Runes - significance and meaning

Runes - Significance and Meaning 

                                                                                                                                                                   

Runes have two purposes, one - to be used as an alphabet

'The runic alphabets are called “futharks” after the first six runes (Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz, Ansuz, Raidho, Kaunan), in much the same way that the word “alphabet” comes from the names of the first two Semitic letters (Aleph, Beth). There are three principal futharks: the 24-character Elder Futhark, the first fully-formed runic alphabet, whose development had begun by the first century CE and had been completed before the year 400;[4] the 16-character Younger Futhark, which began to diverge from the Elder Futhark around the beginning of the Viking Age (c. 750 CE)[5] and eventually replaced that older alphabet in Scandinavia; and the 33-character Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, which gradually altered and added to the Elder Futhark in England. On some inscriptions, the twenty-four runes of the Elder Futhark were divided into three ættir (Old Norse, “families”) of eight runes each,[6] but the significance of this division is unfortunately unknown.' 

                                                                                                                                                  

What were they made from?

Runes were traditionally carved onto stone, wood, bone, metal, or some similarly hard surface rather than drawn with ink and pen on parchment. This explains their sharp, angular form, which was well-suited to the medium.

                                                                                                                                                                   

  Runes - Second use

 Each rune was an ideographic or pictographic symbol of some cosmological principle or power, and to write a rune was to invoke and direct the force for which it stood. Indeed, in every Germanic language, the word “rune” (from Proto-Germanic *runo) means both “letter” and “secret” or “mystery,” and its original meaning, which likely predated the adoption of the runic alphabet, may have been simply “(hushed) message.”

Each rune had a name that hinted at the philosophical and magical significance of its visual form and the sound for which it stands, which was almost always the first sound of the rune’s name. For example, the T-rune, called *Tiwaz in the Proto-Germanic language, is named after the god Tiwaz (known as Tyr in the Viking Age). Tiwaz was perceived to dwell within the daytime sky, and, accordingly, the visual form of the T-rune is an arrow pointed upward (which surely also hints at the god’s martial role). The T-rune was often carved as a standalone ideograph, apart from the writing of any particular word, as part of spells cast to ensure victory in battle.

                                                                                                                                                                   

Reflection : 

Runes have been of interest to me for many years now, as there forgotten language and hidden meanings create a impression of mystery and heritage. Much like tarot cards and other forms of divination, which were widely used in ancient Britain and across Europe. Life in the middle ages was particularly fraught with uncertainty regarding crops, livestock and fertility in general. Having an insight into the future holds a particular interest to us, even today, as our lives are just as fragile in many ways. The Runes pictured in the above images have a harsh gestural appearance, there deliberate marks echo the way in which they were carved. Runes, that symbolise marks of the gods have a powerful connotations tied to them and often appear through gestural poses in tribal dances.

                                                                                                                                                                   

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runes

http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/meanings.html

 http://www.celtic-runes.org.uk/

http://norse-mythology.org/runes/

Book  used:

Blum. R (1993). The book of Runes . L.A California : Mandarian Offset . 87-135.

Forest Bathing / Shinrin-yoku

Forest Bathing

 Breathe, relax, wander, touch, listen, heal.

                                                                                                                                                                 


"Shinrin-yoku is a term that means "taking in the forest atmosphere" or "forest bathing." It was developed in Japan during the 1980's and has become a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine. Researchers primarily in Japan and South Korea have established a robust body of scientific literature on the health benefits of spending time under the canopy of a living forest. Now their research is helping to establish shinrin-yoku and forest therapy throughout the world." - http://www.shinrin-yoku.org/shinrin-yoku.html

                                                                                                                                                                 

"The tonic of the wilderness was Henry David Thoreau’s classic prescription for civilization and its discontents, offered in the 1854 essay Walden: Or, Life in the Woods. Now there’s scientific evidence supporting eco-therapy. The Japanese practice of forest bathing is proven to lower heart rate and blood pressure, reduce stress hormone production, boost the immune system, and improve overall feelings of well being.

Forest bathing—basically just being in the presence of trees—became part of a national public health program in Japan in 1982 when the forestry ministry coined the phrase shinrin-yoku and promoted topiary as therapy. Nature appreciation—picnicking en masse under the cherry blossoms, for example—is a national pastime in Japan, so forest bathing quickly took. The environment’s wisdom has long been evident to the culture: Japan’s Zen masters asked: If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, does it make a sound?

To discover the answer, masters do nothing, and gain illumination. Forest bathing works similarly: Just be with trees. No hiking, no counting steps on a Fitbit. You can sit or meander, but the point is to relax rather than accomplish anything."  - https://qz.com/804022/health-benefits-japanese-forest-bathing/

                                                                                                                                                                   


Being in the presence of nature, is essential for personal and spiritual growth, and is a fundamental part of my growing practice as an artist. I am a firm believer in the healing properties that are to be found in the natural world. It is important to me to create a dialogue between human beings, and the natural environment. Using a form of mindfulness, to clear the mind of negativity and absorb in the scenery around you, particularly the healing essence of the trees who have been scientifically proven to emit oxygen and breathe in carbon dioxide. 

