Genesis 83-1

Genesis 83-1, 1983
20" x 16": casein and vinyl on plexiglas
Private collection

In the microdrawings, I developed a visual vocabulary that is embedded within the matrix of the iconographic layering in this painting. The two themes that coexist are the logical and intellectual control of science vs. the intuitive mysticism of metaphysics. The astronomical constellation of the Big Dipper and Polaris surrounds the ten Sefirot/chakra structures that play a part in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Kabbalistic cosmogenies. This painting connects the deep paradoxes of the cosmologies and cosmogenies of the Western vs. the Eastern historical traditions. I incorporated the chromatic spatial theory of Josef Albers to create the perceptual interaction among the advancing and receding color complexes.

The major visual center is the heart (fourth) chakra, called Tiferet in the Kabbalistic schema, which is surrounded by the nine other energy centers.

In the upper right corner is Polaris, the North Star.

The bottom of the painting represents the handle and cup of the Big Dipper.

The double star unites the two worlds: it is both Malkhut, the tenth sefirot, and a part of the Dipper's handle.

Aribert Munzner