Peter Y. Chou
WisdomPortal.com

Giacometti's bronze Invisible Object or
Hands Holding the Void— What does she hold?
Some say it was a bird that had flown away.
Since birds symbolize the soul, it's fitting

Alberto Giacometti (1961) by Henri Cartier-Bresson

Invisible Object (1934)

Tunisia #289 (1956) Woman with Dove

Birds with Human Souls By Beryl Rowland (1978)

Giacometti's sculpture Invisible Object or Hands Holding the Void was begun in the spring of 1934. "The head is stark, staring, open-mouthed, a mask. This mysterious figure is perched upon a high, open-backed chair or throne, the seat of which slopes obliquely forward. Beside her lies the head of a long-beaked bird." (James Lord, Giacometti: A Biography, 1985, p. 150). On seeing this sculpture with the hands close to the woman's breasts, I thought it was a baby. But upon closer view of her hands' positioning, a bird would be more accomodating. Birds symbolize spirits of the air, ascent, freedom, the soul, and transcendence. Beryl Rowland (1918-2003) wrote a book Birds with Human Souls: A Guide to Bird Symbolism (University of Tennessee Press, 1978) covering 57 birds from Albatross to Wren (plus Harpy & Siren). More than fifty illustrations from medieval manuscripts accompany her discussions on the allegorical meanings and symbolisms of these birds. Photo Sources: Alberto Giacometti (rethinked.org); Invisible Object (wisdomportal.com); Tunisia stamp (wisdomportal.com); Birds with Human Souls (wisdomportal.com)

that her hands hold the invisible
for it's the unseen supports the seen
as root and sap nourish a tree while
the air we breathe sustains our life.

Invisible Object (1934) by Alberto Giacometti

Roots of a Plant by Élena Nazzaro

Woman Breathing Air Medical Alert Foundation

The invisible supports the visible as the unseen nourishes the seen. We see a beautiful tree or flower, but it is the invisible roots beneath the ground that supports them. We see humans and animals in motion, but it is the invisible oxygen and air we breathe that gives us life. We stand on a solid earth, but it is the invisible gravitational force that binds it to the sun as planets revolve around the solar sphere which carries us around the spiral Milky Way galaxy. In Antoine Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince (1943), our Prince befriends a Fox who gives him a precious parting gift (Chapter 21)— "Goodbye," said the fox. "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." "What is essential is invisible to the eye," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember. Photo Sources: Invisible Object (flickr.com); Roots of a plant (frenchtoastgirl.com); Breathing Air (medicalertaus.blogspot)

What is the Void?— Is it the black hole
where no light escapes or the white hole
out of which this whole universe was born
or the worm hole connecting black and white

Black Hole

White Hole

Worm Hole

Black Hole is a region of space from which nothing, including light, can escape. It is the result of the deformation of spacetime caused by a very compact mass. Around a black hole there is an undetectable surface which marks the point of no return, called an event horizon. It is called "black" because it absorbs all the light that hits it, reflecting nothing just like a perfect black body in thermodynamics. Despite its invisible interior, a black hole can be observed through its interaction with other matter. In 1998, astronomers found compelling evidence that a supermassive black hole of more than two million solar masses is located near Sagittarius A region in the center of the Milky Way galaxy. White Hole is the theoretical time reversal of a black hole. While black holes will suck in anything from light to matter into its clutches, the white hole is theorised to be a region of space-time that cannot be entered from the outside, but from which matter and light can escape— presumably spitting out that same light and matter that got sucked into the black hole in the first place. In physics, a Worm Hole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that is basically a 'shortcut' through space and time. Spacetime can be viewed as a 2D surface, and when 'folded' over, a wormhole bridge can be formed. A wormhole has at least two mouths which are connected to a single throat or tube. If the wormhole is traversable, matter can 'travel' from one mouth to the other by passing through the throat (White Holes & Wormholes). Photo Sources: Black Hole (sushantskoltey.wordpress.com); White Hole (spaceanswers.com); Worm Hole (wisdomportal.com)

