Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Hamburg, 1994. / Scevastes or Sceuvastes is the pseudonym of Johann Lambach. Includes bibliographical references (p. 273-281) and indexes.

The transformation of matter and the reflection of light are at the heart of filmmaking and moving image practice, exemplified by Stan Brakhage’s assertion that “matter is still light. Light held in a bind.” Catoptrics is the use of optical devices, mirrors, crystals and lenses in the processes of focussing and directing light. Alchemy has a two thousand year history, commonly misunderstood as a form erroneous proto-chemistry in which people sought the Philosopher’s Stone to transmute base metals into gold. Alchemical catoptrics is the place where the disciplines of alchemy and catoptrics meet, encompassing an enquiry into the fundamental properties of matter and the possibilities for its transformation, bound up in range of pre-scientific belief systems and philosophies of light, matter and cosmogenesis. In conventional media histories, the historical antecedents of moving image practice are usually explored through the evolution of visual media technologies. Such an approach only deals with the superficial tools of moving image practice, binding itself up in the machinery of spectacle, while remaining silent on the deeper questions of humankind’s imaginative relationship with luminous matter. The practice of alchemical catoptrics was an experimental exploration of this relationship; between light, the phenomenal world, the deep structure of substance, imagination, belief and meaning. The current study offers a fresh historical perspective on what it means to experiment with the substance of light in a transformative, luminous, meaning-making capacity. It uncovers a language of transformation that speaks to the author's own practice, while offering new insights into the experimental methodologies, motives and practices of other moving image artists. The research discusses the 13th century light philosophy of Robert Grosseteste and its referencing by Stan Brakhage and Hollis Frampton, leading into an exploration of the methodologies of historical alchemical catoptrics, citing original document translations prepared for the purpose of the thesis. Using the examples of Man Ray (1890–1976) and Patrick Bokanowski (1943-present), the research then shows how alchemical catoptrical thinking can inform our interpretation of the practices of these two moving image artists. The thesis concludes with an examination of the alchemical-catoptrical ideas and methods used for the production of two of my recent film works: Speculum (2011-2014) and Catoptrica (2011-2013).

The alchemical term solve et coagula describes the two stages of the refinement process that materials go through to transform into another form. This work is a result of an idea of how dissolution and coagulation can occur in painting and how it manifests physically. Each physical object, break it apart to its core and elements, and you will find it in the land. As a thought, a dream, or a memory, it is part of the landscape of your mind. And like a word that exists in our social landscape.

published_or_final_version / Chinese / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Today, the Flemish physician, alchemist and philosopher Jan Baptista Van Helmont (1579-1644) is mostly remembered as one of the founders of modern chemistry and medicine. However, Van Helmont saw himself rather differently: he firmly believed he had been called to articulate a ‘Christian Philosophy’ that would bring together Christian thought and natural philosophy in a harmonious synthesis. His ‘Christian Philosophy’ would be purged of the Aristotelian ‘heathenism’ he felt Scholasticism had been tainted with. Instead, it would convey a unitary view of God, Nature and Man that was in accord with Christian doctrine. The main purpose of this thesis is to understand how Van Helmont attempted to construct this new Christian Philosophy. The thesis will argue that the inspiration for this project lay in the medical alchemy developed by Theophrastus Paracelsus (1493-1541) following medieval precedents. Paracelsus and many of his followers expressed the view that alchemy can act as the Christian key to Nature, and therefore an alliance of alchemical philosophy and Christianity was not only possible, but natural. Van Helmont concurred with this perspective, seeking to ground his Christian Philosophy in both orthodox Christian thought and medical alchemy. His religious ideas drew chiefly upon Biblical and Patristic sources as well as on German medieval mysticism. Van Helmont sought to complement this approach with an alchemical view that emphasised the hidden presence of God in Nature, as well as the role of the alchemist in unveiling this presence in the form of powerful medicine. Indeed, in Van Helmont’s thought Christianity and alchemy were dynamically entwined to such an extent that their discourses were not clearly separate. Van Helmont firmly believed the source of all things was God, and hence both the Book of Grace and the Book of Nature had their common origin in the light of the Holy Spirit.

My thesis exhibition consists of a series of mixed media paintings and sculpture derived through experimentation with materials. I have appropriated alchemical processes to describe and generate the abstract landscape. The work emphasizes process and chemical reactions and is comprised of fluid fortuitous marks, free of conscious control, that work in tandem to create deep space that invites immersion and tempts interaction. The viewer is both an integral component of the piece and a foreign sightseeing entity, removed from the known world and placed in a bizarre offshoot.

The aim of my thesis is to improve the orientation of students in the field of the basic hermetic sciences, for exemple the alchemy, the astrology and the magic, which are developping also nowadays. The first part of my thesis is considered to describe the renewal of the hermetism in Bohemia in the end of 19th century and to watch its development till the 30th of the 20th century. Another part of my project decribes the hermetic society "Universalia" and it presents the main and significant members of this groupe. Chapiters that follow this text deal with the alchemy, the astrology and the magic - it's the essential part of my theses. They are considered to explain the young people these terms, to present them the history of these hermetic sciences, to open the scientific approach and first of all to compare several texts of czech hermetics of the limited period with the contemporary view with the following purpose - to instruct the students to approach to the hermetic science in the critic and cautious way. The last text is dedicated to the ocult science in the nazi Germany and to its relation with Bohemia.

Everything falls apart, but some materials do it with a specific panache, and once design leaves paper to be built, no project is complete until it falls. As creatures subject to time, we identify with things in which we see ourselves, we identify with our mortal buildings. Alchemy used material transformation as an active metaphor for human betterment. This thesis will search for ways that the inevitable indexing of time on the built environment can be used to catalyze a broader understanding of time and our place in it. Sympathetic engagement with our environments can form rich internal narratives while also fostering collective memory. Four materials form the basis of these investigations: Cedar, Copper, Iron and Marble. For each material, chemical properties, history and mythology are invoked to describe their particular temporal nature, an understanding of how they come together and fall apart. The four material chapters of this thesis mean to return a sense of cognitive depth to our relationship with materials without resorting to symbolism.

Amy Tan¡¦s The Joy Luck Club and Cristina Garcia¡¦s Dreaming in Cuban propose the matrilineal narrative of woman suffering and spiritual growth. Multiple narrators tell personal stories about the past events to cope with their current concerns and coming difficulties. Their storytelling functions as a way of making sense of experiences and fashioning identity. The first chapter explores how the narrative activity enables the del Pino and Joy Luck women to construct a preferred version of personal experiences. They not only tell stories to create idealized self-images but also live their lives to justify the images. Though they portray themselves as capable women in personal stories, they often appear vulnerable and mentally unstable in reality. Such contradiction results from the traumatic events the women leave untold, and they resist telling partly because of their madness and partly because of their repudiation of the events. The second chapter will examine their traumatic experiences to understand how their emotional problems determine the representation of their personal narratives. Due to the early traumatic experiences, the women develop maladaptive schemas to cope with their negative emotions. The schemas, however, undermine their interpersonal relationships and prevent them from fulfilling the basic needs. While wrestling with their emotional problems, they unwittingly transplant schemas into the next generation. The third chapter examines how certain crucial moments in their lives enlighten the women to have awareness of their schemas at the core of their suffering. The death of the family members and serious mother-daughter disagreements provide the opportunity for the women to move beyond the limited way they used to perceive themselves and others. With an open and positive attitude, they relate the traumatic experiences to understand how their early suffering contributes to their present difficulties and outgrow what has troubled them before.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 342-356).