NINA KOKKINEN
Artists as truth-seekers Focusing on agency and seekership in the study of art and occulture
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30664/ar.98310 Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
his article focuses on the concept of the more deeply the connections between seeker and considers how the analytical modern art and esotericism. He noticed, tool of seekership, defined and developed T for example, how the seemingly abstract in the sociology of religion, could be applied to the study of art and esotericism. The theoret forms Wassily Kandinsky used in his art ical argument is made more tangible with the had similarities with the ideas and visual example of the Finnish artist Akseli Gallen- culture of Theosophy. The analogies Kallela (1865–1931), whose life story, art and between Symbolist art theory and esoteric writings resonate with the concept of seeker ship. The ways in which Gallen-Kallela writes worldviews were also discovered early on about his interest in esotericism and the dawn (see e.g. Sarajas-Korte 1966; Burhan 1979). of the new age appear in a new light; as part Although such connections between art of the processes of a spiritualisation of modern and esotericism were noted already in the art and religiosity. In addition, the article points out that the concept of seekership can offer new latter half of the twentieth century, the possibilities more generally for the study of art breadth and depth of these relations have and esotericism. Utilising the analytical tool of been understood only in recent years. Many seekership may be especially helpful regarding of the avant-garde artists, from Symbolists those artists who did not subscribe to any eso to Surrealists and Futurists, are now known teric movement or doctrine, but stressed a more individual relationship with the occulture of their to have utilised multifaceted possibilities of time. It will also provide an opportunity to out esoteric ideas and practices in their art. line how the connections between art and eso The wider public has learned about tericism have changed over different times and the important role esotericism has played places.1 in the history of modern art, especially through the work of the Swedish artist The Finnish art historian Sixten Ringbom and Theosophist-Anthroposophist Hilma (1966) was one of the first scholars to study af Klint (1862–1944). In recent years, her large-scale paintings, produced under the 1 The article is based on my doctoral disser- guidance of the spirit world, have been ele- tation, written in Finnish (Kokkinen 2019). vated into the modernist canon of abstract I would like to thank Maija and Albion But- art (see e.g. Müller-Westermann and Widoff ters for translating the first version of this article at very short notice. I also warmly 2013). Interest in the subject is reflected in thank Signe & Ane Gyllenberg’s foundation the fact that the exhibition Hilma af Klint: for the funding of the translation. Paintings for the Future, which ended in
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 4 spring 2019 at the Guggenheim Museum in artists interested in esotericism were not New York, became the most popular exhi- committed to them whole-heartedly or in bition in the history of the Guggenheim any official manner. However, the compre museums (Guggenheim press release hension of the relations between art and 2019). esotericism remains too narrow if the re When studying the connections be search takes account only of the artists offi tween art and esotericism, references are cially committed to certain esoteric cur often made to different esoteric currents and rents, such as Hilma af Klint. When the movements, such as The Hermetic Order focus is extended to artists who are known of the Golden Dawn or Joséphin Péladan’s to be interested in esotericism in one way Ordre du Temple de la Rose+Croix and or another, several new questions arise. the related art salons. Hilma af Klint, for When exactly can references to esotericism example, is known to have been a mem be considered sufficient? Is it enough to ber of the Theosophical Society and own or read a book that is classified as eso- Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophical Soci teric or to exploit alchemical iconography ety. Although certain currents quite rightly in art works? And how to react to ambiva- constitute a kind of anchor for the study of lent statements in which artists on the one art and esotericism, one must also be able hand express their interest in, for example, to contemplate such an approach from a Theosophy and, on the other hand, criticise critical point of view. How do we conceptu- it? alise esotericism when we focus our atten- In order to study an unofficial or looser tion firstly on such currents as Theosophy, relationship with esotericism, a more sys Spiritualism, or Anthroposophy? Would it tematic methodology needs to be devel be possible to approach esotericism is some oped. Utilising the concepts of seeker and other way? And what does esotericism refer seeking offer an opportunity to do this. It to if it is not understood primarily in con- is an approach that shifts the emphasis nection with these currents? away from esoteric movements and brings The research focusing on different eso forth a particular kind of religious or spir- teric currents or movements often relies on itual agency, determined by certain types of the historical definitions which have played social practices and discourses, as well as a significant role in the study of esotericism an ethos emphasising independence from since the 1990s. Historical approaches tend esoteric currents or any other ‘isms’. to work on the basis of different intuitive The analytical concept of the seeker is prototypical definitions, and esotericism is used in the sociology of religion to refer often seen to cover a variety of alternative to a socially-learned behavioural model or currents including, for example, alchemy, habitus typical of modern (and subsequent) Hermetic philosophy, Rosicrucianism and religiosity. Seekers are usually described as Theosophy. One of the problems of such people who stress individuality and per definitions is the fact, that there are diverg- sonal experience. Instead of committing ing intuitions on what esotericism consists themselves permanently to any religious of (Asprem 2014: 7–14; Hanegraaff2013 : or esoteric communities, seekers are dedi 3–14). cated to a search for spiritual truths they When studying art and esotericism, can feel to be their own. Sociologists have focusing on different currents and move- written about seekers and seeking at least ments is problematic also because many since the 1950s. In the early descriptions,
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 5 Akseli Gallen-Kallela in a monk’s robe, 1928, photograph by Kirsti Gallen-Kallela, 56 x 85 mm. Gallen-Kallela Museum, Espoo. these intellectuals, critical of the Church 2010: ix–xii, 54–64) observes the esoteric and in search of a new perspective on reli- as being part of the broader social and cul- gion were called ‘metaphysical wanderers’ tural processes in which knowledge and and ‘occult seekers’. They were depicted identities are constructed. Instead of focus- as individuals drifting between religious ing on different esoteric currents, von alternatives, remaining open to the vari- Stuckrad pays attention to esoteric elem ous views (often connected with esoteri- ents of discourse in European history. cism) but ultimately not subscribing to any Such elements relate to the idea of perfect of them.2 knowledge that can be revealed in a specific In this article, I will concentrate on the manner. In other words, esoteric discourses concept of the seeker and consider how are likened to ‘claims to “real” or absolute the analytical tool of seekership, defined knowledge and the means of making this and developed in the sociology of reli- knowledge available’ (von Stuckrad 2005: gion, could be applied to the study of art 10). The esoteric is also closely related to and esotericism. Such an approach is dis- the idea of secrecy or to the dialectic of tanced from the historical definitions of the hidden and revealed; the rhetoric of a esotericism and attached more closely to hidden truth seems to hint that there exists the manner in which Kocku von Stuckrad a higher wisdom which can be unveiled in a has studied historical phenomena related specific way. Secrecy thus becomes a strat- to the esoteric. Von Stuckrad (2005: 9–11; egy that guarantees social capital for those who have heard about or have access to the hidden knowledge. 2 On the history of the concepts, see Sutcliffe The esoteric thus defined has a 2017. close connection with the sociological