much like the Tao circle of yin and yang breathing emptiness between Heaven & Earth— dark matter and dark energy whose wings or wind give rise to the ten thousand things. Yin-Yang symbol Yin-Yang in Chinese philosophy is used to describe how seemingly opposite forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world. Yin and Yang give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. Many natural dualities (female & male, dark & light, water & fire, life & death) are thought of as physical manifestations of the yin-yang concept. Yin and yang are actually complementary, not opposing forces, interacting to form a whole dynamic system (Tao circle) greater than either separate part. Everything has both yin and yang aspects, such as shadow cannot exist without light. Lao Tzu expounds in the Tao Te Ching 42:     The Tao gives birth to one     one gives birth to two     two gives birth to three     three gives birth to ten thousand things     ten thousand things with yin at their backs     and yang in their embrace     and breath between for harmony (translated by Red Pine, 1996, p. 84) Only about 4% of the matter in the universe is composed of visible substances ("ten thousand things"). The balance is dark matter (23%) and dark energy (73%) , although the exact compositions of dark matter and dark energy are yet to be determined (Big News: Dark Matter Finally Found?). Henry David Thoreau was insightful in Walden (1854) (Chapter 18): "The universe is wider than our views of it." Photo Sources: Yin-Yang symbol (wikipedia.org); New Heaven & New Earth (4.bp.blogspot.com) New Heaven & New Earth (2 Peter 3:13) Once a smart lad tried to stump the village's wise woman with a baby bird in his hands— "If she says it's alive, I'll crush it dead. If she says it's dead, I'll let it fly away." Bird in Hands Bird in Hands Years ago, I heard this story on the radio about a smart lad who tried to trick the wise woman of the village with a baby bird in his hands. It was sponsored by some Bank in the Bay Area, and posted on the Internet. However, I can't find it anymore. The closest version is "The Story of the Hawk" at The Ranch: Bringing out the best in young people— There was a boy who had a baby hawk in his hand and wanted to play a trick on an old man. The boy says to himself: "I'm going to go up to that old man and ask him if the bird in my hands is dead or alive. If the man says the bird is alive, I will crush it, open my hands and say 'ahh, the bird is dead.' If the man says the bird is dead, I will open my hands and let it fly away." The boy goes up to the old man and says, "Mister, I have a bird in my hands. Is this bird dead or alive?" The old man looks at the boy's hands for a moment and then slowly raises his eyes. "Son," the man says staring into the boy's eyes, "The bird is in your hands. Whatever you decide to do with it, will determine its fate." Photo Sources: Bird in the Hands (kymjay.redbubble.com); Bird in the Hands (emuf.blogspot.com) A crowd gathered by the wise woman's hut when the lad asked "Is my bird dead or alive?" Seeing the boy's smirk, the wise woman smiled and replied simply— "It is in your hands." Bird landing on "Wise Woman Statue" in New York City Paintings depicting Wisdom as a wise woman include Allegory of Wisdom by Orazio Samacchini, Allegory of Wisdom and Strength (1580) by Paolo Veronese, and Wisdom Mural (1896) by Robert Lewis Reid. Pistis Sophia is an important Gnostic text (circa 2nd Century) translated as Faith in Wisdom. The female divinity of gnosticism is Sophia, identified with the Holy Spirit, or Universal Mother. She was envisaged as the Psyche of the world and the female aspect of Logos. A Russian Icon Sophia, the Holy Wisdom (1812) shows Wisdom as female above a shrine worshipped by holy men. Plato, following his teacher, Socrates (and Pythagoras), understands philosophy as philo-sophia, or, literally, the love of Wisdom. Photo Sources: Woman Statue with Bird (noddycar.deviantart.com); Sophia (Wisdom) (wikipedia.org) Sophia (Wisdom) Epheus, Turkey So the Void or "Soul-Bird" is in our hands— since from the first all is void— abiding nowhere let our mind work on with joy to create everything afresh and new. The Diamond Sutra (Printed 868 AD) Ba or "Soul-Bird" Louvre Museum, Paris "Light for Souls" By Vladimir Kush Dove in Flight as symbol of creativity Hui-neng (638-713) heard a monk reciting the Diamond Sutra: "Abiding nowhere, let the mind work on", and became awakened. He became the 6th Zen Patriarch after composing this poem— "Mirror-Mind needs no polishing / since from the first, all is the void / where can the dust alight?" (D.T. Suzuki's The Zen Doctrine of No-Mind, 1949). Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul: The Ba is an aspect of a person that the Egyptians believed would live after the body died, and it is sometimes depicted as a human-headed bird flying out of the tomb to join with the Ka in the afterlife. We may imagine the Void as the future in our hands to mold as we wish. By keeping our mind empty in the Void, we are able to create everything afresh and new. Photo Sources: Diamond Sutra (borders.com.au/book); Ba "Soul Bird" in Egyptian Coffin Text (flickr.com); Vladimir Kush "Light for Souls" (paragonfineart.com); Dove in flight (123rf.com); — Peter Y. Chou     Mountain View, 3-28-2013 | Top of Page | Hands Holding the Void | Poems 2013 | Poems 2012 | Poems 2011 | Poems 2010 | | Haikus 2013 | Haikus 2012 | Haikus 2011 | Platonic Lambda | CPITS | Books | A-Z Portals | Home | © Peter Y. Chou, Wisdom Portal P.O. Box 390707, Mountain View, CA 94039 email: 3-28-2013)