The Uranus/Pluto transit for 2015-20: An exciting time to be an artist.

As 2014 comes to an end and we welcome 2015, it is always good to look back at our own challenges, lessons and accomplishments for the year as well as look forward to what lies ahead with optimism and a mind full of creative possibilities. For me, this year represented change in many fronts. My wife and I moved from Savannah, Georgia to Houston, Texas so this has been the opening of a new exciting chapter in our lives. In my new studio I was able to complete the paintings that eventually went to La Luz de Jesus gallery in Los Angeles.. After having my first solo show in California I find new exciting horizons to explore and the prospects for the future look bright. Now that I'm about to become 40 I can feel the Uranus opposite Uranus energy in my natal chart slowly shedding its light onto my present creative spirit.  

 

 

Alchemista Rex. 2014. Oil and metal leaf on triptych panel 23 x 24 inches

 

Many of the greatest artists throughout history, from Michelangelo to Pollock have encountered their own creative breakthroughs around this age. In archetypal astrology this is known as the Uranus opposite Uranus effect. Others call it the mid-life crisis. It denotes the position of the planet Uranus in one's birth chart at the time it is exactly opposite to where it was at the time one was born, this is from the age of 38 to 42. The planet Uranus is the planet of revolution, technology, originality, inventiveness, creativity, the Promethean calling, radical new ideas, the power of the youth, breaking away from traditions and old rigid authority. This is the energy that moves artists to create their best masterpieces, scientists to discover new theories and revolutions and reforms that change whole countries. This kind of energy is also often compared to that of thunder as it is so sudden, unpredictable and it can either kill or start a fire. But it's also the liberating epiphany that enlightens and inspires the mind and soul of anyone who creates.

Detail of Surviving Doomsday. 2013. Oil and metal leaf on triptych panel 36 x 35 inches

 

At the present on a global scale we are going through a Pluto square Uranus transit. Pluto being the planet associated with the masses, terrorism, unseen forces, the wild, magical and occult aspects of nature. It is sex, death, regeneration and the possibility of alchemical transformation in all things. It's a dark, intense energy lying underground and within the darker side of humanity and also with money, greed and corporations. So it is not surprising at all to see how the world events have unfolded in the past years.  As we can see the notable increase of mass protests, police abuse, acts of global terrorism, historic changes in global policies and planetary changes at an environmental scale, the Plutonic and Uranian energies start to show their colors now not only through the news but in our own lives and in the art and media we feel attracted to. 

 

Detail of Mare Magnum. 2014. Oil and gold leaf on triptych panel 48 x 30 inches

 

 Of course as with any other  planetary transit, it is cyclic and it will pass. This specific transit is expected to fade out by 2020 but felt at its peak in the coming years 2015 and 2016. As an artist I have studied archetypal astrology and see how these planetary transits have affected my work. This knowledge has made me more consciously aware of the hidden energies that have influenced me as an artist not only in the past year but for my whole life. This is not to be taken as a Sunday newspaper horoscope reading. It is much more complex, deeper and meaningful on both a personal level as well as on a global scale.

Spraying Global Occupation. 2011. Oil and metal leaf on triptych panel 25 x 18 inches

 

As I look back 7 years ago when I developed my master thesis Iconsumer at the Savannah College of Art and Design, I can appreciate the growth I've had ever since. With what started as a series of paintings linking Spanish Colonial art and Catholic Iconography in retablo paintings with Consumerism, Pop culture and our present cultural neo-colonialism, in time it became more complex as I studied and added other subjects  to the pictorial discourse. From ancient mythology to modern archetypal astrology and from the Tarot to the study of archetypes, the work I have produced in the past years has been evolving with every reading, every experience and every self discovery I make.

