The
Biological Missing Link
Illumination and Illusion
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a signed print. |
Generation
Metamorphosis and Transformation
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a signed print. |
Hillary
Riggs with her
Newly Created Totems
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The Mind at Large
Earth & Water
Air & Fire
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a signed print. |
Hillary Riggs’ totems,
like those of traditional tribes, symbolize sources of power
for tribe
and individuals. And these sources of power have expanded with
layer upon layer of human experience over eons of time.
The collective mind has grown with
each experience, discovery, and invention. It contains every expression
of artistic and creative energy, and the accumulated knowledge
and wisdom gained by countless geneations of people around the
world.
As members of the one tribe
of humanity, we all are heir to this unimaginably rich legacy.
Like elegantly
carved and painted May poles, Riggs’ totems offer an exuberant
dance-celebration of our expanding consciousness. They also serve
as a reminder that we all have access to the sources of strenght
and power that comprise the universal mind.
As Alaskan Inuit wisdom
tells us,“Sila
ersinar sin wdluge.”
“Be not afraid of the
universe.”
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Creating Totems
The inspiration for the six original Totems
in the “Mind at Large” series came to me in a flash one morning
while attending a lecture. Leonard Schlain, who had written a book
entitled “Venus and the Alphabet”, gave the talk. He
was speaking of a time far back in the pre-history of mankind when,
he said, according to archaeological evidence, our skulls had grown
too large to be normally birthed. Many deaths of women and babies
in childbirth tell the story. Interestingly, right around that
same
time, we see an enormous flowering of culture: pottery, pictographs,
etc.
On hearing this I had an insight that, my goodness, that then was
the very beginning of the “virtual” mind: that from that
point our brains literally began to grow themselves through the
artifact of culture. I later found out that in fact these “artifacts,”
as I call them, are referred to as cultural “meems,” just
as we have genes. I began to think of this as “The Mind at
Large”.
Totems, in all cultures represent those creatures or events, which
are the sources of power for the individual or the tribe. And so
I created the six Totems, representing the evolution of consciousness
through all aspects of culture, through our relationship to Gaia,
to the World Tribe, and to our innermost selves. To me these relationships
represent the greatest gift, the greatest source of power.
So when I embark upon the creative journey of making a Totem for
someone, what I want to know is: what are those experiences, those
places and creatures, and those relationships that have the most
meaning, that have brought joy and excitement, in other words,
more “power” to your life? Or, as in Elspeth’s case,
what is of most concern, of most interest to you?
And there we can begin. It begins with you, and I take it from
there.
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