Sculpture No.252_ Under the Apple Tree
18″ X 5″Round
To accompany these sculptures there are 260 drawings and 3 paintings not shown here.
During Newton’s lifetime, alchemy and chemistry were considered virtually interchangeable.
“Alchemists were the first to realize that compounds could be broken down into their constituent parts and then recombined. Newton then applied that to white light, which he deconstructed into constituent colors and then recombined,” says Newman. “That’s something Newton got from alchemy.” (1)
Newton’s favorite alchemist was George Starkey. Starkey’s recipe translated by modern scholars for “sophick mercury” -the main ingredient in what is called ‘the Philosopher’s Stone’, a stone which could turn base metals like lead into precious metals like gold- involves repeatedly distilling mercury before heating it with a small amount of gold. The process will apparently produce an alloy with strikingly delicate branch-like structures, resembling a tree. (2)
It is a coincidence that the tree and Isaac Newton meet here in his relationship to alchemy as well as in one of the most famous anecdotes in the history of science. The young Isaac Newton is sitting in his mother’s garden in Lincolnshire, when an apple falls on his head, although there is no evidence to suggest that it hit him on the head, it is implied in a stroke of brilliant insight and inspiration he suddenly comes up with his theory of gravity. (3)
Reading about Newton’s interests and life events led me to connect my thoughts to lines written in my advisors’ last assessment. Michael Bowdidge suggested “to become increasingly reflexive- What I broadly recommend would be akin to Newton that he spends more time hanging out in orchards.” This inspired the sculpture no.252 Under the Apple Tree and research on Sir Isaac Newton which revealed an ironic, hidden perspective or a tree with delicate branch-like structures; leading to a metaphor and drawn lines I’ve used throughout the sculpture.
Alchemy has been a branch on the tree of my work and research over the past ten years. In my work I refer to alchemy not only as a scientific procedure but also by the second dictionary definition as “a person (thing) who transforms or creates something through a seemingly magical process.” (4)
White light is an expansive, metaphysical and spiritual theory in which all light particles combined encompass love, healing and the ‘I am’ of Christ. White light can be incorporated into practices of meditation in White Light. (5)
In color theory and optics because white is comprised of equal amounts of red, green, and blue that together produce white light, the extensive connotations of this mixing causes these colors to be described as primary additive colors. (6) I could expand my thoughts on this into the circle and how the circle is the shape of color mixing diagrams, or how everything is connected to everything else in the universe as ‘universal knowledge’ and can be drawn back to the visual forms of the sculpture. However, I also need focus on the to process of constituent parts used in the sculpture that recombining which Newton then applied to white light.
Throughout my two years of study I have sought to expose a seemingly magical process that happens between artist and objects that are captivated with a lifelike force. The process of constituent parts is an ingredient in the creative recipe for my process of inspiration. I choose each piece for its small details which together form the whole but are also extremely important and sometimes overlooked in their individual details.
Under the Apple Tree supports two upper, outreached circles -one that has raised facets and a rim, the other is concave or convex depending on the view. The upper circles, equally advancing or retracting, are finished in rust as a display of growth or continuous change which is the definition of life. The 3rd and lower hollow circle is a socket; I cut the end and photographed as a close-up to distinguish the artist’s ideas in space and the dimensions of the mind as never-ending. Lines connect to the sculptures ‘heart of truth’ fostered by process in education and experience. I could go on but I think you get the point and how the process of my visual life works.
For now the sculpture No.252 Under the Apple Tree will live in the reflective space of my meditation place to see if it calls for a color or not.
no. 252 _Under the Apple Tree
In short, this sculpture, started in reflection a playful conversation of Sir Isaac Newton and relativity in a wide reach of theories drawn across branches that shoot for the sky. If there was time I would in this segment have talked about Basquiat, Klein, Beuys, and how it ties to the reading I’m currently doing-
essay- https://www.michellevara.com/2017/03/11/metal-sculpture/
During Newton’s lifetime, alchemy and chemistry
- http://www.history.com/news/rediscovering-the-alchemy-of-isaac-newton
- http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-isaac-newton and http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/the-core-of-truth-behind-sir-isaac-newtons-apple-1870915.html
- https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=alchemists+definition&*&dobs=alchemists
- Going to the center of your existence; silent, stay relaxed and still. Appreciate the divine presence of your soul within your heart. Using spiritual phrase or mantra that comforts you, for example: “Aum”, “peace”, “Our Father in Heaven”, “Our Lady”, “Bismillah”, “Sairam”.
- https://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/optics/lightandcolor/primary.html