Thorax: Trilobites in Music (Triple Trilobite Special!)

Tony Cragg's trilobitic sculptures.

Welcome to 'Thorax', the second issue of 'the Geology in Art Webzine' entirely dedicated to trilobites.
Curiously, I will start to discuss trilobitic music from...dinosaurs. The first trilobite and the first dinosaur are separated by about 275 millions of years, but it is not possible to forget mesozioc reptiles when dealing with geologic symbols in music. Indeed dinosaurs are a pervasive symbol in modern culture, going far beyond paleontological imagery: from T-Rex to Jonathan Richman (I'm a little dinosaur). Even if no other group of organisms has met with greater success, similar phenomena are also recorded by our beloved arthropods. Trilobites are another paleontological celebrity to have left its mark in music. For instance, they have been cited by Nightwish, which is an award-winning Finnish symphonic metal band.  Indeed Nightwish is one of Finland's most successful bands with more than 7 million albums and singles sold worldwide, 1 silver award, 11 gold awards, and 31 platinum awards. In 'a Return to the Sea' Nightwish picture trilobites and  Anomalocaris:

A star falls down from the darkened sky
Where new worlds are born and die
Kingdom Animalia watches its approaching glow
What it means is soon to be known.

[...]

Trilobite & Anomalocaris
The prey and the hunter
Survival of the fittest
Fall of Man

Seadrops foam all empty human skulls
Those on the shores of Atlantis
Darwin's resurrection is witnessed
By turtles he used to play with

Healed and happy She oversees
The Mother
The tyrant's return to the sea

Trilobites appear in 'A Return to the Sea' by Nightwish.

The Brazilian instrumental group  Uakti have distinguished themselves for creating new musical instruments, among which the “Trilobita”. This percussion instrument consists of ten PVC tubes closed by elastic membranes. The tubes are arranged on a frame so that the instrument is played by two musicians facing each other. This ingenious solution allows a significant rhythmic complexity and rapid and profound sound associations. In addition, Uakti have dedicated  an album to trilobites (“Trilobyte”), with a beautiful cover inspired by the tribal world and paleontological  themes.

The Brazilian group Uakti invented the "Trilobita", a very peculiar percussion instrument.

The music band Trilöbit comes from the same country of Uakti, but has little to share with the famous instrumental group. Their music is space rock with strong electronic components, but it difficult to ascertain what role geology has for them. Further research is required; until then I can only point out the ample presence of trilobites in their videos and artwork.
Trilobites inspired another band, 'The Trilobites', which are an Australian power pop/rock  group formed in Sydney in1984. Their first two singles, "Venus in Leather"' and "American TV" reached number 1 on the alternative chart.
Trilobites are pervasive social symbols, as testified by their frequent appearance:  from children television shows (i.e. Nancye Ferguson band) to garage bands (i.e. World of Sound).

Sexy Groove Machine by Trilöbit.

The Trilobites from Sydney, Australia.

Attic Dancers, Trilobite.

World of Sound, a garage band from the Eighties, plays 'Trilobite'.

Trilobite plays "Wildwood Flower", an American song, best known through performances and recordings by the Carter family.

A trilobite song in a children television show.

Another children television show with a trilobite song.

Trilobites are also evoked by Mastodon, a Grammy Award-nominated heavy metal band. Starting from their name, Mastodon give a paleontological touch to their songs, among which are “Trilobite”, “Iron Tusk” and “Megalodon”. Even their artwork presents geological  references, such as the saber tooth tiger and the Megaceros (an extinct giant deer), which appears in their album covers.

Trilobite by Mastodon.

These trilobitic examples explain the fundamental problem that arises when dealing with Geology and Music. Music is full of geological quotations but it has often metaphoric references, related to Geology with different degrees of linkage. Some geological themes (eg dinosaurs, trilobites, volcanoes, earthquakes) have such deep social roots to take symbolic meanings (not always purely geological). However it is important to point out even these cases, as witnesses of the social influence of "geological symbols" in music.

Uakti, Nightwish and Mastodon are clear examples of non-dinosaurian geologic mythologies in music, although the finest example remains “Burgess Shale”, the composition for orchestra by Rand Steiger. 

The author puts into music eight Cambrian organisms, each of which is represented by a section of the work. The author’s words no doubt provide the most appropriate comment to “Burgess Shale”: “The piece begins with an introduction, followed by eight sections, each focussing on one creature, and then a concluding section. Each creature has a particular kind of material associated with it, defined by instrumentation, pitch material, and tempo. Besides having a dedicated section, each creature has its own recurring cycle of appearances throughout the piece. So while the piece progresses through the main sections, little snippets of the other sections interrupt and comment on their progression”. There are no trilobites in the Steiger's composition, but it appears their fierceful hunter: Anomalocaris!

Score image of Rand Steiger's Anomalocaris. Click here for the streaming mp3 of the song.

Pygidium: Trilobites in Literature (Triple Trilobite Special!)

