Metaphysical Pieces

In other words, the angels combine the wine of the soul’s divine intoxication with Adam’s clay, or creation. It is the combination of these two elements—the soul and its divine longing, and the vehicle of the body — that propels the soul toward transcendence. Then, continuing the verse, the angels form the clay and wine into a cup in which they serve wine to a drunken and vagrant Hafiz.

Another similar idea is found in a divine saying (hadith qudsi) of the Prophet Muhammad:

“God said, ‘I kneaded the clay of Adam for 40 days”.

Traditionally, 40 days is important because it is the time needed to accomplish perfection of consciousness using certain meditative rituals.

Using the form of the pot to focus on the dual themes of the Water of Life, or the source of creation, running out and into the Infinite Ocean, or the goal of mystical transcendence, I like to think that I’m continuing this ancient symbology. The water is at once both inside of the pot as well as outside, showing the continuous journey from creation to transcendence. In my “A Well of Living Waters”, I extend the image to include the notion of fertility and the feminine as it connects with creation. The title comes from a line in the Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon) in the Old Testament (Song of Songs 4: 15). The piece titled In the Reed Bed 2 (see Highlighted Pieces) adds the element of longing, referring to Rumi’s image of the reed lamenting its abrupt removal from the reed bed, symbolizing the primordial longing of the soul to be united with our origins, at one with the Creator. A number of different translations of this poem by Rumi can be found at dar-al-masnavi.org. “In the Reed Bed 2” was started in December of 2007 (finished in late February of 2008) as a commemorative piece marking the 800th anniversary of Rumi’s birth.

Shouldn’t every household have a metaphysical pot to provide those living there an orienting spiritual perspective?

The “Rent Asunder” Series

All of the pieces in this series of three are titled “Rent Asunder/The Sacred Heart”, with the subtitles, “Veils of the Flesh”, “Veils of Sight”, and “Veils of the Mind.” This is a further iteration of my three-dimensional “metaphysical” metaphor based on the vessel form. These pieces are based on the historical fact that there have been notable people — saints, mendicants, sufis, and others on the margins — who do not proceed toward transcendence in a way that can be symbolized by flowing water. Instead, through the force of their love and personal commitment, they rend their way into the center, forcing an existential meeting with the Creator. “Veils of the Flesh” brings to mind figures such as St. Francis of Assisi, Hallaj, and Shams-e Tabrizi, fakirs, deniers of the flesh, who through their austerities gained access to the inner life. In conceptualizing “Veils of Sight” I had in mind someone like the artist Vincent Van Gogh. His later work, even though he more or less painted what he saw, has such surface tension that it always seemed to me as if the picture plane were about to rend apart, revealing a portal to an ineffable beyond. “Veils of the Mind” conjures up mystics like Ruzbihan Baqli, who refers in his diary to “the bridal veils of intimacy.” When reading about Ruzbihan and others like Ramakrishna, one gets a sense of peeling away layers upon layers of mental veils in preparation for union with the Divine. The second half of the title, “The Sacred Heart” refers to the popular paintings of Christ pulling apart his clothing to reveal his heart, a visual metaphor of the divine love and purity at his core.

Metaphysical Pieces