Caput mortuum. Iowa Research Online. University of Iowa. David Glenn Rollins University of Iowa. Theses and Dissertations.

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1 University of Iowa Iowa Research Online Theses and Dissertations Spring 2016 Caput mortuum David Glenn Rollins University of Iowa Copyright 2016 David Glenn Rollins This thesis is available at Iowa Research Online: Recommended Citation Rollins, David Glenn. "Caput mortuum." MFA (Master of Fine Arts) thesis, University of Iowa, Follow this and additional works at: Part of the Book and Paper Commons

2 CAPUT MORTUUM by David Glenn Rollins A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Fine Arts degree in Book Arts in the Graduate College of The University of Iowa May 2016 Thesis Supervisor: Associate Professor Julia Leonard

3 Copyright by DAVID GLENN ROLLINS 2016 All Rights Reserved

4 Graduate College The University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL This is to certify that the Master s thesis of MASTER S THESIS David Glenn Rollins has been approved by the Examining Committee for the thesis requirement for the Master of Fine Arts degree in Book Arts at the May 2016 graduation. Thesis Committee: Julia Leonard, Thesis Supervisor Sara Langworthy Emily Martin Julie Smith Giselle Simon

5 The Magi in their wisdom asserted that all creatures might be brought to one unified substance, which substance they affirm may, by purifications and purgations, attain to so high a degree of subtlety, such divine nature and occult property, as to work wonderful results. For they considered that by returning to the earth, and by a supreme magical separation, a certain perfect substance would come forth, which is at length, by many industrious and prolonged preparations, exalted and raised up above the range of vegetable substances into mineral, above mineral into metallic, and above perfect metallic substances into a perpetual and divine Quintessence, including in itself the essence of all celestial and terrestrial creatures. Theophrastus Paracelsus The Aurora of the Philosophers ii

6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am forever grateful to all those selfless teachers and mentors who helped me get this far in my career in both my undergraduate and graduate programs. Thank you all for the lessons you have taught me. I am also extremely thankful for my friends and family for seeing me through difficult times, especially for my wonderful wife Valerie, without whom I would have never made it to this point in my life. iii

7 PUBLIC ABSTRACT Caput Mortuum is a visual representation of my own spiritual quest for enlightenment using alchemy. Ancient alchemists sought perfection in all things and visualized a personal spiritual hierarchy that resided within all physical matter. The lowest tier of this scale represents the dull and lifeless material while the highest could touch the Divine. Reshaping the material world revealed the ordinary item s latent potential, aiding in its own transformation as well as the alchemist s into more perfect beings. Inspired by this idea, I seek to bring ultimate perfection to every piece I create. By manipulating and altering books and book forms I replicate the physical work alchemists performed, each time changing myself with the book, elevating our spiritual beings in order to bring perfection from within. iv

8 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES... vi BACKGROUND... 1 CAPUT MORTUUM: INCIPIT... 5 CAPUT MORTUUM: PSYCHOPOMP CAPUT MORTUUM: PROJECTION CONCLUSION v

9 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Design for Incipit Figure 2. Carving found books Figure 3. Interior support structure for Incipit Figure 4. Incipit Figure 5. Flax paper octahedrons Figure 6. Abaca-cotton paper pulp covering octahedrons Figure 7. Psychopomp Figure 8. Design for Projection Figure 9. Binding diagram for Projection Figure 10. Punching sheets for Projection binding Figure 11. Sumi ink washing sheets Figure 12. Sumi washed sheets drying Figure 13. Dried sheets ready for binding Figure 14. Projection vi

10 BACKGROUND In the 15 th and 16 th century, a resurgence in the study of alchemy, a religious pseudo-science and a precursor to the exploration of nature before the scientific method was available, spread across Europe and Asia. I discovered alchemy in September 2003 while aimlessly searching the stacks in my hometown university library. I had seen the word alchemy used in a number of novels but I never imagined it was a real study until I saw shelves holding dozens of books on the subject. Seeing research compiled from alchemists that had actually attempted transmutation, or physical and molecular transformation of matter appeared at an interesting time, as I had recently read that modern day physicists had achieved this type of transformation utilizing particle accelerators and radioactive materials. I began my investigation into alchemic transmutation immediately. Could there be some ancient method to completely transform one object or element into another? The term Philosopher s Stone kept showing up in the texts I was reading. This Stone was said to be a substance that possessed the ability to transmute and purify any substance it came into contact with. Over time, the idea of transmutation and purification became nearly synonymous in my mind and it grew with the alchemic works I was reading. While researching the Stone s capabilities I discovered that there was another, more mystical, alchemical practice: Spiritual Alchemy. Alchemists were very adept at coding their research, and it was thought that this level of practice was the real heart of alchemy, while the allegory and metaphor used by philosophers, another commonly used term for alchemist, kept uninitiated scholars grounded in the physical world, their searching futile. Those blind to the spiritual aspects of alchemy wanted the Stone s power 1

