Let there be Gold: Three Portraits by Adamo Macri
by Kenneth Radu
ONE:
by Kenneth Radu
ONE:
They loved their gold and jewels, those Russian aristocrats and Indian maharajahs. What signified power and privilege, social superiority and limitless wealth more than ropes of pearls, clusters of diamonds, wreaths of rubies, and earrings of emeralds. That sexually adventurous, St. Petersburg cosmopolite and assassin of Rasputin, Felix Yusupov, placed bowls of gems on occasional tables in his town mansion, which I visited years ago. I didn’t see bowls of precious stones, once free for the taking like Hallowe’en candies. The revolution, alas, had put an end to such impolitic, luxurious indulgence, and maharajahs have ceased to exist, although most of their jewels survive.
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| Grigori Rasputin - Felix Yusupov |
And we hunger for gold: arguably the most sought after and universally symbolic of precious metals. All that glisters may not have been gold in Shakespeare’s view, but a lot of it did in the Incan empire before Cortez, in the tombs of Pharaohs, in treasure chests of kings, in temples of Buddha, in religious and secular art through the centuries, in Fort Knox, in gold medals, gold stars, gold rushes and gold standards. This hunger, metaphoric or real, is present in the human body like breath itself, a compelling biological and cultural force stunningly evident in two golden portraits by the multi-media artist Adamo Macri: The Lure, and Cosmopolitan.
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| The Lure - Cosmopolitan |
And a third portrait, Latent Corpus Callosum Discernment, removes the gold and jewels, and by placing it next to The Lure and Cosmopolitan, I acquire a greater sense of their collective meaning and complexity. I am reminded that Macri’s genius as an artist resides not only in what he depicts, but also in what he does not show. We all recognize that he’s an artist who embraces and dramatizes multiple identities, his own, and equally those of his viewers. He is also fully aware that, as Henry James wrote in his notebooks, “[n]ever say you know the last thing about the human heart.” By implication, that also means the human mind with all its desires and dreams, hopes and memories, anxieties and aspirations.
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| Latent Corpus Callosum Discernment |
The corpus callosum is part of the nerve tract that connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain, allowing for communication between the two. We cannot see or feel what is going on physiologically, although modern science is delving into it, nor does a full knowledge of the physical properties of the corpus callosum explain human character, decisions, motivations and desires. Macri is fully aware of the facts. In this portrait, however, he’s not illustrating a treatise about the brain, but depicting a metaphor of its essential mystery.
Latent Corpus Callosum Discernment is an exquisite portrait. So simple and clear in appearance, compared to more elaborate pieces (Carnevale, or Icono Emoter, to mention two) that one may be forgiven for thinking it spare or spartan. To the contrary, it’s subtly complex, the apparent simplicity the result of profound artistry. Discernment is an apt noun to include in the title: we cannot know for certain what is going on inside our brains, and we certainly can’t know what’s going on inside anyone else’s, or in the mind of the artist. All remains hidden or latent, so we try to make fair judgements on the basis of what we see. Suspending logic, we rely on the discernment of imagination and intuition in order to attain some kind of insight, keeping James’s comment fully in mind.
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| Carnevale - Icono Emoter |
A subdued, dusky gold light blending into the shadows and skin infuses the portrait, almost eerily so. The dark hair is raised and divided into two more or less equal parts like the brain itself. The necklace on the back continues this motif of division, the two strands meeting and connecting in a dark knot, itself perhaps symbolic of the knowledge locked within the mind, of what is latent and difficult to discern, if you will. How utterly delicate and lovely the shoulders and shadings, a muted form of chiaroscuro which demonstrates Macri’s incredible sensitivity to the use of light and dark in his portraits, and their influence of one upon the other.
The longer I study this portrait, the more I seem to see the reality of our hidden or latent natures: the mind and spirit contained within the brain. Unlike many Macri portraits, the face is turned away from the viewer, the eyes (often covered by veils or glasses elsewhere) are not visible here, as if to say that ordinary sight doesn’t necessarily lead to full understanding, or allow us to perceive what isn’t apparent. Only one ear is highlighted, suggesting that we can’t rely entirely on the physical to hear what is hidden and quiet within our psyches. Or, the artist perhaps is demonstrating that no matter how involved he becomes in his exploration of latent truths, he is still attuned to the noises of the external world. Notice how the shadow on the right shoulder can fit into the triangle formed by the necklace, which draws attention to the sensuous cleft on the back formed by the relation between muscle and bone. So very fine and alluring. Although physical beauty is present, the portrait celebrates the ineffable and spiritual in its poise, light, gold tones and quiet grace.
