In the previous project Pattern Universe I based my whole idea for my final outcome around Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing of Vitruvian Man, unfortunately I failed to capitalize on the intellectual property I could have collected, so it’s ironic that I now have the chance to redeem myself in Visionary Structure!
Leonardo got the idea to draw Vitruvian Man from writings of an ancient Roman Architect called Vitruvius (Vitruvius, 2013, June 1). Vitruvius described the ideal human proportions, which Leonardo later drew, and which I thought was particularly relevant to my current project.
The drawing shows a male figure in two superimposed positions with his arms and legs apart and placed within both a square and circle. It is the symbolic meaning behind these two geometric shapes that relate directly to my theme of a ‘temple’ and my use of both squares and circles.
A T Mann talks about these shapes under the heading “Square Chamber and Circular Dome” (Mann, p.34), in nature the square does not exist, it is created by Man, and the circle is of the natural world and has a symbolic godlike and/or spiritual nature about it. By placing Man within these two shapes da Vinci is symbolically showing that within Man both heaven and earth meet, this symmetry then extends to the world around it and then to the universe.
We can see again the contrasts and compliments of heaven and earth, human/animal and the divine, even more basic and simplistic, black and white, good and evil or dare I say it utopia and dystopia…
I am reaching here to show my outcome as a symbolic meeting of otherworldly and the mundane, man does not survive on food alone, whether it’s spiritual in a religious way or in other ways the ability to hope for better is a basic human trait.
Throughout history, circles and squares are dominant in sacred architecture; picture the “Tower of Babel” (Mann, p.11), the “Parthenon” (Mann, p.23) and my personal favorite “Stonehenge” (Mann, p.66). Mann goes into some detail regarding Stonehenge and the way it aligns with celestial objects, I won’t go into detail because that is a whole other story but the reaching out to the sun, moon and stars, becoming a doorway to the divine is symbolic of sacred ‘temples’.
To finish I have borrowing from Mann a quote that he used in his introduction to Sacred Architecture (p7):
“The beauty of the unseen form is beyond description – borrow a thousand illuminated eyes, borrow.” Jalaluddin Rumi (Rumi, n.d.)
References:
Mann, A.T (1993). Sacred Architecture. Dorset, Great Britain: Element Books Ltd.
Rumi. (2013, June 26). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:12, June 27, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rumi&oldid=561746680
Vitruvius. (2013, June 1). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 23:10, June 26, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vitruvius&oldid=557807634
leanne morrison 
I loved reading about how ‘man does not survive on food alone’ segment. I believe that without faith in the spiritual world, I would not be able to live fully and completely at all. Thanks for the insight in relation to this topic.
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