Paul Laffoley Cambridge, MA, 1935-2015
The Myth of the Zeitgeist, 2013
Oil, acrylic, ink, and vinyl press type on canvas
49 1/2 x 49 1/2 in
125.75 x 125.75 cm.
125.75 x 125.75 cm.
$ 180,000.00
Subject_ The Structure of History Symbol Evocation_ Evil As the Source of History Comments_ In 1790 the famous German poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) invented the term – “Zeit-Geist”...
Subject_ The Structure of History
Symbol Evocation_ Evil As the Source of History
Comments_
In 1790 the famous German poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) invented the term – “Zeit-Geist” (the spirit of the times) or the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era. It was a popular term three years after Goethe’s death. The structure of history as a tri-part investigation of time itself, or the form of a temporal “Dialectic of Necessity” known as “The Thesis,” “The Antithesis” and “The Synthesis.” This idea goes back to the thought of Plato and his postulate of “The Great Year.” This is the “Cosmic Year.” It is the interval of time that must elapse before the planetary bodies return to their original positions. Then all events begin again in complete exactitude – this is the theory of Eternal Recurrence. There are, therefore, three world cycles, each of a great year in length = 36,000 (Earth years).
The time of history descends from the first three absolute forms after the form of the Good. This is how evil enters history. The first cycle is controlled by the form of the“Same”. This is the revolution of the Right where the Gods are in control and humans are immortal. It is the Thesis. The second cycle is controlled by the form of the “Different”. It is the Antithesis. It is the revolution of the Left where the Gods relinquish their control of all processes because they believe everything will be all right. But after 36,000 years the Gods realized that everything was not all right_ the old became young. Food would come out of people’s mouths, etc. It was like watching a movie run backwards. Sounds of human speech that are backwards is often the indication for the presence of evil.
The third cycle is controlled by the form of the “Existent. The revolution is back on the righteous path, but now with a new history, which is the combination of the first and second cycle. In this cycle the Gods are in control again, and are watchful for the chaotic actions of “Necessity” that was discovered in the second cycle. Now creatures (whether human, animal, or vegetable) generate out of themselves, and human progress is limited.
From the very end of the Baroque period to the beginning of modernism exist the famous five German philosophers who developed “The Dialectic of Necessity.” There are_ 1. Immanuel Kant [1724-1804], 2. Johann Goethe [1749-1832], 3. Johann Fichte [1762-1814], 4. Georg Hegel [1770-1831], 5. Friedrich Schelling [1775-1854]. This pentagram of philosophers moved the structure of history into the 20th and 21st centuries.
Symbol Evocation_ Evil As the Source of History
Comments_
In 1790 the famous German poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) invented the term – “Zeit-Geist” (the spirit of the times) or the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era. It was a popular term three years after Goethe’s death. The structure of history as a tri-part investigation of time itself, or the form of a temporal “Dialectic of Necessity” known as “The Thesis,” “The Antithesis” and “The Synthesis.” This idea goes back to the thought of Plato and his postulate of “The Great Year.” This is the “Cosmic Year.” It is the interval of time that must elapse before the planetary bodies return to their original positions. Then all events begin again in complete exactitude – this is the theory of Eternal Recurrence. There are, therefore, three world cycles, each of a great year in length = 36,000 (Earth years).
The time of history descends from the first three absolute forms after the form of the Good. This is how evil enters history. The first cycle is controlled by the form of the“Same”. This is the revolution of the Right where the Gods are in control and humans are immortal. It is the Thesis. The second cycle is controlled by the form of the “Different”. It is the Antithesis. It is the revolution of the Left where the Gods relinquish their control of all processes because they believe everything will be all right. But after 36,000 years the Gods realized that everything was not all right_ the old became young. Food would come out of people’s mouths, etc. It was like watching a movie run backwards. Sounds of human speech that are backwards is often the indication for the presence of evil.
The third cycle is controlled by the form of the “Existent. The revolution is back on the righteous path, but now with a new history, which is the combination of the first and second cycle. In this cycle the Gods are in control again, and are watchful for the chaotic actions of “Necessity” that was discovered in the second cycle. Now creatures (whether human, animal, or vegetable) generate out of themselves, and human progress is limited.
From the very end of the Baroque period to the beginning of modernism exist the famous five German philosophers who developed “The Dialectic of Necessity.” There are_ 1. Immanuel Kant [1724-1804], 2. Johann Goethe [1749-1832], 3. Johann Fichte [1762-1814], 4. Georg Hegel [1770-1831], 5. Friedrich Schelling [1775-1854]. This pentagram of philosophers moved the structure of history into the 20th and 21st centuries.
Exhibitions
The Rainbow Serpent. Athens_ Gagosian Gallery, 2015The Force Structure of the Mystical Experience. New York_ Kent Fine Art. September 11 – November 7, 2015 illus.