Reviews

Alchemy existed in the vanguard of science

Alchemy was a crude beginning: a hodge-podge of primitive chemistry, mysticism, astrology and philosophy brought together in the search for the two most valuable commodities of the post-classical world. These were the most precious of metals -- gold -- and the most prized of all treasures: life itself.

The alchemists' centuries-long search for the philosopher's stone, which could transmute common metals into shining gold; and for the elixir of life, which could defeat mankind's oldest and most feared enemy -- death -- produced neither. But the search itself did contribute to the development of our modern physical sciences.

It also works as a metaphor in a series of compositions by Hannah Klaus Hunter, now on display at the Davis Community Gallery. Each work, a combination of painting and collage mounted on handmade paper, reproduces the image of the clear, round, short-necked bottle that held the alchemist's concoctions. But each bottle reveals unique images and colors that explore the deepest and most ancient associations between myth and mind.

Each piece is about the same size, no more than 12-by-16 inches, and is mounted within an (appropriately) gold frame. The first of these, "Quatrain", (four lines of verse) begins with a rectangle of pale green paper, upon which is a golden rectangle that contains a large circle, divided into four roughly equal parts. Circular motifs appear and re-appear within each work, evoking the image of the transparent bottle.

Within the large circle are four pictures, each a color image from a magazine or other such publication (a collage), pasted onto a rectangular piece of paper that has been painted gold. Sentences are written with pencil into the surface. The four pictures show a section of red rose, medieval lovers, the interior of a church, and a section of a manuscript written in Hebrew. These images could readily evoke a poem, thus the work's title.

Farther along the west wall, the visitor will find "Clouds Flowed Around Us." Two large images of classical sculpture are pasted on a background of gold, and decorated with English words. The boundary of these combined images is a circle; at the top, near the "neck" of the bottle, is a picture of a green beetle; an orange flower is at the bottom. While the flower most likely refers to life, certain insects, notably ants or beetles, have symbolized death from medieval times. Medieval artists combined these archetypes as a commentary on the brevity, as well as the beauty, of life.

"Fall to Grace" turns an old theme back on itself. Against a violet background, we see a Renaissance statue of Eve offering Adam the apple, with a fig leaf at the bottom and sections of butterfly wings, a classical bust and stairs at top. It would seem that the loss of primeval innocence, related in the Bible as a fall from grace, also might be construed as the opposite: the event that precipitated the beginnings of civilization and all its constructs. Humanity could not soar on wings of invention until it emerged from its cocoon.

"You Know Who You Are" shows the alchemist's flask in an unusual but effective combination of colors: violet, white and a flush of orange. A hand is painted in the center of the flask, rotated so that we see the back of the hand. The old saying goes that if someone knows a location well, it's known "like the back of his hand." The edges of the picture contain a double row of collaged Hebrew script, an ancient language and transmitter of cultural heritage for much of the world. If one knows where she is and how she got there, truly she can say that she knows who she is.

"The Idea of Permanence" is a striking composition, set on red-violet paper and unified by the repetition of that color and related hues in the design's collaged elements. The "neck of the bottle" is a cut-out of a marble sculpture of the female torso, with a large blue eye staring out from the sternum. The "body of the bottle," surrounded by three concentric rings of collage, contains the images of henna-decorated feet and hands on a pink background, along with a stylized wall in the center.

Hunter combines antique images from many cultures for her artworks, in effect comparing the many forms of transmitted culture. The marble torso certainly is an example of a long-lived artifact. While the henna patterns on the feet and hands will wear off quickly, the patterns themselves are very old, having been passed down through many generations. Can we argue that they are any less permanent, in their own way, than the stone sculpture?

Other works in this show explore issues of time, birth, separation, distance and worship. Although the images in any one work may seem disconnected at first, they're not random. A little thought and time are required, in order to put them together.

Those who work at or visit CommuniCare Health Center will be able to see these works more than once; what may seem inexplicable at first might make more sense with repeated exposure. Since this show will be up throughout the summer, we'll all have plenty of opportunities to visit again and again.

Each of Hunter's works is provocative in its own way, which makes all of them the best kind of artwork. Each challenges the viewer to feel and think, as well as to enjoy the interplay of colors and patterns within a given picture. Although they're decorative and small in scale, that doesn't mean they're small in an artistic sense.

Once upon a time, size and medium dictated importance. But big doesn't always mean best, and oil paint doesn't guarantee depth. One doesn't need a palace and princely sums to have some worthwhile art.

Out of a small alchemist's bottle can come gold.

Guardian

 

Suzanne Munich

Davis Enterprise

June 3, 2004