In the Labyrinth

Anne Siems: A World Of Wonder

It is easy enough to get lost in Ann Siems paintings, a world of verdant gardens, ghostly lace, and beautiful folkloric portraits. Siems paintings employ different elements of 18th and 19th century art. Her subjects are stylized childhood figures, with pink-cheeked and smiling faces, that stare wide-eyed at the viewer. By contrast, the figures inhabit landscapes and gardens that are richly detailed with plants, trees, insects, animals and birds -- all painted with precision. And over that, there is an intricate layer of luminous white patterns of flowers and animals so the figures appear to simultaneously inhabit and float over the surface of the material world. More recently her work has included yet another visual layer -- animal forms intimately connected with the figures where animal spirits seem to act as totemic guides. The overall effect is stunning and full of fairy tale wonder.

Of her work Siems' writes: “All that I see, hear, touch, experience and dream moves into me and finds its way into my artwork. I love faces, bodies, gardens, wide open stretches of land with small forests and fields, old things that have had a life of their own, stories and all the realms in between. What I paint comes from an intuitive, visceral place. Elements found in my work through the years are there because they feel right; they have no specific symbolism. What you see is an open ended narrative, one that I invite you to enter into and complete or continue."

It's worth going to Siems' website to see the whole body of her art and to observe the fascinating progression of her work -- moving increasingly to these intricate, mythic narratives. Here is a link to a recent show of German Fairy Tales where Siems offered three paintings based on Little Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty. And here is a "studio visit" and interview with Anne Siems in Seattle, which is especially wonderful for those of us who love peeking into artist's studios -- and Anne's studio appears as enchanting as her art.

Paintings in order from top to bottom: "St. Bee," "Lynx Cap," "Wolf Girl," "Plant Wisdom," "Bear Girl," and "Bison Boy."

The Voynich Manuscript: Magic, A Garden of Women, and a Secret Language

*Please note that posters in the comments provide links to pages that no longer exist -- sadly! Yale at one point removed the archive of images from public view. 

 

I am sitting at my desk transported by the digital images of the Voynich Manuscript, created sometime between the late 15th century and early 16th century. It is a most magical text, written in an unknown language or perhaps a cipher. It is illustrated with botanical drawings of unknown plants, strange designs and patterns that suggest spiral and circular gardens. And most wonderfully it is filled with the alchemical activities of women who seem to be the life force of this strange and fecund world. The women often appear nude with rounded bellies, sometimes in bathtubs, other times connecting roots, seeds, and pods through tubes and rivers.

Not much is known about its origin and what is known is as mysterious as the manuscript itself. It has been carbon tested and found to have been produced in late 1400's; it gets it's name from the Polish-American antiquarian bookseller, Wilfrid M. Voynich who purchased it in the 1920s; it was owned by the Emperor Rudolph II of Germany (1576-1612) who believed it to be the work of Roger Bacon (it wasn't --he's 13th century). There is Jesuit involvement -- the correspondence of 17th c. Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher who wrote references to it after receiving it from a Prague physician Johannes Marcus Marci. And much later in 1912, Voynich purchased the manuscript from Joseph Strickland S. J. at the Jesuit College at Frascati, near Rome. (Why does this all remind me of Umberto Eco's Name of the Rose?). And then there are about 150 years where no one knows who had it or where it was hiding.

And as far as the language goes -- no one has been able to translate it into any language. Some scholars thought it might be the work of an insane author -- but other linguists suggest there are two authors and the language appears too "organized" to be the work of a crazy person. Potential authors range from Leonardo da Vinci, Antonio Averlino, a 15th century Italian architect, English occultist John Dee, and an underground sect of Cathar heretics. Strangely, at least to me-- no one has suggested it might have been written and created by women.

Enjoy these few pages I pulled from the online collection -- and marvel at all that beautiful, mysterious work and give thanks to the internet. You can also read more about the Voynich manuscript here.

I want these to be plans for a garden -- circular, spiral, filled with female fertility connected to the moon, the stars, and the zodiac calendar.