art sparks art: The Spiral's Pull

Saturday, January 14, 2012

The Spiral's Pull

Bruce Nauman, The true artist helps the world by revealing mystic truths, 1967

Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty, 1970

Gustav Klimt, The Tree of Life, 1909


Istvan Orosz, poster for the designer's personal work, year unknown

The spiraling Escheresque illustration by Istvan Orosz was originally designed for an art exhibition whose purpose was to show the continuity and influence of ancient ages on contemporary arts. The design was later used as a poster for Orosz's personal exhibit.

We live in a spiral-shaped galaxy. The spiraling aspects of nature are myriad: coiled snakes, vines, ammonites, tornadoes, whirlpools in water. The double helix that carries our DNA is a spiral that grows at a fixed rate and our sense of sound travels through the spiraled cochlea within our ears. When we curl our fingers into our hands, we observe a golden spiral. It's no wonder that swirling spirals are hypnotic to us; they permeate the very essence of our beings.

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About

In the visual arts, the term appropriation often refers to the use of borrowed elements in the creation of new work. The borrowed elements may include images, forms or styles from art history or from popular culture, or materials and techniques from non-art contexts. There are patterns in art which are self-repeating and when we see them, we are often absorbed by them. Art sparks art is a space that I will use to post findings of appropriation or alternatively, I will post threads that are linked through a continuity in theme.