Pictures Dealing with Aspects of Human Existence: Symbophilia and Psychostimulanta

Leonardo, Vol. 13, pp. 211- 212 Pergamon Press 1980. Printed in Great Britain PICTURES DEALING WITH ASPECTS OF HUMAN EXISTENCE: SYMBOPHILIA AND PSYCHOSTIMULANTIA Ralph H. Gander* My pictures, of which I designate two types, Symbophilia and Psychostimulantia, are intended to serve as memoryjoggers , eye-openers, thought-catalyzers and signposts to a richer and more humane existence. They contain my commentary on aspects of human existence and, while they are not necessarily either beautiful or pleasing, I have devoted considerable thought and artistic effort to them [I]. Perhaps some readers ofLeonardo will be interested in using my approach, an approach that has been used by other artists in the past. The best way to introduce these pictures (I have made about 80) is to discuss several examples ofthem. The first, entitled 'Symbophilium No. I: Fields of Force' (Fig. I), Fig. I 'Symbophilium No. I: Fields of Force ', painted relief, Styropor, 52 x 102 x 5 cm, 1969. has interlocking male and female symbols at the center from which a network spreads out to the surrounding signs and symbols to indicate reciprocal interactions that occur between humans and some of the vast number of things that affect their lives. The picture is meant to imply that opinions and beliefs are the result of very complex, variable forces and, therefore, should be regarded as impermanent. The signification I had in mind for the signs and symbols were the following, going clockwise and starting with the symbol at the upper left-hand corner: (I) governmental laws and regulations imposed by humans on humans; (2) chemical elements occurring in inorganic chemistry; (3) technology; (4) political ideology ; (5) organized religion; (6) money; (7) trade and commerce; (8) organic chemistry and (9) the brain (at the *Microscopist and artist,Weedstrasse 4, CH- 9435 Heerbrugg, Switzerland. (Received II July 1979) 211 center) to which electric wires lead from the other signs and symbols. The picture is actually a painted reliefcut in Styropor, a panel of rigid polystyrene foam, 5cm in thickness. 'Symbophilium No. 2:The Labyrinth ofLife' (Fig. 2) is a nonfigurative presentation ofwhat I call the 'stations of Fig. 2 'Symbophilium No. 2: The Labyrinth ofLife',painted relief, Styropor, 54 x 91 x 5cm, 1970. life', with interconnections between them to indicate that a person need not pass necessarily through each of them and may pass from one to another along different paths. There is a black entering path to the station at the upper left-hand corner to signify the station of birth, and the black area in the station immediately below it signifies for me that the station is that of death, two unavoidable stations. Each of the other stations is meant to stand for something in life, yet a viewer cannot obtain from the designs and colors any information on the particular meanings they have for me. This work is also a painted reliefin Styropor. The black interconnections between the color fields are channels burned into the surface by means of a hot soldering iron. 'Symbophilium No. 13: Labyrinth of the Mind' (Fig. 3, see color plate) is an attempt to present pictorially my personal view that there might be five kinds of 'wisdom': a 'wisdom' of nature, of individual humans, of governments , ofmystics and ofGod. In the picture, a collage, the 'wisdoms' are symbolized by owls, and I leave it to viewers to decide which owl they think is appropriate for a particular 'wisdom'. This work was made on a Pavatex panel, a kind of uniform construction board made from compressed coarse wood fibers. The maze was drawn with 212 Ralph H. Gander oil pastels and the five color prints were glued to the panel. 'Psychostirnulantium No. 17: Threats to Life' (Fig. 4) is Fig. 4. 'Psychostimulantium No. 17: Threats to Life', col/age, oil pastels, photograph, cardboard, 21 x 30 em, 1972. a collage containing a photograph of a new-born baby surrounded by depicted crocodiles that signify to me threats to its survival by causes originating both in nature and in human societies. It is my personal philosophy that human beings can be regarded as God's experimental guinea pigs, but who possess many more capabilities than other animals. What human...