Trilobites, as seen in 1916 by the German painter Heinrich Harder.

Welcome to the 'Triple Trilobite Special', a series of three issues covering trilobites in art. I decided to name each issue from trilobite anatomy:  'Cephalon' will deal with visual arts, 'Thorax' will take into account music and this issue - 'Pygidium' - is dedicated to literature, with particular focus on poetry.

Among the geologic subjects used in poetry, trilobites occupy a privileged position. The reasons are evident: the seductive charm of these ancestral creatures, their curious morphology and the grace of their librigenae. Kenneth Gass has been recently seduced by trilobites, and wrote a volume entitled “Trilobite Poems”.

Here is a snippet:
While breaking open rocks one day,
I found something that made me stay,
To see if I could find some more
Of what I’d never seen before.
— from Mackenziurus lauriae by Kenneth Gass

How to comment on these verses? David Rudkin (Royal Ontario Museum) expressed his opinion in “The Trilobite Papers”: «[These] verses reflect much of the joy and wonder that all trilobite workers share, but that we seldom express».
Trilobites (and many other geologic items) illuminate the poems of Clark Coolidge, an American poet with an  explicit interest for Earth sciences. Coolidge authored several geologic works, either in prose or in poetry (“Smithsonian Deposition & Subject to a Film”, “A Geology”, “The Book of During”, etc.). His untitled poem  from 1970 says:

ounce code orange
a
      the
              ohm
trilobite trilobites
— from the collection 'Space' by Clark Coolidge

Coolidge’s poem is undoubtedly visual, apparently impenetrable, a liminal experience between concrete poetry and sound. The hardcover edition of “Space”, the collection including the trilobitic poem, describes Coolidge’s poetry as follows:
“At first glance, Clark Coolidge’s poems appear to be completely impenetrable parades of apparently unrelated words arranged in meaningless patterns across the page. If you keep reading, though, the poems begin to have a strange effectiveness, and eventually you begin to see the words themselves in an entirely new and exhilarating way”.
Trilobites are found in another visual poetry collection by mIEKAL aND. The author describes his visual poems as “typo-fossils embedded with syntactical mysteries & multiple possible references, missing links between semantic precision & indecipherable code”. Hence the title of the collection, “Trilobite”. In this work the typographical arrangement of words is an important means of expression, often accompanied by the drawing of a trilobite. If you are interested in, it is possible to read the entire work on the website of Xexoxial editions.

 

The "typo-fossils" of mIEKAL aND. The work was originally published in 1983, the pictures come from the 2006 online edition of 'Trilobite'.

The aforementioned examples illustrate the role of trilobites as “paleontological catalysts”. Together with ammonites and dinosaurs, these extinct arthropods are the quintessential icons of paleontology, evoking the symbolic and philosophic values of this discipline. This is particularly evident in the poems of the Victorian period, when paleontology and fossils were a sort of fashion. These aspects were accompanied by the  evolutionary quarrels that followed the revolutionary theories of Charles Darwin. These elements (fossils and evolution) are the main focus of the satirical “Lay [=song] of a Trilobite” by the Victorian poet May Kendall.

 An excerpt:
A mountain’s giddy height I sought,
Because I could not find
Sufficient vague and mighty thought
To fill my mighty mind;
And as I wandered ill at ease,
There chanced upon my sight
A native of Silurian seas
An ancient Trilobite.
— from ”Lay of a Trilobite” by May Kendall (1887)

Even before “Lay of a Trilobite” fossil arthropods had raised poetic inspiration: for example in “Ode to a  Trilobite”, written by Timothy Conrad in 1840.
And since the trilobites have passed away
The continent has been formed, the mountains grown
In oceans’ deepened caves new beings play,
And Man now sits on Neptune’s ancient throne.
The race of Man shall perish, but the eyes
Of Trilobites eternal be in stone,
And seem to stare about with wild surprise
At changes greater than they yet have known.
— from ”Ode to a Trilobite” by Timothy Conrad (1840)

Victorian Trilobitic Poems in my book 'Geology in Art'.

Trilobites have been cited also by the master of science fiction: Howard Phillips Lovecraft.  Even though geology is used sporadically in his writings, Lovecraft shows to be intellectually influenced by  geologic themes, including Deep Time. “At the Mountains of Madness” is probably Lovecraft’s most geologic story as it revolves around a geologic expedition in Antartica. Here weird fossil remains are discovered: “Appears to indicate, as I suspected, that earth has seen whole cycle or cycles of organic life before known one that begins with Archaeozoic cells. Was evolved and specialized not later than a thousand million years  ago, when planet was young and recently uninhabitable for any life forms or normal protoplasmic structure.  Question arises when, where, and how development took place.”

