Imaginary or Imaginal Lair

by Terrance DePietro

Title

Imaginary or Imaginal Lair

Artist

Terrance DePietro

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

Days shy of eight year ago, I came upon a motif in nature; the time of day was such that the full glowing of sunlight silhouetted a tree line; subsequently, all that was at rest over and beneath the silhouette was transformed delightfully into a collage; for between myself and the tree line, a silky calm pond, of grant dimension, stretched panoramically beyond the camera's frame... And embroidered onto the silken softness, colonies of aquatic flora were scattered about festively; and, in course of perspective, the bulky patchwork thinned progressively until appearing, like horizontal streaks nearest the grassy bank... And as one might well imagine, I found myself uniquely alone in what might be described as: the definition of serenity.

And I might well have rested content in that moment of calm as I processed through the captures, if I had not been pulled away from those duties to the serendipity of life. Only recently has the occasion resurfaced; only by now you see, my deportment has taken a temporary turn, so to speak; rather than the observe of nature's objectivity, my mind's eye opens inwardly. Subjective suggest, queries my observations, sending them on pathways of intuition, that presents the observable to imaginal sensibilities - not realities but potentials of realities that might yet become.

Such has me now, literally, stand the bliss on its head, upside-down; and then strips it of colorized define; reducing it to stark abstraction of tonal proportion alone... Feelings shift; a commotion of feelings churns ideas back into themselves; symmetry and balance become vertigo; and forms loss their associations, go wanting of new, only to receive mirage, normally reticent in nocturnal slumber.

Capricious, I am well aware; yet all is changeable, potential itself is change; and besides, where I stand my ground today is all to the affirming of faith... in a leap to it, that is yet revising and replacing ideation with incalculable possibilities... Said image is but one.

Yet what of our Imaginary or Imaginal?

Yet the title alone, begs more descript. What is this distinction, so said of: 'Imaginary Or Imaginal [Lair]'? Lair of itself is no wonder; a den, space to rest in; secluded, private and 'hidden' from view; so it sets the stage - one can easily find familiarity in the metaphor; add, it is securing, comforting, et al.

Secure in place, the distinction now can be wrestled with; and so close they are that the notion most be only a nuance away from one another. Yet it is not so! The distance our two take from each other makes all the difference in the world - more correctly said as Worlds! Because as imagination conjures from, and of, our perceptions, to imagined earthliness, calling attitude to imaginary place and event; imaginal adds the twist of exceeding earthly bound wonder; whisking us away, beyond known possibilities, to where thresholds are yet held only in faith - they evoke the mysteries themselves, the notions of the promised land or the future itself. Imaginary is more commonly enjoyed in desires and their scenarios - and hopefully enjoyed to the limits of fantasy but no further.

I dare say the distinction is more relevant in terms of 'feeling' than 'ideation'; perhaps that is why it is often not regarded - the wordiness of imaginary and how the junkets so easily are described; as if nothing much of it might hold secret or taboo. Yet another 'feeling' seems to attach to 'imaginal' departures as they seemingly bolster intuitive-'demands' [demands being somewhat over reach. Yet is it not so, that intuitions have a touch or 'urgency', 'necessity'; importance or require, if not obligation in their signaling instant?]. Imaginal might well be said to be subjective truth - that the plausibility can neither be substantiated or denied. With merely a measure of reasonable reasoning, the conjectures are not to be discarded to the trash heap but rather shelved -but in-view, so to remind - until later time that more input arrives or is recognized [intuition alone would demand it].

So what to do with the distinctions; or any potential or possibility found therein? Though I might favor an approach that makes it part of my daily regiment, I would be surprised to see a volume of aficionados rise out of these authentic thoughts; especially that my thoughts are: less than scholarly, and poor of word. Mine is yet an investigation that adds to my life-experiment, which in fact was 'leaped to'. Folly perhaps! Yet even if so: I move closer to the imaginal each day...like everyone else. 13mar17 tdp

Afterthought:

The short accounting appears alongside an image that I hope is seen for its imaginative, provocative potential. Most anyone, familiar with photography, understands the workings that went into its abstracting; the technical approach is of little concern, nor is the lack of high-definition. The minimal applied abstraction to black and white was necessary to maintain the allusion to 'othernesses' because, if it is not already pristine, the subject itself is quite of another place, another time, another dimension.

The writing is more an acknowledgment than a description - I generally attempt to distance my narration away from an image; preferring to raise notions that have sympathy to the visual impression, without preempting the viewer's immediate feelings or conjectures. Imposing a title alone can interrupt the enchantment struck between a viewer and an image; the first edification, that ostensibly is shared; and if shared with the image is too far-reaching, then simply allow involve between artist and viewer.

Yet to the acknowledgement that is most important, it needs to be shared that the ideas discussed here are part causal to a most impressive paper by Henry Corbin, 'Mundus Imaginalis; or The Imaginary and the Imaginal' that is readily available as a pdf online; highly respected, the author's life work included the investigation put forth in the paper and we find that it might well be a catalyst for further explore into the potentials of human imagination as a broad subject. 13mar17 tdp

Copyright 2017 Terrance DePietro, all rights expressly reserved.

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March 13th, 2017

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