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A READER'S JOURNAL
Architecture As a Synthesis of the Arts, GA#286
8 Lectures in Berlin & Dornach, 1913, 14
Plus 6 Fragments and Articles
by
Rudolf Steiner
Introduction and English Translation edited by Christian Thal-Jantzen
Translated by Johanna Collis, Dorothy Osmond, Rex Raab and Jean Schimid-Bailey
Published by Rudolf Steiner Press/UK in 1999
A Book Review by Bobby Matherne ©2013
Chapter: Spiritual Science
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[page vii, Introduction] It is hard to appreciate the significance of Rudolf Steiner as an artist and architect if one has not stood before the west front of the present Goetheanum. . . . This required the participation of the arts of painting, sculpture and colored glass engraving.In February, 2013, I stood and viewed the west front of the Goetheanum and took this photo at right. This building hovers over the walkway marked by Druid stones on each side. It was my introduction to the Goetheanum(1) as Bradford Riley and I walked up to the building the first evening we arrived there.
Many books of Steiner lectures take great care to point out that the lectures were not intended for the general public, but assumed some detailed knowledge of Steiner's works to comprehend fully what he said. In addition, many of the lecture series come from notes, not seen nor edited by Steiner after the lecture. Few of these editors have bothered to point out the good effect of lectures not see or edited for publication by Steiner, but Thal-Jantzen does.
[page ix, Introduction] One advantage of this is that the tests have directness and give a flavor of the mood of the time as experienced by his listeners. There is a strong sense of purpose and mission running through all the lectures, such as his concern that the visual arts should transform our consciousness and help build a vibrant new social order.With the face of Mi-cha-el the Archangel looking to the West from the top floor of the Goetheanum in the picture above, one can imagine that his body extends to the ground where his foot is holding down a writhing dragon, snake, or demon and his right hand is raised, holding a sword, with which he is about to dispatch the demon which represents the evils at large in the Western world today. One can only understand the function of the Goetheanum rightly when one holds this Imagination.
[page xiii, Introduction] The Goetheanum building now standing on a hill at Dornach is intended as a contribution towards the opposing of destructive forces being unleashed within the human soul as the new millennium approaches.The Goetheanum is Mi-cha-el's sword in our time. Instead of erecting a statue of Mi-cha-el showing the Archangel doing the work of dispatching evil (as the Greeks might have done in a small temple), the Goetheanum with its West-facing Mi-cha-el Window beckons us to come into its sanctuary as agents of Mi-cha-el in our time, and to pick up our individual swords, and to do Mi-cha-el's work.
In our time most people believe that architecture is designed by the brains of human beings and that inspiration is nothing but a fluke of neurons, neurotransmitters, and synapses. This is a blatant example of retrodiction, a wonderful word which describes the process of making judgments about past events using information from our present knowledge and abilities. This creates a great illusion when people try to explain the origin of the pyramids of Egypt and the temples of Greece. Only by understanding the evolution of human consciousness can we properly comprehend what was happening in the people who built those monuments. They lived in concert with the gods on a daily basis and allowed the gods to work through them. Thus, Homer began his epics thanking his Muse, a goddess who spoke to him the events of which he wrote down for us to read today. He could not have been any clearer as to the origin of his words when he wrote, "Sing, O Muse, of the anger of Achilles" to begin his Iliad. One needs to grasp deeply the pervasive nature and effects of retrodiction in our modern way of thought for this next passage by Steiner to make sense.
[page 3] In those days the gods let their forces stream into the unconscious or subconscious life of human beings. So in a certain sense it is an illusion to believe that in the minds or souls of the men who built the pyramids of Egypt, the temples of Greece and other great monuments, only human thoughts were responsible for the impulses and aims expressed in the forms, the colors and so on. In those time the gods themselves were working through the hands, head and hearts of human beings.
Well, you might be thinking, why don't the gods inspire us this way today, are they less godly than before? No, the correct answer is that we humans can operate more freely today than the ancient Egyptians and Greeks; we possess a consciousness that permits us to tune our receivers to what the gods have to offer us.
