New moon on May 19, 2023
This month we take a step away from genre themes and focus on Archetype. Carl G. Jung coined the term in his study of dreams and the human unconscious. He developed the theory that there are primal motifs latent within each of us, consequences of the very structures of the human psyche. Archetypes are representations of these motifs created within our unconscious and seen in dreams and evident in many of the symbols that we create.
There are a few important points in all this for the artist. The motifs are common to people everywhere, so they are universal. They develop in a part of our mind that has no language, so they don’t depend on language for their impact. They are personal representations, but because they reflect universal energies, they reach across cultural boundaries.
The possibilities for us are boundless! I like the metaphor of the archetype as story or character energy. Perhaps one of the oldest archetypes is the Hero, which tends to be the motivational energy that propels a story or provides a work an entry point for the viewer’s point of view. We’ll see four more, one each week of this Flower Moon.
We hope this month’s prompts inspire you in your work!