Tag: Mythology

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Pomegranate Symbolism and Power

This entry is part 2 of 10 in the series Persephone's Choice

Pomegranate Symbolism and Power

pomegranate symbolism
Pomegranate Symbolism

Pomegranate symbolism is found around the world and in many religions. In myth it has a kind of power not found in most fruits. A very nice summary, “Why a Pomegranate?” was published by the US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. This article was written to explain why the pomegranate was chosen as the logo for the Millennium Festival of Medicine. The article contains a very good list of some of the world’s religions in which the pomegranate has significance:

    Judaism – Pomegranate seeds are said to number 613—one for each of the Bible’s 613 commandments. The pomegranate was revered for the beauty of its shrub, flowers, and fruit—symbolising sanctity, fertility, and abundance. The Song of Solomon compares the cheeks of a bride behind her veil to the two halves of a pomegranate.
    Buddhism – Along with the citrus and the peach, the pomegranate is one of the three blessed fruits. In Buddhist art the fruit represents the essence of favourable influences. In China the pomegranate is widely represented in ceramic art symbolising fertility, abundance, posterity, numerous and virtuous offspring, and a blessed future. A picture of a ripe open pomegranate is a popular wedding present.
    Christianity – A symbol of resurrection and life everlasting in Christian art, the pomegranate is often found in devotional statues and paintings of the Virgin and Child.
    Islam – Legend holds that each pomegranate contains one seed that has come down from paradise. Pomegranates have had a special role as a fertility symbol in weddings among the Bedouins of the Middle East. A fine specimen is secured and split open by the groom as he and his bride open the flap of their tent or enter the door of their house. Abundant seeds ensure that the couple who eat it will have many children.

The pomegranate is integral to the Persephone myth and its explanation of why the world has Winter. While many variations in the details of this myth abound, the referenced article gives a very good one:

In the Greek myth of Persephone’s abduction by Hades, lord of the underworld, the pomegranate represents life, regeneration, and marriage.1 One day while out gathering flowers, Persephone noticed a narcissus of exquisite beauty. As she bent down to pick it, the earth opened and Hades seized her and dragged her down to his kingdom. By eating a few pomegranate seeds, Persephone tied herself to Hades—the pomegranate being a symbol of the indissolubility of marriage. Inconsolable at the loss of her daughter, the corn goddess Demeter prevented the earth from bearing fruit unless she saw her daughter again. Zeus intervened and worked out a compromise: Persephone should live with Hades for one third of the year and the other two thirds with Demeter. Persephone’s return from the underworld each year is marked by the arrival of Spring.

Not only are there many variations in the myth, but it is full of plots and subplots, twists and turns. Some of you who are regular readers here know that my first visual work with the myth was a series involving sunflowers and butterflies.

When I finished that series of three images, I knew I wanted to visually explore many aspects of the myth, a myth in which I came to see Persephone in many ways as a mythic representation of Woman in general. Those were the aspects I especially wanted to explore and which you will see in coming images. Not only am I a woman, but much of my work in anthropology dealt with women, as, of course, did my work as an obstetrician/gynecologist. Photography has given me a means to express so many of my thoughts of life, especially life as a woman, in visual images that can be shared. First, here, I had to explain the symbolism and power of the pomegranate through time and space, so that future images are more meaningful.

I became familiar with the myth of Persephone through casual email correspondence with writer and fellow anthropologist, Jim Stallings. My mom grows pomegranates, and this fall I had the opportunity to photograph a lot of pomegranates! I knew I wanted the perfect model to portray my vision of Persephone, but had no idea how to find that perfect person. Life sometimes has a way of presenting unexpected opportunities, and in late October, the perfect person I had in mind appeared, and was willing to be my model for Persephone. You will see in the coming series of images how perfect and how beautiful she is, and how fortunate I have been to be able to work with her. You will be seeing Kelly Angerosa in the series already photographed, and hopefully in many more photographic projects in the future. Thank you for being such a delight to work with, Kelly.

Now that pomegranate symbolism has been introduced, the next several posts will concern Persephone in the myth and as Woman, presented visually.