— H.P. Lovecraft, “At the Mountains of Madness”

“At the Mountains of Madness” was partly inspired by the geologic findings made during the polar expedition  of Richard Evelyn Byrd, which took place in 1928-1930. Lovecraft mentions the explorer repeatedly in his  letters, remarking at one point on “geologists of the Byrd expedition having found many fossils indicating a  tropical past”. The main character of “At the Mountains of Madness” is the fictional character William Dyer, Professor of Geology at the notorious Miskatonic University.William Dyer’s expedition was to be particularly adventurous and the character would appear in another of Lovecraft’s tales, “The Shadow Out of Time”:

“In certain of the sandstones, dynamited and chiseled after boring revealed their nature, we found some highly  interesting fossil markings and fragments; notably ferns, seaweeds, trilobites, crinoids, and such mollusks as  linguellae and gastropods - all of which seemed of real significance in connection with the region’s primordial  history.”
— H.P. Lovecraft, “At the Mountains of Madness”

 Trilo Temporalis, a trilobitic steel sculpture by Jud Turner.

Evolution of Life on Earth in Music

"So it's an established fact that in Italy during the period between 1971-1974, a music movement existed where bands would challenge each other to see who could be the most imaginative, who could create the album for the ages. They were all painters and sculptors just as in Renaissance Italy."
-Tom Hayes / Gnosis

The Italian progressive rock scene was born in the early 70s, inspired by the progressive movement in Britain, but then developing features of its own that makes it a separate musical genre: Rock Progressivo Italiano (RPI).
The arrangements of Rock Progressivo Italiano incorporate elements drawn from classical, jazz, and the diverse musical traditions of Italy. Indeed Italian progressive rock expands the timbral palette of traditional rock instrumentation with aggeggi, ottavino, mandoloncello and clavicembalo. Some bands abandoned the common Ionian  and Aeolian modes (or, major and minor), choosing the rarer Mixolydian and Dorian scales, drawn from the ancient Aristoxenian tradition (dating back to the 4th century BC). Although RPI’s lyrics are traditionally Italian, some bands reached international fame.

'Cento Mani e Cento Occhi' from tha album Darwin! by Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso. The song deals with the development of social organization in hominids.

One of these is Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, a popular progressive rock band in the 1970s, still being active (I saw them live: what an emotion!). In 1972 they released their second album, Darwin!, comprising 7 songs unified by an elaborate, overarching theme: Evolution of life on earth. Geology, paleontology and biology are the undisputable source of inspiration since the first track (translation and original text):

And if in the fossil of an atavic skull

I rediscover forms that resemble me…


E se nel fossile di un cranio atavico

riscopro forme che a me somigliano…

                - Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Evoluzione (Evolution)

Cover art of Darwin!, by Bando del Mutuo Soccorso

The complete tracklist of Darwin! is:

   1. L'Evoluzione (Evolution)
   2. La conquista della posizione eretta (The conquer of the upright position)
   3. Danza dei grandi rettili (Dance of the big reptiles)
   4. Cento mani e cento occhi (A hundred hands and a hundred eyes)
   5. 750,000 anni fa ... L'amore? (750,000 years ago ... Love?)
   6. Miserere alla storia (Miserere to history)
   7. Ed ora io domando tempo al tempo ed egli mi risponde ... Non ne ho!  (And now I ask Time for time and He answers me ... I don't have it!)


As we already saw for the Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, geologic themes could represent evocative musical soundscapes. The same could be said for the lyrical imagery, as expressed by the prehistoric worlds evoked by Darwin!:

Gray layers of lava and coral

damp skies and no color

here the world is breathing

moss and lichen green sponges of earth

are the greenhouse for the sprout to come.


Strati grigi di lava e di corallo

cieli umidi e senza colori

ecco il mondo sta respirando

muschi e licheni verdi spugne di terra

fanno da serra al germoglio che verrà.

- Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Evoluzione (Evolution)

Banco del Mutuo Soccorso: La Danza dei Grandi Rettili (Dance of the Big Reptiles), from the album Darwin!

The Origins of Geology: between Art and Science

Geologic painting by Leonardo da Vinci and Andrea del Verrocchio: the Baptism of Christ (c. 1475). Click on the smaller picture for a full analysis of the painting (from my book 'Geology in Art').

When speaking of geology and art, the first thing that comes to mind is painting. It may be that the association “art–visual arts” is almost automatic, but there is also a historical reason. Pictures are the preferred medium for expressing geology since Renaissance times. Leonardo da Vinci is universally regarded as one of the pioneers of Earth sciences for having recognized and interpreted a number of geologic phenomena. In his famous notebooks da Vinci focused on sedimentary geology and discussed sedimentation, stratification and fossils. Less well-known is the fact that Leonardo expressed his revolutionary geologic theories in his paintings. Geologic features are accurately represented in the Baptism of Christ, the Virgin of the Rocks and St. Anne (Vai 1995, 2003). Leonardo represented stratification in its finest details, including small-scale laminations.
Leonardo was not alone. A great number of artists represented sedimentary layers in extreme detail (see Branagan, 2006). These artists include Botticelli (Pallas and the Centaur), Bellini (St. Jerome Reading in the Countryside), van Eyck (St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata) and Dürer (Lot Fleeing with his Daughters from Sodom). There is no trace before Renaissance times of such a pervasive taste for the accurate representation of natural landscapes.