                                                                                                                                                                 


 Some benefits of trees:
                                                 

• Trees can reduce air temperature by blocking sunlight. Further cooling occurs when water evaporates from the leaf surface. The conversion of water to air vapor --- a chemical process --- removes heat energy from the air.

 An acre of trees absorb enough carbon dioxide in a year to equal the amount produced when you         drive a car 26,000 miles. 

Trees can separate and define space thus providing a sense of privacy, solitude and security, and           create a feeling of relaxation and well being.

• Sound waves are absorbed by tree leaves and branches. A belt of trees 100 feet wide and 45 feet high can reduce highway noise by 50 percent.

Source: https://projects.ncsu.edu/project/treesofstrength/benefits.htm

                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                                   

house structure - Scotland

The Gruffalo House

I came across this structure, as I walked around a wooded area that accompanied a castle, whilst I was on holiday in Oban Scotland. What I find so enchanting about this structure is the innocence and nostalgia in both the materials used and the arrangement of the sticks. The camouflaging natural materials aid to authenticate the story of the Gruffalo. The fluidity of the shape of the structure evokes a sense of whimsy that is instrumental in creating the appearance of a dwelling. 

Jonty Hurwitz: Artist Research

Jonty Hurwitz

'Anamorphic illustrations that reveal themselves in the presence of a cylindrical mirror, go back to the 1500s. Jonty Hurwitz takes a similar idea but plays it out in sculpture form, creating distorted objects that reveal a clear image only in front of that shiny cylinder.

Hurwitz has a keen interest in both art and physics, and his pieces tend to be created as carefully constructed optical illusions, pieces that appear complete from one perspective, but are only fully appreciated when you see them from the "wrong" perspective. To design these sculptures, he starts with a 3D image of what the sculpture should look like in the mirror, and uses a combination of mathematical algorithms and hand manipulation to distort the sculpture in just the right way.' -  i09

'Artist Jonty Hurwitz begins with over a billion computer calculations before spending months considering how to materialise his warped ideas using perspex, steel, resin, or copper.'

Artist quotation:

For the anamorphic pieces its an algorithmic thing, distorting the original sculptures in 3D space using 2πr or πr3 (cubed). Much of it is mathematical, relying on processing power. There is also a lot of hand manipulation to make it all work properly too as spacial transformation have a subtle sweet spot which can only be found by eye. Generally I will 3D scan my subject in a lab and then work the model using Mathematica or a range of 3D software tools. I think the π factor is really important in these pieces. We all know about this irrational number but the anamorphic pieces really are a distortion of a “normal” sculpture onto an imaginary sphere with its centre at the heart of the cylinder.


                                                                                                                                                                   

Although arguable an impressive highly mathematical process, that creates an instant wow factor. After the initial jaw-drop,  I find there to be a coldness and inhuman nature to the work, that  which although ignites curiosity at first also feels without heart. This well may be, due to my own artistic preferences being more in the way of handcrafting. I do however, enjoy the use of distortion within the work, and will be looking more into that theme throughout my practise as a whole.

                                                                                                                                                                  

sources:

http://www.jontyhurwitz.com/

http://io9.gizmodo.com/5979257/anamorphic-sculptures-reveal-their-secret-shapes-in-the-mirror

http://www.thisismarvelous.com/anamorphic-sculptures-by-jonty-hurwitz/

http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/01/the-skewed-anamorphic-sculptures-and-engineered-illusions-of-jonty-hurwitz/

The giant causeway - Scotland Photography - Primary research

The giants causeways - Staffa 

Photographs, taken from the Giants causeway, in Scotland. 

These images offer a sense of  grandeur within the scale of the location, which can be seen to possess sculptural qualities. The rocks which present themselves as stepping stones, have a fairy tale essence to them, which evokes a sense of mystery and romance to the location. The boat journey to the island creates connotations of a pilgrimage which adds to the wonder of the area. Due to the location being hard to reach it feel as through you travelling into another world.

This Folk story goes as follows:

Finn MacCool, the handsome giant of Ireland, lived on the wild northern coast, and occasionally he sat at the edge of the sea, sucking on his thumb. That thumb, see, was the source of Finn's knowledge. Whenever he had a question, any puzzle at all, he sucked that thumb and the answer came.

Finn fell in love with a giantess named Oonagh who lived on a rocky isle across the Irish Sea. Trouble was, Finn could not swim, so how would he reach his beloved? He thought a while, and then he tore up some trees, and he built himself a boat, but when he stepped inside, that boat sank under his weight. After all, Finn was a giant.

So Finn sucked on his thumb, and next thing he was gathering columns of rock, six-sided each, flat-topped and weighing 10 tons. He stood on the shore and tossed those columns, one after another, into the sea.

And sure enough, all the way from Finn's home on the Antrim coast to Oonagh's isle lay a path of stones called the Giant's Causeway.

Finn went off to woo Oonagh, and next thing you know, those two married and had a son, a lad named Ossian who grew up and left home to live among the fairies. Oonagh and Finn were sad to see him go, but everyone near and far could still hear them singing late into the night, that's how happy they were together.

