Being comfortable with calling myself an artist happened very recently. I have been drawing and painting since I was old enough to hold a crayon, but never considered myself an artist. It may have been imposter syndrome, but only in the past couple years have I fully embraced the title of artist, that I am one, and allowed myself to really lean into that. I feel like accepting that title has allowed me to break past some barriers I had unknowingly placed onto myself.
The Hermit. Acrylic on panel.Gentle. Acrylic on Panel.
I love history, folklore and nature. I go on hikes to be inspired and try to paint this unwritten language that is inside each of us. The one that connects us to our core and our roots with Mother Earth, and shows that every living creature is connected.
Bearn. Oil on canvas.
My greatest love is oil, but I’m very eclectic in my studio. Some things can only be brought to life in oil, some in acrylic, some in ink and some in relief printing or clay.
Bittersweet. Acrylic on panel.
I’m constantly inspired by other artists and there are so many great ones. The very first artist that made me believe I could do this was Brian Froud. My family couldn’t afford his amazing books when I was a kid, so my grandma would take me to the bookstore and I would sit in the aisle and pour over them. As an adult I’ve collected almost all of his work and he is a huge inspiration for me. He makes magic seem possible.
The Witches Assistant. Oil on canvas.
I grew up on fantasy and historical fiction. Middle Earth and Hogwarts were my safe places as a kid. I still read Tolkien over and over. Edgar Allen Poe shows beauty in darkness, which is a theme I explore a lot in my work. Susanna Kearsley and Simone St. James are both incredible historical fiction authors. I collect books about mythology, spirits, history, Paganism and folklore; much of the symbolism I find in them ends up in my work. I would have a full library at my house if I could.
A Second Look at Leary’s Eight-Circuit Model: Gurdjieff’s Law of Octaves and the Tarot P.D. Newman Along with Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil, Timothy Leary was part of what has been called “the Harvard Psychedelic Club.” Fired from his position at Harvard University for failing to attend scheduled class lectures, Leary is perhaps best known as being one of the most vocal advocates of lysergic acid diethylamide (better known as LSD-25), an extremely powerful hallucinogenic drug which Leary et alii helped to popularize during the revolutionary sixties. He was also part of the Harvard Psilocybin Project, which Leary organized following a trip to Mexico during which he was administered psilocybin mushrooms. He later recalled of this experience that he had: learned more about [his] brain and its possibilities [and] more about psychology in the five hours after taking these mushrooms than…in the preceding fifteen years of studying and doing research in psychology. The Harvard Psilocybin Project went on to conduct the famous Concord Prison Experiment, which evaluated whether psilocybin paired with psychotherapy could successfully rehabilitate repeat offenders, and the Marsh Chapel Experiment, which sought to discover if psilocybin could reliably induce mystical experiences in religiously predisposed theology students. In 1963, Leary helped initiate the Millbrook Experiment, an enormous mansion located in New York where residents spent their days experimenting with psychedelic drugs and living according to the teachings of Armenian mystic, G.I. Gurdjieff. To Gurdjieff, we’ll return below. These experiments, impressive and novel as they were, are not the good doctor’s sole claims to fame, however. During one of his many incarcerations, in 1972, Dr. Leary developed a new theoretical model of the evolution of life on earth—and of individual human consciousness—which he called the ‘Eight Brain’ or ‘Eight Circuit’ model. Popularized by Discordian Pope, Robert Anton Wilson, Leary’s Eight Circuit model postulates that all life on earth (and indeed in the entire cosmos) evolves through a series of eight successive ‘circuits.’ This same eight-fold process, Leary adds, is recapitulated in the development of consciousness within an individual human being. Just as the human embryo at various times manifests as unicellular, possessed of gills, having a tail, etc., so too does individual conscious unfold through the same successive stages of evolution. Divided into Terrestrial and Post-Terrestrial phases, Leary’s eight ‘circuits’ unfold as follows: Terrestrial: 1. The Bio-Survival (Marine Consciousness) Circuit 2. The Emotion-Locomotion Terrestrial-Mammalian (Territorial Consciousness) Circuit 3. The Symbolic-Artifactual (Laryngeal-Muscular Consciousness) Circuit 4. The Industrial (Socio-Sexual Consciousness) Circuit Post-Terrestrial 5. The Cyber-Somatic (Body Consciousness) Circuit 6. The Cyber-Electronic (Brain Consciousness) Circuit 7. The Cyber-Genetic (DNA Consciousness) Circuit 8. The Cyber-Atomic (Quantum Consciousness) Circuit Without entering into too much detail regarding the function of these ‘Brains,’ it is sufficient to say that each of the eight ‘circuits’ are further divided into three successive stages (thus giving us twenty-four) of what Leary calls “con-telligence.” Con–telligence is defined as “the reception (consciousness), integration, and transmission of energy signals.” The three stages of con–telligence applied to each of the unfolding circuits then constitute the twenty-four phases of the awareness, mastery, and communication-fusion of each new evolutionary technology—from spineless, floating amoeboid (as well as newborn infant) to meta-physiological nano-technician at the “violet hole” found at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The people who represent these various stages of evolution Leary refers to as ‘castes.’ In an attempt to “relate the psychology of the ancient, pre-scientific world with modern notions of stages [and] phases,” Leary was wont to apply his twenty-four periods of evolution to the Major Arcana of the Tarot, wherein he perceived a clear reflection of his own model. For example, to illustrate the three-stage ‘con-telligence’ of Circuit I, Leary employed The Fool, The Magician, and The Empress cards. In illustration of the con-telligence of Circuit II, he used The High Priestess, The Emperor, and the Hierophant, etc. However, there’s just one problem with this arrangement. The Major Arcana are possessed of only twenty-two cards, leading Leary, to the horror of every Tarot purist in the world, to invent two brand new Major Arcana cards: Starmaker and Violet Whole. As hip and groovy as these two additions no doubt are, they may not have been necessary. Had Leary paid closer attention to his Gurdjieff while residing at Millbrook—or to the Ouspensky title (In Search of the Miraculous) that Charlie Manson slipped him while in solitary confinement at Folsom Prison—he might have thought to apply the sequence of Tarot’s Major Arcana cards to Gurdjieff’s Heptaparaparshinokh, aka his Law of Octaves.