Sandro Botticelli, Pallas and the Centaur, c. 1482.

Botticelli, Pallas and the Centaur (detail). Note the precise depiction of layering.

The gap between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance can be understood from a quotation taken from Rosenberg (2009): “Art history records that the Western concept of landscape preceded the science of landscape”. Hence it is no coincidence that the emerging of GeoArt is simultaneous with the dawn of modern geology,i.e., the science of the landscape.

Renaissance was a critical period for science, enshrined in the modern scientific method by Galileo Galilei. In this vibrant cultural framework, naturalists followed an observational approach, trying to understand natural objects by describing and depicting them. To Renaissance naturalists the art of illustration was more than mere ornament, as testified by Aldrovandi: “to understand plants and animals there is no better way than to depict them from life” (Aldrovandi, 1572, quoted by Baucon, 2009).

Episodes in the representation of landscape and geologic objects. From my book 'Geology in Art'.

The observational approach was accompanied by the rediscovery of Arabic and Greek geometry, which led to a revolution in understanding spatial relationships and changed the visual perception of the Earth (see Rosenberg, 2009; Branagan, 2006). Although geology continue to evolve rapidly since Leonardo times, geology is still one of the most visual sciences as it is inextricably bound to the understanding of spatial relationships. Without “spatial thinking” (Andrews, 2003) there is no geology.
For these reasons, it can be well said that the origins of Geology are located in a land of convergence between Art and Science.

Fractals, Ichnology and Art

 A fractal-generated picture. Image from Wikipedia.

Some of the most emblematic figures of the Renaissance – da Vinci, Gesner, Aldrovandi, Bauhin – were pioneers of paleontology and demonstrated a visual interest in trace fossils. To decipher the reason for this aesthetic appreciation, I used fractal geometry to explore various ichnological drawings of the Renaissance (click here to read the full paper). Among analytical methods, fractal analysis proved to be the most efficient both in quantifying visual attractiveness and in describing the structure of complex patterns. In fact fractal geometry has been applied in studying visual perception itself and has been used to analyse abstract art, architecture and design.

Trace fossils in the Italian Renaissance: Cosmorhaphe, a "fractal trace" in Aldrovandi's Musaeum Metallicum. 

I fed a software with images of trace fossils and their representations. What emerged amazed me. Several traces (i.e. graphoglyptids and chondritids) have fractional dimensionality and self-similarity over a significant range of measurement scales (fractal behaviour). Intriguingly, such "fractal traces" are among the most figured trace fossils of the Renaissance. Fractal traces are hierarchically structured and their whole geometric structure can be regarded as an expression of self-organization processes producing correlations between different orders of scale. Being rich in structure, such traces have been acknowledged by naturalists for their instant aesthetic appeal.

 

Bruce Pollock based this oil painting on fractal geometry.

Nevertheless, fractals are not only in trace fossils, but in many other natural objects and humans seem to display a consistent aesthetic preference across fractal images. For these reasons many artists have been inspired by fractals to produce their art; here are some examples related to Geology.

'Tile Pattern And Vauxia Sponge' by Michael A Coleman. Vauxia is a sponge from Burgess, a world-known fossil site.

Bruce Pollock's fractal art is inspired by nature, including geologic objects.

A very unusual introduction to fractals: Arthur Clarke (famous for his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey) presents "Fractals, the Colors of Infinity"

Sculpture, Treasure Hunt, Geology and Cycling: John Mills' Milepost

A Milepost from the Millenium Time Trail.

There are thousands of these mysteryous geologic sculptures throughout the United Kingdom. What are they precisely? From a press release of the Royal bank of Scotland:

"A puzzling treasure hunt with a secret code to crack and a unique prize for those who can solve the riddle. That is how the transport charity Sustrans describes the Millennium Time Trail. It is a new feature of the National Cycle Network which is officially launched today at 9.00am on March 20th 2001, the Spring Equinox, at 'The Home of Time', the Royal Greenwich Observatory.

Each milepost has a Time Trail disc bearing symbols and hieroglyphics bolted into it. By taking rubbings of these discs it is possible to gains clues to help decipher the code. There are several layers to uncover to reach the solution and a special Ultimate Prize for those who can work it out. For many, especially children and families, the fun will be in just getting out on the Network to find the mileposts and discs."

There are four different types of Mileposts, each depicting a different theme; intriguingly, the first was designed by the artist John Mills and is called 'The Fossil Tree'. The design is inspired to Sigillaria, an extinct tree-like plant, with a tall, occasionally forked trunk. Its fossils are commonly found in Carboniferous deposits (about 270 millions of years ago). Mills' sculpture presents relief imagery of fossils depicting the passage of time from Cambrian to the ultimate demise of fossil fuel driven technology.