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 6 understanding of seekership. Seekers are as Edward Munch, August Strindberg, often searching for such a hidden, absolute Nicholas Roerich, and D. H. Lawrence, all knowledge avoiding commitment to any of whom were interested in esoteric and currents, communities or dogmas. They mystical ideas in one way or another (see, may also be critical of some (esoteric) doc e.g. Lahelma 2014: 184–202; Stasulane trines or currents – even the same ones 2013; Ballin 1978). they are clearly enthusiastic about. In many studies, seekership is associated with eso- Occulture, spirituality tericism or occultism in either one way or and the popularisation of seekership another (see, e.g. Lofland and Stark 1965: Seekership is closely related to two concepts 867–70; Campbell 2002: 15–17). that have been utilised in the study of art In order to make my argument more and esotericism. The first isocculture. tangible, I will use Akseli Gallen-Kallela3 Christopher Partridge (2004) introduced (1865–1931) as an example, as his life story, the term as an academic concept in his art and writings resonate intriguingly with research on emergent spirituality in the the habitus of seekership. Gallen-Kallela is late twentieth century and contemporary one of the most well-known and appreci- West. According to Partridge, the Western ated of Finnish artists. He worked during world is going through a process where the late nineteenth and early twentieth cen the institutional religions are being forced turies, a time period which has become to make room for alternative spiritualities known as the ‘Golden Age of Finnish and a culture of re-enchantment, which Art’. As this era coincided with a Finnish consists of ‘those often hidden, rejected and national awakening, Gallen-Kallela’s art has oppositional beliefs and practices associ often been seen as significant for the coun ated with esotericism, theosophy, mysti try’s national identity. Many of his most cism, New Age, Paganism and a range of appreciated paintings illustrate scenes from other subcultural beliefs and practices…’ The Kalevala, Finland’s national epic. How (Partridge 2004: 68). According to Part ever, Gallen-Kallela was also interested in ridge, occulture, which emerged from the the heterodox esoteric milieu of his time, countercultural phenomena of the 1960s, and he had many interesting connections has nowadays become so common and to Scandinavian and European artistic cir- popular that it transcends subcultures. In cles. In 1884, he moved to Paris and studied other words, occulture has become a com at the Académie Julian, which later became mon part of the mainstream culture. an important meeting point for a group Partridge’s concept can be traced back of young French artists called Les Nabis. to the influential ideas of a cultic milieu, During the 1890s, he became friends with presented in the 1970s by the sociologist some of the artists and writers who gath- Colin Campbell. Campbell suggested that ered at the Zum schwarzen Ferkel tavern sociologists of religion interested in ‘mys in Berlin. Gallen-Kallela also personally tical religion’ should pay more attention knew such influential writers and artists to the heterodox milieu forming around less permanent religious groups and com- munities. Whereas these unstable groups 3 In 1907 the artist formerly known as Axel are constantly disintegrating, the cultic Gallén changed his name officially to Akseli milieu around them continues to flour Gallen-Kallela. ish. It includes all deviant belief systems,
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 7 unorthodox science, ’the worlds of the smorgasbord will have been provided for occult and the magical’, and the institutions modernist authors and artists to make use and individuals associated with these beliefs. of’ (Bauduin and Johnsson 2018: 22.) In addition, different communication Although occulture has proved useful structures have an important role in the in the study of art and esotericism, little (oc)cultic milieu. It is kept alive by maga- attention has been paid to the concept of zines, literature, lectures, and informal the seeker, closely related to it (cf. Parente- meetings in which the beliefs are discussed Čapková 2019 and in this volume). When and disseminated (Campbell 2002: 12–15). re-defining the concept of occulture, I Campbell’s ideas have made a significant stressed the important role of seekers contribution to the study of modern spirit (Kokkinen 2013; 2019: 52–66). In this uality. They have, for example, formed the way, I wanted to bring the concept back to basis for the ‘holistic milieu’ defined by Campbell’s original idea of the (oc)cultic Paul Heelas and Linda Woodhead (2005). milieu. According to Campbell (2002: 15), In my previous writings (Kokkinen one of the forces that keeps the heterodox 2013, 2019), I have suggested the concept milieu alive and together is ‘the ideology of occulture could be used as an analytical of seekership’. It refers to an established tool while exploring how esotericism and social field of action that transcends the spirituality have intertwined with modern individual seeker and draws attention to art since the nineteenth century. One of certain habitual models of social activity the advantages of the concept is that it and recurring discursive patterns, which I directs the focus from individual (eso- believe have an important role in the eso teric) currents towards a broader milieu teric and spiritual dimensions of modern of heterogeneous spirituality, and high- (and subsequent) art. Different occultures lights, among other things, the import are formed on the basis of these internal- ance of (popular) cultural phenomena as ised patterns of action and speech, which I mediators of esoteric discourses. It has will discuss in what follows. been used, among other things, to outline The second concept closely related to the dialogue between art and visual culture seekership is spirituality. My understand- associated with Spiritualism (Keshavjee ing of seekers and seeking derives primar- 2013), and in demonstrating how origin ily from Steven Sutcliffe (2003, 2008, 2017), ally secular Renaissance art works were who has focused on developing these con absorbed into late nineteenth-century eso- cepts further in recent years. According tericism (Faxneld 2016). In addition, the to Sutcliffe seekership is a habitus that has concept of occulture emphasises the popu become increasingly common during the larity of esoteric discourses and phenom- twentieth century. In this process of popu ena in different contexts, time periods and larisation, seekership has merged into the places. Whereas nineteenth-century art heterogeneous landscape nowadays known ists became acquainted with them, for ex as spirituality. Especially since the 1990s, ample, through newspapers, literature, researchers have started to pay more atten- theatre, and art exhibitions, contemporary tion to this phenomenon, which has vari- artists may encounter them in movies and ously been referred to as the rise of new, TV series, among other things. In other alternative, or New Age spirituality (see, words, when ‘popular culture becomes e.g. Partridge 2004; Heelas and Woodhead suffused with occult imagery and ideas, a 2005; Lynch 2007).
