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Indepth Arts News: "ANCIENT PALACES - THE GREEN LION : THE CREATIVE SPIRIT ITSELF" 2008-05-23 until 2008-05-24 Cesi Palace, Camaver Kunsthaus Acquasparta, , IT Italy
Green Lion is the ambitious title of the artistic event that will
present, not only paintings, but also sculptures, photography, literature,
music and movies. The exhibition is inspired by one of the most important
members of the group of Renaissance scientists and inventors who made up
the Lincei Academy at Cesi Palace: Giovan Battista Della Porta. Della
Porta was a Universal Man, he was the Vice President of The Lincei Academy
but, even more so, he was one of the most important men in his time. He
was an alchemist, he invented the camera obscura, and he was one of the
first to write many books about modern natural sciences, physiognomy,
cryptography and optics, among others. The Green Lion was the symbol used
by alchemists to encompass different concepts: it represents the natural
world: both the vegetable and the mineral kingdom; it was the symbol of
the lymphatic energy of plants, but also of the process of transmuting
metals. The green lion was often associated with VITRIOL (acronym of an
ancient Latin: Visita interiora terrae rectificando invenies occultum
lapidem - veram medicina. (Visit the inner earth and by discovering your
true self you will find the hidden stone - the real medicine.) Furthermore
the Green Lion represents one of the essential stages in the alchemic
process: transmutation, evolution, generating substances.
Very often the lion has been portrayed with the sun into its mouth, trying
to swallow it. This symbol is a kind of synthesis, implying the act of
regaining control over both natural and vital energies.
We can consider alchemy as being something more than an ancient form of
science: it linked science with metaphysic. Natural sciences and occult
sciences became intertwined, with the aim of finding explications for
natural phenomena. Alchemists aimed at creating an elixir for longevity,
as well as the famous philosophers stone. This was an attempt to overcome
the lack of balance they observed all around them and which they defined
as diseases.
So alchemy became a way of controlling spiritual energy through unique
acts, and by means of a number of specific symbolic rituals, corresponding
to particular procedures (putrefaction, calcination, distillation,
sublimation).
Finally, we can consider the Green Lion as a representation of the
creative spirit itself, described as the agent of any interior
transformation. In other words, art becomes a process not mediated by the
intellect, but by pure instinct, the handmaiden of the creative spirit.
The “Green Lion” exhibition in Palazzo Cesi in Acquasparta will present
many of the results manifested by this creative spirit.
View more of Mary Manseys work in her Portfolio: absolutearts.com/marymansey
Pilar Perez-Prado's work can be viewed in her Portfolio: http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/p/pilarperezprado
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