Glyphs and Passages
I. Primitive Markings
Prehistory
Humanity’s earliest markings were symbolic images. Painted on caves, etched in rocks, carved into wood – abstract patterns and morphic beings give us a glimpse into the perceptive psyche of our ancestors.
Symbols remain a potent tag through out human civilization. 6,000 year old Assyrian script. Hieroglyphics. Chinese typography. Runes. From the secret alphabets of middle-ages monastic and occult orders, up through our modern design and advertising – the abstract symbol has remained a potent method of conveying both idea and concrete information.
But before that… We have rocks. We have rocks and cave walls with elaborate illustrations. The painted and etched images show the world through the eyes of humans 40,000 years ago. It also demonstrates that in addition to the inherent base needs – humans found it extremely important to create both figurative and non-figurative art.
This art was more than an esthetic object. It was devoid of a commoditized and artificial spectator culture. It wasn’t made with an inherent critical analysis or formal aspect. It was made as both a visceral reflection of the world, and an attempt to bend natural reality through magical will. In some ways, this art is pure in its intent. It is a communication between artist and tribe. Perhaps some were made for future tribes that would find these implicitly territorial markings. It is a communication between artist and deity. An attempt to placate the ephemeral beasts in charge of fertility, hunting, and weather so that the tribe can gain further sustenance.
There is resonance in this motif of much later work. The cubists and proto-cubists Picasso, Matisse and Duchamp all explored aspects of primitivism. Geometry became part of their visual vocabulary. The structure of their work echoes tribal art and early language.
I’ve spent a lot of time in the woods in recent years. The first glimmers of this project came that way. I began photographing the uncanny and elegant geometry of the woods. Patterns began to emerge in both living branches and flora that had fallen to the forest floor. This became my Myrkwood photographic project. It coincided with my own study of The Elder Futhark Norse runic alphabet and the inseparable associated mythology and cosmology. There was a distinct relationship between these woodland shapes and the Runic alphabet. Indeed many of the pictograms echo natural forms in their antique names. Most pre Semitic script identifies with natural form.
In the last three years I have begun dedicating more time to other explorations of these concepts. My own work in soundscape and music has focused on tribal and historical sounds and structure. My sketches, drawings and paintings have become more linear and abstract… This was a subconscious reference to both the regularly examined and photographed natural forms, as well stylistic elements that tended to be used in pre Iron age art through out northern Europe. Indeed patterns have been repeated and ideas have been reflected through out the world’s Paleolithic markings.
It began to make less sense to put these markings on paper or canvas with modern tools and materials. I explored several methods such as etching and painting wood, horn, and animal hide. While several of the objects proved attractive and compelling – they remained reconstructed decoration devoid of a larger conceptual context.
II. Glyphs
In May of 2014 I began to research techniques and pigments common to Paleolithic art. I was determined to use the local rich natural environment to begin to create my own set of symbolic markings.
I most became interested in the question of bio-degradability of the paints. At the outset I used pre-packaged pigment powder mixed with walnut oil. This ensures that all of these markings are not only materially as close to their Paleolithic sources as can be managed at this time, but that they also are ecologically non-destructive. This work is inherently rooted in cultures which were forced to live in a completely symbiotic relationship with nature. Indeed it is believed that much of the work is a direct impression of early man’s natural habitat.
The imagery so far has fallen into two visual categories: abstract lines, circles, spirals and reduced figurative art (anthropomorphic and zoomorphic). Both of these images are sourced and inspired by our record of Paleolithic and tribal art.
After a series of test objects in a controlled environment, the next step was to begin to move to the outdoors and create site-specific pieces of work. The final images are not preplanned and to date no site has been pre-chosen for a specific image. Sites are chosen somewhat on instinct and partially methodically. The place generally needs to be visually appealing and stimulating to paint in. The powdered pigments and oil are mixed at the time that the work is created. Often what is around in the immediate environment becomes worked into the design. I have tended to choose sites that are accessible on foot and near a frequently traveled pathway, but have then executed the images at an angle or on a surface that is not immediately noticeable. The intent is not to specifically attract the attention of an audience. I instead am creating a piece of art that is symbiotic with and reflective of the natural space. I then photograph the objects to illustrate the final design and the greater context of the art in environment. The photographs are both archival and final replicable objects. I have not revisited any sites.
This is an intentional exploration into both imagery and process inspired by a collective ancestral past. It is for me a personal expression of a symbolic language which has become imprinted upon my own particular Akashic Record. The creating of art in an immediate fashion with primitive materials denies the trend of a greater and greater reliance upon plugged technology. There is also no denying that to some degree the act of creating art in a woodland setting quite intentionally displaces it from the contemporary art context. It is through the use of similar site-based images that our human precursors gave us insight into their own perceptions and imagination.
The photographs represent our earthly, tangible experience within this greater environment. It even more specifically reflects my experience in constructing and recording these now effectively lost artifacts. Aside from the viewer that looks upon the photographs, only the creatures of the woods – and perhaps the way-faring spirit – will witness the art left on rocks and trees.