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 8 According to Sutcliffe, early twentieth- phenomena nowadays referred to as spirit- century occultism offered a breeding uality. According to Sutcliffe (2003: 29–30), ground for the popularisation of seekership seekers have played an important role in and the alternative spirituality related to it. the formation of the heterogeneous spir The behaviour typical of seekers had been itualities so popular today. The idea of the depicted beforehand in the biographies of ‘New Age’ or ‘Age of Aquarius’ became cur- such religious authorities as, for example, rent in the early twentieth century at the the Church Father Augustine or Siddhartha latest, and reflected a growing constitu- Gautama. At the beginning of the twentieth ency of seekers who were hungry for new century, seeking became more common, spiritual syncretisms. Later on, in the post- although seekers were still associated with war period, ‘New Age’ was understood as exceptional life stories, and they typically a more limited, apocalyptic term. From belonged to the higher social classes. Many the 1970s onwards, it started to become of them were also members of such esoteric intertwined with more general discussions communities as the Theosophical Society about spirituality. In this way, ‘New Age’ or the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. gradually became a code word for modern, The habitual ways of these early seekers alternative religiosity. of thinking, acting and speaking offered Artists have played their own signi models for later generations of seekers. By ficant role in the popularisation of such dis- the turn of the twenty first century, seek- courses of new age. Akseli Gallen-Kallela ership had democratised into a commonly was already dreaming of a new, spiritual era accessible and well-known habitus of reli- in the 1890s when he travelled to Italy. He gious agency. Nowadays spiritual seeking found the keys to this dawning era in the seems to be a quite ordinary and common art of the old churches and monasteries of way of expressing one’s own religiosity – or, Venice and Florence. Gallen-Kallela wrote better yet, one’s own spirituality (Sutcliffe at length about his experiences in Kallela- 2003: 29–30, 35–7, 201–3, 223–34; 2017). kirja, published in 1924. He thought of his A somewhat similar view of modern own era as dark and degenerate, marked by esotericism as an important breeding signs of sick and nervous agitation, an over- ground for later alternative spiritualities, flowing production of art, and an ‘adver- and more specifically New Age spirituality tising hell’. The Italian Renaissance, and has been brought forth by Wouter J. Hane especially the ‘eternal’ frescoes painted on graaff (1998). However, Hanegraaff’s and the walls of sacred buildings, signified the Sutcliffe’s approaches to New Age spirit opposite of this decay. They represented a uality differ from one another. Whereas ‘noble art period’ when ‘the artist, greatly at Hanegraaff studies it as a historical phe peace but with a flaming soul, gave form to nomenon, Sutcliffe wants to deconstruct his imaginary visions and thoughts about the idea of New Age as a movement. He life and death, and practised his work as a examines New Age as a discursive ele- sanctified profession, and thus correspond- ment, and traces its changing meanings ingly great were the achievements, cre from the beginning of the twentieth cen- ations of art of everlasting beauty!’ (Gallen- tury to the present day. At the same time, Kallela 1924: 210). Gallen-Kallela admired, he identifies the connections between seek- among others, Rembrandt, whose self-por- ers, the heterodox (oc)cultic milieu sur- traits he saw as radiating enormous peace rounding them and the loosely defined of mind. For him, Rembrandt was a ‘great
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 9 sage’ who still had the ability to see visions studying the connections between art and and paint them with his ‘witch brush’. esotericism, it is important to note that Gallen-Kallela wanted to believe that such seekership can also be expressed visually, spiritual art would give rise to a new age: for example, in sketches and works of art. ‘Although we are standing in the middle of In this section, I focus primarily on the the night … we cannot be without sensing seeker’s social behaviour and return to the signs of a new dawn … A new renais- discursive elements in the next section. sance shall come!’ (ibid. p. 221). The behaviour and practices of seekers The same kind of renaissance of more are often described as syncretistic and rela spiritual art was advocated also in the 1890s tively independent. Seekers are seen as in Paris by Joséphin Péladan (1858–1918), religious individualists who are committed who hosted the Salon de la Rose+Croix and only to the search for their own spiritual had an important role to play in the fin-de- truths. During the seeking process they siècle occulture (on Péladan, see Chaitow mix and match different religious and cul 2012). In the early twentieth century, the tural resources and eventually construct idea of a new age was raised by Wassily their own collage, consisting of elements Kandinsky and Franz Marc, who pro from various esoteric or religious traditions claimed in the foreword of the publication and other cultural sources, such as science, Der Blaue Reiter in 1912: ‘A great era has politics and art. Becoming inspired by begun: the spiritual ‘awakening’…’ (cited in a particular resource does not usually Caws 2000: 273). The urge to revitalise art lead to wholehearted commitment to it. was entangled with the idea of the begin When seekers get excited by Buddhism, ning of a new, more spiritual era. As these for instance, they typically do not adopt examples clearly show, artists have been all of its beliefs and practices, but cherish involved in exploiting and shaping the only some of them. The selected parts of discourse of New Age. In addition, they also the particular source are then combined seem to suggest that the spiritualisation of with some other elements that the seeker modern art and the growth of alternative feels are fascinating (Lofland and Stark spiritualities should be seen as parallel 1965: 868–9; Campbell 1977: 382–3; 2002: processes. Hence, the artist-seekers should 14–19; Sutcliffe2000 : 17–25; 2003: 200–2). not be seen only as individuals interested In some cases, such seeking may seem as in esotericism and relating heterogeneous a playful act, because the description of the spiritualities, but also as active agents seeker’s journey has a light and colloquial who take part in reworking the meanings register. On the other hand, seekers may of religion anew. In other words, their also take their quest very seriously and activities can be interpreted as part of the emphasise their own disappointments, dis broader processes by which modern reli illusions and disenchantments (Sutcliffe giosity is changing. 2017). In fin-de-siècle occulture inspiring sources were often sought from the local Seeking as social practices folk-belief traditions. Gallen-Kallela, for Seekership can be considered on one hand example, was fascinated by the nature as a certain kind of social behaviour, and spirits that were described in The Kalevala. on the other as discursive patterns and As the historian of religions Per Faxneld expressions, or habitual ways, of speak has noted, for many artists the belief in ing (cf. Warburg 2001: 94–5). When such spirits or fairies is an ambiguous, half
