As I was searching on the Internet for the story of the breaking of the vessels I ran into this interesting article titled:
Breaking of the Vessels: Destruction and Creation in the Art of Anselm Kiefer
Here's the link:
You need to be a member of Depth Psychology Alliance to add comments!
Replies
I love this article. I wonder how Lilith relates to Jung's Salome. I once had a dream where I saw a young girl standing in a field of ash. The words spoken to me in the dream were "Phoenix rising, form of girl". I did this painting of her back in early 2012. She feels connected to albedo...the result of the difficult work that takes place during negredo...the dark night of the soul. Part of that work for me included naturally bringing consciousness into all the ways in which I was blocked, all of the coping mechanisms, habitual patterns and stories that I believed about myself and others. This was a process of shattering. I love what I am learning here and what is most amazing is thinking back on many of the dreams I have had and how they fit with the story of alchemy.
This is an amazing painting Laura, Thank you so much for sharing it! It is an amazingly perfect image of the Albedo/Nigredo transition as a dim Sun begins to rise and the girl is still wary, it seems as she is looking down into the depths as though not quite certain that the dark night is ending, still surrounded by rocky shore. It is a birth, though, isn't it?
I recognize this place,
.a familiar landscape. It also is reminds of the well known images of Jung's patient, as the stuck in the rocks and the illumination as "lightning" strikes the rocks.
Please share your deams, if you feel drawn to do so. What a gift!
Laura, I also wanted to add that I am having some difficulty with loading the images due to my technological limitations. I think you asked for the Kabalistic Tree image with the planets that I posted on the first webinar.
I have not forgotten and will load it will go up via myself or Bonnie soon.
Thank you so much for your presence feedback.
This is a remarkable account of the author's (Mary Wells Barron) exposure and response to Kiefer's art. Her description of her feelings of being stopped in her tracks by it, "much the same way one might be who suddenly came upon a beautiful and dangerous animal" and how it elicited so much awe and emotion—clear evidence that the author was in the presence of something archetypal (and numinous, as she points out).
Barron does a beautiful job of introducing us to Kiefer's art—truly alchemical—and there is a good detailed account of the "Breaking of the Vessels" story quoted in the article.
I especially like the quote she opened with as well, and want to take time to contemplate it and let it work on me. Death and rebirth/renewal are such integral stages of alchemy... "When will you learn, myself, to be A dying leaf on a living tree?"-Edna St. Vincent Millay
Highly recommend everyone take the time to read!.... Thanks, Judy, for sharing!
Thank you for this! The art of Anselm Kiefer embodies the Soul of the Tree of Life encompassing the darkness and the emanation of the light from the dross. Kiefer was born in 1945 just at the end of the second world war and grew up, haunted by the internal images of the holocaust. It led him through to the light and many of his paintings are illustrations of Kabbalah and the Tree.
When I first saw Kiefer's art exhibition some years ago now in San Francisco, I found myself returning again and again to gaze them in awe.
What an incredible article from ARAS. Thank you for sharing this, Judy. I look forward to reading it in depth. It stirs the imagination..
How wonderful that you got to see an exhibit of Kiefer's art! I had never heard of this artist until I ran into this article. He really touches my soul.