Book cover for a photography book about macro photography and the patterns of nature."A collective showcasing close-up and macro photography of natural objects that have a fantastic display of geometric patterns, shapes and textures that are regularly found in nature."

Moravian Manuscript

Occupy Bethlehem. A professor at the college requested a poster for the Occupy movement. Unfortunately it was ripped up during a police raid at the end of 2011. Article on the Raid.







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This project was assigned in my Publication Design class, it was our final. What immediately came to mind when designing this feature is the philosophical idea that Space and the manifest world is an illusion. It has often been said that our world is similar that of a 3-Dimensional picture. That the atoms in matter are similar or equal to the grain or noise in a photograph.

In 1982 Alain Aspect and his team discovered that no matter how far two particles are apart, they always knew what the other was doing. David Bohm explains that this is because the particles aren't sending communication signals back and forth but instead they are energetically connected. Being energetically connected would correlate to the fifth element known in ancient philosophies and "pagan" religions. To understand why Bohm makes this startling assertion, one must first understand a little about holograms. A hologram is a three- dimensional photograph made with the aid of a laser. To make a hologram, the object to be photographed is first bathed in the light of a laser beam. Then a second laser beam is bounced off the reflected light of the first and the resulting interference pattern (the area where the two laser beams commingle) is captured on film. When the film is developed, it looks like a meaningless swirl of light and dark lines. But as soon as the developed film is illuminated by another laser beam, a three-dimensional image of the original object appears.

The magazine feature is about how screens have taken over natural viewing. Sometimes we are so focused on capturing the event, we forget to experience the event. In this design I relate the RGB pattern to the stars in a galaxy and to the philosophical idea that space itself is a screen, a smoke screen to cover up the real universe.

Lehigh Valley Health Network Marathon
t-shirt; Illustrator
This was a project assigned in Publication Design class in which we (as a class) was given the opportunity to design two t-shirt designs. The Via committee would then choose one as the 'winner' to be used as the t-shirt design for the marathon. The press release article is here.

ENER – GI (Prana, Ki, Chi – Qi, Pneuma, Ruah, Sekhem (or ka), Orgone (scientific name), Boiling Energy, Mana – names for life force energy)

This paper will focus on the observational viewpoint of Kirlian photography; the purpose, method, invention and historical influence, influential individuals and artist intent. Using the Alternative Scientific method it will explain the phenomenon observed when using the Kirlian device and its’ influence in the esoteric community. Sir William Crookes once wrote,

We have actually touched the Borderland where Matter and Force seem to merge into one another, the shadowy realm between the known and the unknown. I venture to think that the greatest scientific problems of the future will find their solutions in this Borderland, and even beyond; here, it seems to me, lie ultimate realities, subtle, far reaching, wonderful.

Back when the Earth was a lot more spiritual the advanced civilizations preserved knowledge through paintings and cosmologies that often times conveyed scientific meaning through a complex system of mythological themes, symbols, storylines, and words. One such system was the Qabbalah system. Today we know this system as Subliminal Messaging. Subliminals are constructed through such techniques as simple shapes, sounds and colours, and then more complex, multi-layered methods, such as reverse imagery, reverse symbolism, distorted symbolism, reverse speech patterns, neuro-linguistic programming techniques, and the elaborate use of the language and number systems, among other devious modes of manipulation. In essence, Graphic Design is the visualization of this thinking process (whether we realize we are using subliminal messaging when designing or not). With this in mind, it is a lot easier to understand the thought processes of the ancient people and the way they viewed life. According to the Egyptian theology of the Ogdoad the universe was formed from the interaction of eight elements (instigated by one of a number of possible gods including Thoth, Amun, Horus and Ra); water, nothingness or invisibility, darkness and infinity. Water was represented by Nun and Naunet (the female form). Although the Egyptians had many different creation myths, they all agreed that the universe came from the primordial waters of Nun, and many legends suggested that everything would slip back under these waters at the end of the world.

In September 2008, NASA announced that the shield around our solar system provided by the solar wind has been quickly declining since the mid 1990s. As a consequence, our planet is being flooded by galactic cosmic radiation, providing a stunning confirmation that Mayan Elders correctly predicted that as we approach 2012, we are entering a New Age dominated by ether or light, thus naming it the Golden Era . According to alternative scientific studies, the Life Force energy, under the name of Orgone energy, appears to have an effect on weather patterns and the incoming ether from outside our solar system has affected the climates on all planets of our solar system. This incoming light, which is affecting the climates on the planets, has been termed “Space Weather”. In 1940, Wilhelm Reich constructed the first device to accumulate orgone energy: a six-sided box constructed of alternating layers of organic materials (to attract the energy) and metallic materials (to radiate the energy toward the center of the box). Patients would sit inside the accumulator and absorb orgone energy through their skin and lungs. The accumulator had a healthy effect on blood and body tissue by improving the flow of life-energy and by releasing energy-blocks.

