Brandon Balengee, Bio-Artist, and Iconic Realism (Click onto this title to see and hear Brandon Balengee discuss his research/art.)

Here, Brandon Ballengee, artist and scientist, collaborates with communities around the world to bring awareness of environmental change. His source is the iconic feature of ancient civilizations, the pond. Ballengee's research follows the phenomena of mutation in the amphibian populations worldwide. Then, he uses his skill as an artist to create awareness of this biological variance, focusing his audience's attention on environmental transformation.

How does this relate to Iconic Realism? 

 1: Iconic natural pond

 2: Scientific research of pond creatures within the pond

 3: This brings audiences to awareness of the importance of clean water sources

An added feature here is taking the scientific research and turning it into an art form, again, to bring awareness of the need for environmental stewardship.  

Click the link below to see and hear Brandon at work: 

Sydney Owenson: 'The Life and Times of Salvator Rosa,' Independence, and Education

The Resurrected Christ by Salvator Rosa

Courtesy of Google Art

From my book, Innovations in Rhetoric in the Writings of Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan), p. 231

Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan), a voice representing independent consciousness, does not discriminate between various forms of aristocratic domination and the voice of the common person. Where knowledge and awareness are concerned, she reveals her perspective of the truth as she illustrates in the following passage from her biographical sketch, The Life and Times of Salvator Rosa:

Knowledge, which is supremacy as long only as it is a monopoly, was then the exclusive possession of the clergy; and the intellectual disparity, which existed between the many and the few, long continued to be the instrument of delusions, of which ignorance inevitably becomes the dupe and the victim. (Owenson, The Life and Times of Salvator Rosa, p. 2)

Her purpose for writing evolves from her focus on bringing awareness of the global and historical significance of Ireland to a philosophical focus on the dissemination of knowledge to all thinking individuals. In the above passage, she points out an ‘intellectual disparity’ which exists between those who have been taught through intensive educational programs and, consequently, then use that education as an “instrument of delusion.” 

Even though she presents Rosa in a discrete manner, Owenson reveals her disdain for any totalitarian control over the human spirit, be it religious or governmental. She remains devoted to the concept of independent and critical thinking as the way for humanity to advance to an  elevated consciousness. Thus, her biography of Salvator Rosa is a statement on the evolution of human culture and the possibilities that exist when human beings utilize the knowledge they gain (educational experiences) in a positive way to enlighten others. 

Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite: Music and Iconic Realism

Click HERE to view a rendition of Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite Number I, Opus 46

         A delicate melody flows from a flute. One by one, the oboe, then strings, echo this melody until the orchestra swells with the soft, yet intensely resonating melody. Eventually, every section of the orchestra sings this song of peaceful resolve, as the audience awakens to Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite Number 1, Opus 46.  Grieg introduces the gentlest instruments of the orchestra and gradually blends in the strength of the entire string and brass sections with a calm resonance a listening audience could associate with morning sunrise. Grieg’s opus illustrates iconic realism as each member of the audience attends to this aural depiction of the dawn of something within its consciousness, interpreting possibility in variation with a theme.

       Iconic structures in music include those resonating mechanisms that represent a specific sound source recognized by a community. These aural sources could include human made instruments, the human voice or natural sounds common within a specific environment. For example, the oboe is a wind instrument that produces sounds very close in frequency and intensity to the human voice. In many baroque pieces of music, which were composed during the enlightenment of human culture, the oboe is a featured instrument, which establishes the iconic nature of the oboe within a musical piece constructed of other wind instruments.

         Since the human voice would not naturally be situated in a musical ensemble, the placement of this icon for the human voice provides the listener an opportunity to attend to this iconic realism within the musical genre of artistic expression and feel the dissonant harmonics that naturally resolve to consonance when the oboe blends with the instrumentation. This aural exercise incorporates resonating sound waves with the listener’s memory, which leads to an interpretation of the sound and thus, the association of significant meaning to the specific sound. 

(from my book, The Theory of Iconic Realism: Understanding the Arts through Cultural Context)

Einstein's Theory of Relativity and Iconic Realism

painting by William Rock, Chinese calligraphy by Huang Xiang

“The eclipse of May 29, 1919 confirmed Einstein’s theory that the light could be bent by the gravitational force of the sun. An English expedition in the area of the eclipse have actually measured the deflexion of starlight from the sun. The data of the expedition was presented to a special joint meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Society of London on November 6, 1919." 

(Dr. Ljubo Vujovic, Secretary General, Tesla Memorial Society of New York)

This scientific event held at the conclusion of WWI illustrates iconic realism in the media. Albert Einstein, an icon of the scientific community, received confirmation of his theory of relativity through data collected by an English expedition. The manner which this event illustrates the theory of iconic realism is as follows:

1. Germany and England were iconic enemies during WWI.

2. Representatives from both countries were present at a scientific conference.

3. This meeting or juxtaposition led to a united elevation of scientific awareness.

Ironically, twenty years later, this same peace activist urged President Roosevelt to begin research into the production of the atomic bomb as a means to bring a quick end to WWII. And we all know the rest of that narrative.

Work cited: 

Vujovic, Dr. Ljubo. Albert Einstein (1879-1955). Tesla Memorial Society of New York. http://www.teslasociety.com/einstein.htm

Natural Order and Iconic Realism

I took this photo in Coole Park, County Galway, Ireland

If one were to gaze upon the photograph I have posted here, a sense of equality exists within the natural balance of the trees' trunks, for they vividly reflect the underground root system, the source of their immensely visual structures; yet, each tree is uniquely exposed by a natural Order. 

This illustrates the existence of iconic realism in the natural world in that it is unusual to see a tree's trunk and branches specifically revealing the source of its power. Usually, one would have to dig beneath the surface to see this, but as I walked beneath the branches of these enormous Irish evergreens, I could almost feel the life force surging from the unseen root systems below my feet.

What does this reveal in a cultural sense? Those leaders that become the most powerful, whether in government, business, education, or the arts, acknowledge that the source of their power exists within the 'root' of their successful endeavors, originating from that which flourishes from below the surface, "endowed by their Creator..."