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Persephone

This entry is part 1 of 10 in the series Persephone's Choice

Persephone, Goddess of Spring, Queen of the Underworld and Wife of Hades

Persephone
Persephone, Queen of the Underworld and Wife of Hades

Persephone, in Greek mythology the Goddess of Spring, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, Goddess of the Earth, Harvest, and Fertility, became also the wife of Hades and Queen of the Underworld. She was abducted by Hades, with the permission of Zeus, to be his wife. Demeter, in her anger and grief at the loss of her daughter, caused the Earth to be barren, the crops to fail, and winter to fall upon the earth.

That much most versions of the myth agree upon. Beyond that, however, are many plots and subplots, twists and turns, allowing for varying interpretations.

This seems like a good time to introduce Persephone in her role as Queen of the Underworld and wife of Hades. Although we are not yet officially in winter, here in the Northern Hemisphere we are in the dark, short days and long, cold nights, and rapidly approaching the Winter Solstice.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, it is nevertheless true that sometimes a few words can produce a thousand – well, maybe a few – images. Frequent readers here are aware of references to writer and fellow anthropologist, Jim Stallings, and his poem for “The Observer/The Observed.” Jim and I graduated from high school together, but were not aware of each other until a couple of years ago or that we both held a PhD in anthropology. We wouldn’t know each other walking down the street. But by virtue of the training in anthropology, we share a common vocabulary, even though our lives are otherwise quite different. We both are aware of the French structuralist Claude Levi-Strauss and the deconstruction of myth through binary oppositions. As a grad student, I wrote a paper, “A Structural Analysis of a White Mountain Apache Creation Myth.” While I did not use that much as an Ob/Gyn, that kind of knowledge sticks around and contributes to one’s view of the world and life. On September 15 of this year, Jim noted the approaching Autumn with “…it is that ancient mythic time for the daughter Persephone of the Earth Goddess Demeter to return to the Underworld and stay there until the return for Spring.”

As much as I hate to admit it, I was not familiar with Persephone. I had to go read. As I read more and more, however, her story resonated with me. Within a very short period of time I created three images from some of my favorite subjects, sunflowers and butterflies, that told a story of descent into darkness and emergence from it. Those images can be seen at the 2015 ANMPAS show opening on December 6 and running through December 28. I knew at that point that Persephone’s story was so rich and so complex that I wanted to tell her story through photography, with a real person (or persons), but it took me a bit to figure out how I wanted to do that.

In this image, you see Persephone with a pomegranate, held almost as a royal orb. The pomegranate plays a major supporting role in Persephone’s story, and is symbolic of many things. This will be explored in detail in future images posted here. By unplanned good luck, I had the opportunity to photograph many different pomegranates this fall, and they will be incorporated into some of the Persephone images. At the time I began photographing them, I wasn’t certain what I was going to do with them; I just knew I had to have them.

I began thinking about a photographic model for my Persephone. I had never hired a photographic model, although I had worked with a marvelous woman on someone else’s project. I kind of knew in my mind what I wanted, but I had no idea how to go about finding a photographer’s model that fit that description. Just like the pomegranates, the perfect model just sort of appeared at a time that was also perfect for a photographic session. I surprised myself by walking up and asking her if she had ever been a photographer’s model or would she consider being a photographer’s model. Also to my surprise, she said “yes.” She has the liquid eyes of the classic goddesses depicted in Renaissance paintings. She is athletic with well defined muscles. And she has attitude, an intangible so important in storytelling.

Many of you here may not be aware that I did a fair amount of maternity portraiture in the past. Even with those portraits, I liked to portray women as strong, and use red, not a typical choice for maternity portraits.

maternity portrait
Beautiful in Red

I had planned to photograph Kelly, “Persephone,” in black, but she requested some red as well. I had thought the black would be perfect for the time in the dark underworld. There are images in black, and you will see some of those. When I was doing maternity portraits, I always went with what the clients thought would be best for them. I now add, “trust your model” to things I have learned as a photographer.

This is an introduction to Persephone, and sets the stage for a coming series of images that explore that particular myth…and maybe more.