I. Primitive Markings
Prehistory
Humanity’s earliest markings were symbolic images. Painted on caves, etched in rocks, carved into wood – abstract patterns and morphic beings give us a glimpse into the perceptive psyche of our ancestors.
Symbols remain a potent tag through out human civilization. 6,000 year old Assyrian script. Hieroglyphics. Chinese typography. Runes. From the secret alphabets of middle-ages monastic and occult orders, up through our modern design and advertising – the abstract symbol has remained a potent method of conveying both idea and concrete information.
But before that… We have rocks. We have rocks and cave walls with elaborate illustrations. The painted and etched images show the world through the eyes of humans 40,000 years ago. It also demonstrates that in addition to the inherent base needs – humans found it extremely important to create both figurative and non-figurative art.
This art was more than an esthetic object. It was devoid of a commoditized and artificial spectator culture. It wasn’t made with an inherent critical analysis or formal aspect. It was made as both a visceral reflection of the world, and an attempt to bend natural reality through magical will. In some ways, this art is pure in its intent. It is a communication between artist and tribe. Perhaps some were made for future tribes that would find these implicitly territorial markings. It is a communication between artist and deity. An attempt to placate the ephemeral beasts in charge of fertility, hunting, and weather so that the tribe can gain further sustenance.
There is resonance in this motif of much later work. The cubists and proto-cubists Picasso, Matisse and Duchamp all explored aspects of primitivism. Geometry became part of their visual vocabulary. The structure of their work echoes tribal art and early language.
I’ve spent a lot of time in the woods in recent years. The first glimmers of this project came that way. I began photographing the uncanny and elegant geometry of the woods. Patterns began to emerge in both living branches and flora that had fallen to the forest floor. This became my Myrkwood photographic project. It coincided with my own study of The Elder Futhark Norse runic alphabet and the inseparable associated mythology and cosmology. There was a distinct relationship between these woodland shapes and the Runic alphabet. Indeed many of the pictograms echo natural forms in their antique names. Most pre Semitic script identifies with natural form.
In the last three years I have begun dedicating more time to other explorations of these concepts. My own work in soundscape and music has focused on tribal and historical sounds and structure. My sketches, drawings and paintings have become more linear and abstract… This was a subconscious reference to both the regularly examined and photographed natural forms, as well stylistic elements that tended to be used in pre Iron age art through out northern Europe. Indeed patterns have been repeated and ideas have been reflected through out the world’s Paleolithic markings.
It began to make less sense to put these markings on paper or canvas with modern tools and materials. I explored several methods such as etching and painting wood, horn, and animal hide. While several of the objects proved attractive and compelling – they remained reconstructed decoration devoid of a larger conceptual context.
II. Glyphs
In May of 2014 I began to research techniques and pigments common to Paleolithic art. I was determined to use the local rich natural environment to begin to create my own set of symbolic markings.
I most became interested in the question of bio-degradability of the paints. At the outset I used pre-packaged pigment powder mixed with walnut oil. This ensures that all of these markings are not only materially as close to their Paleolithic sources as can be managed at this time, but that they also are ecologically non-destructive. This work is inherently rooted in cultures which were forced to live in a completely symbiotic relationship with nature. Indeed it is believed that much of the work is a direct impression of early man’s natural habitat.
The imagery so far has fallen into two visual categories: abstract lines, circles, spirals and reduced figurative art (anthropomorphic and zoomorphic). Both of these images are sourced and inspired by our record of Paleolithic and tribal art.
After a series of test objects in a controlled environment, the next step was to begin to move to the outdoors and create site-specific pieces of work. The final images are not preplanned and to date no site has been pre-chosen for a specific image. Sites are chosen somewhat on instinct and partially methodically. The place generally needs to be visually appealing and stimulating to paint in. The powdered pigments and oil are mixed at the time that the work is created. Often what is around in the immediate environment becomes worked into the design. I have tended to choose sites that are accessible on foot and near a frequently traveled pathway, but have then executed the images at an angle or on a surface that is not immediately noticeable. The intent is not to specifically attract the attention of an audience. I instead am creating a piece of art that is symbiotic with and reflective of the natural space. I then photograph the objects to illustrate the final design and the greater context of the art in environment. The photographs are both archival and final replicable objects. I have not revisited any sites.
This is an intentional exploration into both imagery and process inspired by a collective ancestral past. It is for me a personal expression of a symbolic language which has become imprinted upon my own particular Akashic Record. The creating of art in an immediate fashion with primitive materials denies the trend of a greater and greater reliance upon plugged technology. There is also no denying that to some degree the act of creating art in a woodland setting quite intentionally displaces it from the contemporary art context. It is through the use of similar site-based images that our human precursors gave us insight into their own perceptions and imagination.
The photographs represent our earthly, tangible experience within this greater environment. It even more specifically reflects my experience in constructing and recording these now effectively lost artifacts. Aside from the viewer that looks upon the photographs, only the creatures of the woods – and perhaps the way-faring spirit – will witness the art left on rocks and trees.