Two:
Placed next to The Lure and Cosmopolitan, the portrait entitled Latent Corpus Callosum Discernment gains in power while the former two gain even more depth. Both portraits again demonstrate Macri’s handling of varied forms of facial and eye coverings, veils and glasses, both of which I have attempted to understand in the essays Veiled Allusions, and The Eyes Have It, so I wish to focus on other aspects of these brilliant pieces.
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| The Lure - Cosmopolitan - Latent Corpus Callosum Discernment |
They owe their fascination to Macri’s subtle and yet dramatic use of jewelry and gold, whether actual or suggested. Macri is a careful artist: he takes exceptional and delicate care in his choice of materials, understanding their provenance, effect and purpose in his compositions, just as the absence of glittering gold and jewels in Corpus Callosum points to their importance and the skill of the artist. Gold has ever been of use to creators, from gilding sculptures to decorating mediaeval manuscripts and layering gold leaf in religious painting. Everyone is familiar with Gustav’s Klimt’s application of gold in various paintings, especially during his so-called Golden Phase when he produced dazzling portraits like Pallas Athene, and Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. More recently, among works by other artists, we have Yves Klein’s Untitled Monogold canvases, or his Gold Leaf on Panel.
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| Pallas Athene - Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I |
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| Untitled Monogold - Untitled Monogold - Gold Leaf on Panel |
Lingering over The Lure, I keep reminding myself that I have never seen this image before, and yet I feel that I have, or, more accurately, I sense that aspects of the image pre-existed in my imagination, or memory banks, or foggy yearnings. To some degree, this reflects Macri’s uncanny ability to draw out the experiences of his viewers without knowing specifically what they are. We are inundated with images in the digital world, share them across kilometres and time zones, store them in the synapses of our brains, and often forget what it is that we have once known. We no longer see them until an artist makes them visible for us. Macri becomes an artist of recovery, taking from the neglected or the forgotten, adapting from the old to create something new, startling in its composition, artfully constructed with images, patterns and motifs derived from general culture, social anxieties and personal experiences. He transmutes dross into gold. We gasp in wonder and say: yes, this also is beautiful and true, and yes, I have long carried it within me.
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| The Lure |
As in so many of Macri’s portraits, the face in The Lure is covered with a symbolic veil: here it’s one of seemingly golden chains of circles dangling from a head band composed of fine golden beads. Circles abound. Although the eyes are visible, they reveal nothing. We cannot know what the man is thinking and therein lies the allure. The hair, so prominent in Corpus Callosum, is here tightly woven into cornrows to avoid distraction from the glitter of the veil and headband, and after a fashion it parallels the rows of chains over the face. A veil demands to be parted in order to uncover what is hidden, and so The Lure reflects the implications of Latent Corpus Callosum Discernment. So much intricate work is involved in the construction of the veil that I must pause and examine it, even as I wish to run my fingers through the links. I think of veils or face coverings, actual and symbolic, throughout history in various cultures and contexts, and their significance. In The Lure, the veil tempts the viewer to lift or part it from the face. And yet the intricacies of the workmanship are such that I want to admire rather than disturb, to step back from the implications even as I am lured towards them.
Three:
The patterns on the cloth keep seem connected with the details of the chains. It’s intriguing to compare patterns in The Lure, as well as Cosmopolitan with those in Klimt’s art from his Golden Phase: Judith I, Pallas Athena, and Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, even in the elaborate Beethoven Frieze. I am thinking of various golden and geometric shapes, abstractions, repeated motifs in the design, all suggestive forms and symbolic shapes rather than clear definitions of recognizable objects. Macri, as always, is judicious in his choice of costumes. They form an essential part of the overall composition, and are often inextricable from its overt or implied meanings. Because many of his portraits, like those of Klimt and other artists, are often dense and, indeed, vibrant with symbol, their meanings can be as varied as the viewers of his art.