 

A Carboniferous landscape by Walter Myers. Note the forked trees on the background: they are Sigillaria, the fossil tree that inspired John Mills!

As anticipated, the Mileposts posts are spread throughout the United Kingdom and make up a kind of treasure hunt on bicycles, relating to the ubiquitous theme of Time. You can take rubbings of the Time Trail discs (place a sheet of paper over them and rub all over with a wax crayon or pencil), keep a record of your journey and apply to Sustrans for special souvenirs called Time Treasures. There are 1,000 cast-iron Millennium Mileposts, donated by The Royal Bank of Scotland, along the UK's National Cycle Network!

Some of the 'Fossil Tree' Mileposts have been colored by local communities. The Mileposts have been promoted by Sustrans (a British charity which promotes sustainable transport) and the Royal bank of Scotland.

GeoArt at open-air festivals

Geology at art events: Geodelia displayed at the Boom Festival! Check out also part 2 and part 3.

In 2009 I designed a geologic video-art installation for an art / music event. What a great experience!

The installation was hosted at the Boom Festival, a biennial festival located at the heart of the UNESCO Geopark Meseta Meridional (Portugal). Bringing together the latest inspirations in psychedelic audio and visuals, Boom Festival featured music, paint, sculpture, video art, theater and various kinds of workshops.I named the installation Geodelia, as it invokes geology as a mechanism for obtaining aesthetic inspiration through psychedelic visuals. The animated compositions of Geodelia are an expression of geological objects but they exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Indeed Geodelia features the
element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and non-sense. There is no didascalic purpose in Geodelia, the focus is only on the beauty of geological shapes.

Until the start of the event, I asked myself: Is it useful to embrace a non-didascalic approach to Earth Sciences? Why choosing dazzling geological patterns and not a traditional educational video?  

My worries disappeared with the enthusiasm of the participants to the psychedelic event, which demonstrated an encouraging attitude towards Geodelia and supported the expressive power of Video Art. Through Geodelia, I recognized the aesthetic grip of Geologic Art on the public, acknowledging the charm and the beauty of geologic shapes.

The Burning Man Festival.

Boom Festival is a key event in the global psychedelic scene, and recently its fame of being the best European open-air festival is stronger than ever. Intriguingly, the Boom has been described as the Burning Man festival of Europe, which recently featured some geology-inspired artworks.
Burning Man is an annual event held in the Black Rock Desert (Nevada, U.S.A.),, an area notable for its geologic features (i.e. Permian volcanic deposits,  remnants of a Pleistocene lake,  hot springs and playas). Burning Man has grown from a small group of people to a community of over 48000 people, being a vivid celebration of art, self-expression and self-reliance. Molly Steenson, a participant of the event, wrote: "Hurtling down the road to the Black Rock Desert, the colors paint themselves like a spice cabinet — sage, dust, slate gray. [...] The two-lane highway turns off onto a new road. You drive slowly onto the playa, the 400 square mile expanse known as the Black Rock Desert. And there you've touched the terrain of what feels like another planet. You're at the end — and the beginning — of your journey to Burning Man. [...] You belong here and you participate. [...] You're there to breathe art. Imagine an ice sculpture emitting glacial music — in the desert. Imagine the man, greeting you, neon and benevolence, watching over the community. You're here to build a community that needs you and relies on you."

Burning Man encourages artistic expression and since 1995 a different artistic theme is given, for each year's event. In 2009 the theme was evolution, a theory strongly supported by geologic evidences. Indeed Geology provides crucial evidences of evolution and establishes it as a scientific fact. For instance, fossils provide a direct evidence for the history of biologic diversity and the Earth's geologic history explains a significant part of the geographic distribution of organisms.

Let's give a look to the "evolutionary artworks" of the Burning Man!


An overview of Burning Man 2009: Evolution.

Black Rock City is the name of the temporary city created by Burning Man participants. In 2009 its circular streets were named: Esplanade, Adapt, Biology, Chaos, DNA, Extinct, Fossil, Genome, Hominid, Inherit, Jurassic, Kinship, Lineage (for a more detailed view see this PDF).

A song dedicated to one of the most bizzarre Cambrian fossils: Opabinia!

Spider...

From the previous media, it emerges that Geology had not a central role at the 2009 Burning Man Festival, while "diversity of morphologies" was the leading aspect in the context of the evolution theme. Nevertheless, some artworks show the importance of "geologic mythologies" as a source of creative inspiration. For these reasons, the Burning Man and the Boom Festival represent, in different ways, the successful interaction between geology, art and open-air festivals. This encourages a more pervasive presence of Geologic Art in such open-air festivals!

A picture from Bthe Burning Man 1999: Pteranodon by Norm Barringer. The theme was "the Wheel of Time".