According to the Law of Octaves, everything in the universe that happens or can happen manifests according to a fixed set of cyclic vibrations, called octaves. From the initial impulse of a given thing to that thing’s final completion, this constitutes an octave; that is, from do (start) to do (finish) in the Ionian mode (do re mi fa sol la ti do) constitutes a given octave. Whether it is the birth and death of a galaxy or the beginning and end of an acid trip, taken as a unit, each of these phenomena would constitute its own octave. Considered in the key of C major (which Gurdjieff obviously intends), it becomes evident that a given octave is possessed not only of eight steps, but also of two intervals. For, every note in the C major scale is followed by a sharp—save two: mi and ti. Unlike the other six tones, mi and ti, rather than being followed by semitones, move directly into the following whole notes. To compensate for these ‘intervals,’ in order to complete a given octave, Gurdjieff postulates that two “additional shocks” are required. P.D. Ouspensky, an early student of Gurdjieff, writes: In an ascending octave the first ‘interval’ comes between mi and fa. If corresponding additional energy enters at this point the octave will develop without hindrance to [ti], but between [ti] and do it needs a much stronger ‘additional shock’ for its right development than between mi and fa, because the vibrations of the octave at this point are of a considerably higher pitch and to overcome a check in the development of the octave a greater intensity is needed. It is our understanding that an ‘additional shock’ in an ascending (evolutionary) octave may be constituted by anything from a physical or emotional trauma, a mental break with mundane reality, a mystical initiation, a ritual working, or even by a psychedelic experience. It is the application of ‘super effort’ at two points in an ‘octave’ that will aid in bringing its process to completion.
Possessed of eight steps and two ‘intervals,’ Gurdjieff’s Law of Octaves neatly solves the problem of what Leary saw as two ‘missing cards.’ If we allot the cards of the Major Arcana in sets of three to Leary’s eight ‘circuits’ while keeping true to Gurdjieff’s Law of Octaves, we arrive at the arrangement below. Let the Arabic numerals indicate Leary’s Eight Circuit model. Let the Roman numerals represent those attributed to the Major Arcana cards. Let the asterisks represent Gurdjieff’s ‘additional shocks.’
1. 0 – I – II (do)
III – IV – V (re)
VI – VII – * (mi)
VIII – IX – X (fa)
XI – XII – XIII (sol)
XIV – XV – XVI (la)
XVII – XVIII – * (ti)
XIX – XX – XXI (do) As the reader may observe, these ‘shocks’ fall into the ‘transmission’ (per his theory of ‘con-telligence’) slots of Leary’s third (Symbolic-Artifactual) and seventh (Cyber-Genetic) circuits, precisely in the places where the ‘additional shocks’ are necessitated, per Gurdjieff’s Law of Octaves—no invention of cards required. The suggestion here is that ‘additional shocks’ serve as bridges for the transmission gaps between a) the integration phase of the Symbolic-Artifactual Circuit and the reception phase of the Industrial Circuit and b) the integration phase of the Cyber-Genetic Circuit and the reception phase of the Cyber-Atomic Circuit—thus providing the individual (and the species) with the momentum necessary to break the barriers between one evolutionary circuit and the next. In the Tarot, these ‘shocks’ appear between a) The Chariot and Strength and b) The Moon and The Sun cards. In the system popularized by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, The Chariot corresponds to the zodiac sign Cancer. Strength, on the other hand, corresponds to Leo. Conveniently, as Cancer is ruled by the moon and Leo is ruled by the sun, combined with the second ‘additional shock’ which occurs between The Moon and The Sun Cards, we see that both the ‘shocks’ take place at ‘intervals’ between symbolic diametrical moon-sun relationships. These ‘shocks,’ then, both practically and symbolically, serve the same ‘bridging’ function of a mercurial mediator between alchemical opposites. Coincidence? Perhaps. Granted, we may be guilty of ‘confusing the planes’ by comparing the zodiacal attributions of one pair of cards to the titles of another. However, one cannot deny the symmetrical neatness of the structure. For this arrangement to work, it goes without saying that all the cards and explanations following The Chariot in Leary’s model must be rearranged and reworked to accommodate for Gurdjieff’s ‘shocks.’ And, in fact, in Info-Psychology, his 1987 revision of Exo-Psychology, Leary kindly invited the reader “to engage in an ‘interactive co-writing’ of these important issues.” That’s all we’re really doing here. In any event, at the very least, we’ve arrived at what would appear to be a totally novel mode of Tarot analysis. The notion that hidden ‘additional shocks’ appear in the major arcana sequence between cards VII and VIII and between cards XVIII and XIX is, to our knowledge, unprecedented. But, does this innovation mean that two of Leary’s ‘castes’ must be sacrificed in favor these ‘shocks?’ Or, is the implication that two of Leary’s ‘castes’ are the ‘shocks?’ Further analysis is required to know. One thing we can say with certainty, however—and that, along with Leary’s friend, Dr. Israel Regardie of the Golden Dawn—is that “posterity […] will have a finer appreciation of what [Dr. Timothy Leary] has contributed to the world than we have today.” WORKS CITED Alpert, William. Ram Dass: Fierce Grace. Zeitgeist Films, New York. 2003 Hollingshead, Michael. The Man Who Turned on the World. The Psychedelic Library. http://www.psychedelic-library.org/hollings.htm. Accessed Jan. 9, 2017 Lattin, Don. The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America. HarperOne, San Francisco. 2011 Leary, Timothy. Info-Psychology: A Manual on the Use of the Human Nervous System According to the Instructions of the Manufacturers. New Falcon Publications, Las Vegas. 1987 Leary, Timothy. Neuropolitique. New Falcon Publications, Las Vegas. 2006. Leary, Timothy. The Game of Life. New Falcon Publications, Las Vegas. 2015 Ouspensky, P.D. In Search of the Miraculous: The Teachings of G.I. Gurdjieff. Harcourt, Inc., New York. 2001 Wilson, Robert Anton. Cosmic Trigger I: Final Secret of the Illuminati. Hilaritas Press, LLC., Grand Junction, CO. 2016 Wilson, Robert Anton. Prometheus Rising. Hilaritas Press, LLC., Grand Junction, CO. 2016
