Hilary Shames
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Fan Dance, 2008 mixed media: acrylic, digital prints and found objects overall: 24" x 56" |
Object ? of ?
Literary Quote
Definition / Background
Artist's Text
To dance is to move in dynamic rhythm with space. Fans correspond with air, revelation and concealment. To dance with a fan is to move between two worlds; the physical world of weight and body, and the illusive world of air and spirit. A fan dance gives the illusion of seeing that, which cannot be grasped.
The feathers within Fan Dance (detail) are also a symbol of the element of Air, wind and truth. Feathers connote communion with 'higher' or heavenly realms:
"Feathers... are a way of receiving affirmation and acknowledgement that Spirit is not a figment of the imagination. Feathers are a physical manifestation of the Spirit that connects us all." (Starfeather, qtd. in Nozedar 129) [1]
Peacock feathers, with their brilliantly colored circular markings, represent omnipresent vision.
The Latin name for the peacock is 'pavo', meaning 'purity". Alchemically, the astral world is represented by the shifting iridescence of the peacock's tail. This stage is representative of the sudden realization of the spiritual plane as a real entity rather than as an imaginary realm. [2] The appearance of a magnificent play of colors called the "peacock's tail" signifies that completion is nigh. The stages of purification of the soul through alchemy parallels the seven-day creation story in Genesis:
" FIFTHLY: The Heat works elevatingly, for by its force the spirits hidden in the Earth are raised up into the air, wherefore the philosophers say, that whosoever can bring to light a hidden thing, is a Master of the Art." [3]
"The arrival of Venus in the sky brings sensual pleasure; a magnificent play of colors called the "peacock's tail" appears. Basil Valentine said that this phenomenon, like a rainbow, indicates "that in future the matter will come from the moist to the dry." (Hauptschlussel, qtd. in Roob 151) [4]
The Fifth Day of Creation: "God said, 'Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and birds that fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.'" (Genesis 1.20)
This is equivalent, metaphorically, to the separation of beings in the chthonian water of the physical body and that of the heavenly soul.
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[1] Starfeather, qtd. in Adele Nozedar, The Secret Language of Birds (London: HarperElement, 2006) 129.
[2] Adele Nozedar, The Secret Language of Birds (London: HarperElement, 2006) 222.
[3]
Solomon Trismosin, Solomon Trismosin -- Splendor Solis --- The complete text with color plates (Alchemy), 16 March 2009, 16 March 2009
<http://www.rexresearch.com/splsol/trismosin.htm>.
[4] Hauptschlussel, qtd. in Alexander Roob, The Hermetic Museum: Alchemy & Mysticism (Koln: Taschen GmbH, 2001) 151.
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