsky, that there is an ancient doctrine that lies at the centre of every religion, so ancient that it comes from a time when religion and science were united, and this doctrine is the truth.
Theosophy goes deep into some different beliefs, like the different races before modern humans existed, and some problematic stuff, like the concept of an Aryan race that Nazis ended up co-opting into their dogma. But essentially, Theosophy is a blend of religious beliefs, and strives to unite religious and philosophical beliefs, and the scientific world – a blend of theoretical and practical – leading to “a threefold life of service, study, and meditation.” (Algeo, 1981)
Inspiration image:
Photograph of a Thought
Charles Lacey, c. 1894
Oil and metal leaf on canvas
“Spiritualists and psychics used the new medium of photography to produce such images that they claimed showed the effect, or presence, of human thoughts, or spirits. Pictured here is a ‘Thoughtograph’, or psychic photograph, produced by British Spiritualist Charles Lacey, with the ghostly figure of a human visible in the centre.”
p206, Elisabeth, 2020
The image above delights me, from the idea behind it, to the colours, to the overall composition. There is a sense of mystery and spiritualism, and it looks like opals. When I saw Photograph of a Thought, I immediately thought of opals.
Reference image:
Australian opals
Opals have always been precious to me, since I was a child, and I’ve always associated the stone with spirituality. They flash with different colours in a mesmerising way, like a solid rainbow.
Opals have been prized by humans for thousands of years, all over the world, from East Africa, to the ancient Romans in 250 BC, to the indigenous dreamtime stories in Australia that feature opal. (Geosciences Australia, n.d.) Although opal is also found in South America, Central America, and the USA, I didn’t find information about the early history of opals in those areas.
The opal has carried many meanings, including:
- Love and hope (Ancient Rome)
- The gift of prophecy and a guard against disease (Ancient Greece)
- Hope, purity, truth (Europe)
Meanings I find in opals: spiritualism, change, alchemy, water, fire.
Group X, No. 1, Altarpiece
Hilma af Klint, 1915
Oil and metal leaf on canvas
This artwork is part of a collection that af Klint called Paintings for the Temple, which I understand is a reference to the Anthroposophical Society, of which af Klint was a member (an Anthroposophist), which is, for all intents and purposes, loosely connected with Theosophy and the Theosophical Society.
I don’t know very much about this painting, but I know there are many symbols within it, from the seventeen levels of the pyramid’s face, to its pinnacle, to the sun, haloed in purple and green, rising or setting behind the pyramid. Everything about this painting is about af Klint’s Anthroposophical beliefs (The Hilma af Klint Foundation, n.d.). I find its reliance on symbolism to convey meaning to be captivating.
Personal story that adds context to the work
I was brought up in a very non-religious household, but my best friend’s family was a completely different story. We grew up across the road from each other and spent all our free time together. They were a catholic family, and I remember my best friend and her brother frequently being called in before sunset for baths, so they could go to church.
They eventually became something that looked less traditionally Catholic, and more New Age. My best friend's mum started doing tarot readings for people, practicing reiki, and collecting books that were fascinating to me as a child. I was already reading everything I could get my hands on, and now I was reading about crystals, Ancient Egyptian mythology, spirit guides, and fairies. I also started becoming interested in geology, archaeology, spirituality, and mythology and history in general.
Reference image and inspiration:
Tomb of Seti 1, Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt.
This tomb ceiling is covered in stars. Along with the rest of the artwork on the walls of this tomb, this starry ceiling is meant to convey part of the journey towards the west, echoing the path of the sun, or into the Underworld.
Experiments with stamps and stencils
No matter what tool I used to apply the paint (brush, sponge, roller), I kept getting bleeding through the stencil. I ended up deciding to try a stamping method instead.
I ended up making a stamp out of a glass candle holder, blu-tac, and PVA glue, and I was happier with these results, overall. The key to a successful stamping is the light, even application of paint.
Painting progression
After I painted the background, I drew these marks to measure out the grids and circles.
Stamping the stars onto the background with gold acrylic paint.
Filling in the circle outlines (opals) with acrylic paint, mixed with glaze.
Once I finished painting in the circles initially, I added new details with heavily glazed acrylic paints. This is to start adding coloured textures to the opals.
Once I added the last of the different colours for the opals, I added a light blue glaze layer over the opals, for extra dimension.
You can see how I’m using the light blue glazing to direct the eye into the middle of the canvas. I then added the white highlights on top of the opals, as well as the shadows below the opals.
Here are the last few details, the Brisbane River, the gold triangle, and the golden journey marks.
Final images
Untitled, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 90cm
Close up detail
My painting is all about meaning, and humans making meaning. It is totally subjective, as in, I’m happy for other people to gain other meanings from it. If I need to spell out the symbolism as it is, we have the aspect of time, from the Ancient Egyptian stars, to the geometric and modern-looking circles, to the straight journey lines. There is context that can be found in the Brisbane River. We have the symbol of womanhood in the triangle. The opals represent change and elemental aspects, like fire and water, as well as the earth from which they originate.
The original statement for my painting was: “Magic is to the placebo effect, as ritual is to tradition.” We don’t know how the placebo effect works, only that it can certainly work, and it doesn’t mean that the patient wasn’t originally sick, just that the brain has the ability to heal its body itself. With my statement, I am suggesting that magic may work for the same reason that the placebo effect can work, and with ritual and tradition, I am drawing a parallel between magical human actions and significant human actions, in that magic is a meaning created by humans.