P.D. Newman is an independent researcher located in the southern US, specializing in the history of the use of entheogenic substances in religious rituals and initiatory rites. He is the author of the books, Alchemically Stoned: The Psychedelic Secret of Freemasonry, Angels in Vermilion: The Philosophers’ Stone from Dee to DMT, and the forthcoming title, Day Trips and Night Flights: Anabasis, Katabasis, and Entheogenic Ekstasis in Myth and Rite. The Secret Teachings of All Ages (TV Series documentary) 2023.
My visionary artworks are based on the two plants needed to prepare the ayahuasca brew. A snake emerges from the ayahuasca vine, surrounded by fuchsia flowers. There is also another snake, the chacruna snake, green in color with its luminous leaves. Radiation comes out of his mouth. The chacruna snake penetrates the ayahuasca snake, producing the visionary effect of these two magical plants.
In an Ayahuasca ceremony, the master and his disciples are covered by rainbow-colored radiation emanating from the ayahuasca and chacruna plants. The combined effect of these plants is esoteric: due to their supernatural properties, psychic bodies are created that the eyes have never perceived before, so that one is overwhelmed by this strange new dimension. This world penetrates the top of the head so that the aura stimulates a gland between the eyebrows and activates the third eye.
Ayahuasca reveals its deepest secrets when the visionary dizziness is strongest. They show that human beings need to create a balance between their good and bad sides.
Through ayahuasca you learn to express in thoughts, feelings and words that “I am” and “I exist”. If a person thinks or says, “I am nothing and I have nothing,” she is extinguishing his spiritual strength and is doomed to failure. It is important to think inspired thoughts and say empowering words about yourself and others, rather than complain about the negative aspects of a person, as we all embody both positive and negative qualities.
Ikaros
This work represents all the magic songs that shamans use to cure various diseases, these magic songs are called Ikaros. The ikaros or magic songs are taught by spiritual beings especially by animal spirits, that is why in this painting I have captured various animals with different powers.
The Eagle is considered the supreme emblem of the gods, rulers and warriors. It is a symbol of majesty, bravery and spiritual inspiration. Being seen as the lord of the air personifies power and speed.
The personality of the snake means wisdom, power and health, it is an animal that represents strength and unsurpassed superiority.
Some attributes of the Wolf are: intelligence, cunning, communication, friendship, loyalty, generosity and compassion.
In the realm of spirit animals, the tiger places a special emphasis on raw feelings and emotions. The tiger spirit symbolizes primal instincts, unpredictability and the ability to trust yourself. By affinity with this spirit animal, you can enjoy dealing with life issues spontaneously, relying on your intuition and acting quickly when necessary.
Finally the heron and the butterfly represent self-sufficiency, stability, tact and careful foresight. In other words, you will achieve great success through your efforts. Visioning with these animals signifies your ability to explore and delve into your subconscious.
Arcanes of the Ayahuasca Star
In the Amazon there are several types of ayahuasca, these lianas go to the infinity of the universe, meandering many colors, among them the orange color, known as “Ayahuasca Star”, a color that shines in this visionary work of art.
The “Arcanes” are protection spirits of the shaman, and of the magic liana Ayahuasca, these are presented as people, animals and plants.
On the left side of the work you can see two arcana presented by a tiger and an owl. This is a vision that surprises shamans, because they emerge from the ayahuasca rope. The spiritual tiger contains the almost impenetrable depth of the science of ayahuasca and the spiritual owl represents the ayahuasca vine. These spirits are concerned with the esoteric force of ayahuasca. In these animals, the sense of smell and the eyes are full of hypnotism that are sharpened through rhythmic movements, when these animals prepare to act on something. The masters, who acquire the strength, the cunning and the sharp eye that hypnotizes these spiritual animals, become expert healers of both natural and artificial cures, because the shaman has learned from the intelligence and powerful and intelligent minds of these animals.
In the upper central part of the painting we distinguish a face with a yellow halo; this is the reflection of the mind. It is there that a master healer perceives and feels the rhythmic formation of life, with its forms and motifs that intermingle with its vibrant colors and sounds. There, the teacher is filled with knowledge, when he knows the value of colors; Color reflects human behavior, whether people are good or bad based on dark or light colors. This is also true for the sounds that we carry inside our bodies and external sounds.