 

Detail of The Gathering. 2014. Oil on canvas 60 x 36 inches

 

At the present I've been studying Latin, the ancient language of the Roman Empire and the Catholic Church. My journals are filled with notes from history, mythology, politics and religion to my own dreams and life experiences. I guess the work of an artist is to deal with all this information, put it together and try to make sense of it all while creating something "new and beautiful when creating a work of art. I shall delve deeper into many of these topics and share my insights with the world not only through my art but in future blog posts such as this one.  As the Uranian energy as well as the Plutonic continue to exert their influence in our lives and become more and more palpable in the world around us, it becomes important to recognize and channel these cosmic patterns and invisible archetypal energies that actively influence our art, culture and society. In the meantime, Happy New Year to everyone and may 2015 shine the best of blessings into your lives.

Re-connecting to the Past (Part 2)

    As much as we may love reading about the ancient world, I firmly believe we are living in the best age so far for artists.  According to Stephen Pinker on his book “BetterAngels of Our Nature”, contrary to what the sensationalist mass media may want us to think, there is solid evidence demonstrating that we are at an historic low point in worldwide violence. On top of that, there has never been a better moment in history where we have been blessed with so much material and immaterial sources, from the green revolution of food production to the explosive overload of information accessible to anyone though the World Wide Web. 

        
               Detail of painting "Planet of the Apps" Oil on canvas 36" x 36" by Patrick McGrath Muñiz

Today there is still hunger, poverty, war and much social injustice but there is also a globalized consciousness and sense of humanity awakening that gives us hope for the future. To give an example, in ancient times, animal cruelty and public executions were the norm and an everyday event. Today animal cruelty can be captured in video and posted on you tube for everyone to see and even if it still goes on, it receives massive condemnation and people can unite and take action. Social injustice finds its way into social media and people empathize with the victims and raise their concerns which may become movements that can bring positive change. As the environment gets more and more attention people are starting to become aware of the consequences of their actions or inactions. 

 

"Tempus Fugit" 36" x 31" Oil and metal leaf on panel by Patrick McGrath Muñiz

Of course there is still much to be done but gradually our collective consciousness is being awakened. This is a time of great opportunity and definitely the best time to be an artist, a Promethean agent of change. And we have all the necessary tools to make great art that reflects not only on the present but re-connects us to our past. This should be a powerful reason to make art. There is simply no excuse for conformists today. Everything happening today pushes us to have a conversation with our yesterday and to make art that responds not to a specific time or culture but to the human species and its place in the cosmos.

  

Detail of "MareMagnum" 48.5" x 30" Oil and gold leaf on wood triptych
by Patrick McGrath Muñiz

Now, with so much technological advance and new forms of making art, from photography to Digital art and 3-d printing, the question of “why paint?” seems inescapable. But for that I have an answer. I paint because it connects me with my humanity and history. By painting I re-enact history, for painting is the creative process of re-creating history itself. The ritualistic act of painting involves the use and application of certain materials that have been around us for millennia and since the very beginning, bringing us back to our origins on this planet. This alchemical interaction of materials has the potential of becoming a ritualistic and mystical dialogue with history and therefore it is a direct reflection of time itself. Also by allowing ourselves to be inspired by the art of the past and of distant civilizations and by integrating the iconography used in the past with the new, we may convey a continuous line that penetrates time and reminds us of our own evolution and transformation throughout the ages and how the meaning we assign to images has been carried and mutated across millennia. Painting re-connects us with the past while also giving us a fresh insight into the future. 

 "El Loco" (The Disneyrican Dreamer) 24" x 30" Oil and metal leaf on canvas by Patrick McGrath Muñiz

On this Thanksgiving Day, let’s be thankful for painting and for the great masterpieces of the past that have survived the ages and inspired us today. Let us also be grateful for living in this moment of history when we have access to so many tools and resources that allow us to re-connect with that past while having a tremendously great opportunity to forge an even better future.

Re-connecting to the Past (Part I)

Recently I had an artist talk at Tansey Contemporary in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I talked about how we can learn, connect and have a dialogue with history through contemporary art. I used my work as an example in order to show how artists today can utilize and appropriate narratives from our collective past in order to comment on current socio-political and environmental issues. On this blog I'll share with you some of my insights and experiences from this perspective and summarize some of the points discussed at the gallery. Since there is so much to be said about this and I wish to expand a little further on the discussion, this will require me to divide it into parts. So this is just the beginning...