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 10 playful and half serious act. It ’could func- The seeker represents a sort of antithesis to tion as a way of balancing the (perceived) the traditional participatory role of institu- disenchanted ontological state without tional religions (e.g. member, parishioner, having to commit fully to an enchanted convert); they do not appreciate attachment worldview’ (Faxneld 2018: 100–1). Even to any institutions or dogmas. Instead, if the seeking is narrated with a playful or seekers claim the right to define their own light tone, it should not be mistaken for an religiosity by themselves. The individual insignificant activity. self thus becomes the highest authority Although seekers seem to act quite in of its religiosity, a kind of filter through dependently, it is important to note that which all the potential religious and cul- seekership denotes collective and social tural material are cycled, to become either rather than individual behaviour. Such a accepted or rejected, depending on how definition can be traced back to Campbell’s well they fit into the seeker’s own personal concept of the cultic milieu. According experiences. One does not need priests or to Campbell (1977: 383–6; 2002: 14–15, any guiding authorities to practise this type 23–4), individuals seeking their own per of religiosity. The self is highly appreciated sonal truths share a particular ideology of in another sense as well: it is understood as seekership, which also keeps their hetero an important source of deep inner truths. dox host milieu together. Ideology inevit In other words, the sanctified self becomes ably refers to something that is shared, the epistemic cornerstone of spiritual commonly understood and social. Sutcliffe wisdom (Sutcliffe2003 : 200–3; Sutcliffe (2006: 298–9; 2008; 2017) has developed and Bowman 2000: 8–10; Campbell 1977: Campbell’s idea further and suggests that 379–86; Heelas and Woodhead 2005: 2–11; seeker should be defined as a social role Partridge 2004: 71–7). Hence the often- or model that is learned in relation to the repeated invitation to ‘look within’ can, in ideology and institutions of seekership. Ac fact, be considered ‘a formative cognitive cording to him, seekership can be exam activity of seekership’ and part of the rou- ined as a sort of habitus; it refers to a ten tinised activity of seekers (Sutcliffe2017 ). dency to act, think and feel in certain ways Sanctifying the self as the most important presumed to be natural or apparent. It authority and source of spiritual wisdom is offers individuals certain styles of actions an important part of the socially-learned and discursive strategies rather than clearly ideology of seekership. inherited beliefs or customs. In addition, When focusing on the social activity of the habitus of seekership and its host milieu seekers, attention should be paid to the rela- should be seen as mutually constitutive; tionships between the individual and vari- although seekers have learned the habitus ous groups. According to Campbell (2002: in their contemporary occulture, they are 18–19), some seekers are more active in also constantly reshaping and making the different esoteric or religious communities, milieu anew (Sutcliffe2003 : 200–1; 2017). whereas others seem to migrate between One socially-learned characteristic of seekership is – somewhat paradoxically – is sensible to perceive the larger grounds of the emphasis on individuality and the self.4 spirituality referred to, for example, by the terms ‘New Age’ and ‘holistic milieu’. For this reason, when writing about seekers I 4 According to Sutcliffe 2006( , 2008), seeker- also profit from studies that discuss these ship offers a concept by means of which it phenomena.
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 11 them and take part in their activities only in a manner typical of seekers. The questions occasionally. While the former positively of life and death interested him greatly and affect the formation of new groups and he sought to find personal answers to them: organisations, the latter are important for the survival of the (oc)cultic milieu in Curiosity has led me, like most others, general. The seeker’s interest is typically to try to gain knowledge and some directed simultaneously towards a number kind of conviction about what lies of different movements and trends, all of beyond death. When I was young, which are seen as potential sources of per- I read a great deal of what had been sonal answers. The search can also proceed translated of Svedenborg [sic], and from one movement or group to another. after that I wandered the foggy Some seekers continue their wander- swamps of Theosophy, too, but I saw ing without settling on anything, whereas through Madame Blavatsky early on. I others eventually end up as members of am also aware of the teachings of our a particular movement (Sutcliffe2003 : Church, but I have not advanced so 204–6; see also Lofland and Stark 1965). far on any path that I could develop Gallen-Kallela offers an example of a personal conviction about these the ethos of independence, the emphasis things. (Gallen-Kallela 1924: 137) on one’s own, personal experiences and the diverse and multi-directional journey Gallen-Kallela’s seeking led him to the typical of seekers. He was strongly critical very heart of the fin-de-siècle occulture, of the Christian Church, especially priests, where he read the books of the Swedish whom he believed had adulterated the orig- mystic Emanuel Swedenborg and H. P. inal teachings of Jesus. In the 1890s, Gallen- Blavatsky, the founder of the Theosophical Kallela took part in several Spiritualist Society. He wished, however, to keep his séances with his friends and his mother, distance from these key figures of thefin- Mathilda Gallén. In the mid-1890s, Gallen- de-siècle occulture in a manner typical of Kallela became interested in Theosophy and seekers. In his other statements, too, Gallen- psychic phenomena such as clairvoyance Kallela often emphasised his independence and telepathy, and he tried to develop his and the importance of critical evaluations. own extrasensory abilities (Kokkinen 2011: In fin-de-siècle occulture the impor- 49–55; Puustinen 2020: 17–20). Later, in tance of seeking and personal answers was the 1920s, the artist socialised with repre- highlighted simultaneously in the fields of sentatives of the Theosophically-oriented religion and art, as shown by the Swedish Liberal Catholic Church in Chicago, and in artist Olof Sager-Nelson’s depiction of the May 1923 he became a Freemason. Gallen- Parisian art world in 1894: ‘Here are so Kallela received his Entered Apprentice many directions, the kind of searching that degree in the lodge S:t Johannes Logen S:t I don’t think has ever existed before … The Augustin, which belongs to the Swedish only true symbolism that exists is in our- Rite and is found in Helsinki. He never selves …’ (cited and translated by Lahelma became, however, an active Freemason 2014: 21).5 The significance of this kind of or member of any other esoteric society (Raivio 2005: 168–213; Matikkala 2017). 5 The quote originates from Olof Sager- Gallen-Kallela wandered on the fringes Nelson’s letter to Albert Engström on 23 of various esoteric movements and currents April 1894.