In this painting you can see a master shaman, with the degree of “Sumi-Runa” (a man of much knowledge and hidden wisdom), he feels the astral ether very strong, something that is unknown to humans who do not know spiritual things , only with their physical eyes they see the matter that is the deformed space. The Sumi-Rune, Bank-Sumi, Murayas and others who have these high esoteric degrees were for the most part illiterate and naive Aborigines in what is modern culture, but they were integral human beings; a great Sumi-Runa teacher, or any other spiritual degree, seems like an innocent, that when one sees him, it appears that this person knows nothing, yet he covers the infinite knowledge of millions and millions of years, managing to know the kingdoms spiritual of sublime purity. When these great masters travel in time and infinite space they unite spiritual corpuscles to their bodies that form dimensional aureoles that encompass incalculable spaces in the universe, in the process of these trips they see present things where they understand that the past and the future is within the present. For these spiritual beings everything is present, there is no past or future.
Behind the master shaman “Sumi-Runa”, there is the Situlle plant, a plant that grows vines and bitter herbs. Then we see the hawk called “Tive-Mama”. The teacher uses this bird as a guardian who watches the depths of the rivers. The hummingbirds and yellow toad help people to be confident, diligent, active, prepared, optimistic and self-confident.
In the lower left part of the work, a blue snake with a pink aura is seen. The pink color represents Altruism, Philanthropy and Generosity. The blue color represents confidence and tranquility.
Ayahuasca offers a lot of spiritual teaching and physical, mental and moral health. Human wisdom produces various pleasures, such as the experience necessary to obtain material wealth, but not to bring true happiness or lasting satisfaction as spiritual knowledge and spiritual wisdom do. Whoever uses the ayahuasca drink must know how to diet to receive the cure; This is the basis for strengthening the health and proper functioning of the body. It is very, very good to meditate while looking at this painting; In this way you will hear the roidash (spiritual message).
Arcane of the Ayahuasca Bell
There are different types of ayahuasca in the Amazon. These lianas go to the infinity of the universe and meander in many colors, including Campana Ayahuasca green, a color that shines in this visionary work of art.
The arcana are protective spirits of the shaman and the magic liana Ayahuasca, who are represented as people, animals and plants.
At the top and bottom left of the work are the faces of two female spirits with healing abilities, the female spirits take care of the vegetation and the water. These spirits are called “Sacha – Huarmi”, which means “wild woman”; Therefore, plants and flowers together as “Toé”, the “Toé” flower can be seen at the top next to the spiritual face and in the central part of the work, this flower represents the strength that it has. The Floripondio The plant full of electromagnetism, that of The use of shamans for defense is also used for harmful and contagious diseases and for the relief of blood.
In the upper middle part of the work you can see the eye of an owl, these birds that the Master’s healing shaman uses to defend himself from his enemies that attack him from the ground.
We also observe a spiritually named tiger called “Puyo – Puma” in the upper right part of the work, which means “tiger in the cloud”. One of its characteristics is knowing the movement of the earth and making each enemy inactive. . He is very brave in his attacks, but he is very careful. These tigers go through the session or ceremony and give the shaman great healing power for vibrations and powers to fend off the evil of a magician acting against him and his disciples.
The dolphins or bufeos that can be seen in the lower right part of the work are spiritually present in the Ayahuasca ceremony or ritual to allow better vision and meditation. There are the spiritual powers of the gods and goddesses, these energies are conjectures.
“Looking at the spiritual world means seeing another latent world”.
Arcanes of Heaven Ayahuasca
In the Amazon there are several types of ayahuasca, these lianas go to the infinity of the universe, meandering many colors, among them the color blue, known as Cielo Ayahuasca, a color that shines in this visionary work of art.
The Arcanes, are protection spirits of the shaman, and of the magic liana Ayahuasca, these are presented as people, animals and plants.
On the upper left side of the work, you can see the monumental “Celestial Towers”, which serves as an angular protector for the earth. From there come the white zigzags of cosmic energy that in their magnitude can control many other moving energies that serve to develop more life. A little further down you can see the face of the visionary shaman teacher along with her two protectors known as arcana presented as hawk and jaguar.
This visionary shaman teacher is called “Sinchi Muscui Huarmi”, which means “Strong Woman”; This master shaman practices the science of curanderismo, and is much stronger than a male shaman, because the spirits sharpen more with women than with men, because the woman contains the ovule that can make a being fertilize, while with the male does not happen that way, a woman can more easily defeat sorcerers and sorcerers. Her protectors (hawk, jaguar and owl), who are next to her, know how to hypnotize perfectly and can neutralize the Icarus of the enemies and paralyze any damage.
In this session the shaman teacher in her concentration with her power can bring trees, plants, shrubs, plant parasites, waterfalls and all kinds of animals such as birds, snakes, among other animals in a spiritual way, as can be seen in all the work; then the physical practically disappears only the spiritual can be seen, in such a way the vibratory waves of the ayahuasca appear, surrounding the master shaman, where one feels a very high concentration, that one almost feels like being a spirit and not a Being physical with ailments and mental disturbances, one leaves everything physical aside and feels like a super man, full of knowledge, wisdom and intelligence with the intention of living not for centuries but forever, at this moment the person greatly appreciates and values life, because it sees that each one fulfills its function fully, it is something very nice and fair, to see plants that fulfill their function of generating healing forces and food oxygen, to preserve living beings on planet earth where life Physics is in stock.
In the lower right part there is a woman’s face, called “Chuya Huarmi”, which means “Clean Woman”, this woman is an expert in the use of floral aromas. She indicates the invisible force of life present in all the forms found in the universe. In these free-flowing circles, as they accumulate there is abundant and lasting health embodying the art of curing chronic disease.