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| Gustav Klimt - Judith I |
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| Beethoven Frieze |
Thus, the golden shapes in the cloth (perhaps a robe) in Cosmopolitan contribute to the meaning of the portrait as much as the gold lenses of the glasses and the light shining in them. The artist has removed his glittering veil in The Lure to reveal his face in Cosmopolitan. He has also changed his clothes, but still selecting a geometric pattern of golden threads, reminiscent of the chains in The Lure. His hair remains pulled back, tightly styled. The skin's tones of the face are tinged with subdued gold, and the head tilts forward, giving prominence to the forehead, which reminds viewers of the hidden, divided brain. The mystery continues, always a compelling aspect of Macri’s art. He doesn’t let us in, for we cannot know everything; we cannot penetrate the secrets of the artist’s mind and heart, however alluring the gold and jewels and face.
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| Cosmopolitan |
The title of Cosmopolitan is both specific and general. The image is that of a knowledgeable and confident man, hence the gold, the accoutrements, the cloth, the sculpted beard, even the necklace of black beads. Indeed, the austerity of the necklace in this instance is noticeable. It contributes to the concentration of the face, and emphasizes how significant a role symbolic or real jewels play in the form of a veil in The Lure. Here is a man of considerable sophistication, who comes from anywhere and who belongs everywhere. A citizen comfortable in the world, perhaps weary of the world as well, for all the splendid precision of his appearance, serene as a statue and vital as flesh. Severe and yet sensual. He attracts, but still keeps us at a distance by the addition of remarkable glasses flashing with gold. The effect is paradoxically magnetic: forbidden to enter the mind and heart, we cannot resist the lure.
Returning time and time again to these portraits, I am reminded of Bezalel in Exodus. Given Adamo Macri’s craftsmanship and artistry, there is indeed an element of divine afflatus in his particular genius, which cannot be fully explained. God says to Moses about Bezalel, arguably the first artist: “And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship. To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass. And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.”
I study all three portraits like one enraptured, as so many are, as if I am witness to a quiet and yet active space, like a still pond in the forest flickering with sunlight filtering through the golden leaves of autumn, a pond alive with rippling shadows and imperceptible shapes shifting beneath the surface. Therein lies a cunning quietness layered with energy and life, the two parts of my brain electric with the implicit seductions of Latent Corpus Callosum Discernment, The Lure, and the golden mystery of the Cosmopolitan.
Kenneth Radu has published books of fiction, poetry and non-fiction, including The Cost of Living, shortlisted for the Governor General's Award. His collection of stories A Private Performance and his first novel Distant Relations both received the Quebec Writers' Federation Award for best English-language fiction. He is also the author of the novel Flesh and Blood (HarperCollins Canada), Sex in Russia: New & Selected Stories, Earthbound and Net Worth (DC Books Canada).
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"Analyse très intéressante de l'art d'Adamo Macri par Kenneth Radu."
~ Florent Lion (Teacher, Université Paul-Valéry, Montpellier France)
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"Very rich indeed; sweet work and concepts. Gold shines and reflects, offers and takes. Kenneth's article is precise and enlightens the shine of attractions to power and wealth. The portraits are shining many messages. I like the inclusion of Klimt .. fascinated by the golden touch. With you on the shine in the material and glow of light. Thanks Adamo and Kenneth for the portraits in word and image. Yes."
~ John Felice Ceprano (Ottawa rock sculptor, painter)
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"As always, it is a real enrichment to read Kenneth Radu's texts. They open up completely new streams of thought with regard to the art and the artist it focuses on."
~ Anton Lechner (Visual artist)
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"Very nice article. Congratulations on such a great accomplishment with your art!"
~ Demetrios Papakostas (Artist, curator, director of Galerie ERGA)
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"Amazing insight by Kenneth Radu. Very knowledgeable and able to explain things succinctly. I was privileged to see Klimt’s portrait of Bloch-Bauer in New York at the Neues Museum and Radu’s insights made me appreciate it all the more."
~ Nancy Ann Siansi (Brooklyn College)