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 12 seeking has recently been noted in discus- noted that various cultural products play sions on Symbolist art – albeit not in the a key role when the social dimensions of same theoretical and conceptual manner as seekership are considered. Seekers’ com- I refer in this article. The art historian Marja monly shared and habitual ways of think- Lahelma has noted that in the recent studies, ing and acting are distributed and recy- Symbolist art has increasingly been under- cled via various media, such as literary and stood as ‘referring to an artistic search for visual materials, or different sorts of per- meaning in the world without necessarily formances and presentations. These offer committing to any particular belief system’ information for seekers and an opportun (Lahelma 2014: 19, 21). Fin-de-siècle artists ity to enhance their affiliation to a larger had their quest for individuality and orig community, for instance, via writing for inality, which meant that they did not wish interesting publications. Sutcliffe 2000( : to be identified with any groups or ‘isms’. 23–5; 2003: 37–41), in turn, has pointed In addition, Riikka Stewen has noted how out the significance of armchair spiritual the Finnish and Scandinavian artists who ities and reading, particularly for the early worked in Paris during the 1890s preferred twentieth-century seekers. In the absence the verb ‘to seek’ when writing about their of communities that demanded commit- art. She also aptly states that seeking con- ment, the literary culture (newspapers, nects the fin-de-siècle artist with ‘spiritual magazines, factual and fictional literature) ists, mystics and occultists, but also sci- offered inspiration, reflection and answers. entific circles and the pioneers of psychic To examine and interpret texts from a per research’ (Stewen 2014: 125). sonal point of view is typical of the seeker. According to Sutcliffe, such transposi Furthermore, seekership could also be ex tions between different social or cultural pressed via everyday routines, such as fol fields are typical of seekership. Seeking does lowing a special diet or meditating. not ‘operate only within the ‘religious’ field, Literature offered an important source but may function within other fields in for Akseli Gallen-Kallela’s seeking. He modern society’ (Sutcliffe 2017). In fin-de- owned several books written by theo- siècle occulture, the transpositions between sophists such as H. P. Blavatsky’s The Secret the fields of esoteric/religiosity and art were Doctrine (1888). Gallen-Kallela was also obvious. For Gallen-Kallela and many of his fascinated by the works of a well-known contemporaries, the seeking was targeted astronomer Camille Flammarion and the in two closely intertwined directions: the biologist Ernst Haeckel, whom both util artists were eager to find both ‘spiritual ised esoteric elements in their publica- truths’ and ‘eternal, sacred art’. In other tions. In addition, Gallen-Kallela’s library words, spiritual seeking was equated with included literature on psychic research. He artistic exploration and experimentation considered it important to transcend an (Kokkinen 2019: 148–53). unnecessarily narrow-minded, materialis- When a seeker moves from one group tic view of science (Kokkinen 2019: 373). or movement to another, they do not nec- In Gallen-Kallela’s (1924: 77) opinion, the essarily need to join them in any official essence of fire, for instance, could not be manner. Participation and interest can be fully apprehended ‘before the step from expressed loosely, for instance, by read- physics to metaphysics has been found’. ing, writing, watching, listening and dis- The artist was successful in getting his cussing. Campbell (2002: 15, 18–19) has views published, too. In 1916, for example,
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 13 he wrote two pieces for the Theosophically- not appreciative of the state of contempo- oriented weekly magazine Sunnuntai. One rary German art, and he was perpetually of these was an artist’s letter, addressed to worried about his own finances, the trip ‘the great master Rembrandt’ residing in to Berlin and especially his long-lasting the other world (Lema 1916). friendship with the author Adolf Paul left a Although Gallen-Kallela encountered mark on his work (Turtiainen 2011; Sarajas- Theosophists, Spiritualists and Freemasons Korte 1966: 304–25). Later on, in the mid- during his journey as a seeker, he also had 1920s, Gallen-Kallela spent seven months connections with many interesting artistic in Mabel Dodge Luhan’s artist colony in circles. He visited Joséphin Péladan’s first Taos, New Mexico, situated on the border Salon de la Rose+Croix in Paris in April of a Native American reservation. There 1892 and found ideas closely resembling his he made the acquaintance of the writer own in Alexandre Séon’s Finis Latinorum D. H. Lawrence, among others, and sought (illustration for Péladan’s Le Vice Suprême, connections between the Finnish national 1884): Western, and especially French, cul epic The Kalevala and the beliefs of the ture had come to its miserable end and was local Pueblo tribe (Raivio 2005: 168–213; now squirming in its last cadaveric spasms. Lahelma 2018: 74–7). In the 1890s, Gallen-Kallela took part in In the case of artist-seekers, these kinds two artistic circles with esoteric tendencies: of circles closely intertwined with occulture the group of Finnish painters, musicians are at least as important as participation in and writers known as the Symposium and the actual esoteric societies. They offer a the Zum schwarzen Ferkel circle in Berlin. community where seekers can absorb new The first group met more or less regularly influences and exchange their ideas about during 1892–4 at Hotel Kämp in Helsinki. art and esotericism. In fact, the seeker’s The eclectic evenings were imprinted by journey can sometimes be as much cul- contemporary occulture and they some- tural/artistic as religious in nature. The het- times lasted several days. Discussions were erodox milieu of occulture offers a reward- inspired by, among other things, Spiritual ing environment for such seeking, as it ism, Theosophy, the ancient Nordic reli- can also be seen as a continuous cycle in gions and the anticipation of a new era, which various cultural resources are not a new renaissance (Sarajas-Korte 1966: only exploited, but continuously moulded 247–61). into new constellations (see Partridge 2004: In 1895, Gallen-Kallela visited Berlin for 4–5, 119–84). three months and became acquainted with In the fin-de-siècle occulture, the artists the Zum schwarzen Ferkel circle, which often sought inspiration from theatres, con- included, for example, Edward Munch and certs and art exhibitions. As the art historian the Polish writer Stanisław Przybyszewski. Edmund B. Lingan (2010) has pointed out, The artists and writers who gathered at the theatre at the end of the nineteenth century local tavern were excited to talk about psy- functioned as the mouthpiece for certain chology, Satanism, Theosophy, witchcraft, kinds of Theosophically-oriented spiritu- sex and animal magnetism, among other ality. At the same time, it also shaped that things.6 Even though Gallen-Kallela was spirituality into new directions. Hence, the relationship between art and esotericism 6 On the ZSF circle, see Lathe 1972: 21–39; needs to be correspondingly examined as Faxneld 2012: 55–9. nourishing both: elements are drawn from