Most everyone loved that singing, but there was one who suffered at the sound. His name was Benandonner, and he was a giant, too. Benandonner lived all alone on the isle of Staffa, and a lonelier fellow there never was.

Benandonner was a hairy giant, as hideous as Finn was handsome. No one could love such a creature dressed in clothes of rat and skunk skins, a fellow with three eyes, one big and round and right in the center of his forehead.

So Oonagh and Finn laughed and sang, and Benandonner scowled and grumbled, until one stormy day he sent a message by bird, challenging Finn to fight for Oonagh's love.

Finn and Oonagh laughed at this challenge, but Finn knew he must accept it. He sent a message back to Benandonner, inviting him to visit on the next fine day.

The next sunny summer day Benandonner walked across that Giant Causeway and right up to Finn's door.

Oonagh answered the knock. "Finn's away," she said, for Finn had gone to take a walk. "Come tomorrow," she said, so Benandonner promised he would.

That night, when Finn saw the giant footsteps outside his door, he trembled with fear. "Sure he be a huge monster," said Finn to Oonagh.

"So he is," she said, "but never mind. I know how we'll fix him, we will." And she told Finn exactly what to do.

The next day Oonagh answered the knock at the door, but this time Finn was home, except he was hiding. He was curled up inside the cradle that once belonged to Ossian, bundled up in blankets so that only his eyes were revealed.

"What's this, your baby?" Benandonner asked when he saw the cradle rocking there, and he leaned over and looked into the baby's gleaming eyes.

"Sure he is," Oonagh said, "and Finn will be home soon. Sit you down and eat some of my oat cakes." She gave him a plateful of the cakes she had baked, but into these she slipped pieces of the metal griddle.

Now Benandonner took a bite, and he let out a screech so loud, the whole of Ireland shook. He had broken half his teeth when he chomped on a griddle piece. "What's in these?" he asked, and Oonagh shrugged.

"Baby loves them -- butter and sugar and eggs and flour," she said, and she fed one of the cakes to Finn lying there in the cradle, but this one was soft and fluffy without a bit of griddle inside. Finn swallowed it down.

"That baby must have teeth of iron," Benandonner said. He bent over the cradle, leaned in, and stuck his finger in the baby's mouth.

Crunch! Finn bit down on that finger so hard it came right off.

Benandonner wailed again. "What kind of baby is he? Strong enough to bite off a giant's finger?"

"He's just a wee thing," Oonagh said, "not that strong yet, though his daddy teaches him things."

Benandonner laughed nervously. "What kind of things?" he asked.

Oonagh smiled as she lifted a rock. "To squeeze the juice from rocks," she said, handing over the rock to Finn.

Finn squeezed, and sure enough, liquid began to ooze from that rock because, see, Oonagh played a trick: This rock was but a rock of cheese.

"Let me try that," Benandonner cried, and Oonagh handed him another rock.

Benandonner squeezed and squeezed, and he was strong, sure he was, but nobody can squeeze liquid out of a true rock, and that it was.

Benandonner looked again at the ooze dripping out of the rock in the cradle. And then he thought if this baby be strong like this, what must his father be?

He began to tremble, and then he said, "I'll be going now," and he backed out of that house and ran across the causeway. But halfway across a thought struck him, and he stopped. Then, working feverishly with all his great strength, he carried away the middle section of those rocks, one by one, for he had no wish for a visit from the monstrous Finn.

And that is why, these days, only the beginning and the end remain of the Giant's Causeway, one on Staffa Island, home of Benandonner, and another on the Antrim coast, just near the place where Finn lived.

And that's how people know this tale.

                                                                                                                                                                 

This story is a example of how folklore and myth, was used in explaining a natural phenomenon. 

“The Giant’s Causeway is the aftermath of volcanic crashing, burning and cooling,”.... “An epic 60-million-year-old legacy to lava. Over 40,000 basalt columns. Interlocked."

                                                                                                                                                 

sources: 

http://www.uexpress.com/tell-me-a-story/2005/6/26/the-giants-causeway-an-irish-folktale

http://www.ireland.com/what-is-available/natural-landscapes-and-sights/articles/giants-causeway-myth/

Natural Fruit/veg candles

Primary research 

Quick thought about honouring natural produce in ritual practice as well as in everyday life.
Using the body of the vegtbles  as a container creates a bridge between functions, and shows off the aesthetic qualities. The bright colours also generate a sense of aura that acts to conjure a sense of worship.

Ritual Bath photography series

Ritual Bath Photography series 

A strip of photographs, exploring the concept of a ritual bath. Where the water is said to purify and wash away the past self. I have edited these images to expose hidden qualities, I have purposeful kept them a little fuzzy, in order to play with the concept of the realms of reality, is this change purely interior? or are there physical changes that resembles a metamorphosis of the self? The style in which the photographs have been presented is reminiscent of a photo booth. I chose to show these images in this style to hint at stages, or documented reactions. The mixed angles of shots gives a feeling of movement both physically and internally, as if an epiphany is being reached.