Carboniferous symphony

'You [Zu] have created a powerful and expressive music that totally blows away what most bands do these day'
- John Zorn, musician

Zu are an Italian instrumental band, composed by Luca Mai on saxophone, Massimo Pupillo on bass and Jacopo Battaglia on drums. This atypical trio mixes elements from classic rock, metal, punk and jazz, but their music would be better characterized as eclectic. Powerful riffs, intricate soundscapes, virtuosistic drumming, pummeling bass, distorted saxophone: Zu are a warm wild marriage of the traditional to the modern.

Zu choosed a geologic setting for their new album, Carboniferous. It features many important collaborations, from Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr.Bungle) to King Buzzo (The Melvins).

Their last release tickle the geologist's imagination as its name comes directly from the Palaeozoic era: Carboniferous. The tracklist includes geologic titles (Obsidian, Carbon) and invokes chtonian atmospheres (Chthonian, Beata Viscera; Erynis, one of the titles of Demeter). Moreover, the official video displays manifest geologic elements, as well as the cover art of "Carboniferous".

Consequently, a question might arise: is "Carboniferous" a geologic concept album?

The official video of Carbon.

To be honest, I have not a straightforward answer. Geologic mythologies are persistent social symbols and therefore it is difficult to distinguish “pure” geologic music from geologic interferences in music. For this reason, further research is needed to solve th Zu-Geology relationship.

Danny De Vito introduces Zu in Rome.

A GeoArt exhibit: interview with Greg Wessel

Geologic Art is a collective term for artistic phenomena in which geology brings its own aesthetic and conceptual baggage.

―  Baucon (2009). Geology in Art

Geologic Art (GeoArt) cannot be regarded a style or a movement; nevertheless, it is a definite, peculiar field as it records the work of “geologic thinkers”. From the layers of Leonardo da Vinci to the fossils of Allan McCollum, “geologic thinkers” traversed centuries and continents to express the emotional charm of the Earth. Despite its importance and diffusion, GeoArt lacks of spaces in which geoartistic objects meet an audience.
In this scenario, there is an art show which is singularly significant in developing and collecting works of Geologic Art: “Geo sapiens, The Fusion of Geology and Art”. Geo sapiens is the first-ever show dedicated to Geologic Art and it is hosted by the Two Wall Gallery (Vashon, Washington, U.S.A.). The first edition of Geo sapiens featured the work of nearly 50 geoartists from across the world (US, Canada, the UK, France, Slovenia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan) and expressed geology in art through a plethora of media and styles.
The upcoming second edition (announced for September, 2010) led me to contact Greg Wessel (figure on the left), the curator of the exhibit, and ask him about Geo sapiens, a breakthrough in the universe of GeoArt.

1.    How was the Geo sapiens exhibition born? What was the catalyst?

I’ve been working as geologist since finishing my MS in 1977, and have done a little art of my own of various sorts (stained glass, printmaking) over the years.  Every so often, I’d stumble across another geologist who also did some kind of art, including music and dance.  For a long time, I’ve thought that there had to be many more geologists around who had a second creative outlet, perhaps because we tend to be creative people during our day jobs.  At the same time, I sensed a decline in the artistic part of being a professional geologist, such as the decline in geologic mapping (so basic to our profession) and more dependence upon computer models and computer assistance. 

A couple of years ago, I volunteered to co-curate a small gallery (Two Wall), which really is just a volunteer group dedicated to having fun and working with art, but not dedicated to making money.  Shortly after taking over, it occurred to me that there had to be enough other artistic geologists out there to make a good show, and to highlight both the creativity in the profession and our connection with the natural world.  The main problem would be finding them.

2.    What inspired you to pull together this exhibition? What were your goals?

I think I was inspired by my wife, Margaret, who loves to dance and who also loves to go rock collecting (she’s an igneous petrologist by training).  I presented the idea of a geo-art exhibit to her, and she challenged me to try it.  My goals were simple:  to connect with other geo-artists and create a venue where they could exhibit together, creating a group exhibit centered on geologic features and principles.

A virtual visit to Geo sapiens: the geoartists John Jackson and Elisabeth Hill. On the backround a colorful artwork by John Jackson (if you want to know more about him, see this past issue of Geology in Art)

3.    How would you describe the organization of the exhibit itself?

Geo sapiens was somewhat of a “dog’s breakfast” of geology-related art works.  We had oils and acrylics, water colors, etchings and linocut prints, pencil drawings, pen and ink drawings, fiber art, carved rock sculptures, a stained glass window, a lamp made out of thin slices of quartzite, photographs, digital manipulations, cartoons, and several works based on topographic maps.  We even had some poetry, handmade furniture, and mosaics made from rock slices that incorporated fossils and amazonite crystals.  The common thread was that all of the artists had some kind of background in the earth sciences and a great appreciation of geology and the natural world.  You could see it clearly in this collection. 