In mysticism, El, spelled E L, is mentioned as the father of all gods in Egyptian mythology. El is the inspiration for the term EL-ectricity. Electricity is produced by the elect lady, the electrons of the atom. All those who were faithful to this god El, the god of matter, became the elect, the chosen and faithful. These were the saints of god who were promised riches and power, and would rule and reign with El, if they would just put their faith in him. This was the covenant, the agreement made between god and man. This covenant was kept in an ark, the ark of the covenant. The ark is the electrical arcing characteristic of electricity. If anyone touched the ark, other than the high priest, they would be struck dead. El is the great architect of the universe, the creator god, the bringer of light. The word architect is again referring to the arcing ability of electricity and the manipulating aspect of light as it conjures up anything that is able to be thought up. Everything in this 3 dimensional existence is the result of thought. Thought was inspired by El, the father of all gods. Everything that we see is of thought or light.

To the Rosicrucians, as to any occult school, there is no such thing as empty or void space. To them space is Spirit in its attenuated form; while matter is crystallized space or Spirit. Spirit in manifestation is dual; that which we see as Form is the negative manifestation of Spirit – crystallized and inert. The positive pole of Spirit manifests as Life, galvanizing the negative Form into action, but both Life and Form originated in Spirit, Space, Chaos!

But, is it Moisture?

The explanation that is given for Kirlian Photography is it produces the same kind of effect when electricity comes into contact with water, such as a lightening strike. It produces a ‘corona discharge’. The esoteric community wouldn’t accept this explanation especially when there is a difference observed when an uncooked vegetable is photographed next to a cooked vegetable. Water was an ancient symbol to represent light. In the ancient texts and temple wall glyphs, the mystical world was described as “the watery chaos”. The scientific explanation of Kirlian photography, is as follows,

Living things...are moist. When the electricity enters the living object, it produces an area of gas ionization around the photographed object, assuming moisture is present on the object. This moisture is transferred from the subject to the emulsion surface of the photographic film and causes an alternation of the electric charge pattern on the film. If a photograph is taken in a vacuum, where no ionized gas is present, no Kirlian image appears. If the Kirlian image were due to some paranormal fundamental living energy field, it should not disappear in a simple vacuum (Hines 2003).

This scientific explanation is satisfactory, however, with having first hand experience with a Kirlian device, the problem I have with this explanation is that the observer cannot see a gas with the naked eye while electrographying the object. Just because something isn’t observed in a vacuum (which is just space and according to the occult view, space is life force energy by itself) it is hard to determine and measure the gas. Until there is a way to measure the gas that is seemingly produced when electrographying an object the above explanation is obsolete. When I personally started using the device, I, first used live objects bought from the grocery store and noticed that I was not getting the detail I expected to see. I began this project in the dead of winter when there was nothing blooming outside. When spring came and I progressed to using freshly cut living objects and the detail in the photographs became more apparent. Just the slight difference of a freshly cut object versus the store bought object gave enough evidence of the existence of a life force.

The other explanation that can be given is that the electricity produces enough tension when it comes into contact with the object that the moisture molecules expand, collapse and produce a luminous glow. This phenomenon can be observed through an experiment called, sonoluminescence.

What I love most about this kind of photography is that it reminds me of the old hermetic saying of, “As above so below, so below as above.” This speaks of the hermetic idea that the macrocosmos is contained within the microcosmos. The energetic patterns photographed in the biological organisms remind me of a different kind of galaxy or nebula. The sparkle electrical effect speaks to the hot gaseous stars in the universe that only appear to us as twinkling dots in the night sky.

The fusion of science and spirituality has often been looked down upon by mainstream scientists; it was almost a taboo to use science to explain something that is not of this manifest world. One must understand that science deals explicitly with the manifest world, which would result a contradiction of conclusions; however, there are a few individuals that have created processes that allow the individual to observe different spiritual teachings at a physical level, which might mean that these teachings may not be so spiritual after all. These processes and techniques have been lumped together into a field of science called Alternative Science. Alternative Science has been known under many titles for thousands of years. It has always been an alternative science because it requires the investigator to go outside of their normal perceptions. Shamans and healers of all ages share a common heritage with the Alternative Scientist. A world of patterns, geometry and subtle radiation are operative to both (I.E; Qabbalah). Alternative science struggles with language to describe the experience of subtle energy. Teaching how to manipulate this subtle energy has always been a challenge. Even with the supported and strictest scientific methods sometimes SCIENCE itself cannot accept a certain cause or effect that has been observed at a physical level because it goes beyond human understanding.