The flower that is observed in the lower central part of the work, carries the perfumes that symbolize the reproductive organs, because each petal indicates: root, leaf, flower, fruit and seed, and this does its work through the spirit, which works through the mind. One has to better learn the knowledge that ayahuasca gives us, remake the mind to introduce the new knowledge that the sacred plant gives us without being stubborn with what it teaches and shows us.
Everything is valid in life; you just need to know how to use it at the right time and in the right place.
Sanctuary of Onaya
In this visionary artwork we can see the shrine of the sublime master Onaya in this temple we can find the path to heavenly wisdom. The spirits encountered by the vegetalist in this journey are his masters, and from them he gets the entrance to the spiritual temple, which is composed of living pearls and precious gems. The columns of this sanctuary are made of flawless diamonds that can never be defiled. Only the pure of heart enlightened by love, humility and wisdom can enter the magnificent and sacrosanct temple. In the water of the waterfall we see on the right side of the temple are the anguilamamas, who discharge electromagnetic rays that protect the sanctity of the temple. Also visible are the indigenous warriors who also act as guardians. The extraterrestrial ships at the top are from another galaxy and have traveled for thousands of years and visited many worlds to extract minerals and reach the Amazon jungle to receive vital energy. The green patiquina in the lower right is used to represent a person’s lungs; the different shades of green from the edge of the leaf to its center indicate the state of the person’s lungs. The hummingbird we see in this visionary work acts as a messenger. Its sweet trills are the most delicate and sublime icaros to sing to people seeking new strength or suffering from dreadful diseases. However, they must be sung with the utmost precision. These celestial spirits inhabit the palaces and temples at the top, where they gather to sing songs of worship. Finally below is the sachamama (mother of the forest). She projects an electromagnetic rainbow symbolizing the elements that fertilize the plants. The healers in the ceremony are chanting the icaro of the sachamama to prevent the sorcerers from thwarting their work.
I am Jose Luis Vasquez Gonzales, known as JoLu Amaringo, I was born in the cradle of art on December 5, 1991, in the city of Pucallpa_ Peru, when my famous grandfather, the Peruvian painter International Amazonian Visionary Pablo Amaringo Shuña, flew to Japan to present one of his famous exhibitions on visionary and neo-Amazon art.
During my life in my grandfather Pablo Amaringo’s house with my father Juan Vasquez Amaringo and my mother Lidia Gonzales Laulate, I drank countless stories that I heard in frequent meetings around a table. I also drank the vocation for the art of painting.
I am very thankful to God for making me spiritual brothers and sisters, and that my paintings convey my love, energy and healing to each of you. Many blessings, peace, love and good health to all.
African art has been a part of my childhood. My mother, Nadya Levi, was a sculptor who collected African art, and my father, Herman Norden, was an antique dealer who had a room in his house filled with African art, books, and stuffed birds. As a child, I went to London many times with my mother for auctions, where we met interesting people like Patricia Withofs and Gaston de Havenon. I also remember Mrs. Huguette van Geluwe in Brussels, where we went to seek her opinion on Congolese pieces, or Willy Mestach. And there were Simpson, Charles Raton, and Baron Rollin, who would visit us in Antwerp, and as a little boy, I had to serve coffee and help clean the display cases.
The Salampasu mask is steeped in cultural significance and is traditionally used in tribal ceremonies and rituals. It is believed to represent ancestral spirits and is used for various purposes, such as warding off evil spirits, promoting fertility, and celebrating harvest festivals.
My mother’s collection of Bassa and Dan masks, all hung side by side, many of which were acquired from Paolo Morigi. My first purchase was a small miniature Etruscan stone tablet depicting a lion.
Gelede Mask Yoruba Nigeria. This sect is devoted to the mother of all orisha, the matriarchal head of the universe. Lega Turtle Mask. Mask symbolizes the wisdom of the elder members of the Bwami. Bamileke figure with three heads -Cameroun
I am always looking for an object that evokes emotions in me. I would love to acquire a beautiful object that belonged to Henry Pareyn, the first collector dealer in Antwerp around 1910. I have always derived more pleasure from acquiring objects than from selling them, but I am not a fetishist who cannot part with them.
Ogoni ‘Elu’ mask with articulated jaw, Nigeria.The Ogboni ( also spelled Ogoni) people are an ancient and secretive society that has existed in Nigeria for centuries. Their religion is centered around the worship of various deities and the use of masks in religious rituals and ceremonies. The Ogboni mask being described is a prime example of this tradition.
What determines the value of the works? The value of an object often depends on the buyer. I could say that it is the beauty and antiquity associated with the provenance, but in reality, it is the emotion that an object evokes in you that is important, and sometimes the place your imagination gives it.
A 19th century Bakongo Nkisi Figure. The figure is known as a nkondi, which means “hunter” or “hunter of wrongs,” and it is believed to have the power to track down and punish wrongdoers. The mirror in its belly is said to allow it to see into the hearts of people and to reveal any evil or malicious intentions they may have. The eyes of the figure are made of mirror, and they are thought to help the nkondi to see clearly in the spiritual realm.
There are so many personalities in this field who have inspired me that I can’t name them all, but first and foremost, it is people with a deep passion and those who recognize the beauty and importance of African art for humanity that inspire me the most. African art has had a tremendous impact and great influence on Western art after World War I, and it is only natural to recognize the importance of this art and its artists.