4.    How did you select the artists involved?

The original idea was to limit participants to those who were working earth scientists or had a degree in geology of some kind, but it quickly became clear that there are a lot of talented students out there and it made sense to be as inclusive as we could, so we advertised it as open to professionals and students, and then we defined “student” rather loosely.  Of the nearly 50 participants, better than three quarters were working scientists or engineers.  The rest were college students, part-time students, or retired.  Employment status was not important.

Space was a problem for us, and remains so for Geo sapiens II, so we limited the number of pieces each artist could show, and we were unable to include everyone.  That is probably my biggest disappointment, that we ran out of space and could not show everyone’s work.  I really didn’t have to choose between “good” and “bad” art...it was ALL good!

Devonian Dash by Susan Judy. This sculpture tells a geologic story with geologic materials: a trilobite and its associated trace.

5.    Which were your sensations and suggestions working in-between Geology and Art?

I think this exhibit made it clear to all of the people who participated that they should be more artistic when doing geology and that they could rely more on geology to give them inspiration for their art.  You can put the two together at both ends.

6.    Can you walk us through some of the show's highlights?

I would refer you to our web site (www.twowallgallery.com, click on Archives) where you can see almost all of the works we exhibited.  My father (Ralph Wessel) photographed all of the works, and some of the artists, and my son (Nathaniel Wessel) created the web site. 

I love everything in the show, but I do have a few favorites.  One is the large painting of western Washington and the Cascades (from high up) by Dee Molennar.  Dee is a famous mountaineer who has climbed Mt. Rainier over 100 times and other mountains including Denali and K2.  He is now in his 90s and still really active.  When we went to get the painting for the show, he was up on his garage roof fixing it.  Always the climber, Dee.  Another favorite is a painting by Sylvie Pinard that stylistically represents river meanders.  I love that one.  And there are two incredible rock sculptures by Bill Laprade and a lamp made of thin slices of quartzite by Al Dahlstrand.  Susan Judy’s mosaics are also amazing.  And the two felted fabric sculptures by Linda Hope Ponting...oh my gosh...and the paintings by John Jackson from Australia (who actually came for the opening).  There are just so many great works that you have to check the web site.

Dee Molennar: geologist, mountaneer and artist.

7.    Which themes stood out most consistently?

There really was only one main theme, and that was a fascination and a love of the beauty and complexity of the natural world.  There was also one smaller theme, present in a few of the works, and that was of sadness and loss because of pollution and the destruction of the environment that we treasure.  In fact, those two themes embody the contradiction in geology that exists for me personally:  We love to work in the field studying and treasuring the landscape, but many of us wind up working for mining or petroleum companies who have a vested interest in damaging those things that we so treasure. 

Left: Elisabeth Hill, Volcanic Seed Pod

Right: Geoartists at Geo sapiens: Dianne Noseworthy.
 

8.    Could you add something about the quantity and diversity of artworks involved?

Quantity...our little gallery was packed.  And diversity...yes, lots of media represented, and lots of different representations of how much we, as geoscientists, are fascinated by and respectful of the Earth.

9.    What do you think is the commonality between the artists collected and what is the main differentiating quality?

The commonalities I think I have already described.  The differences...well, each of the geo-artists came from a slightly different background.  Be it a different home country or a different specialty.  You can see these differences in their works.  The art is both universal and personal.

10.    How can someone who's not a geologist understand Geo sapiens?

There were only a few pieces in our collection that needed a little background information, and we provided that.  It’s amazing to me how basic and understandable geologic ideas are to everyone, but schools these days teach basic geology at several grade levels and lots of people vacation at places like the Grand Canyon and Mt. Rainier, where you can’t help but learn geology.  Here in the Pacific Northwest, most people have a basic knowledge of volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis, and have experienced at least one of the three.  Still, art is supposed to make you think, isn’t it?

Geo sapiens featured several sculptures, such as this inspired view of plate tectonics (Subduction by William Laprade). 

11.    Geo sapiens was exhibited at the Two Wall Gallery, which hosted other shows of Geologic Art (i.e. Excuse My English: Layering on the Light Side by Stephanie Lasalle).  How would you describe the role of the Two Wall Gallery within the geoartistic world?

I wish I could say we occupy some kind of prominent position, but there are a lot of folks who would argue that we’re just a small gallery with a geologist for a curator.  And I’d be one of the people saying that.  Anyone else can do this; you just need a good venue and a lot of advertising.  In fact, I’m convinced that geo-art shows could be held all over, even simultaneously, without running out of interest.  There are enough artistic geologists, for example, to easily fill two or three regular shows in the US and Canada, probably at least two in Europe, and others elsewhere.  Some of our Geo sapiens exhibitors have offered to help host satellite shows, but none of those have come together yet.  I’d love to help put together a show in Europe, for instance, and we have an Australian who wants to do one down there.  You just need to find a gallery space, and off you go!

Left: Méandres bruns by Sylvie Pinar.
Right: Trilobite Coquina by Ancil Meacham.

