Art in the Alchemical Vase
by Theo Polymorphos: A creative refuge from the culture of performance
Today’s guest post comes from the excellent newsletter, Painting The Mysteries, by artist Theo Polymorphos. Theo records ethereal visions on canvas, in an evocative bricolage of obscure myths reimagined and personal narratives amplified. Inspired by the countercultural spiritualities of the ancient Orphics and modern Romantics, Polymorphos celebrates his own initiatory journey through visions of a queer otherworld where the youthful protagonists of his paintings are transfigured through encounters with the more than human world of gods and spirits, flora and fauna, elements and luminaries. Brimming with esoteric symbolism—from slithering serpents to glowing hearts—his work explores themes of ecstasy, initiation, and metamorphosis.
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This article originally appeared on Painting the Mysteries here. I’m sharing it with The BoldBrush Letter because in it, the author has explored an important topic for creative people.
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Art in the Alchemical Vase
Last summer I was on a roll. I was working on a series of paintings, making steady progress. I was posting on Instagram nearly every day, and starting to get decent traction. I even started this Substack, publishing a new post every ten days or so.
And then, all of a sudden, everything ground to a halt.
With four new paintings mostly finished, there wasn’t much else to post about them, without draining every last drop of mystery before their unveiling at Miami Art Week. Meanwhile, my new ideas were still too hazy to unveil, inscrutable even to myself.
And so I just stopped, and watched with bitter bemusement as my output and engagement tanked. And with it, any last shred of hope for my burgeoning art career… or so I’d been led to believe.
Sometimes it feels as if people are more invested in the romantic ideal of “the artist” than in art itself.
Life as a visual artist today can feel like an endless performance. In an externally-focused culture driven by digital algorithms, artists must compete for increasingly scarce reserves of people’s attention. Once upon a time, so I’m told, it was enough to post still pictures of paintings and gradually build a following online. No longer. Emerging artists seeking exposure now find the quiet sanctity of our studios constantly interrupted by a slew of social media tasks. Taking process photos. Filming clips and time lapses of painting sessions. Taking selfies (and being camera ready). Making reels with razor sharp cuts for short attention spans, and don’t forget to add the perfect trending audio. Edit, post, repeat. An endless, overwhelming routine that can quickly take over the primary task of creating art if you let it.
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Once you step into this dizzying online treadmill, pressure builds quickly. Tech optimists love to remind us that social media makes it easier than ever for a virtual nobody to gain notoriety online. Hustle bros tell us to productivity-max every second for optimal achievement. Influencers exhort us to build audience trust with behind-the-scenes content. Their advice is not without merit, inasmuch as it exhorts us to adapt to the status quo.
Yet what if the status quo is the problem?
What if, by optimizing for speed, performance, and exposure, the art world and the media channels that broadcast it end up deterring critical parts of the creative act?
What is lost when the world demands that artists constantly perform?
Fortunately, there is another way.
In the ancient art of alchemy, a key part of the Magnum Opus (“Great Work”) occurs in the vas bene clausum (“well-sealed vessel”), also called the Hermetic vessel. Containment is crucial at certain stages of the alchemical process, to prevent necessary inner material from escaping, as well as to prevent contamination from without. Containment is a key aspect of many initiatory Mystery religions; it is often a key ingredient to successful magical workings; and likewise can nurture numerous creative endeavors. The wine of Dionysus is fermented in sealed casks and barrels. The priests of Apollon practice prophecy and dream incubation in caves. Humans and other animals begin life in the safe, nourishing vessel of the womb, egg, or pouch.
In every case, containment is the crucial ingredient to bringing something beautiful and alive to fruition. Dark. Sealed off. Hidden from view. Shielded from interference.
I propose that making art is no different.
Every work of art however humble, begins as a secret impulse in the heart of the artist as he or she beholds some subject of inspiration. I also believe every truly Great Work of art requires extraordinary secrecy, containment, and time to grow.
This can look different for everyone. Artists must decide for themselves where to work, how much to hold back from the outside world, and for how long, and at what stages. There are many practical and magical ways to contain a physical working space, however temporary or permanent they may be. Some may feel comfortable sharing the entire art-making process, after incubating the idea internally or in private sketches. Others may opt to keep an entire project a secret until completion, or near completion. Usually to safeguard against wild detours from unwelcome criticism, or perhaps out of a spirit of reverence. Artists working with galleries may be asked to maintain an air of mystery while working toward a show, allowing only such brief glimpses of the work in progress so as to pique interest among collectors before the opening.
For me, it means cleansing and warding my space, and keeping it as tidy as reasonably possible considering the somewhat messy act of creation occurs therein. I try to cleanse myself before working, and say my prayers and intentions for the day. It means listening to that voice in my head, saying “Please, I don’t want to perform, or fuck with the lighting, or any of it. Can we just paint. :) “ It means sitting for a long time with an idea that I am super excited about, because rushing makes the work superficial; when I live with an idea like a companion spirit, it opens wholly new horizons. It means not saying too much, too soon, and definitely only to trusted folks. It means making space for divine timing to unfold.
Wherever one draws the line, I believe it is essential for every artist to keep at least some part of their process wholly private, within a sanctified space.
The result is work that richer in transformative substance, both for the artist and for the viewer. Work that partakes in the complex interplay of spirit and matter. Work that goes all the way.
On the other hand, oversharing and poor containment tend to beget superficial, unoriginal work. Work engineered to look good on camera, not touch your soul.
And so here I sit, with my half dozen or so new ideas, all of them more ambitious than any of my previous work. A mountain of visual problems seeking solutions before I can even put paint to canvas. Once I do, I am determined to share more of my process and my philosophy as I hack away at these myriad, linseed-bound Hydras, wondering which I have to slay to finally overcome my shortcomings and ascend to mastery. But not yet. Now I must work patiently in my studio, manipulating pigment and pixels to solve arcane problems like gesture and texture, light and perspective. Casting models as conspirators to embody my secret visions. Polishing each subsequent idea-stone until it glimmers.
This is art in the alchemical vase.
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I just want to paint and forget about all the social media crap but know I can't.
Brilliant visionary work! Expert technique. Inspiring!