Steps, Ladders, Stairs in Art. Volume 1 - страница 4

Unfortunately it is not always possible to obtain precise information about certain artists and their work. In recent years I have made efforts to collect and conserve information on the images in my research, and for exhibitions and publications I try to provide more historical information. But, again, I stress that exhaustive historic documentation of this or that work is not the primary goal of my research.

Mikhail Bakhtin, the author of a brilliant analysis of medieval carnival culture as seen in the work of Francois Rabelais, wrote, “The image is always broader and deeper (than the historical character upon whom it is based), it is connected to tradition and has its own aesthetic logic independent of the allusion.” This method allows the reader to avoid “foolish historicity”. Bakhtin’s phrase expresses the essence of my analytic method.

In this book the reader will find captions and notes to each illustration, but I do ask that he not concentrate on the “entourage” of an image, but rather attempt to read the visual information in the analysis I have constructed.

Mihail Chemiakin’s research on “Stairs, Ladders and Steps in Life, Consciousness, and Art” examines and interprets this archetype as it appears in the work of modern artists. Archetypes take form as symbols through the process of objectification. “Ladder” symbolism not only unites many religions and worldviews, but also through its system of imagery reaches across time. We find the theme in the Babylonian ziggurat, in the Christian icon, in African ritual objects. The very shape of ladders and stairs, consisting of vertical and horizontal lines, is imbued with inter-cultural symbols: vertical lines literally suggest ascension and progress, horizontal lines evoke the ancient sign of the horizon and of passive contemplation. When connected in the form of a ladder, they become a universal metaphor for the spiritual path.

Stairs or ladders can be counted among prototypes dating back to the birth of mankind. The earliest images we know are from the Paleolithic era, 65,000 years ago. Ladders and stairs figure in fairy tales, fables and folk expressions, poetry and myths, as well as classical and modern literature. They appear in ceremonies and rituals as well as on the stage. The obvious narrative element has inspired artists, architects, directors and psychoanalysts to study stairs and ladders in depth. They impart a wide variety of meanings to stairs, building on their traditional form and initial function; the degree of depth and actualization of those meanings depend on the religious or social context of the work. The religious context applies to such themes as the ladder as a link spatially connecting the secular world to heaven; the ladder as the path of or obstacle to spiritual ascent or liberation. In the societal context, on the other hand, the functional structure of stairs determines movement within architecture and society. Stairs provide a convenient way to convey the hierarchy and position of the individual in society, or to describe his evolution, referring to personal or socio-historical memory.