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 14 esotericism to art but, on the other hand, In the case of artists, seeking can also art also produces a new kind of religios- imply a pursuit of a more spiritual artistic ity, including esotericism. The art historian practice. In 1908, writer and art historian Serena Keshavjee (2013), among others, Johannes Öhquist7 (1861–1949) wrote an has highlighted the way in which Symbolist article on Gallen-Kallela as a truth-seeker. artists utilised Spiritualism-related imagery Öhquist describes his friend the artist in their art. The influences flowed the other as looking for answers in order to create way around, however, when Spiritualists ‘sacred art’, and reaching with his senses sought inspiration and support for their toward a more spiritual reality: own ideas from Eugène Carrière’s ‘spiritu- alistic paintings’ – regardless of whether … he seeks and asks and feels around Carrière’s works had any religious dimen continuously. Feeling and pursu- sion. Therefore, it is important to note that ing beyond the borders of the visible seekers and other religious agents should world. On the other side of beings is also be understood as active producers of something that attracts him, some religiosity and esotericism, not only as rep- thing that can be grasped only with the resentatives of them. sixth sense. Attracts him and scares him at the same time: the uncanny Discursive and visual expressions question of life. The moon that trans- of seeking forms the cold water into yellowish Seekership can be expressed in a discursive flame, the wind that cuts through the manner – by means of repetitive themes air, the snow that piles up on the rock and motifs, or habitual ways of think- as if in geological layers, the pale red ing and speaking. In the earlier sections, flower that reaches up from the edge I have already dealt with the emphasis on of the swampy forest pond, … all those the self and the anticipation of a new era. are not only to be perceived with the In addition, seekers often express their senses, touched with the hands, visible wish to deepen their relationship with the to the eyes, but at the same time they sacred, and on the other hand to distance are messages from the invisible world, themselves from institutional religions that interpreters and messengers from that cannot offer satisfactory answers to their world which exists beyond the vis- questions. They are keenly interested in ible, and the revealing of which is the seeking personal development and answers sacred task and secret of great art. to the great mysteries of life and death. The meaning of life puzzles them (Glock and This is the axis around which Gallén’s Stark 1965: 27; Lofland and Stark 1965: art spirals: this is the key that alone 867–9; Sutcliffe 2000: 17–23). Answers are unlocks the door to understand his sought after broadly. The historian, writer works. (Öhquist 1908: 653–4) and Theosophist G. R. S. Mead, who in 1909 founded the Quest Society, expressed 7 Like Gallen-Kallela, Öhquist was a first- the issue in this way: ‘We are not in search degree Freemason. He received his degree of knowledge only … our seeking is also on 12 June 1918 in Bonn, in the lodge of Friedrich Wilhelm zum eisernen Kreutz for a deeper and more intense life’ (Sutcliffe (Matikkala 2017). Öhquist dedicated his 2000: 20–1). poetry oeuvre Der Pilger, published in 1908, to Gallen-Kallela.
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 15 Seekers often refer to their searching (1917) the writer describes himself as a process as some kind of journey or path. truth-seeker: ‘I swore to be, strength per- This journey can take many forms, by either mitting, only an impartial, incorruptible traversing different (religious/esoteric) truth-seeker, who would not acknowledge movements and social groups or fathom- anything other than what has been per- ing exotic geographical landscapes (Balch ceived through one’s own inner or outer 1998: 6; Sutcliffe 2000: 23; 2003: 200–3; consciousness…’ (Leino 1917/58: 19).8 2011). Often the two overlap. Such is the Although only male seekers are mentioned case in Eino Leino’s (1878–1926) poem, here, many female artists and writers can ‘The Seeker of Truth’ (‘Totuuden etsijä’), also be interpreted as seekers. However, as published in 1912. Leino was Gallen- the case of author L. Onerva shows, at least Kallela’s like-minded friend and writer. in the early twentieth century, the stories The poem describes how the seeker wan- of female seekers usually ended in tragedy, ders in various religious landscapes, such perhaps more often than the journeys of as the ancient groves of India, Jewish syn- their male counterparts (Parente-Čapková, agogues and Egyptian tombs, in order to in this issue).9 find his answers (Leino 1912: 124–6). His Fin-de-siècle discourses on truth-seek- path passes through some of the most typi- ers and seeking seem to accord so effort- cal places (Egypt and India) included in the lessly with the sociological conceptual imaginative history and sacred geography isation of seekership that they may easily of modern esotericism (see, e.g. Hammer be mistaken as identical. From these dis- 2003: 85–9). Leino’s truth-seeker, however, courses, the term has also been adopted finds the only true answer from his own in researches without the meaning of ‘the soul. seeker’ having been thought out or defined In the Finnish journals and news in any specific manner. This fusion of the papers, the term truth-seeker (totuuden theoretical concepts (etic) and contempor etsijä) seems to have become common after ary discourses (emic) is one of the chal- the turn of the twentieth century, although lenges to be aware of when utilising seeker it was clearly known already in the 1890s. ship in the study of art and esotericism.10 In these writings, truth-seekers were often One ought to pay attention, for example, identified with spiritual seekers; the term to different ways of approaching individ- appears, for example, in articles dealing uality and independence in the seekers’ with future religiosity, more authentic own statements and from a theoretical- forms of Christianity, and the need to ly-orientated point of view. Even though bridge the gap between science and religion. The term was used not only when speaking about Theosophy and Tolstoyanism, but 8 On Leino as a seeker, see Parente-Čapková also in the context of Christianity. Truth- 2019 and in this issue. 9 On other female seekers, see, e.g. Lahelma’s, seeking was also mentioned frequently in Ryynänen’s and Ström Lehander’s contribu- relation to well-known artists and writ- tions in this issue. ers. In addition to Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 10 Emic and etic are concepts used in cultural Leo Tolstoy, August Strindberg and Søren studies. Emic refers to the manner in which people themselves describe their actions, Kierkegaard were described as ‘truth-seek- while etic refers to the description of the ers’ (Kokkinen 2019: 54–5). In Eino Leino’s same action by an outside observer or by confessional novel Alla kasvon Kaikkivallan researchers.