Kuyu Crest Head. The two lizards on the head of the Kuyu sculpture could represent spiritual guardians or protective spirits, as lizards are frequently associated with protective powers in many African cultures
The African art market represents only 0.8% of the overall antique market. It is flooded with fakes, and verifying authenticity is reserved for a very small experienced elite with a network of knowledgeable friends. Determining the value is equally unpredictable due to the market’s volatility, as it is too small. However, this provides many opportunities for knowledgeable buyers to make good purchases. The price of African art has declined in recent years for mid-range pieces due to the disappearance of wealthy collectors and the abundance of supply in the market. Only exceptional objects still command high prices.
A 1967 published and museum exhibited Dogon Figure Hermaphroditic figure on a seat, which is supported by four female figures with raised arms. Yellow-brown patinated, heavy, hard wood. The published Meulendijk Dogon Figure was also exhibited in the ” Museum voor Land- en Volkenkunde” in Rotterdam, Nederland in december 1967
I do see many small collectors entering the market, but they rarely “invest” more than a few thousand euros. The recognition of contemporary African art over the past decade is very encouraging, as it could attract new audiences to African primitive art as well. The role of museums and cultural institutions is crucial in recognizing these cultures. In this regard, the Musée du quai Branly is doing excellent work by offering beautiful exhibitions that attract new audiences. However, the recent demands for repatriation create some discomfort in the market in the short term. But with the recognition of the importance of their own art, in the long term, it should allow an African market to develop in Africa. I also look forward to the creation of museums on the African continent, especially with the opening of the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar.
Throughout his journey, Norden has found inspiration in numerous figures within the primitive art field. He admires those who possess a deep passion for African art and recognize its significance in the broader context of humanity. The profound impact of African art on Western artistic movements following World War I further fuels his admiration for the art form and its artists. Looking ahead, Norden’s enthusiasm for primitive art shows no signs of waning. With an ongoing book project awaiting completion, he is dedicated to sharing his extensive knowledge and experiences with a wider audience.
Norden places great importance on the role of museums and cultural institutions in recognizing and promoting the significance of African art and its associated cultures. He commends the Musée du quai Branly for its remarkable exhibitions, which attract new audiences and foster appreciation for African primitive art. Norden also expresses anticipation for the emergence of museums on the African continent, with the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar serving as a beacon of hope.
David Norden’s lifelong dedication to primitive art has solidified his position as a respected figure in the field. His unwavering passion, discerning eye, and commitment to preserving the legacy of African art continue to shape his remarkable journey. As he eagerly shares his knowledge and explores new horizons, Norden’s contributions play an invaluable role in promoting the beauty and significance of primitive art to a global audience.
Sint Katelijnevest 27/B2000 Antwerpen/Belgium+32 3 227.35.40/david.norden@telenet.be
The customs of the Congo are quite different from those of Nigeria there is no direct relation between the Yoruba and Yombe. Ngobudi is the name of the diviner’s Mask . Once he wears the mask the powers of the diviner are active. A nganga is a soothsayer or traditional healer. The diviner can explain the past and give advice about the future. Nganga masks are owned by the healer or diviner.
The Yombe don’t have the traditions, like the Yoruba that are more related to the Voodoo…and Congo is difficult to explain there are so many different tribes. But the main activities are about the passage to adulthood, honoring ancestors and telling the old stories when they are royal kingdoms. In Nigeria like Benin brass pieces are more to tell and illustrate the conquest of the kingdom and decorate their palace.
In the past a lot of colonials where going to Congo, since it was a Belgian colony. That specific Yombe mask was brought back between 1920-1935 by a Belgian colonial administrator, François Restiau, Mons. He was working for the railroad company in Congo. He found that mask in Congo when the “Ocean Railway” was built between 1921 and 1934. It is a bit of a sad story when you know that to build the railway from Pointe-Noire to Brazzaville between 15,000 and 20,000 Africans died. Today the Yombe people has a small population of 15,000 and the culture is still active, but it’s not exactly the same as 100 years ago.
I have been dealing African art since 1993, before I was a professional photographer. I am specialized in African art coming from old collections mainly, so I do not import my pieces directly from Africa. My mother Nadya Levi was a sculptor and she collected African Art. My father Herman Norden was an antique dealer, and he had a room with African Art in his house. The African Art world is quite small I guess there are less than 200 serious specialized dealers in this field in the world. It is not so easy, because there are a lot of fakes that have been produced, some of them very well done, and you need to have seen a lot of pieces to be able to tell the differences.
written by David Norden
Sint Katelijnevest 27/B2000 Antwerpen/Belgium+32 3 227.35.40/david.norden@telenet.be
Listen to the mysterious, revealing and fierce voices within you.
And if you are caught up by fear of doing so, remember that it is wrong for the senses to belong to the everyday, lived world.
For me any discovery that changes the nature or direction or a phenomenon constitutes
of something or is a surrealist /poetic truth.
Objective chance , the subtlety of the intuition of the expectation, and the constant search for its flash .
Going without a destination, the poet has an unknown encounter with the word, freed from any linguistic logic.
In poetry the mind blows out of the mind. It aims at the spontaneous reclassification of things into a deeper and freer order, which is impossible to explain by the means of the ordinary mind.
The poet alternately is a deadwood pruner, a transformer, and a thunderbolt.
Silence is a complete poetic and surrealist work.
The word must be left in suspense for a moment before it is transferred to a physical state on paper. At dawn or dusk, we walk down the road and sometimes come across the silhouette of a silent fairy woman, whose silence is the most comprehensive concept of poetry, and surrealism.
an absolutely possessed throat, echoing between howls and silence.
the secrets of the world created, within the poetic mystery, darkness unfolds while questioning is stripped.
Earthly legend and mystery doors open to infinity.
The poet is an enemy of the Sufist .
The poet is not bound by a vision or a superior authority.