While researching light, sound and form I came across a peculiar type of photography. This photography excited many of the researchers in the esoteric community as it claimed to help photograph the human aura as well as any other biological aura. In ancient mysticism, the etheric double or aura is a physical entity within every biological organism. It is the body of light that acts as a conduit for other various forms of energy. A complete alchemical transmutation from a physical body into a body of light seems to be the ultimate goal of these ancient traditions. There are beings that are explicitly detailed in the ancient texts and temple walls that are described as the “Shining Ones”; they are an ancient race that are behind the advanced civilizations of the world.

In 1961 an article was published in the Journal of Borderland Research outlining the work of a female scientist named, Dr. Ruth Drown . From the article, it explains that the key to understanding the work and instruments of Dr. Ruth Drown lies in a firm grasp of the two fundamental energy manifestations connected with the human body. These are, first, the electrostatic energy of the physical-mineral tissues, and second, the vital energy which passes into and through those tissues enabling them to hold their form. Electrostatic energy remains with the physical body after death. It is the departure of vital energy from the physical body that constitutes death. A century ago, doctors engaged with greater freedom in discussion writing concerning life force and/or vital energy than they do today. The rise of the materialistic era to its ultimate development resulted in the study of the physical body of man being deemed all sufficient.

Any physicist will tell you that molecules are whirling particles of electricity. These whirlings never cease. It is this activity of these particles that produces the radiance we can see around all substances. Except in terms of the amount of radiance observed, the eye does not perceive any essential difference between emanations. Yet, since they are in each case the result of a specific type of activity individual to each substance, these emanations must be characteristic in some way of their source. Whenever one adds energy to something, it grows. So in order to capture the life force and/or vital energy of a biological organism, all one needs to do is electrocute the object and capture the energetic patterns on paper. As it appears that the electricity intensifies the object and produces a stronger aura, which allows us to visibly see it with the naked eye. This peculiar photography has become known as Kirlian Photography.

History of Kirlian Photography

A Russian scientist named Semyon Kirlian in 1936 formalized Kirlian photography. Thelma Moss is one of the more noted people to use Kirlian photography. As a parapsychologist, Moss felt as though the Kirlian method conveyed the energy of its subjects. Her most popular work was published in "The Body Electric" (1979) and "The Probability of the Impossible" (1983). Her studies paved the way for other parapsychologists’ to explore the utility of Kirlian photography to physical energy. In 1777 Dr Lichtenberg, a professor of physics at the University at Gottingen in Germany built a large phosphorus-ionising machine and demonstrated that discharges of static electricity could form complex fractal-like patterns in dust. In 1898, a Russian engineer Yakov Narkevich-Todko was reported to have produced electrographic photographs using something described as ‘quiet electrical discharges’. He made an apparatus that could induce luminous zones on the palms of the hands. His claim that he could influence the luminosity by thought attracted the attention of the parapsychologists. In 1907 Father Landel de Moura, a Brazilian Catholic priest and scientist invented a machine that could photograph energy fields, producing radiation field photographs. He called his invention a bio-electrographic machine. He developed a thesis of ‘Universal Harmony’ and ‘Unity and Physics Forces’ and believed that all bodies were encircled by a luminous coloured halo. Nicola Tesla (1846-1943), one of the pioneers of electricity, performed experiments in the early nineteenth century showing that a human being exposed to high frequency electro-magnetic fields produced a luminous glow that surrounded the body like a second skin .

Light, Sound and Form

While researching ancient Egyptian connections to light, sound and form I ran across an article influenced by ancient Egyptian alchemy. This article discussed mono atomic gold. It is a mystical and alchemical substance used by the ancient people of Egypt to achieve super states of consciousness. A part of the process of creating mono atomic gold seems to happen within the form of a pyramid. The story accompanying the pyramid image is about the pyramid energy research of Mary and Dean Hardy. The Hardys’ once took a gold coin and hung at the King's Chamber level of a Great Pyramid scale replica. After some time the gold coin got a clear "oil" on it and the gold was etched away under the drops of oil. Another pyramid experimenter replicated the Hardy's experiment. Joshua Gulick suggests that the pyramid is the alchemists "secret fire". He says that he has used this secret fire to dissolve metallic gold into the alchemical/m-state oil of gold and that this oil of gold dried into, first a white powder, then a red powder. These products of gold are well described in the alchemical literature as steps toward the Philosopher's Stone.

