The Centripetal Art of Junko Chodos, Matrix of Spiritual Growth

consciousness of the five motivations; but her art represents a radically alternative response to them. Markers for Spirituality. There are many “markers” for spirituality in Junko’s work. one of these markers is her entry into what she calls an “altered state of consciousness”—a state which is beyond the ego, and beyond everyday consciousness. The acceptance of this state of mind is something fostered by Jung as well as by age-old Eastern ideas to which Junko was exposed from earliest childhood. i discuss the altered state of consciousness as it applies to Junko’s art in chapter Six. Another marker is her frequent use of religious themes. for example, she has painted altarpieces and a whole series of works on the cross. She sees buddha emerging from dead flowers and the root, and she has painted a whole series called In the Forest of Amida Buddha. She names one of her series Interplanetary Icons (19 works, 1990), and a pivotal piece in her series of forty-five works, Requiem for an Executed Bird, is subtitled, Bird in the Cathedral (see p. 107). Her most recent works, the FATHOM pieces, are a series of scenes from the life of kuukai, a ninth- century buddhist priest; and her Esoteric Buddhism series incorporates quotations from kuukai’s poetry. Junko often makes it clear that she has spiritual and religious themes on her mind, even though her handling of these themes is not pious or in any way orthodox. Another marker for spirituality is Junko’s preoccupation with the spiritual essence of her visitants. This is evident from her own series statements presented in chapter one above: she wants to paint the horseshoe crab’s “vulnerability”; by painting she wants the spirits of the trees to “dance” with her; she wants the engine parts to be “reconnected” to the cosmic forces from which they have been ripped. She sees everything, in other words, with an inner eye. Opposite: ToPoLogicAL DEfoRmATionS of THE cRoSS no. 1 (1987) Mixed media on paper 21 x 16 in (53.3 x 40.6 cm.) Private collection. in the early works of the series, the cross is clear and the impression is almost sacramental. but see what happens to the cross in the middle and later works. part two // chapter four A Vital Spirituality p. 171

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Centripetal Art of Junko Chodos, Matrix of Spiritual Growth

PREFACE

-Definition of Centripetal Art -Its Place In Art History: After the Postmodern Period -Introducing the Subject Matter: One Centripetal Artist's Journey -The Relationship With Multiculturalism -After the Death of God and of Art

FOREWORD

-How the Author's Connection With His Wife's Art Grew More Intimate Over the Years -Learning In Marriage -"Why Does God Need To Paint?" [Section One] Individual Visitants -Dead Flowers and Root -Lungs and Rib Cage

CHAPTER FOUR - A Vital Spirituality

-Why This Art Could Not Have Been Created Earlier -Echoes of the Spiritual Arts of the Early 20th Century -The Impact of the Atomic Bomb; Ecological Concerns -Markers for Spirituality -Centripetal Art Overflows the Studio: Therapy

CHAPTER SIX - A Complex Spirituality

-Spirituality of the 21st Century

AFTERWORD - THE FURNACE

-Polytheism and Monotheism in Art -Goethe’s Aphorism -Marriage and the Alchemist’s Furnace Themes In Series

PREFACE

(Page I) The Centripetal Art of Junko Chodos, Matrix of Spiritual Growth - -Definition of Centripetal Art (Page II) The Centripetal Art of Junko Chodos, Matrix of Spiritual Growth - -The Relationship With Multiculturalism (Page III) The Centripetal Art of Junko Chodos, Matrix of Spiritual Growth - -After the Death of God and of Art (Page IV) The Centripetal Art of Junko Chodos, Matrix of Spiritual Growth -

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