Notes
Interestingly, this didn’t start as an art project. I was taking a self-guided course on Kabbalistic
philosophy, and in one exercise I was asked:
philosophy, and in one exercise I was asked:
"...to construct a pictorial representation of the Sephirah that is being studied... the idea is to represent the Sephirah in a picture or diagramatic form so as to encapsulate the main FEELING of that Sephirah."
The Sephiroth are grand archetypes that escape language—escape all boxes, really—very similar to the tarot, very related as well (but I really don't have the space to get into it here!) This is a wonderful example of where visual art excels. In this series, each card attempts to give form to something fundamentally without form (too grand to be captured,) to make the intangible visible, at least a little. A picture is worth infinite words.
The Sephiroth are grand archetypes that escape language—escape all boxes, really—very similar to the tarot, very related as well (but I really don't have the space to get into it here!) This is a wonderful example of where visual art excels. In this series, each card attempts to give form to something fundamentally without form (too grand to be captured,) to make the intangible visible, at least a little. A picture is worth infinite words.
Process for Netzach (from The Sephiroth)
- Layers used to construct the digital image
- Earlier iterations
- Excerpt from the Jungian-like association chain that served as the initial seed for ideas
- Earlier iterations
- Excerpt from the Jungian-like association chain that served as the initial seed for ideas
Process for Kether (from The Sephiroth)
- Very early ideation in sketchbook
- Earlier iterations
- Golden Dawn color scales used to decide on final colour scheme
- Earlier iterations
- Golden Dawn color scales used to decide on final colour scheme
Notes
I was drawn to the earlier iterations (bottom left) but they felt far too “dynamic” and more aligned with the energy of Chokmah than the simple, elevated, ultimate presence of Kether. Color presented a particular challenge: according to the Golden Dawn color scheme, Kether is white. I considered an entirely white card, but this felt too static and lifeless. I needed to convey a certain kind of power but not let it slip into the dynamism of Chokmah. Luckily, the colour scheme in the lowest manifestation of Kether is white with flecked gold. I now had the permission, so to say, to add depth.
The final image, I feel, captures the paradox of an intense, buzzing white light held in serene stillness.
Process for Card Borders (from The Sephiroth)
This slide documents the development of the border used for all cards. The process was relatively straightforward:
- studying a range of playing cards and tarot cards to understand common conventions and hierarchies of information
- determining which elements were essential to display on each card, finally settling on: the name, number, translation, and the astrological symbol of its planetary association
- determining which elements were essential to display on each card, finally settling on: the name, number, translation, and the astrological symbol of its planetary association
The goal was primarily to create a more obvious coherence among the 10 diverse digital collages. Communicating supplementary information was the secondary goal.