[page 4] The fourth post-Atlantean epoch now lies in the distant past and our age is the first period of time in which the gods are putting the free creative activity of human beings to the test. They do not actually withhold their help, but they vouchsafe it only when human being out of their own individual soul, developed through a number of incarnations, freely aspire to receive the forces streaming to them from above. What we have to create is essentially new, in the sense that we must work with forces which are altogether different from those obtaining in bygone times. We have to create out of the free activity of our own human souls.We have to create in full consciousness what humans of previous ages created unconsciously as the gods worked through them on their ancient pyramids and temples. With their pyramids, the Egyptians showed what they revered most: the physical body during the sentient soul age. They built these huge monuments to place their dead pharaoh's body which was wrapped in protective layers to allow it passage into the next world. With the advent of the intellectual soul age, the Greeks built temples which were designed to be dedicated to a god with no humans inside of them. They were built to be viewed from afar, like the Parthenon atop the highest point in Athens where it could be viewed from any place in the city and surrounding area. When Christian churches were built with the advent of the consciousness soul age, they were designed to enclose people within them. The etymology of fane is helpful to understand the transition from Greek to Christian churches as it means temple in the Greek sense, the holy place suitable only for the gods of the temple, no humans allowed. Humans remained outside the temple or pro-fane, which is the origin of our common word profane, which in its origin meant outside the temple. In synagogues, the fane area is behind a veil or curtain and can be entered only by the rabbi on one day of the year, as I understand it. The congregation remains in the pro-fane area. Similarly with Christian churches, there is an area, the chancel, where the priest performs the consecration of the Host and other duties and the parishioners remain outside that area, called only to its edge for communion. Since the time of ancient Greece passed, the worshipers have been allowed into the new temples called churches but there is still a fane area in the front of the church separated from the larger pro-fane area in the rest of the church for the congregation.
The old Greek temples had no need for windows. Not understanding this, it seemed strange to me when I first went to Rome to see a round ancient Greek temple too small to hold more than a few people with no apparent doors or windows. With Christian churches the worshipers moved within the walls of a temple, the size of the temple's space had to be increased, and doors and windows had to be added. The Gothic church was a result of this evolution of churches into the consciousness soul age in which we currently live.
[page 7] A Gothic church, with its characteristic forms, tries to express something that is not as separate and complete in itself as a Greek temple. In each and every form Gothic architecture seems to reach out beyond its own boundaries, to express the aspirations and searchings of those within its walls; everywhere there is a kind of urge to break through the enclosing walls and mingle with the universe. The Gothic arch arose, of course, from a feeling for dynamic proportion; but apart from this there is something in all Gothic forms that seems to lead out and beyond; they strive to make themselves permeable. One of the reasons why a Gothic building makes its wonderful impression is that the many-colored windows provide such a mysterious and yet such a natural link between the interior space and the all-pervading light. Could there be any sight in the world more radiant and glorious than that of the light streaming in through the stained-glass windows of a Gothic cathedral among the dancing specks of dust?From the Gothic cathedral we come forward into our time in which a new form of architecture is required in which the walls themselves will seem to disappear.
[page 13] At every turn our eyes will light upon something that says to us: This interior, with its language of colors and forms, in its whole living reality, is an expression of the word spoken in this place, that most spiritual element which the human being can enshrine within his physical body. The word that reveals the riddle of the human being in wisdom and in prayer will be at one in this building, with the forms that surround the interior space. The words sent forth into this space will set their own range and boundaries, so that as they come up against the walls they will find something to which they are so attuned that what has issued from the human being will resound back into the space again. The dynamic power of the word will go forth from the center to the periphery, and the interior space itself will then re-echo the proclamation and message of the spirit. This interior will be enclosed and yet open to infinitudes of spirit — though not by means of windows, but by its very shape and form.Steiner says later that our own age has not found the style of architecture suited to this age, up until now. He said, "Architectural styles are indeed found, but only in the real sense when they are born out of the overall spirit of an epoch." (Page 15) Clearly he meant for his Goetheanum to be the style suited for the age we live in, but more importantly suited for the age of spiritual science which is coming soon. A new age has this curious way of approaching us like the sky which is darkest before the dawn; the dawn creeps up on us while voices everywhere are extolling the current age, not even aware of its darkness until the light of the new dawn has evinced itself fully.
Over-analysis of creative works by critics and scholars is one way of extolling the darkness by blotting out the first evidence of light, such as they did with Goethe's Faust. Such erudite criticism is like doing autopsy without formaldehyde. The stench is unbearable to those who catch a whiff of the sweet smell of the future.
[page 16] A stench of death is almost tangible when we have an edition of Goethe's Faust before us peppered with the analytical footnotes of some scholar. How ought we regard these things? I will try to make the point clear to you, very briefly, by means of an example.Steiner gives us the epic poem of The Seven Wise Masters on pages 16 to 18 which I recommend that you read in its entirety. The step-mother of Diocletian poisons the mind of the Emperor against his son, and Diocletian is saved through the advice of seven wise masters. Diocletian had the same problem as humans do today, his soul had lost his natural powers of clairvoyance, but had developed an Ego which could be instructed by the wise masters and finally be saved from his father's death sentence. Steiner explains all this to us, but dislikes the process of explaining — why? That reminds me of a story.
Nasruddin was sitting at a table with his Master and there was a bowl with a rosy peach on it. Nasruddin asks his Master to pass him the peach. The Master picks up the peach, eats it completely, enjoying every bite, and then hands the peach pit to Nasruddin. Some of you will appreciate the story and some of you will be puzzled. This next passage will help unravel the puzzle.