11 in order to change base metals into gold in an attempt to get rich quick or to possess the elixir of life, another substance created out of the Philosopher s Stone, so that they might live forever. Despite their numerous attempts to create the Stone, none were successful and I believe that it is due to the processes of alchemy being in the spiritual rather than the physical realm. In spiritual alchemy the philosopher created the Philosopher s Stone from within his or her own body becoming a living Stone that gained spiritual enlightenment. This enlightenment would forever change the individual, transmuting their consciousness and purifying their spirit, allowing them to become closer to God and attaining spiritual immortality. At this time in my life I had a bleak outlook on life that had begun to sour the activities I had previously found thrilling and fun. The negative energy that my depression was creating was seeping into everything: my job, my marriage, and my artistic endeavors. When I discovered alchemy, it was like I had been given a sign from a divine entity that there was a way to be happy again physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I decided to begin practicing alchemy as a means to transmute the negative energy within me into a positive creative force. I decided to begin my enlightenment process with spagyrics. Spagyrics, or plant-based alchemy, involves working by hand with herbs in order to produce medicinal tinctures. This was an excellent first step in my path to enlightenment as it helped me to understand auric energies and how one transfers a part of ones self into what he or she creates, purifies it, and then draws its new form back in to be rejoined with their whole self. It also taught me that I can purify objects by working with them physically, and that the pleasure and knowledge gained from this work fed my 2

12 own spirituality. Through this work, I began to see connections growing out of the sculpture I was creating and alchemy. I was manipulating found books, particularly discarded tomes, by cutting and reconstructing them into aesthetically pleasing shapes. This reshaping of old books that no one found particularly useful into works of art was more than just visually engaging for me. I was working a material with my hands, imbuing it with my own emotions and energies. As I reshaped the pages of a book with a saw or with glue, I was breaking the raw material down and recreating it into something else. This is the very essence of alchemic work. Each piece I created was a physical practice of alchemy in art. Furthermore, the meditative process that this type of work led to helped me focus inward and utilize my negative energies and thoughts to a more creative and positive end. As I reshaped the book, I was reshaped myself. In alchemy there are four phases in the creation of a Philosopher s Stone: the Black Phase, White Phase, Yellow Phase, and Red Phase. The Red Phase concludes with the creation of the Stone with the achievement of enlightenment and immortality. Caput Mortuum translates to The Dead Head and is closely linked with the Black Phase, where the alchemist becomes aware of his place in the microcosm and macrocosm of the universe. This results with the understanding and acceptance of one s own mortality and the ultimate death of the Ego, allowing the alchemist to be spiritually reborn in the White Phase as a purified being. As my work has progressed I gained a deeper understanding of my place in the universe. Caput Mortuum initially began as a means for me to express that I had completed enough alchemic work to progress spiritually. I was ready to transcend and become the Philosopher s Stone. As I worked on each piece however, I saw how my 3

13 initial view was skewed and that I still had a long way to go in my spiritual journey. It became evident to me that this series of work was just a small part in my own transmutation and that I had not even fully moved beyond the first step, the Black Phase, that I began almost thirteen years ago. Once I accepted this realization, I felt everything fall into place. My ego deadened by the experience, I feel as though I am truly ready to move on. In short, this series of work has become a physical representation of my spiritual transformation as I move through, and complete, the Black Phase of alchemy. 4