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 16 emphasising personal experiences and independence is an essential element in (emic) discourses related to seeking, the activities of the seeker should not be mis- taken for being particularly individual (from the sociological, etic point of view). Instead, the highlighting of one’s own indi- viduality should rather be seen as a dis- cursive strategy typical of seekers. As an analytical concept (etic), seekership refers to socially-distributed, learned and habit- ual ways of acting and thinking, which the seekers themselves (emic) do not necessar- ily recognise or admit (Sutcliffe2008 ). In the case of fin-de-siècle occulture, making such a distinction is important, so that the artists who emphasise their individuality do not end up being studied as extraor- dinary individuals or heroic hermits. Symbolist artists with esoteric tendencies have too often been labelled as antisocial and isolated individuals and eccentrics (see Hirsh 2004: xiii–xiv). The seeker’s journey can be expressed both literarily and visually. In Gallen- Kallela’s art seeking is referred to through different kinds of themes and motifs, which recur in many of his works. Most typi- cally, the idea of truth-seeking is related to the figure of a solitary wanderer travel- ling alone. The figure is a sort of pilgrim of art, whose most important attributes are often a cloak and a staff. In Gallen-Kallela’s study (1902, Sigrid Jusélius Foundation, Helsinki) for the Paradise fresco of the Jusélius mausoleum, the truth-seeker wan- ders in an otherworldly landscape towards a temple high above. Gallen-Kallela under- stood the shrine as a kind of sanctuary of both hidden eternal wisdom and spiritual art. Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Gate of Paradise, 1902, water Similar conceptions can be found, for colour and pencil, 26 x 10.5 cm (sketch 98-M55). example, in the writings of Arman Point Sigrid Jusélius Foundation, Helsinki. Photo: Sigrid Jusélius Foundation, Mats Vuorenjuuri. (1861–1932), a regular artist at Péladan’s Salon de la Rose+Croix. In 1896, Point
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 17 Akseli Gallen-Kallela made a variation of Conceptio Artis for the cover of Adolf Paul’s book Ein Gefallener Prophet (1894). Gallen-Kallela Museum, Espoo. Photo: Gallen-Kallela Museum / Saana Kytömäki. wrote an article to the magazine Mercure in Gallen-Kallela’s Conceptio Artis (1894, de France and suggested that artists should Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki). In build a temple dedicated to spiritual art, in the painting, the naked man is pursuing a which the ‘Guardians of Truths’ can bow sphinx, which is fleeing into the shadows on their knees to ‘the Goddess of Beauty’, of the forest. In Symbolist art the sphinx in order to guard the secret laws which often represents the great mysteries of govern the whole universe (Point 1995). life and art. Gallen-Kallela developed the In this way, fin-de-siècle artists embraced theme together with his friend the writer the notion of philosophia perennis, typical Adolf Paul (1863–1943). Paul’s short story of esoteric discourses. The tradition of the A Dream (Uni, 1894) tells of an attractive eternal wisdom and its line of masters they sphinx that ‘reflected all the light in the constructed usually consists of artists and world, singing itself forth in warm waves writers who were seen as like-minded bear- of sound, light and colour…’.12 There is an ers of a spiritually-orientated ars perennis obvious sexual charge in chasing the (Kokkinen 2019: 143–61).11 sphinx – both in Paul’s short story and Another slightly different visual ex- in Gallen-Kallela’s painting. The mythi- ample of the seeker motif can be found cal beast represents the great mystery of