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2015 ANMPAS

2015 ANMPAS – Annual New Mexico Photographic Arts Show

2015 ANMPAS, the Annual New Mexico Photographic Arts Show, will once again be held in the Fine Arts Building at EXPO NM. It is open to the public December 6 through December 27, 10:00am – 5:00pm, except December 24 and 25. The show is free to the public throughout. Some days, particularly the weekends, EXPO may charge a parking fee. The opening reception is December 5, from 2:00-4:00pm.

This is a juried show, and artists participating must be residents of New Mexico. All artwork is for sale, and may be taken by the buyer at the time of sale.

I have enjoyed participating in ANMPAS and the related InSight shows over the years. These are the brainchild of organizer LeRoy Perea, who has watched the submitted entries grow in both quantity and quality over the years.

I am thrilled that for 2015 ANMPAS, the jurors selected three images from my series, Persephone.

Those of you who have followed me very long know that sunflowers are frequent photographic subjects for me, as are butterflies. I grew these sunflowers, and they are from the second crop of 2015. I really liked the structure of the sunflower plant in the “Heart of the Matter.” My son appreciates structure, especially in black and white images, and I converted the image immediately.

2015 ANMPAS
Sunflower in Black and White

My son liked it as much as I had hoped.

I showed that image to a friend, Jim Stallings, with whom I have corresponded over the past couple of years and whose input has influenced some other photographic work, such as “The Observer/The Observed,” which I decided to show after Jim wrote a short poem. He wrote in the context of activities of autumn, after seeing the sunflower image:

…it is that ancient mythic time for the daughter Persephone of the Earth Goddess Demeter to return to the Underworld and stay there until the return for Spring. So all that feeds into the unconscious…the separation of between life on the surface of the world of fall and winter and waning and yet returning light and another go at renewal and new life. It must be motivating in your photographic subjects as well.

It is true that my fall images, even of bright flowers, tend to be dark.

I had not read mythology in a long time. As I read some of the stories of Persephone, I was struck by the fact that she did not seem to be constantly miserable in her months in the dark Underworld with her husband, Hades, who had first abducted Persephone with the permission of her father, Zeus. Mythology is full of plots and subplots, but I decided to create this particular series using some of my favorite subjects – flowers and butterflies – around the theme of hope in a dark spot.

Butterflies have multiple meanings to me. They are a symbol for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus – “lupus” – an autoimmune chronic disease with multiple manifestations, with treatments but no known cure. One of the manifestations for some people is the so-called “butterfly rash,” and thus, the butterfly as a symbol.

The particular butterflies I chose to use in this series have special meaning to me. The butterfly in “Heart of the Matter” is a tiny hair streak butterfly photographed at the Corrales home of friends Tim and Laurie Price: special friends, special place, special day. People who have brought hope to some of my dark places… The butterfly in “Awakening” is a glass wing butterfly photographed at the Albuquerque BioPark. The butterfly in “Emerged” is a red lacewing photographed at the Tucson Botanical Gardens.

I was asked to write a brief description of “Heart of the Matter:”

Persephone, goddess of Spring, was abducted by Hades to become his wife in the Underworld. Her mother, Demeter, goddess of the Earth and of the Harvest, in her anger and grief, caused the earth to go barren in her daughter’s absence, our dark winter months, and to bloom again upon her return in spring. This series is about the annual descent into the underworld of the darkness of Winter and rebirth into the light of Spring. “Heart of the Matter” represents the potential for rebirth – from any dark situation – in the developing bud (the heart) of the sunflower, and in the butterfly (with its heart shape), showing the strength, delicacy, and light of hope.

2015 ANMPAS
Heart of the Matter, from the series, Persephone
2015 ANMPAS
Awakening, from the series, Persephone
2015 ANMPAS
Emerged, from the series, Persephone

I have been asked whether there will be more in this series. Persephone’s story is one full of plots and subplots, all very stimulating for this photographer. These particular three, tell one of the stories I wanted to tell. There are many more I look forward to telling visually, but I do not anticipate black and white sunflowers with colorful butterflies as the vehicles of the next set or sets.

The Persephone series that will be shown at 2015 ANMPAS means much to me on a very personal level, and I thank LeRoy Perea and the 2015 jurors for selecting these three images for the 2015 show. I hope those of you in the Albuquerque area will come out for the show in December.

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