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My weblog ELECTRON BLUE, which concentrated on science and mathematics, ran from 2004-2008. This weblog, which is more art-oriented, is its successor. Please visit the archives of ELECTRON BLUE using the link to the right.

Mon, 02 Jul, 2012

Metatron, Angel of Mathematics


It has been more than a year since I posted on this blog. During that year I have not been away from the studio, in fact I've produced a lot of art. But most of that art does not qualify for "Quality Art Product," in that it is either commercial or created purely for gallery sales.

Meanwhile, though, I was planning a major piece for which I received a commission (sponsorship) in 2011. The image you see in last year's last post, "Angel of Geometry," is the study for it. This major project is now done and presented to its client, so I can now show it. It is a "FuturIkon" in the same series as my Four Archangels of 1996 and my "Our Lady of the Cosmos" from 2002.

Metatron is an angelic being from the Kabbalistic tradition, though the name is probably of Greek origin, not Hebrew. Metatron is the leader of all angels, possessing a rank higher than the numerous choirs and echelons of angels and personified concepts. He/she is privileged to stand at the "right hand of God" and lead human beings towards the good. Metatron is not a warrior angel like Michael. Rather, he is thought of as the celestial scribe.

In my futuristic interpretation of Metatron, he/she is not only a scribe or a protector, but the keeper and personification of the most fundamental of sciences, Mathematics. Without mathematics, the world would not exist. Even modern mathematicians and philosophers sometimes say that mathematics existed before the world came to be, an ancient and angelic notion. Therefore I designed the image of Metatron to be built of mathematical symbols and shapes. The Angel's body and environment is made of forms such as conic sections (parabola, hyperbola, circle, and ellipse), and trigonometric fundamentals such as a right angle and a 30-60-90 degree triangle as well as an equilateral triangle. There are also exponential curves, straight lines, twisted graphs of relativistic space forming the "wings" of the angel, and a Fibonacci spiral. The Angel holds in her/his hands a diagram from the Kabbalistic tradition called the "Cube of Metatron," which encompasses in its intersecting lines the basic solid-geometric forms such as cube, tetrahedron, octahedron, and pyramid. It is also a six-pointed Jewish star.

The Angel stands over a stylized Planet Earth, as well as atmospheric visionary fragments and the blackness of space. The border is composed of many colors of metallic and iridescent paint, reminiscent of many precious metals in a mosaic arrangement. This painting is acrylic on masonite board, 18" x 36", finished in late June 2012. It took more than eight months to paint. Now, finally, I can present it to you after all this time.

For a larger view, please click here:

"Metatron, Angel of Mathematics"

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