https://www.marctolud.com/art-marc-tolud daily 1.0 2024-06-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1537296967368-3762Z8RC8HT0QAW3MDSG/First+Swirlings+%28version+2%29++copy.jpg HOME https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1537296967368-3762Z8RC8HT0QAW3MDSG/First+Swirlings+%28version+2%29++copy.jpg HOME https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1537917300102-0UZPVI4PFYDNA4O6FV71/The+Lower+garden+in+the+clouds+5+%28new%29+copy.jpg HOME - Fireglobe https://www.marctolud.com/work daily 0.75 2024-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1537307175784-Z1ZB7UT5MGUW94JZQ9LP/tzimtzum+LARGE+-+2X.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1537304148686-GG0DI7WPVGKELSBPN0XQ/Into+the+Light+2+copy+2.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1537306882713-ZCHYY4FLIYZRKIY7MXM9/Dissolution+II+copy.jpg 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https://www.marctolud.com/new-page daily 0.75 2024-06-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1541549566460-SWCCS1TOV61A498LDPFU/Marc+foto+4+%28white%29.jpg ABOUT https://www.marctolud.com/new-page-1 daily 0.75 2019-03-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1553878237151-2P1G62OBWSJOBCAZMETA/Garden+Dance+----21%28small%29.jpg New Page - CONTACT artist.marctolud@gmail.com https://www.marctolud.com/iconography daily 0.75 2024-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1589540043592-0D248UQ08GLJIMAETABW/Oscillation-.jpg ICONOGRAPHY - OSCILLATION “Oscillation” was created in juxtaposition with the painting “Boundless”, with both figures depicting the different aspects of the brain: intuitive understanding versus wisdom. Our brain ‘oscillates’ between the two, feeding off each other. The female figure in this work finds herself in a progressing state of deep contemplation, although the brain is still spawning ideas and images, such as the guiding light from a candle by a setting sun, a demon creature with its hands and legs already tied, a flowered valley crowned by a pure blue sky and thoughts swirling into the Hebrew letter Shin, often linked to the concept of “Binah”. In kabbalist literature, the name “Binah” is given to Wisdom and represented by the female figure. The blue lines in the painting flowing from and towards her connect the woman to other parts of the brain and are inspired by a verse from Genesis (2:10) “A river issues from Eden to water the garden.” However centered on the complex concept of understanding, “Oscillation” also signals the importance of personal transformation through contemplation and meditation, with imagery that intends to transcend its religious and pseudo-religious roots. The painting’s muted color palette simultaneously creates a sense of stillness, as well as serving to reinforce the mysteries of the brain. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/0798459d-6caf-4fd4-8c10-857067ae24e9/IMG_3181.JPG ICONOGRAPHY - The angel of history A face that looks aghast. Inspiration for this art work is the concept of the Angel of History by philosopher Walter Benjamin who pictures history as the appearance of an angel with its face turned towards the past. Where we perceive history as a chain of events, the angel sees one single catastrophe that keeps piling up wreckage and hurling itself at the angel’s feet. The angel would like to stay, awaken the dead, and make whole what has been smashed. But a storm is catching the angel's wings and violently propels the Angel of History into the future, backwards - this is what we call progress. The painting “Angelus Novus” by Paul Klee and a poem about it by kabbalist and philosopher Gershom Sholem morphed Europe’s darkness of the 1930s, for the fearful Walter Benjamin, into this contracted perception of history. Here we see the different faces of the Angel of History, once again looking backward, in absolute horror: a catastrophic event has taken place and the rubble is going skyward. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1590225362274-52PIQTE3SBCAMZSCOH4F/Might+of+Rain+%28big%29.jpg ICONOGRAPHY - “Don’t worry, I’m not human the thought form said to the amulet” In “Don’t worry, I’m not human, the Thought Form said to the Amulet” the characters are borne of imagery from ancient kabbalist magic objects and of the artist’s imagination. The title indicates that the figures in the composition fulfill archetypal roles, related to the theosophical theories of Annie Besant and her circle. Besant's esoteric concept of ‘thought forms’ and their visualization through color schemes that correlate with human emotions, mirrors similar kabbalist theories about the correspondence between emotions, colors and character. Isolating certain elements from both, this painting brings together two widely different disciplines in one mystic dystopia. Cloaked in colors that according to Besant’s ‘thought form’ color scheme signify high spirituality (purple), deep intellect (orange), sympathy (green) and devotion (blue), an aged man-like figure is about to emerge onto a turbulent stage. Reminiscent