APMA - Arcane Power Modern Art

The word 'arcane', when not used in a historical context, tends to refer to mysticism, magic, and sorcery. This collection depicts these things, the mystic dealings in powers greater than mortals were ever meant to wield. Abraham's Table is an allusion to a scene from the book of Genesis - it alludes to dealings directly with God, as emphasized by the background of the work. Mage's Magic Stage is more traditional in its arcana, making reference to traditional stage magic, only with some real magic thrown in. The negative space in the top-left of the image is meant to resemble a hand, the as-yet-empty stage taking up the right side of the picture, waiting to be filled by mystic power. Innocuous Use of Great Power is a very abstract work, but it has many layers that, despite looking disordered and vague, have just too much in the way of common threads and organization to be a coincidence. The ability to control chaos, to order chaos, is the power being wielded here. The power displayed in Desireworker are those of fulfillment, granting wishes. The design of this work is similarly abstract, but the combination of sharp distinctions in color between various areas of the picture, the specific lack of saturation and contrast in certain parts, and the use of bright vertical lines, all contribute to its subtext. And finally of note, my personal favorite work this week is Runic Power Unleashed, a work with an interesting texture that takes a middle-ground between concreteness and abstraction, and does an excellent job in showing the arcane power used in whatever ritual is portrayed. Please enjoy!