Poetry is a momentary extraction of the unknown from the veins of every language.
If the poem does not have a chaotic body that smells of demolition, negation and destruction of all existing literary forms, genres,
Then what is living poetry?
Poetry should be the color of dried blood
The poem is the beginning and end of the world, it revives the world and its death, dismantles all self- and collective censorship, esoteric and physical, and drops every daily living dictionary.
The poem is an arena for the execution of all linguistic paralysis by burning with the napalm of the lust.
Poetry is not a linguistic expression, but a visual, physical and perhaps biological expression as well.
Real poetry employs itself to monitor a waking dream which is resentful of its fate, re-sculpting it with dough baked by chaos inside the bone furnace called the human head.
I believe that enhancing poetic esoteric awareness does not come only by enhancing the possession of language or general cognitive awareness, but by developing and training the eye on scenes of logic disintegration always, whether they are daily or artistic works.
Even with everyday mind games
Thus, the magnetic linguistic ability self-develops and expands not only through the subconscious mind, but also through the nerves of the eye’s practice of strenuous imaginative sports to extract the faculties of impossible earthy miracles in all its forms and templates.
I treat the Arabic language rules as a relationship between oppression and freedom; understand it
As a repressive social specter that must be removed and rebuilt anew every moment with vast doors to spend the free desire.
Poetry is the chaotic condensation of the inner momentary realization, but the seer poet must tame the tools of this condensation towards a permanent quest for the human interior, a quest fertilized by doubts in everything outside the individual.
Every human being has a poetic companion who lives behind his eye, the cunning poet who makes him constantly jump like a kangaroo and always seeks to protect this kangaroo from drowning in the prior cement lakes and to teach this kangaroo that there is no limit to what is called verbal maturity,
poetry is a permanent electrical revolution inside the mind It is not controlled by something imaginary or even social.
The chief function of poetry is to impart sharp disturbances to language and to overthrow every possible holiness it bears. For me grammarians and academics of language are the social police of the imagination.
I despise even the inherited Arab aspirations to rebel against the Arabic language, except of course à few poets I see the deceptive horizon of most Arab poets now that they throw themselves in the recycling factories of closed poetic ambitions.
Surrealism relates to expressing «the real functioning of thought […] in the absence of any control exercised by reason and apart from any aesthetic or moral concern ».
– We think that not only language, but the whole world in all its aspects, was given to humanity to make surrealist use of it.
“All things are called to other uses than those generally attributed to them.” – André Breton, Le Point du Jour.
– We think that surrealists should make use of whatever materials and tools that they find attractive. Whether a feather, a cloud or a computer, any single object in this world becomes a surrealist object as soon as surrealist use is made of it.
– We think that the results of surrealist activities do not have to conform to any type of listed art form, nor even to whatever is considered art.
– Restrictions regarding materials and tools, as well as compliance with traditional artistic categories are views that were already considered and experienced as obsolete by most artists of the Renaissance period. We think that an attempt to liberate the human mind may in no way be successfully achieved on the basis of a narrower scope of practices and intellectual freedom than that which was already acquired by artists at that time.
-‘we are interested in how surrealism appears in everyday life, whether it’s from surrealists or not, but we understand this is not the same as a surrealist movement.”
-“We are interested in certain parallel currents that might overlap with surrealism. Surrealism may -appear- or be present- within avant garde or popular art but it’s not necessarily the same thing.”
– We categorically reject mixing surrealism with whatever form of religion, and we reject the presence of any religious persons within the group.
– We reject any aesthetic attribute that directly or indirectly integrates into the life of this society or that would tend to reconcile with it.
– Realistic daily life erases the perception of the unique characteristics of objects. We will always seek to break this mechanism and its dynamics by means of words, plastic art, music and cinema or any other means.
– Collective automatism is self-contained in everyday life. It floats in the air, dissolving every entrenched and worn-out intellectual authority.
– The poem is a collective work, even if it is from one’s individual imagination.
– We have nothing but contempt for the guardians of grammar because they are the protectors of the heavy legacy of linguistic dependence that erases the ecstasy of all free desire.
– We support every creative act that contributes to the wondrous conquest of everyday life and the conquest of mad love. Everything that has been physically neglected in the city, and every sexual explosion that social fascism hides, is for us the dough with which we form our written and visual poems.
written by Mohsen Elbelasy
Mohsen Elbelasy Egyptian surrealist artist and poet and researcher and editor in chief of the Room surrealist Magazine and sulfur-surrealist-jungle.com and the co manager of the international exhibition of surrealism Cairo Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and Echoes of Contemporary Surrealism Exhibition. And co-founder of the Middle East and North Africa Surrealist Group. (MENA) and He also worked as a translator, cultural journalist and organizer of cultural and artistic events in Egypt and internationally. Chrysopoeia Surrealist union /Cooperative. In 2022, his book The Trip of Kamel Al Tilmissany won the Sawiris Grand Prize of Literary Criticism
The cruelty of life is only equaled by art… I used to search a lot in the paths of art for what could express what was going on inside me and my view of the world, but I was always faced with unfree spaces, spaces depicted by religion or what is connected with it..
My imagination was always trapped. When I dive into the past with deep sadness..
I did not know that imagination can lead us to a better future until I became acquainted with surrealism.
Closed areas of my subconscious began to open up to me.
I had never known these closed areas of my subconscious mind before.
I did not have complete freedom of expression with my body, and now I do.
Surrealism is a systematic breaking of the boundaries of reality, the body, society and religion.
Also, I was afraid to delve into fields that I had not studied or practiced, such as drawing, photography and cinema, but Surrealism turned me into an active person who thirsted for all kinds of arts.
