By Felix de Quesada
Some
32,000 years ago, creatures we today call ìCro-Magnonî went into
Chauvet cave in Southern France. I do not know much about ìCro-Magnonî,
but DNA tests suggest that they originated in the Middle East and
spread to India, Central Asia and Europe. Evidence shows that the cave
had been inhabited by early bears and humans but has been uninhabited
for the past 11,000 years. It was a dark and probably a cold place.
Archeologists describe in it a ìstillness that deprives the senses of
normal background radiation of sounds and movementî and ìa slight
shortage of oxygen which dulls the senses.î It must have felt like
the abode of the spirits, the house of the dead. Bear skulls suggest
that it was a sanctuary where bear sacrifices were made. I do not know
if Mr. Cro-Magnon lived in this cave, but I know he painted in it.
Cro-Magnon painted many images on the walls of the cave. Horses,
bisons, lions, rhinoceros, mammoths, aurocks, moose, cheetahs have all
been found, along with hyenas, and an owl looking over its shoulder.
There are several references to the female form: a triangle that has
been interpreted as a womanís pubic region, a woman-like body with legs
ending in hoof like feet and the head of a bison identified as a
sorcerer; and two or three paintings that seem to be parts of womenís
bodies. The owl is interesting because it is a night animal (probably
the only animal that could see the paintings when the Cro-Magnon
painters did not have their fire burning). The owl has been
interpreted as a symbol of darkness, leading the way to the
underground, the abode of the dead, making this the first symbolist
painting in history. The triangle, of course, has been interpreted as a
ìsex symbolî, maybe a ìfertility symbolî or a ìsymbol for the Goddessî.
What medium did the Cro-Magnon painters use? They used manganese, iron
oxide and carbon. They applied them on the walls of the cave making
them the first muralists. They applied the pigments with their hands,
their fingers and brushes. They diluted the pigments with water, making
them the first water-color painters. Cro-Magnon blew the diluted
pigments with their mouths over their hands to produce images, thus
making them the first ìspray paintersî. They wetted their fingers in
the paint, producing images with dots, making them the first
ìpointillistsî. They used shading, using the ìclaro-obscuroî technique
before Leonardo Dí Vinci; they drew lines with the mastery of a
Matisse. They painted with perspective before the Italians in the
Renaissance did, and created a feeling of movement through consecutive
lines and sequence of images before the ìfuturist paintersî did. There
is evidence that the murals at Chauvet were painted by many different
painters. Were they the first ìgroup paintersî? The evidence shows
that they ìpainted and destroyedî and painted over again. Were they the
first to ìLeilaî?
When looking at the walls of Chauvet, you are not looking at an
exhibition of the art of the Stone Age. The Cro-Magnon painters did
not paint to exhibit. Only the owl, the spirits and the Goddess could
possibly have seen them. This art was not decorative or commercial. Was
it art for the sake of art? Probably not. When looking at the walls
of Chauvet you are not looking at the art of one individual painter.
You are looking at the art of a Century, or better, the art of many
centuries. It is as if you were looking at a book of art of the 20th
Century without the names of Picasso, Matisse, Kandinsky, Munch,
OíKeefe, Dali, Nolde and all the rest. You are looking at the book of
the art of the 29,992nd Century B.C.E. and more. A great art with no
single artist. This is the art of the entire human race 32,000 years
ago. You are looking at thousands of years of paintings compressed into
one single moment of the viewerís time. You are probably looking at the
birth of Humanity, the moment in which ìAdamî was born, a moment
recreated by every artist, modern or old, when he paints. The images of
the horses are not horses. The images of the bison are not bison. The
images of the lions are not lions. The image of the owl is not an owl.
The image of the womanís pubic region is not the image of a sexual
organ. All the images in the walls of Chauvet are the forces of Nature.
They are the spiritual forces of Nature that modern Science tries to
uncover and that Art expresses in
images.
The entire mural at Chauvet is the journey of the soul to the unknown.
Jean Clottes has said, referring to Chauvet, ìthe scene would suggest a
ritual, shamanistic or magicalî. Seen in this way, the paintings of
32,000 years ago are ìspiritual artî. Could this be ìFusionartî? You,
my dear reader, have the answer. Can you tell me?
NUPANTAKY, Registered
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