of a theatre where the curtain just lifted, the central stage is dominated by a creature derived from an antique practical Kabbalah magic book, donned in colors that represent a house of spells (orange), power (red) and victory (green), referencing more contemporary kabbalist color theories. Shaped with a body that suggests a closed gateway, possibly to an occult fun fair, the talismanic creature or amulet welcomes the visitor with open arms, whilst raising another pair of arms to emphasize its strength. Adjacent, a temple-like edifice offers another doorway, clearly open, revealing a blue sky, but the structure’s muted colors suggest it might be the less exciting option. What choice will the protagonist make? Presenting a panoply of esoteric superstitions that flourished during an anxious Fin de Siècle, the artist creates an almost hallucinatory optical overload to frame a strange, otherworldly realm and although caricatural, reflective of our present world, where truth and reason are shamelessly ignored; and we can choose who or what to believe, albeit at our own peril. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/5b987d90-acab-4a6e-977b-4edd038c8e27/The+Rupture.jpg ICONOGRAPHY - The RUPTURE At dawn, the music stopped. Evil unleashed. The past was now, the future died. Again the vessels were shattered, the shards slashing our veins. When can things be made whole again?. The artist brings to mind the parable of the world’s creation through the kabbalist concept of “Tikun Olam”, where life’s evolution is a perpetual process of repair. Through the painting’s haze the viewer discerns mayhem, figures cowering. A ghostly appearance washes over the whirling chaos, alluding to darker forces, carried by the Hebrew letter of Ayin. “Ayin” is also the word for ‘eye” and “spring”. Natural springs is where the ancients believed the earth to be crying and producing tears. A rupture in time and space, on that day the earth cried. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/860f70ec-938d-4c94-9dec-d921b976ce4a/Sefirot-Chokmah-Wisdom.JPG ICONOGRAPHY - TREE OF LIFE - CHOKMAH - UNDERSTANDING The deep ultramarine pigment, suffused with an ethereal luminescence, cascades gracefully from the sculptures, imbuing the composition with a sublime, otherworldly glow. In today's climate of uncertainty and upheaval, there is a profound yearning for enduring values and certainties, a sentiment poignantly mirrored in the representation of the ten Sefirot, or aspects of consciousness, within the Tree of Life. These aspects—Justice, Understanding, Wisdom, Strength, Endurance, and Love—serve as pillars of spiritual and moral grounding. The sculptures depict the inherent polarity within the Tree of Life, showcasing the dynamic interplay between the male and female principles, Binah and Chokmah. Wisdom and Understanding. This duality is captured through an evocative interiority, manifesting the spiritual essence of the figures in their contemplative expressions and poised stillness. The female head, symbolising "Wisdom," and the male head, embodying "Understanding," both illustrate their intrinsic connections to the other Sefirot. These connections are visually represented by orbs that emanate from each head, symbolising the interconnected spheres of consciousness. Through this blend of form, colour, and symbolic depth, the artist not only celebrates the metaphysical dimensions of human experience but also offers a meditative respite from the chaos of contemporary existence. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1589539112365-9WAYO9L5W41L3WRAJUCC/Augury-%28smaller+size%21%29.jpg ICONOGRAPHY - AUGURY Title of the work “Augury” is a reference to the ancient Roman practice of prophecy through watching birds. Observe the birds and we can see the future. Thermometer of the earth’s biosphere. Harbingers, sentinels. Birds are the first to send signals, warning us of the frightening state of our changing environment and rapidly vanishing world. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1589534165383-YVRJ64IBKTQT6V310NL5/Exaltedness ICONOGRAPHY - EXALTEDNESS In the work “Exaltedness” a feminine figure seeks mental freedom and enlightenment through movement and dance, slicing through different spheres in the brain and even celebrating the many obstacles in life as depicted in the painting’s translucent orbs. The feminine power as such represents the top of the Tree of Life in kabbalist literature and is considered the ever-renewing cyclical flow of natural times and seasons. The dark areas in “Exaltedness” refer to death and renewal, whereas patches of earth, night and day all work to create a sense of shifting dynamics. The figure in the painting is at once sensual, ecstatic and melancholic, with garments that accentuate the flow of her movements and power. Although the characters in the artist's work are often based on a human framework, they actually represent various states of the mind. However, the viewers are encouraged to make their own associations between images and abstract patterns. