Divination, A History Unforeseen – an upcoming series on The Incubator

cropped-1886_ettore_tito_-_la_chiromante_detail3Divination (from Latin divinare “to foresee, to be inspired by a god”, related to divinus, divine) is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency.’  –Anthropological Studies of Divination. anthropology.ac.uk.

Throughout recorded history, humans have sought knowledge about the future, and have discovered and utilized a host of techniques in an attempt to understand Existence within  the context of a Grand Narrative. Divination, fortune-telling, omens, oracles, augury and prophecy conspire towards the teleological mapping of the present in respect to a forecasted future.

An exploration of this deep and controversial history of faith, superstition and science will begin next week on TheIncubator.

John McLaughlin: West Coast Hard-Edge Abstraction Pt5

John McLaughlin came to painting relatively late in life and was self-taught.  While a few of his earliest paintings were still lives and landscapes, the remainder of McLaughlin’s work were abstracts. His work was characterized by simple and precise geometric forms, and from 1952 onwards, McLaughlin removed all curves from his work. A deep interest in Japan and Buddhist thought informed his strictly geometric paintings with what he termed “neutral structures.”  Continue reading John McLaughlin: West Coast Hard-Edge Abstraction Pt5