[page 18] We could continue thus, giving an absolutely correct interpretation which would certainly be useful to our contemporaries. But what of our artistic sense? I do not know whether what I now have to say will find an echo or not. When we read and absorb such a book and then try to be clever, explaining it quite correctly, in the way demanded by the modern age, we cannot help feeling that we have wronged it, fundamentally wronged it. There is no getting away from the fact that a skeleton of abstract concepts has been substituted for the world of art in all its living reality — whether the explanation is true or false, illuminating or the reverse.What is the pit of the peach but a skeleton of the luscious and nutritious peach? The Master was teaching Nasruddin, as Steiner is teaching us, that when we ask for an explanation of any art-filled creation, be it a story, a sculpture, a building, a piece of music, etc, we had better to have enjoyed and digested it alone; consequently, we deserve to be given the bare pit after being forced to watch as a true Master enjoyed the flesh of the peach. Nasruddin and I learned not to ask for explanations of Sufi stories or artworks. They can stand alone, rightly understood. It is my joy to read and enjoy Sufi stories like this one, and I recommend them to you.
For my part, I admit to creating a lot of pits during my early years of studying and reviewing Steiner's works; these pits appeared as charts and graphs in my reviews. This was a process I learned during my academic study of physics. They were helpful to me as a beginner and may be helpful to others, but in my Steiner reviews they were like my offering of peach pits instead of the peach. In my reviews from now on, I strive to produce new nourishment as I review Steiner's works, nourishment from my life, my world a hundred years in Steiner's future, in the future he so often spoke of, when we humans have been further spiritualized and enlightened. It is up to you, my Good Readers, whether I achieve this goal or not, but in those cases where you deem yourselves as receiving only a pit from me, I apologize.
[page 19] When only our intellect is kept busy by spiritual science and we draw up charts and coin all kinds of technical expressions, then spiritual science is nothing but a skeleton — especially when it is speaking of the living human being.Instead of charts and graphs, Steiner created artworks of sculpture, architecture, eurythmy (dance and song together), and painting. His goal with the Goetheanum in Dornach was to embody anthroposophy in a building which will stand through future ages as representative of the beginnings of spiritual science in our age, just as the pyramids, Greek temples, and Gothic churches did in their time.
[page 48] If we mean to gain ground in the world for our movement, it is not enough merely to show, on its own, the wisdom to be found in anthroposophy. In what we create in Dornach we must take pains to embody, for the world to see, what is given to us in the form of spiritual knowledge, just as older styles of architecture embodied bygone cultures.The Corinthian columns of ancient Greece are often thought to have capitals atop them derived from the acanthus leaf. There was something about this which upset Steiner who reported of that time in his life, "I still remember how many sleepless nights the question of the Corinthian capital gave me." One important thing to note is how Steiner kept unanswered questions alive in him when some unsettling feeling beset him. I have observed that few people of my acquaintance do this today, and the ones who do, who hold unanswered questions are the ones I respect the most(2).
Did people first take an acanthus leaf and carve its likeness into the capital of a column? No way, avers Steiner. What about Vitruvias's 'basket hypothesis' in which Callimachos saw a small basket with acanthus growing around on the ground and said, "Here is the Corinthian capital!" Neither is this its source, he tells us. You first need to think the way the ancient people did, in order to in-form yourself of the way things originated during their time. This is the importance of understanding the evolution of consciousness — it tells us not only that human consciousness evolved, but exactly how people understood the world during earlier times. Steiner was a master at understanding those stages of consciousness evolution and thus was able to in-form himself into a person of those times and deduce how they came to create various designs such as a capital that seems to be designed from the acanthus leaf. It is trivial to understand the origin of the Corinthian capital — what is important is to learn how to in-form yourself into earlier people and deduce, that is, derive important information from your own in-forming. Here is Steiner doing exactly that type of in-forming. Note how this deduction process is not based on abstract logical concepts such as what an acanthus leaf looks like, but rather on direct evidence from one's feeling state.
[page 57] To understand what I mean, try to imagine that in those times, when there was true comprehension of artistic will, the actual sight of a flower or tendril was far less important that the feeling: I have to carry something heavy, I bend my back and generate with my own form the forces that make me, a human being, shape myself in a way that will enable me to bear this weight.Who thinks like this today? Almost nobody, which is exactly the point. If you use the way everybody thinks today to figure out how the ancient people created a certain design, you will be guilty of the most egregious retrodiction imaginable. That everyone does it does not make it right, only acceptable, and wrong.
[page 58] Human beings within themselves felt what they had to bring to expression in their own gestures. One movement was used to grip hold of something, while another was an expression of carrying; stretching your hands out in front gives you a feeling that you are carrying something. Out of such gestures arose the lines and shapes leading over into art. Within your own human nature you can sense how the human being can go beyond what eyes see and other senses perceive by becoming a part of the universe as a whole. You take up a position in the universe as a whole when you notice that you cannot just saunter along when carrying something heavy. Out of a feeling for lines of force, which one has to develop inwardly, arises artistic creation. These lines of force are nowhere to be found in external reality.