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1589595385121-X40WJGURKDTOXN2BZZTF/Garden+Dance+----21%28small%29.jpg ICONOGRAPHY - DANCE IN THE GARDEN In “Dance in the Garden” the protagonist from the painting “Exaltedness” is reimagined in a digital collage. In addition to the kabbalist concept of celebration of the universal female aspect, this work pays homage to the theories of George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, in particular those with regard to dance and movement. Gurdjieff developed a philosophy of humanity living in a state of hypnotic sleep and the ability to awaken, to reach a state of higher consciousness. One of his methods was awakening through music, dance and movements. In this work the female figure’s dance is similar to one of “Gurdjieff’s Movements”. She is wrapped in strings of flowers, adorned by the beauty of nature, yet the garden’s bounty is juxtaposed against the dark night, where the air is charged with dangerous electricity, already striking her and the flowers. There is an urgency to her dance, a need to awaken to counter the darkness and preserve the beauty. Night has descended on the Garden and she must find her way to the renewing daylight. The flowers are digitally repainted photographs of roses and the protagonist’s smile from “Exaltedness” has faded into a more pensive look, deeply concentrated on her movements. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/29d53865-ca2f-4dda-b7bc-98e2d62f31c0/Sefirot%3ABinah%3AUnderstanding+2.JPG ICONOGRAPHY - TREE OF LIFE - Binah - Wisdom https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1589594730373-R6H688QYKQJNNGA1EH87/MY+SHADOW+TALKS+%28new1%29.jpg ICONOGRAPHY - MY SHADOW TALKS The artist: “Political engagement is not my habitual topic, but this work intends to highlight the duality of our psyche. It was an article by Deepak Chopra that inspired me, where he describes present day politics as dominated by ‘the Shadow’. A Jungian concept, with its origins by Freud, the ‘Shadow’ is our bad self with all its dark impulses that must remain hidden. We need to learn how to control and suppress our shadow self. But in the current political climate the Shadow is encouraged to come out, it even dominates. We appear to live in an age of denial, where the shadow is allowed to talk too loudly and our conscious self hangs its head in an almost desperate silence. In this digital collage two identical figures emerge from the darkness; where the man on the right is clearly speaking, the protagonist on the left appears subdued and marginalized, disappearing in a haze. A tribal warrior shroud from Papua New Guinea is superimposed onto the Shadow, as he manages to push the Conscious Self to the background, even rising above him. The collage is based on one of my own works, the same figure appears in the painting “Boundless”. The protagonist displays his duality, no longer able to keep his Shadow hidden from sight.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1590393570753-22G8IDS50AUHEBQDL73O/Chaos+and+Void+%284%29.jpg ICONOGRAPHY - Chaos and void The painting “Chaos and Void” is a reference to the ancient cryptic literature of the Kabbalah that aimed to explain creation and the universe through the Hebrew alphabet and the numbers one to ten. And man’s spiritual evolution through a system of divine revelations, imagined in a geometrical pattern described as the Tree of Life, encoded in complex arithmetical calculations. The viewer sees an archetypal man of devotion throwing his hands up in the air, seemingly to catch what is floating around him: orange orbs with numbers that correspond with the ten sefirot or spheres within the Tree of Life; and translucent orbs that trap malefic creatures, creating a tension between good and evil. With its tumbling round shapes “Chaos and Void” suggests a sense of ephemerality and instability, very much like the fluttering mind in its initial stage of pursuit of life’s great answers, seeking dialogue with the sublime. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1589555423647-0BZ9KBAF4YW5W9IQQUX1/On+the+Pillar+of+Balance+III+%28new%29.jpg ICONOGRAPHY - SHABBETAI TZVI AND HIS THIRD WIFE ARE ABOUT TO RULE THE WORLD Mysterious, menacing and grotesque, in “Shabbetai Tzvi and his Third Wife are about to rule the World” the artist presents the viewer with a phantasmagorical composition, where a man and woman perform an act of levitation and balancing, in utter stillness, set in a turbulent landscape that can only exist in the realm of painting. Inspiration for this work is the bizarre tale of the charlatan Shabbetai Tzvi, who in the 17th century took the Jewish community by storm, claiming that he was the long awaited Jewish Messiah, only to leave behind a baffled world when he converted to Islam. Reminiscent of the geometrical shape of the Tree of Life with the translucent orbs and planet-like circles, the protagonists are placed in the middle of the composition, referring to the core of Shabbetai Tzvi’s belief that the Kabbalah identifies God as the Sefira of Tiferet, located at the heart of the Tree. Prone to delusions, mentally ill and eccentrically behaved, Shabbetai Tzvi found himself propelled to fame by a group of people, enablers that instrumentalized his madness and apparent charisma to become a powerful force in the Jewish community across the world, whilst leaning on his third wife Sarah, an equally peculiar woman. In this composition the imagery becomes dislodged from its origins in ancient Kabbalistic magic books and other mystical objects and is presented as a parable of our present era of personality cults, religious fanaticism and destructive populism that leave nothing but a scorched earth. