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Paul Laffoley: The Phenomenology of Revelation
There corners on the black fabric cover are worn through, but the pages are good. Book is not in new condition but overall very good.
- GenresArt
Hardcover
Published September 5, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 14, 2010
Electrifying artwork, illuminating commentary.
Lafolley summarizes his vision and understanding far better than I could. From p.81:
The Symbol-Myth as Subjective Experience
Symbol-Myths are energy portals between the fourth and fifth dimensional realms, Time-Solvoid and Eternity-Vosolid, and in the epistemic ranking of human consciousness they are of the first order in the quest for meaning and context. Being in their presence is like facing something totally beyond yourself. They appear as beings of greater maturity, aliveness, and internal complexity than you. Their capacity to generate an energy of a different and more intense nature than you are capable of generating elicits the classic submlime response, which transcends beauty: joy combined with horror at the rush of the infinite. This response has led to their being interpreted as divine and anthropomorphized as gods and daemons.
And from p. 82:
The Normative Structure of Symbol-Myths
Symbol-Myths reveal mystery; they do not act as devices that decode mysteries into something else. A conundrum, such as the revealed logical plot of a mystery novel, is something that can be solved, and when it is solved it ceases to exist. The true mysteries of existence---from the nature of a color or sound that is experienced directly all the way up to the mystery of pure being itself---cannot be eliminated by experiencing those dimensional portals of Symbol-Myths that have as their subject of focus the mysteries in question. Instead we find ourselves at the portal of an infinite abyss of mystery. Often we are not prepared for direct revelation of mysteries such as sex, death, good, or evil, and as a method of self-protection against their infinity we either trivialize them by inducing boredom or escape them through insanity. But this is where an artistic tradition of creating structured singularities emerges. The creation of structured singularities is not a strategy aimed at diverting the full impact of mysteries, but rather a step in a process of initiation. Structured singularities build ritual to allow us to withstand mysteries until we can pass the critical barrier of infinity and live in their presence."
Lafolley summarizes his vision and understanding far better than I could. From p.81:
The Symbol-Myth as Subjective Experience
Symbol-Myths are energy portals between the fourth and fifth dimensional realms, Time-Solvoid and Eternity-Vosolid, and in the epistemic ranking of human consciousness they are of the first order in the quest for meaning and context. Being in their presence is like facing something totally beyond yourself. They appear as beings of greater maturity, aliveness, and internal complexity than you. Their capacity to generate an energy of a different and more intense nature than you are capable of generating elicits the classic submlime response, which transcends beauty: joy combined with horror at the rush of the infinite. This response has led to their being interpreted as divine and anthropomorphized as gods and daemons.
And from p. 82:
The Normative Structure of Symbol-Myths
Symbol-Myths reveal mystery; they do not act as devices that decode mysteries into something else. A conundrum, such as the revealed logical plot of a mystery novel, is something that can be solved, and when it is solved it ceases to exist. The true mysteries of existence---from the nature of a color or sound that is experienced directly all the way up to the mystery of pure being itself---cannot be eliminated by experiencing those dimensional portals of Symbol-Myths that have as their subject of focus the mysteries in question. Instead we find ourselves at the portal of an infinite abyss of mystery. Often we are not prepared for direct revelation of mysteries such as sex, death, good, or evil, and as a method of self-protection against their infinity we either trivialize them by inducing boredom or escape them through insanity. But this is where an artistic tradition of creating structured singularities emerges. The creation of structured singularities is not a strategy aimed at diverting the full impact of mysteries, but rather a step in a process of initiation. Structured singularities build ritual to allow us to withstand mysteries until we can pass the critical barrier of infinity and live in their presence."
January 25, 2008
Paul Laffoley examines his life and his work and I am astounded.
April 6, 2007
I really want this book.
April 22, 2021
This is the one to get. Laffoley's essays are useful entry points to his art, the story about his childhood trip to New York is actually funny, and the final descent into sci-fi is good enough to be published as such. A fascinating character.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews