This is the "Equal Opposite" variant of "The Triune Godhead".
Since ancient times the number 3 has played a significant part in every single known culture as a uniquely special number. For most cultures this has represented divinity in a way that for some reason seems easy to "comprehend" to people. But really think about that for a second, because what could that possibly mean? It's not a thought, is it? More of a feeling, common to many. Common to enough people that even beyond words, this symbolism somehow conveys that to people who don't even speak the same language. I find that fascinating, don't you?
A 3-part divine, complete tetrad that just works on its own beyond explanation? For me, this a foray into the symbolic world, which I've been studying intensely since a singlular hallway discussion with Brian J. Heritage and Faith Armstrong in the hallway outside Prof. Andrew Marvick's art history class. I suppose it was somewhere around 2013-2015. I'd have to go back and check my notes. Anyhow, we'd just gone over Raphaela Spence's hyperrealism, and we three were working on an animation project together at the time. The discussion was brief, but I commented specifically how Spence's work captured the thing so unbelievably well, yet it could never BE the thing itself, could it?
Brian affirmed, no it's just a representation.
This struck me pretty deeply, not sure why. It's such an obvious thing, really. I'm almost embarrassed to put it in writing! But I was riveted. A painting, a sculpture, even a CLONE, even a replica! It was never the original.
It could never be more than a symbol of the thing, yes?
So, straightaway, I drove headlong into symbolism.
Andrew Marvick is what I think of as an artist's artist. You don't actually have to know a lot about things to appreciate his work, but if you do there are layers to it like tira misu; and that sort of hard-earned nerdiness gets my respect. It's kind of like when I hear someone say they love Star Trek and I ask, "like Darmok and Jalaad at Tenagra?" And if I get a blank stare, they clearly failed the shibboleth test. Art nerds are exactly the same, so if anybody asks me a question about art I want to have a good knowledge base.
Art History at Southern Utah University was a crucible of learning Egon Schiele and Jomon pottery, the fathoming of Chinese lettering floating by black mountains with seemingly-impossible vertical sides (they do exist in China!). Prof. Marvick's classes taught me more about how art WORKED than any other art class, as in what was art for? What does art DO? I determined that Jackson Pollock was a psyop against the Soviets to mess with their heads by suggesting Americans were gullible enough to love his work. And then Americans loved his work, so I shut up. There's no accounting for taste. It turned out that I, myself, enjoy a similar mindset to that of Vincent VanGogh. Lucky me, he's my wife's favorite artist.
This inqisitive, shape-oriented mindset got me angled towards geometry and its absolute demands for perfection and alignment. For me, geometry is axiomatic play, with self-testable parameters. Geometry is one possible frame for pre-construction of both concept and structure. To put it more simply, if you can make shapes, you can build. So you learn the shapes. The shapes were already there. This has led me to what may seem like an uncommon notion: that perhaps there is no such thing as creativity at all; just recomposition and realignment of the infinitude of potentialities in permanent play.
To convey this idea in a way people can actually interact with, almost as if to feel it, I use symbolism and allegory. Some cultural stories are so common that they convey ideas acutely. Most people have heard of "Adam and Eve", if they are of Western cultural or even adjacent cultural descent. But few know about what the older scholars don't even bother to keep hidden. An incurious people cannot be cured of errors, after all. But to imagine it! A divine being of some kind and his two divine wives, a complete and intact family of three equals? If it were so, what would the changes in the relationship have to be between Adam, Lilith and Eve? They'd have to respect each other, wouldn't they? Adam wouldn't be able to just tell them what to do, no. There would have to be invitation rather than coercion, love that offers more than it takes. Adam would have to actually possess humility and divine characteristics of integrity, making sure his word and deeds lined up. After all, honesty is loyalty, isn't it? And geometry enforces that honesty in a way that no algebraic wordplay can escape from. There is no geometrically-sound structure that can violate the rules of its own function and properly retain an identity. This is the perfection and limitation of geometry.
To convey unity and uplifting energy, I'm using the number 3, the triangle, the circle, repetition of leaf-shaped forms, and a subtle non-gradient gradient achieved by that repetition. As such, this "Triune Godhead" represents Adam, Lilith and Eve united as a cross-cultural symbolic divinity restored to harmony and invitational lovingkindness.
-Bobby
Founder and Director (and designer extraordinaire)
Transdimensional Tourism Bureau
This stretched matte canvas brings a layered geometric mandala to life with crisp latex-printed color on a deep black field. The design draws the eye inward with fine concentric patterns, subtle translucency and intersecting sacred-geometry lines to create a feeling of quiet focus and contemplative depth.
Hang it above your desk, altar, or reading nook. The low-gloss matte surface keeps reflections soft, while the wrapped pine frame and discreet back-hanging hardware make it ready to display right out of the box.
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6" x 6" |
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36" x 36" |
| Width, in |
6.00 |
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36.00 |
| Height, in |
6.00 |
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| Depth, in |
1.25 |
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Product features
- Matte, low-glare finish for muted reflections
- Printed with UL-certified, non-toxic latex inks
- Stretched on FSC-sourced radiata pine frame
- Soft rubber dots on back to keep canvas steady
- Available in multiple orientations and sizes (tolerance ±1/8")
Care instructions
- If the canvas does gather any dust, you may wipe it off gently with a clean, damp cloth.