 Adoracion Capital (2014) Oil on Canvas 30" x 30" by Patrick McGrath Muñiz.

Available at Tansey Contemporary, Santa Fe, New Mexico

When we travel around the world and specially visit underdeveloped countries that suffer from severe socio- economic inequality, a new sense awakens in our minds. We can no longer be indifferent to the world around us and if our sense of empathy is strong enough, our art and different ways of expressing our concern dramatically change. At least that is what happened to me when I visited Peru in 1998 and had my first hand experience with poverty and injustice in a country that is so rich in history, culture, biodiversity and natural beauties. From that point on, I could not go back to paint beautiful pictures without an irritating sense of guilt. I had a glimpse into the past but also into the future of humanity and this awoke a new inspiration that did not allow me to make art for art sake alone.  Even though I kept creating paintings like this, my personal art journal was filling up with ideas and concerns about the world around me that needed to be channeled somehow. Art had to be about so much more than beautiful landscapes, nudes or portraits. Art has to be about humanity and its place in this planet and in the Cosmos.

 Cuzco, Peru, 1998

Unfortunately when we look at much of what is done today called “Contemporary Art” it seems to be using a language designed by the elite for the elite. It often takes a view that is reflective of the 1% and not of the rest of us. It seems to have been infected by the corporate virus of market speculation and its prime interest of branding, making lots of money though influential names and mere theater. Even if it’s created with some socio-political or environmental concern in mind, it often seems shallow by its obsessive use of shock value, visual forms and conceptual pretense that ignore or even despise the many while serving the few.

Twin By Robert Ryman (1966) Blank White Canvas at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

When we look back in time, 30,000 years ago, Paleolithic artists used to make art in their caves that did not serve the interest of a market but rather obey the principles of the natural and spiritual world around them.  With the rise of the first civilizations around 3,500 B.C. artists would start creating art that would obey the laws and beliefs of the monarchs, priests, state and institutionalized religion. Later on with the Christian monotheism and the ruling monarchy, artists spread their art around a world that was starting to become globalized with the European conquest and colonization of the Americas. This art was created in order to serve the interests of the colonizing countries and their religion. With the advent of the Industrial revolution in the 1700’s, artists started to deal with the implications of moving to the city, competing against each other and working with machines and methods of mass reproduction that gradually re-defined the role of the artist. Modern art was born out of the reactionary chaos of revolution and increased speed that compelled artists to re-purpose their art and create an art that would set themselves apart from other artists as well as from the photograph.  The individual mark became the protagonist and hero in every painting. The notion of originality and the self-referentiality became fundamental indicators of the modern art and even to this day.

Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 By James McNeill Whistler (1871) Oil on Canvas,
Musée d'Orsay, Paris

But we live in different times today. We live in an age of information plagued by a massive environmental crisis that could end our very own existence on this planet. Art should wake up not only to the realities of other peoples in other countries but to history itself. Contemporary art should be able to look back in time and see beyond its modern progenitors and to its distant ancestors and learn from the whole human experience. We have the right technology and right tools to expand our knowledge and understanding of our world and it’s past.  There is no excuse to remain ignorant and conformist as artists and as planetary citizens. And it is not just about us and our past but think about the environment, the planet and its history. Just think about it, we have been walking around as a species for just 200,000 years on a planet that is 4.5 billion years old and seen 5 mass extinctions. We are really an insignificant part of the equation that only relatively recently has made a significant change to this world. There are so many questions to address, so many issues to study and explore with our arts, culture and sciences, that there is simply no more time to waste. While self-exploration is good, the world is much bigger and older than we think.

La Papisa (2013) Oil and metal leaf on panel 24" x 47" by Patrick McGrath Muñiz. 

Available at Tansey Contemporary