The big secret of alchemy is what's known as the 'secret fire,' something that can, over time, dissolve gold into a white powder. It is said that the whole process is completed by this 'fire' without human interaction. It is also said that the process is 'child's play,' and it is. The secret fire, which dissolves gold is an energy emitted by a pyramid shape. Not very surprisingly, the word 'pyramid' is translated as 'fire in the middle.'

The above images are Kirlian photographs of (a) pyramid(s) on top of a Tesla coil taken with a 35mm camera. From the use of high voltage photography we can see that the old alchemical myth of a secret fire within a pyramid form can be observed in the form of electricity. From observation, we can assume that proportion (or shape) directs energy.

The Body of Light and its' Connections to DNA

The vortex image of electrical energy emitting from the pyramid may give us evidence that DNA is the conduit for the body of light. What has been proposed is that somehow each molecule sends out a unique electromagnetic field that can "sense" the field of the complimentary molecule. It's as if there is a "dance" in the cellular medium and the molecules move to the rhythm. The music is supplied by the biophotons.

There are about 100,000 chemical reactions happening in every cell each second. The chemical reaction can only happen if the molecule, which is reacting is excited by a photon... Once the photon has excited a reaction it returns to the field and is available for more reactions... We are swimming in an ocean of light.

These 'biophoton emissions', as Dr. Popp called them, provided an ideal communication system for the transfer of information to many cells across the organism. But the single most important question remained: where was the light coming from?

It is known that when ethidium bromide is applied to samples of DNA, it insinuates itself in between the base pairs of the double helix, causing DNA to unwind. A student suggested that, after applying the chemical, they measure the light coming from the sample. Popp found that the greater the concentration of ethidium, the more the DNA unravelled, but also the stronger the intensity of light. Conversely, the less he used, the less light was emitted.

Conclusion

From the use of Kirlian photography we can indeed observe a creational life force within organic materials. As stated earlier the radiance we can see in the photograph is in each case the result of a specific type of activity, individual to each substance, these emantionas must be characteristic in some way of their source. Therefore, while a creational life force apparently is present in the organic materials, understanding how this life force functions in the manifest world has also been the problem in conventional science and it is why Kirlian Photography has been explained away as moisture being the cause. Sure, water may be a significant element in detecting the life force since all living things need water to survive.

My Process

When I learned that I needed to find an alternative photographic process for class I immediately thought about doing Kirlian photography. I spoke to my father about this process and him being an electronic enthusiast and an engineer he was able to build a device for me that would allow me to photograph Kirlian photograms. In essence, Kirlian photography is a form of contact print photography. It requires energy to be stored within a circuit and discharged onto a copper plate. 1,200 volts are stored within the circuit and sent through the living object . Traditional photography can capture the light from the sun, which is 2 – 3 volts, as it is more magnetic and nuclear in nature. Traditional black and white photographic paper is placed on top of the copper plate and an object of conductivity is placed on top of the photographic paper. Using a wire attached to the device, known as a ground wire, the electrographer would tap each object to expose the energetic pattern of the object onto the paper. Then the photographic paper is processed normally in the dark room. The exposures were also done in the dark room.

One experiment I did was to understand the intensity levels of the frequency options on the device. There are two options: a higher frequency and a lower frequency. Electrically, a higher frequency produces tighter wavelengths and a lower frequency produces looser wavelengths. On paper, exposing an object at a higher frequency produces a shorter and tighter aura, and exposing an object at a lower frequency produces a longer and looser aura. In the experiment I made a contact sheet of 10 objects that are similar. I would adjust the intensity of the frequency according to the 10 levels that are given. According to my device, a smaller object with less density requires a less intense lower frequency while an object that has a higher density requires a more intense higher frequency. While arranging the objects on the paper it felt oddly familiar and I realized that creating photograms was really no different than arranging elements, images and text in a photoshop document. Instead of designing with elements, images and text I was designing with light and living objects.

Observations:

- a smaller object with less density requires a less intense lower frequency while an object that has a higher density requires a more intense higher frequency
- a living object that was freshly picked will photograph more detail than an object that has been slowly dying/decaying; I.E the departure of vital energy in an object looses its detail when photographed

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