14 CAPUT MORTUUM: INCIPIT Incipit is constructed of found books stacked into four columns seven feet in height. The covers of the books are painted with a layer of gesso paint and then sumi ink washed to appear black and slightly textured. The tops of the stacks will be cut by hand at an angled gradient using a scroll saw with finer detail work being performed with a Dremel sander. These cuts reveal a pattern created by bisecting the text within the book, and the towers resemble broken Greek columns. Since stability is an issue, the books not cut with the scroll saw have been hollowed out and slid over an internal wooden structure that is completely hidden from view. Numbers and their meanings play heavily into alchemical allegory and for Incipit, and Caput Mortuum overall, this is no different. Alchemists utilized the classical elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water to explain the process of transmutation. Each element is possessed of two qualities that were shared with another element: Fire is Hot and Dry, Earth is Dry and Cold, Water is Cold and Wet, and Air is Wet and Hot. Alchemists believed that through the altering of these qualities, one could completely transform one element into another. They also believed that all things in the universe were composed of various quantities of these elements, and so the number four came to represent creation and the material world. Four is also representative of materiality in a religious connotation. The Tetragrammaton, or the true name of God, is composed of four Hebrew letters and it was this name that God spoke that ushered in the creation of the material plane. Seven is the most used number in alchemy and is used in the height of the columns to represent the number of steps or processes needed to create the Philosopher s 5

15 Stone. Each of these steps fits into the colored phases of alchemy, and the number seven fits into Incipit as an allegory for understanding the steps needed for personal and spiritual transformation. The number 260 itself has no significance, however each singular number in the series, 2-6-0, has its own meaning. Two is the duality of humankind in both genders as well as the blending of both a physical and spiritual being. Six is the number of harmony, often visually represented by a hexagram or six-pointed star. Breaking down the star reveals two overlapping triangles and is symbolic of the alchemical saying As Above, So Below which means what exists in the macrocosm is mirrored in the microcosm. In this instance the macrocosm is the Divine and the microcosm is man. Zero is tied to the Ouroboros, a serpent or dragon devouring its own tail. The Ouroboros is a symbol of cyclical energy, re-creation, and self-reflection. As the dragon devours itself, it is reborn into a new being. This rebirth is imperfect, causing the dragon to devour itself again. This is indicative of all alchemic processes. At each stage of the work, the alchemist is considered the lowest form and must endeavor to progress to the next step. As transcendence occurs, the alchemist is like a child born anew into the appropriate phase. This stage of birth, aging, death, and rebirth harkens back to the Ouroboros, a being that has been made, destroyed, and then made again. Incipit is the introduction to the Black Phase and the piece calls to the beginning of my own research into alchemy. The color of the books mirrors both the phase and the overwhelming darkness that had consumed my life. The towers represent the enormous amount of research that went into my understanding of alchemy and its practices, and the bisected text shows how, as I read, I discovered the hidden meaning behind the words, 6

16 phrases, and symbols utilized by the Philosophers who came before me. I was seeing the truth behind the truth and deepening both my understanding and my desire to achieve change in my life to achieve spiritual transmutation. The columns are also indicative of a Stonehenge like structure, calling out to the ethereal powers-that-be that I was beginning to comprehend my own being and that I was ready to take my first step toward the Philosopher s Stone. 7

17 Figure 1. Design for Incipit. 8

18 Figure 2. Carving found books. 9

19 Figure 3. Interior support structure for Incipit. 10

20 Figure 4. Incipit. 11

21 CAPUT MORTUUM: PSYCHOPOMP The second piece, Psychopomp, is a set of seven forms that deal with the soul s emergence from the Black Phase of alchemy into the White. Octahedrons, produced from handmade flax paper, are covered in an abaca-cotton pulp solution and allowed to dry. Each octahedron is covered differently, with the first being completely covered in several layers of pulp and the last not being covered at all. This produces a visual range with the emergence of the octahedron from the pulp fiber. The abaca-cotton mix is then painted with sumi ink to appear nearly black while portions of the octahedrons that are visible receive no such treatment. As the pulp mix dries it shrinks, causing the octahedrons to distort, the pulp peeling back away from them, further illustrating the shedding of the pulp in becoming a complete and flawless geometric figure. Again the number seven is used, once more referencing the number of alchemical steps needed to produce the Philosopher s Stone and achieve immortality. The number eight, characterized by the octahedral forms, represents rebirth and a new beginning. It is also the number of balance and eternity. The number turned on its side becomes the symbol most commonly used to mean infinity. This is a call to the human soul, widely regarded as an indestructible and intangible thing that resides within everyone. A psychopomp is a guide capable of showing paths of transition through various stages of life. In Caput Mortuum, Psychopomp is a message from the macrocosmic guide rather than the guide itself. This transition of octahedrons emerging from the black tar of paper pulp demonstrates the essential function of the Black Phase: the shedding of negative emotions and the death of the ego. This piece is the means by which transmutation takes place. As the soul discards the burdens and emotional sediment that it 12

