Alchemy, Jung, and Remedios Varo: Cultural Complexes and the Redemptive Power of the Abjected Feminine PDF
Preview Alchemy, Jung, and Remedios Varo: Cultural Complexes and the Redemptive Power of the Abjected Feminine
Alchemy, Jung, and Remedios Varo Alchemy, Jung, and Remedios Varo offers a depth psychological analysis of the art and life of Remedios Varo, a Spanish surrealist painter. The book uses Varo’s paintings in a revolutionary way: to critique the patriarchal underpinnings of Jungian psychology, alchemy, and Surrealism, illumin- ating how Varo used painting to address cultural complexes that silence female expression. The book focuses on how the practice of alchemical psychology, through the power of imagination and the archetypal Feminine, can lead to healing and transformation for individuals and culture. Alchemy, Jung, and Remedios Varo offers the first in-depth psychological treatment of the role alchemy played in the friendship between Varo and Leonora Carrington— a connection that led to paintings that protest the pitfalls of patriarchy. This unique book will be of great interest for academics, scholars, and post- graduate students in the fields of analytical psychology, art history, Surrealism, cultural criticism, and Jungian studies. Dennis Pottenger is a Jungian- oriented psychotherapist and award- winning literary journalist based in the USA. Rebecca Livingston Pottenger is a licensed psychotherapist, feminist scholar, and adjunct faculty member at Pacifica Graduate Institute, USA. Research in Analytical Psychology and Jungian Studies Series Series Advisor: Andrew Samuels, Professor of Analytical Psychology, Essex University, UK. The Research in Analytical Psychology and Jungian Studies series features research- focused volumes involving qualitative and quantitative research, historical/ archival research, theoretical developments, heuristic research, grounded theory, narrative approaches, collaborative research, practitioner- led research, and self- study. The series also includes focused works by clinical practitioners and provides new research informed explorations of the work of C. G Jung that will appeal to researchers, academics, and scholars alike. Books in this series: Symbolic Mental Representations in Arts and Mystical Experiences Primordial Mental Activity and Archetypal Constellations Giselle Manica Jung’s Technique of Active Imagination and Desoille’s Directed Waking Dream Method Bridging the Divide Laner Cassar The Cartesian Split A Hidden Myth Brandon Short Psychogeotherapy Revisioning Therapeutic Space Martyna Chrześcijańska Alchemy, Jung, and Remedios Varo Cultural Complexes and the Redemptive Power of the Abjected Feminine Dennis Pottenger For more information about this series please visit: www.routledge.com/ Research- in- Analytical- Psychology- and- Jungian- Studies/ book- series/ JUNGIANSTUDIES. Alchemy, Jung, and Remedios Varo Cultural Complexes and the Redemptive Power of the Abjected Feminine Dennis Pottenger Edited and introduced by Rebecca Livingston Pottenger First published 2021 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2021 Dennis Pottenger The right of Dennis Pottenger to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Excerpt from Rafael Alberti’s “The Uninhabited Body” translated by Christopher Sawyer-Lauçanno, from Concerning the Angels. Copyright © 1995 by Christopher Sawyer-Lauçanno, reprinted with the permission of City Lights Books, www.citylights.com All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 70421- 6 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-70425-4 (pbk) ISBN: 978- 1- 003- 14623- 0 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Newgen Publishing UK For Rebecca, It wasn’t the pancakes I wanted, dear. Contents List of figures ix Acknowledgments x Prelude: Preparing the canvas xii PART I The death of Remedios Varo and the science of all things 1 1 Varo’s alchemical practice of painting and the problem of patriarchy 3 2 The fructifying bonfire of trauma and death 39 3 Putting the canvas on the easel: Surrealism, alchemy, and the unconscious 55 4 The end as beginning: Varo’s dream of the executioner, last painting, and death 65 5 Embroidering the Earth’s Mantle: Psychology, alchemy, and weaving the garment of a new world 73 6 Voyage to the center of the inner world: The Feminine quest, the labyrinth, and the dangerous secret 106 7 Cauldrons of color: Dead leaves and the alchemical movement between death, life, and rebirth 124 8 Birds and eggs: Symbol of the liberated soul and image of immortality 140 9 The dream of the executioner: A paradigm shift 150 viii Contents PART II Mystical sisters: Varo, Carrington, the eternal Feminine, and the unmaking of patriarchy 175 10 Kindred spirits: Varo, Carrington, and the possibilities of woman’s creative power 177 11 Breaking out: Varo, Carrington, and blackening the patriarchal paradigm 196 12 In the footsteps of Virginia Woolf: Humiliated Manhood and the re- visioning of the Feminine 207 13 Alchemy in exile: Varo and Carrington in Mexico City 212 14 The way they loved each other: The crucible of friendship and the unmaking of patriarchy 222 PART III Symbols of transformation: The golden key, the black door, and the inestimable value of the living third thing 235 15 Imaginal dialogues: The alchemical treasure of the Feminine 237 Index 243 Figures 4.1 Study for Still Life Reviving, Remedios Varo, pencil tracing on paper, 1963. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Photo Credit: Schalkwijk/Art Resource, NY. 69 5.1 Women’s Tailor, Remedios Varo, oil on masonite, 1957. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Photo credit: Private Collection, Christie’s Images/Bridgeman Images. 74 5.2 Embroidering the Earth’s Mantle, Remedios Varo, oil on masonite, 1961. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Image courtesy of Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco. 86 5.3 Celestial Pablum, Remedios Varo, oil on masonite, 1958. ©Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Private Collection: G. Dagli Orti/De Agostini Picture Library/Bridgeman Images. 94 9.1 The Encounter, Remedios Varo, vinyl on bristol board, 1962. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo credit: Private Collection, Christie’s Images/Bridgeman Images. 158 9.2 Creation of the Birds, Remedios Varo, oil on masonite, 1958. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Photo Credit: DeA Picture Library/Art Resource, NY. 165 10.1 Crookhey Hall, Leonora Carrington, color lithograph on woven paper. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Photo Credit: Princeton University Art Museum/Art Resource, NY. 181 11.1 Woman Leaving the Psychoanalyst, Remedios Varo, oil on canvas, 1961. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo credit: Private Collection, Christie’s Images/ Bridgeman Images. 200 14.1 Minotaur, Remedios Varo, oil on masonite, 1959. © Artist Rights Society (ARS), NY. Photo Credit: Private Collection, Christie’s Images/Bridgeman Images. 229
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