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1590743508763-P6AM7LATN8VSQC4X411G/WATERSHED.jpg ICONOGRAPHY - WATERSHED Even the invocation of superstition as depicted in the translucent orbs and the conjuring of a talismanic creature do not suffice to prevent the earth from tilting; a humanoid figure grabs its head in despair and sheds a tear; the male protagonist cloaked in white raises his hands, signalling an embrace of the spiritual. In “Watershed” the artist employs a cast of strange figures drawn from ancient Aramaic incantation bowls and kabbalist magic books within a fantastical environment. The title suggests an apocalyptic event, where it may not mean the end of times, but certainly a dramatic rearrangement of the world’s order and thought. The imagery indicates return to an era where religion and the occult are never far away. Darkness descends, the earth is in flux. Hebrew letters swirl around, signifying their kabbalist meaning as building blocs of the universe and deployed to construct a new world. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1593876064416-I6TY9TNSWAVRVXCXU2D9/Blindfold%2C+and+hid ICONOGRAPHY - Blindfold, and Hid In the painting "Blindfold, and Hid" the artist draws on imagery emerging from his subconscious and personal emotions; and upon literature, spiritual folklore and religion to create a contemporary narrative; one which contains multiple readings, and which highlights the deeply unsettling events of our time. Night is falling over a fertile land, strange creatures lurk everywhere, orbs tumble through the skies, spiked viral shapes dot desert mounts; the blindfolded protagonist finds himself trapped in a mystifying landscape that reflects his demons, fears and uncertainties. The work’s title “Blindfold, and Hid” refers to the poem “Hyperion” by John Keats. Written in 1818, as he watched his beloved 19 year old brother slowly die from tuberculosis, Keats frames the human experience of suffering and death with a personal quest for truth, knowledge and understanding. Blindfolded: it's the year 2021, isn’t this how we all feel? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1589557484251-LYI4PKTW3F72UBJ07GNX/Concealment+II.jpg ICONOGRAPHY - CONCEALMENT A rich, atmospheric sky augments the psychologically-charged mood, adding to the impression of an almost theatrical gesture by the painting’s protagonist warding off the translucent orbs swiveling around him and closing his eyes to an angelic apparition concerned with matters beyond the composition. The scene is set in a landscape reminiscent of a memory or a dream, where two mountains reflect a primordial red earth that gives way to tilled fertile land, stretches of desert rendered in knotted ribbons of sand that appear on the move, with underneath a murky earth restless with faint smokey swirls. The disharmony in the landscape conjures associations with different climate spheres, intimating a sense of instability. The title of the work suggests the truth concealed from the protagonist is revealed as the truth that remains concealed: an earth in flux inadvertently hurtling towards an outcome that nobody wants. We are unable, even unwilling to fully grasp the process, but nevertheless aware that something is happening. Drawing on imagery found on Aramaic incantation bowls and in ancient magic books, the characters depicted in their translucent orbs serve to create an almost talismanic painting, imbued with protective powers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1589527458531-ZU9WNUOVJTLAP64GSQN3/Firestorm.jpg ICONOGRAPHY - FIRESTORM "Firestorm" is inspired by the works of 17th century scholar and artist Athanasius Kircher, where he presented an image of a subterranean world in flames. The painting “Firestorm” is an ode to his prescient vision. Here Kircher's subterranean world is our current earth - swirling faster and faster, fires erupting everywhere, in a spin that can almost no longer be halted, with the calm skies of the universe surrounding it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1589519131688-TVIZM6KD8ASAROYWMX5I/First+Swirlings-+copy.jpg ICONOGRAPHY - First Swirlings Inspiration for this work is the concept of the Tree of Life. The painting “First Swirlings” is a reference to the ancient Jewish “Book of Splendor” (the Zohar) and represents a lower branch or stage within the Tree with its ten ‘fruits’of self-realisation, or