12.    What does Geo sapiens tell us about Geology that many people might be surprised of?

I think it tells us that geologists as a whole can make connections and understand realities that many people cannot see in their day-to-day existence.  We’re good at seeing the big picture, and part of the reason we’ve studied the natural world is because we so love being in it.  Putting those two characteristics together can make for some impressive art.

13.    Geo sapiens II has been announced for September, 2010. What are the biggest challenges facing it?

Organization and marketing.  As with Geo sapiens I, the trick is to get the word out to geologists that we’re doing this.  Geologists typically don’t see calls for artists, and most artists are not geologists, so the problem is figuring out ways to connect with those geologists who ARE artists.

Stephanie Lasalle is an abstract painter who is inspired by the patterns and microstructures of rocks and minerals as viewed through the microscope. Geo sapiens exhibited her vivid Who Said Gabbros Didn’t Have Heart.

14.    Is there a possibility of the exhibition touring?

The most likely way to start going on tour would be to coordinate an exhibit with a professional society annual meeting, such as in my case the Geological Society of America or the Geological Society of Canada.  Some of the societies already do similar things.  The GSA, for example, typically has a photography exhibit (which always has amazing entries) but they don’t curate collections of other media or fine art.  What I find really interesting is that the National Speleological Society has several art salons that they organize along with their annual meetings.  One is just about designs for insignias and patches.  Apparently, cavers are really interested in art!  It’s funny that I used to be a caver myself. 

But the real problem with going on tour is the shipping expense.  I had originally hoped that we could go on tour, but I quickly learned that although there are plenty of people around the country who would love to see an exhibit like ours, getting the money together to take the show on the road was not going to be easy.  We still haven’t figured that out.  If we could find a source of funding and hook up with a good museum (Los Angeles, Denver, New York, Smithsonian, are you listening?) or several good galleries, then we’d have it made.

15.    Is there an audience for Geologic Art?

I can answer that with two words:  YOU BET!  Everyone loves it.  There is absolutely no doubt about that.

Geosapiens: everyone loves GeoArt!

NOTE: All the pictures of this issue come from http://www.twowallgallery.com/geosapiens.html. I suggest you to visit the website, there you will find a comprehensive gallery of Geo sapiens!

Per Kirkeby: Geology’s abstract landscape painter

Towards a map of Geologic Art: the tag cloud of my book 'Geology in Art' (built with http://www.wordle.net/).

When I wrote ‘Geology in Art’, I was astounded by the variety and complexity of the interrelationships between Geology and Art. Music, literature, painting, sculpture… The world of Geologic Art (GeoArt) is vast and underexplored.

At present day, my research aims to trace a map of the GeoArt phenomenon, but many areas are still unexplored. "Hic sunt leones!" I have to thank Anette Petersen for drawing my attention on Per Kirkeby, one of the most internationally acclaimed Danish artists.

Per Kirkeby, Weltuntergang.

I must be sincere now. When I initially approached Kirkeby’s artwork I asked myself: “where’s the geology there?”. Then I started to look better. Those abstract patterns had something familar, although I was not able to discern clear visual references to the geological world. Nevertheless, I knew that those color splashes had ‘something’ geologic. As a geologist, I saw those pattern in the field, so I thought:

It isn’t rock but it is rock.
It isn’t a mudcrack but it is a mudcrack.
They aren’t layers but they are layers.

This is Kirkeby’s Geology.

The structural organization of Kirkeby's Brett Felsen recalls layering. The work was displayed at the Tate Modern Gallery, which hosted a monographic exhibition of the artist in 2009.

Cross-bedding in Middle Old Red Sandstone on the Isle of Bressay, Shetland Islands. Compare it with Kirkeby's Brett Felsen. Photo by Anne Burgess

Now I feel Kirkeby’s artworks as patterns of visual geology. My idea is supported by the artist’s biography. He is a geologist and earned his master's degree in arctic geology, participating to expeditions to the Arctic and Greenland. With the words of artfacts.net: “Vertical structures predominate in these paintings, forming new associations with the landscape motif which has long fascinated the artist. Indeed, ideas about landscape, sedimentation, and layers are key elements in Per Kirkeby's art rooted in the artist's early geological studies at university.” In my opinion, the structure of Kirkeby’s works seems to follow the same constructional ‘rules’ of many geologic elements. This is a very personal (and biased) idea, but these rules could be the self-similarity of fractals. Fractal organization is very common, either in geological structures or in art (you find here a paper about geology and fractals).

Per Kirkeby, Flight to Egypt.

When I saw Kirkeby's 'Flight to Egypt' I thought to through-bedding, then my mind went to thin sections (illustrated). Thin sections are thin slivers of rock, usually examined by geologist under the light of a polarizing microscope.

It appears that Kirkeby’s visions originated by the observation of geology in the field and geology is the ‘magic fluid’ permeating Kirkeby’s aesthetic universe. If somebody would ask me to frame Kirkeby’s role in Earth Sciences, I would answer:

“Kirkeby is Geology’s abstract landscape painter”.