22 has picked up throughout its existence, it is allowed to change and reshape itself into a divine thing, taking the octahedral shape. The last form stands clean and pure from the grime, reborn in the next Phase as a representation of spiritual purity. It is important to note that even though there are seven forms being presented the overall piece is a visual portrayal of a single soul s transformation. Figure 5. Flax paper octahedrons. 13

23 Figure 6. Abaca-cotton paper pulp covering octahedrons. 14

24 Figure 7. Psychopomp. 15

25 CAPUT MORTUUM: PROJECTION Projection is a book composed out of handmade paper that has been sumi ink washed and bound into wooden boards. The book is 5 x 6.5 x 7. It incorporates binding on the fore edge and the spine edge. The spine changes location throughout the structure. The oak boards are drilled, sanded, lightly shaped, and stained to darken the wood and to bring out the natural grain. The binding variant, chosen for its stability, combines a single needle link stitch with a French web style. This combination allowed me to contort the shape of the book creating twists and undulations to invite and intrigue the viewer. Aesthetically, I find both binding styles beautiful and wished to use them more sculpturally. As the book begins, it is sewn on both the fore edge and the spine. The leaves of the pages overlap from each side of the book until the swell of the interleaved pages simply cannot be controlled. From there, the fore edge and spine branch out away from one another and continue on their own for about a foot, ending in a wooden board. From here the process begins again with both the fore edge and the spine being bound. This progression into two more lengths is shorter, and each ends in a wooden board. Again the branching occurs, though I am more selective as to which lengths are allowed to grow, which I have kept shorter, and which have ended altogether. This process continues until the book reaches seven feet in length. The number five is important here as five is the number of mankind, composed of the various quantities of the four elements but also possessing a soul or spirit. The height of the book also carries numerical significance. It is neither six nor seven but something 16

26 between. This serves as a personal reminder that while I am still a man I can become something more, achieving balance and harmony and ascending to even greater heights. This is the third appearance of the number seven and here it embodies a different type of understanding than in Incipit. In Incipit, the understanding was This is what I must do to change, whereas in Projection, it is This is what it means to change. The book is a physical manifestation of the final step in the Black Phase: the stripping away of all the negative aspects of the self allowing the spiritual pureness to emerge, reach out, and find its way to the next step. The pages, tinted dark but lighter than the previous works, showcase the transmission from the Black Phase to the White Phase. The natural wood boards are the structural support that the art of spagyrics has provided for me. They emerge throughout the book as I return to the basic principles that plant alchemy teaches whenever I am confronted with the darkness I once felt. The thread, crimson in color, crisscrosses the spine and serves as a reminder that the Philosopher s Stone, or enlightenment, is the ultimate goal and that all actions in alchemy are held together with that focus in mind. The branches are also important symbolically, serving as the various paths I attempted while searching for a way out of my depression. Projection ends with a single wooden board at the end of a long stretch of pages. This ending shows that I have ceased working in the Black Phase and that I have conquered my fears and doubts, removing my uncertainty and sadness and embracing a realm of new possibilities. 17

27 Figure 8. Design for Projection. 18

28 Figure 9. Binding diagram for Projection. 19

29 Figure 10. Punching sheets for Projection binding. 20

30 Figure 11. Sumi ink washing sheets. 21

31 Figure 12. Sumi washed sheets drying. 22

32 Figure 13. Dried sheets ready for binding. 23

33 Figure 14. Projection. 24

34 CONCLUSION Caput Mortuum is a series of works that range in style from found book manipulation, something I was working on before I began my MFA degree, to paper manipulation, and hand binding on a large scale. I believe these sculptural book and paper forms have not only allowed me to express my own spiritual journey in alchemy, but have provided ample inspiration for the future. I look forward to these forthcoming works, free from the spiritual taints of my past and ready to explore new boundaries of form and function. I am ready to transcend. 25