even enlightenment. Where the Tree of Life usually is depicted in its entirety and with a sacred geometry, this painting focuses on just one detail of the Tree of Life. Suggesting a metaphorical climb into the Tree, it imagines the swirls, chaos and dissolution of thoughts that first appear when searching for mental solace through meditation. An anthropomorphic creature materialises from the left, giving the impression of an attempt to traverse the whirling, stormy landscape. Other figures are in a meditative pose, unaware of the looming presence behind them that will eventually overwhelm them, finishing their altered state of consciousness. The colour patterns can be interpreted as phosphenes - the colours and shapes that float around when we close our eyes during meditation. Certain shapes can also be seen referring to fertility, as the merging of bodies into a non-defined entity, and in this particular context, as thoughts being born, and whirling through our ‘monkey mind’. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1589539452110-DAY5FJUQDSG6SY5K6N1C/Boundless.jpg ICONOGRAPHY - BOUNDLESS Principal topic of the work “Boundless” is the unmooring of consciousness. The male figure is already in a deep meditative state. Ascent towards the next stage by the painting’s protagonist presents itself through a narrow passage, almost like an air shaft, flanked on either side by strange creatures that represent some of life’s tribulations, ready to distract the mind traveler. In the stormy clouds the viewer can detect a faint reference to the Book of Ezekiel that describes a celestial chariot, signifying further ascent, as well as enhancing the work’s mystical resonances. The Hebrew word on the painting translates as “humming” and refers to Ezekiel’s text where a humming sound is mentioned as part of the ecstatic process. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1589540555702-749H748DI06D2NSI9FEY/Wondrous+copy+2.jpg ICONOGRAPHY - WONDROUS Occupying a space between the subconscious and physical reality, the painting “Wondrous” presents a mind journey, where a figure progresses through a succession of subliminal realms. Related to the artist’s interest in the directionality of language, the Hebrew writing is the key to tracing the path etched out in this composition. From right to left, the viewer sees four realms that allude to the traditional kabbalist principle of the Four Worlds, embodying dimensions of consciousness in the human experience. Cloaked in a garment that suggests a quest for the sublime, the figure wanders from a moonlit garden into a dimension of smoke and fire. He cautiously touches a translucent orb, where two humanoid creatures with their legs bound tumble around. The artist draws on imagery from ancient Aramaic incantation bowls that offered protection from evil and bad luck, to guide the painting’s protagonist through a kaleidoscope of his subconscious. In an adjacent nocturnal dimension he is about to encounter the “Teli”, the most mysterious word in ancient kabbalist literature, widely understood as the confluence where the physical and spiritual meet and you ascertain your balance, sometimes depicted in a snake-like form. A spirit-like apparition vanishes into the background, with ankles chained, unable to fully crystalize, not more than just a fleeting thought. The end of the journey is a golden sunrise in a powdery blue and white realm, calm and finally settled. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a6427b27e39ab32973f24/1589556993036-3H3GC9I9ERBFDPE1W7F4/Transformation.jpg ICONOGRAPHY - TRANSFORMATION The artist: "My attention was caught by a hoax that surfaced on the internet: people all around the globe allege hearing mysterious blasts of sound coming from the sky. Clarion calls, that some identify as angelic trumpets announcing the end of the world, others believe they recognize the Jewish shofar or ram’s horn with similar dark warnings. I also heard the shofar, in the Negev desert, but blown by a real person. A call for transformation in Jewish tradition, it heralds for example the new year and marks Yom Kippur. Around the same time I saw in Jerusalem an Aramaic incantation bowl, black magic clay bowls from the Babylonian era, with an illustration of several strange figures and shapes. Working on the concept of Transformation, these three separate impressions merged into the subject and imagery for this painting. Desert land creeping up on the green land, a hot netherworld rising with mad insects, a green world full of swirls signifying flux, I intended to create a cry of urgency with the horn about to be blown forcefully, with two firm hands. The clay bowl’s depiction I reworked into a person and a child, flanked by two birds, aggressively telling it something urgent. The person makes a protective gesture, the child is fearful: nature has a message, something is happening. The Hebrew letter Gimel, however, carved in the desert indicates that humanity can overcome the crossing of the desert and the letter Samech in the red hot zone offers hope."