THE JEREMIAH TRIPTYCH 1999-2000 Three Images @ 50 inches x 31.5 inches Charcoal, Pastel, Metallic Ink on Paper Triptych with the Prophet Jeremiah center, and flanking Manticores. The thematic focus of this work is aesthetically expressed through archaic archetypal form and compound symbolism: cultural, chronological, political and spiritual. The additional synthesis of iconographic formality and and dynamic restraint of vigorous form emphasizes the psychological energies expressed by that symbolism. The Jeremiah Triptych is a visual meditation on the continuing question of Jerusalem as paradigm of political atavism. The prophet opposed the belief in the totemic status of Jerusalem, the Temple, and the Land, and spoke to the problematic interface between theology and nationalism as an unending societal dilemma. The paradox of the prophet as the embodiment of both the Individual and Psychological Everyman reflects the acute contemporary challenges of personal and group expression and integration in the secular and religious spheres. For an extended explanation of the imagery, see the following text. Triptych with the Prophet Jeremiah center, and flanking manticores. Focus on dynamic compression of archaic, archetypal form and compound symbolism: cultural, chronological, political, and spiritual, and the additional synthesis of iconographic formality with dynamic compression/expansion of form.Manticore: Lion’s body, human face, scorpion’s tail. Medieval bestiary form associated with the prophet Jeremiah. Three tiered symbolism intrinsic to image; lower animal world (scorpion), middle or higher animal world (lion), and the apex-man. It therefore embodies the continuum of creation, and serves as a visual vehicle for contemplation. The integration of past and present, dynamism and restraint, aggression and defense, action and introspection; the evolving religious/spiritual paradigm. Parallel with Henry Layard’s suggestion regarding the Assyrian winged bulls with human heads relating to the manticore: Head represents intellectual powers of man, the seat of consciousness. Body represents the strength of the lion (Layard-Bulls), and by implication, the endurance to deliver the prophetic message. (my inter.) (wings--Assyrian deity--speed of birds) Scorpion represents lethal capacity or potential in defense. Also by extension (my interpretation) efficacy of speech, judgement, intellectual and moral penetration. Left Manticore: The face of the left manticore is that of Senusret III, Middle Kingdom Pharaoh. ( Middle Egyptian: 2100 to 1800 BC) This is also the period of Abraham/Ur. Cult of Ra is in decline. The god Osiris is ascendant. Osiris is similar to Tammuz of Mesopotamia; the mythical figure of the dying god. Israel was familiar with Tammuz cult. Archaic fertility worship and the concept of death and resurrection are inherent in this paradigm. Abstract immortality. Emphasis during this period on the responsibility of the Ruler. (Nascent roots of Judaism?) Right Manticore: Face of Babylonian sphinx; the sphinx represents the Abstract, the Eternal and Immovable. Represents cultural contributions and of Mesopotamia, and the eastern source of tribulation for Israel. Also, the political vehicle, through the Exile, for its reconstitution. The faces of the manticores therefore represent the regions that jointly formed the political and spiritual crucible for Israel, and the primary source of Western moral thought/cognition. The Hero Between The Beasts: Very archaic device. Authority and Kingship. (Israel’s designation as Chosen through the Upholding of the Covenant; her preeminence through praxis of moral law) Israel between Syria/Babylon and Egypt; between East and West.. The rampant stance of the flanking beasts confers validity and authority. It is both confrontational and protective. In addition to Mesopotamian antecedents, this archaic format is exemplified in the Lions of Judah flanking the Law, the Seraphim flanking the Ark, etc. Realized within this static posture are the simultaneous containment, compression, and expansion of form. Strength expressed through restrained dynamism. The Prophet: The most potent and original expression of Hebrew thought. The compilation of the prophetic writings covered the 250-year period witnessing the fall of Israel and Judah. Jerusalem’s collapse and the destruction of the First Temple mark the culmination of major prophetic writing, and the basis/inception of the message of Redemption. The obliteration of the Temple (as fetish) inaugurates the beginning of Judaism’s evolution into abstract religious philosophy. (God ‘s demand is moral, not cultic. ‘’ For I desire righteousness (chesed), not sacrifice, and knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.’’ Hosea (6:6) The Prophet: As visionary and reluctant messenger, social critic and ethical analyst. Fidelity to ancient values united with desire for transformative transcendence. The paradox of the Prophet was their embodiment of the Individual and Psychological Everyman. Their manifestation during times of national tribulation. Messages impart diverse/distinct, yet essential/fundamental unity of thought. Contemporary commentary on the continuing question of Jerusalem as paradigm of political atavism: The admonition against worship of the land as a form of idolatry, and the connection between idolatry and nationalism. Jeremiah’s message opposed the belief in the totemic status of Jerusalem and the Temple. By extension, this message resonates in the present political/religious convictions of the inviolate nature of the land --i.e.) Judea and Samaria, the notion of Greater Israel, and the problematic interface between theology and nationalism as an unending societal dilemma. Jeremiah (7:4-15) held that it was moral righteousness that conferred significance upon Jerusalem. This marks an important break in the prevailing ancient belief that the god’s temple directly connected the deity to land and people, and as such, is a marker in the evolution toward spiritual universalism.