I am not only a surrealist artist, I also owe a lot to surrealism… Reconciliation with the unconscious mind can change the world for the better… and it can be an iron wall stands against all life’s difficulties.
Linking and developing science and keeping pace with technological development and the subconscious freedom are able to create a better world.
This is surrealism for me
written by Ghadah Kamal
Ghadah Kamal is a surrealist visual artist, writer, and poet…Coordinator of performances and workshops and cinema screenings of The international exhibition of surrealism Cairo Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and Echoes of Contemporary Surrealism Exhibition / Alexandria and founding member of the Middle East and North Africa Surrealist Group..Founding member of the Chrysopoeia surrealist union. Editor of the Surrealist Cities section of the Room surrealist magazine and editor at Sulfur Surrealist Jungle.
“Ifá tells us that when he is enraged, Obaluaiye [Babalú Ayé] takes [his] special broom and spreads sesame seeds (yamoti) on the earth before him, then sweeps the seeds before him, in ever-widening circles. As the broom begins to touch the dust and the dust begins to rise, the seeds, like miniature pockmarks, ride the wind with their annihilating powers: the force of a smallpox epidemic is thereby unleashed.”
—Robert Farris Thompson, Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro-American Art and Philosophy, p. 63 (Vintage Books. New York, NY. 1984.)
Babalú gettin’ me up in the mornin’ I believe I’ll dust my broom Babalú gettin’ me up in the mornin’ I believe I’ll dust my broom I get to sweepin’ this sesame, baby Babalú pox gon’ be ya doom
And you won’t get better—ya whole body covered in sores No, you won’t get better—ya whole body be covered in sores Be nothin’ but dogs a-lickin’ you, baby Once these bristles start sweepin’ the floors
Lazy Pushin’ Daisy
I know that there’s a man Who in Bethany stays Erbody like to call him Lazy Cause he lay still four days
Talkin’ bout that Lazy I’d swear he pushin’ up daisy
I know that there’s a man Who sleep like the dead Only the power of the good lord Rouse him out of his bed
Talkin’ bout that Lazy I’d swear he pushin’ up daisy
I know a man name Lazy Always got that bed breath Got a twisted mouth so sour Breathe out the smell of death
Talkin’ bout that Lazy I’d swear he pushin’ up daisy
I know a man name Lazy Who stink to his core Body raw as his mouth And dogs licking’ his sores
Talkin’ bout that Lazy I’d swear he pushin’ up daisy
written by P.D. Newman
P.D. Newman is an independent researcher located in the southern US, specializing in the history of the use of entheogenic substances in religious rituals and initiatory rites. He is the author of the books, Alchemically Stoned: The Psychedelic Secret of Freemasonry, Angels in Vermilion: The Philosophers’ Stone from Dee to DMT, and the forthcoming title, Day Trips and Night Flights: Anabasis, Katabasis, and Entheogenic Ekstasis in Myth and Rite. The Secret Teachings of All Ages (TV Series documentary) 2023.
People often imbue their surroundings, including tools, with a “life essence” that makes them active objects. A growing number of archaeologists are beginning to study how such “living” beings impact human behavior. These archaeologists use the term “object agency,” but employ many different ontological approaches. We explore this variation, and present a framework comparing different ontological models archaeologists use. We adopt an animistic perspective, and evaluate its applicability to the Southwest using ethnographic and archaeological data. We further propose that it is applicable through out the New World. Puebloan potters consider pots living beings with a spiritual essence that is affected by and that impacts humans. Pottery manufacture is a mutual negotiation between the potter and the clay to create a “Made Being” with its own spiritual and material aspects. We conclude that a similar ontology is reflected in effigy pots and globular jars from the Casas Grandes region. Ultimately we conclude that this perspective provides useful insights into the placement, decoration, and discard of many vessels that have puzzled Southwestern archaeologists for decades.
A Female Casas Grandes effigy jar. Photo Christine S. VanPool 1999. Used with Permission
Author(s): Christine S. VanPool and Elizabeth Newsome
Duplicated and Intended for Art Educational Purposes Only
THE SPIRIT IN THE MATERIAL: A CASE STUDY OF ANIMISM IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST Author(s): Christine S. VanPool and Elizabeth Newsome Source: American Antiquity, Vol. 77, No. 2 (April 2012), pp. 243-262 Published by: Society for American Archaeology Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23486060 Accessed: 02-03-2015 22:47 UTC
Featured image: Fully formed Human Effigy Vessel. Courtesy of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles. Photographed by Chris Coleman.
I am a multidisciplinary visual artist interested in painting, alternative sculpting, photography, digital art, collage and mixed media arts. I held my first solo painting exhibition at the age of 14 at Al Gezira Arts Center and have since participated in multiple art workshops and collaborations. I recently graduated from MSA University faculty of Arts & Design majoring in Cinema and Theatre.
Most of my work explores the theme of ‘play’ as a form of resistance. Further expanding and searching how the visual identities of my various roots all meet in a space that feeds on contemporary imagery and ideals.
Coming from a culturally rich background I am drawn to the visual richness of my city Cairo, particularly the slums where street art happens accidentally as a coincidence unravelling the many great textures and layers of the city, as well as having family roots in Upper Egypt and Delta, I began exploring the relationship between the urban and rural space and how it can be visually contextualized.
My inner child holds the pencils, untangling all the fears that have accumulated within my head and sarcastically mocks them. My inner child giggles and makes all the decisions now. I can only contemplate from afar ,a foreign spectator, as I watch dreams from my subconscious unfold and my inner child continues to laugh at me.
Mitchell Pluto 