12/28/2023 0 Comments The Alchemist of Ars Magna instal![]() As for the creatures of doctors Faustus and Frankenstein and the disquieting new forms of life elaborated in research laboratories, they are the scions of the homunculus, this tiny human being grown in a glass jar and depicted in medieval manuscripts. The need to mine the alchemical “first matter” (prima materia) from below ground echoes our ‘extractivist’ society. ![]() The parallels between the old-time practice and contemporary life do not end there. This drive to transmute existing matter into a man-made compounds still influences many artists (and scientists) today, especially the ones whose work investigates processual transformation of material. We often dismiss alchemy as a charlatan pseudo-science which sole purpose was chrysopoeia (the making of gold.) Most of its adepts had a very modern pursuit though: they wanted to imitate the divine act of creation itself and even to surpass it. Mixing historical artefacts and contemporary artworks, the exhibition also rehabilitates alchemical practices and illuminates their legacy. The alliance between the two fields is an intimate one: both art and alchemy are about creation, both rely on experimentation, knowledge-seeking and passion. The Great Art, a show which will close this Sunday at Berlin’s Kulturforum (i’m writing this post in a hurry in the hope that some of you might still catch it) explores the enduring relationship between alchemy and art. ![]() ![]() The Great Art (exhibition view.) © Photo: David von Becker for Staatliche Museen zu BerlinĪlchemy. ![]() Crystal Meth on photo-negative, enlarged as c-printĪlchemie. Sarah Schönfeld, All you can feel, Crystal Meth (Planets), photo-pharmaceutical series 2013. In medieval Europe, alchemy was the Ars magna, the ‘Great Art’. ![]()
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