Mythology, Art History & Symbolism

Mythological stories are my starting point in approaching painting. Greek and Roman mythology has exerted an extensive influence on the culture of western civilization and remains part of our western heritage. I am interested in the influence on the imagination that these mythic stories provide. The spirits of these stories speak to the ancient part of our brain. Science has dulled the need for mythology, but life is lived by desire and passion as well as needs. These myths provide an immediate emotional connection to our human nature.
 
Art history has gone hand in hand with mythology – describing, symbolizing and explaining it. I draw from art history's many layers of accumulated images to continue the dialog. The artists of the Pre Raphaelite, Orientalist and Romantic periods were particularly involved with myths, their visual expressions have a symbiotic connection to the mythic narratives. I like to re-compose and abstract these historical images into a new setting to create a different visual expression.
 
Plant and animal symbolism was a significant ingredient in the construct of mythology. Plants and animals became integral parts of the stories or had symbolic relationships with the characters. Western culture is full of reference to these mythic tales, ie. the story of Arachne and Minerva which led to the naming of spiders. The Eleusinian mysteries that involve Demeter and Persephone explain the plant growth cycle as an allegorical tale. Archetypal symbols formed in antiquity by mythological stories are living metaphors in our culture.
 
My paintings are only details from mythology, I don't wish to illustrate the stories. The esthetic considerations of my compositions are primary, I'm inspired by the visual possibilities of these tales and the rich symbolism in nature they refer to. I have come to realize that the close connection of mythology to nature is significant - humans back then were placed much closer to the natural world than what is the experience today.
 

Rosalind Hodgkins

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