11 On philosophia perennis see, e.g. Hanegraaff 12 The citation of Paul’s short story is from 2005. Turtiainen 2011: 72.
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 18 art, which is fertilised by the combination specific kinds of discursive elements of its (masculine) seeker and the (femi- and strategies, it seems to resemble von nine) sphinx. Such ideas are clearly linked Stuckrad’s conception of esoteric dis- with the art theories of the Zum schwarzen courses, in which claims about higher truth Ferkel circle, which both Gallen-Kallela play a significant role. If one wishes to stress and Paul were familiar with. In these the- the conceptual differences between seek- ories, inspired by fin-de-siècle occulture, ership and esoteric discourses, the former the sex drive was seen as a dark gateway stresses the importance of independence, to the secrets of life and artistic creation individual inquiry and the closely-related (Turtiainen 2011; Kokkinen 2020: 42–8). goal of spiritual development. The seek- In this and many other of Gallen-Kallela’s ing process is often described as a journey works the visualisations of the truth-seeker proceeding through various cultural and can be interpreted as self-portraits. As art- religious places and sources. Discourses ist’s writings and works related to seeking related to seekership emphasise the need to were frequently very personal, it is likely find individual answers by combining het- that Gallen-Kallela identified himself as a erogeneous elements, rather than making kind of a seeker, too (Kokkinen 2019: 56, claims about absolute knowledge. In prac- 131–3). tice, however, the self-constructed reli- The seeker’s journey is often directed giosity of seekers often appears to them- towards the depths of one’s own soul and selves as a higher spiritual wisdom, which the self. In order to reveal the spiritual the oft-repeatedfin-de-siècle term ‘truth- truths hidden within, seekers have to know seeker’ refers to. Furthermore, seekership themselves. At the same time, the aim is to involves an ethos of doubt and detachment. develop one’s own spiritual potential, for Seekers often distance themselves not only instance, by practising the skill of clairvoy- from the dogmatism of religions but also ance. Such goals are often related to the idea the scientific worldview, which is criticised of spiritual growth, which blends into the as unnecessarily narrow-minded. The prin- seeker’s journey. Traversing various sorts of ciples of independence, suspicion, curi- paths is a precursor for growth, and one of osity and critical thinking are frequently its important goals is to find inner, personal emphasised. truth. Answers can be sought from almost Partridge (2004: 75–7) has made a simi any walk of life, as long as the chosen path lar point in writing about a hermeneutics seems to work from the seeker’s own per- of suspicion, which he sees as an essential spective. When it starts losing its mean- part of late twentieth-century and con- ing, the seeker moves on to the next path, temporary occulture. Seekers do not usu- and thus the journey continues (Balch ally accept as given the truth of any text or 1998: 6; Sutcliffe 2003: 200–3). The theme source of information; rather, they exam- of spiritual development brings the con- ine interesting materials critically and from cept of seekership close to esotericism, in a personal point of view. In other words, which making spiritual progress has been their manner of reading and interpreting an elemental part. Such development can is impressed by the hermeneutics of sus- be expressed, among other things, through picion. The value of any information or initiatory rituals (see e.g. Hanegraaff2013 : knowledge can be accepted only insofar as 112–33). it feels authentic and right to oneself, being When seekership is approached as in accord with one’s personal experiences.
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 19 This sort of personal examination and of reading while interpreting The Kale validation of knowledge is closely associ vala. Gallen-Kallela’s understanding of the ated with the idea of the hidden code, or Finnish national epic paralleled that of his message, typical of esotericism. Such secret friend, the artist Pekka Halonen (1865– meanings are believed to be found, for 1933) (Kokkinen 2019: 236–42). Halonen example, from natural phenomena or dif- believed that one could find universal ferent religious texts. Kocku von Stuckrad wisdom in The Kalevala, if one knew how (2010: 89–113) has referred to these phe- to read it in the correct way: nomena as esoteric hermeneutics. Kab balists, for example, have contributed From the Kalevala we can see our own to this tradition by believing they could inner essence, insofar as we are capa- unlock the secrets of absolute knowledge ble of seeing. The Indo-Germanic by (re-)reading biblical texts.13 The idea of worldview and the teachings of the the hidden secret is bound to raise doubt Church have weakened in us the right about the real essence and meaning of the understanding of the Kalevala. … The nature/cosmos and an individual text. Kalevala cannot be comprehensively In fin-de-siècle occulture, Theosophy, explained through an intellectual Tolstoyanism, and in the writings of route; there needs to also be a view Emanuel Swedenborg, among others, the that is arising from intuition. There is seeker is encouraged to engage in reading hidden, deep wisdom in the Kalevala, that aims at revealing the hidden mean just like in all of the spiritual treasures ings of a text (on these interpretation of ancient peoples. (Halonen 1916: 3) methods, see, e.g. McLean 1994: 111–21; Bergquist 2005: 223–35, 245–65). Such a Gallen-Kallela wanted to find simi method of reading characterised by the larities between different religions. He hermeneutics of suspicion became an equated The Kalevala with Christian manu important part of Gallen-Kallela’s seeking, scripts and called it the ‘Codex Aureus Fen too.14 In the summer of 1894, he studied norum’, the golden book of Finns. In his the New Testament in a way that departed illustrations for The Kalevala he sought from the teachings of the Church. He dis- inspiration from ‘the primitives’ includ- covered new, hidden meanings within ing, for example, the indigenous peoples the text. In his case, the suspicious read- in Africa and America. After Blavatsky had ing was Theosophically-oriented. Just praised The Kalevala as one of the sacred a few days before, Gallen-Kallela had read books of hidden wisdom during the 1880s Theosophical literature and found the and 1890s, artists and Theosophists alike perspectives of those oeuvres to be signi were eager to study the national epic – in ficant. He utilised the same kind of method Finland and abroad. The Kalevala was now seen as an opus revealing hidden wisdom, 13 On double messages in esotericism, see also comparable to the Bible, the Mahabharata Bauduin and Johnsson 2018: 20. and the Vedic literature (Sarajas-Korte 14 Of course, this was a more general mode 1972; Kokkinen 2020: 24–34). of operation shared by many of the fin-de- Gallen-Kallela’s perception of The Kale siècle artists. For instance, August Strind- berg compares ‘sacred books’ and their vala’s universal wisdom is evident, for messages with each other in his work example, in Lemminkäinen’s Mother (Lem Inferno. See Strindberg 1911: 28. minkäisen äiti, 1897, Finnish National
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 20 Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Lemminkäinen’s Mother, 1896, tempera on canvas, 85.5 × 108.5 cm. Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki. Photo: Finnish National Gallery.
Gallery, Helsinki). The painting provides Gallen-Kallela read and interpreted The yet another example of how Gallen-Kallela Kalevala with a hermeneutics of suspicion dealt with the theme of spiritual seeking in and ended up depicting it in a way that his art. It depicts a dead Lemminkäinen, a emphasises the hidden, universal wisdom young sage or truth-seeker, who has failed at the heart of all religions. In addition in his initiatory mission to steal a feather to The Kalevala and Christianity, Gallen- from the otherworldly swan of Tuonela. Kallela tried to find thisphilosophia peren- His more advanced shaman mother (cap nis from several other cultures, myths and able of turning into a wolf, among other religions as well. things) has come to the rescue. In Gallen- Kallela’s own words, the painting rep- Conclusions and suggestions resents a Nordic Pietà. Due to the com- The notion of seekership offers an analyt- position of the lamenting mother and the ical tool that opens up new perspectives deceased son, Lemminkäinen can be asso- onto Akseli Gallen-Kallela’s art, life and ciated with Jesus and his mother with the religiosity. The habitual ways in which the Virgin Mary. In Lemminkäinen’s Mother, seeker thinks, acts and speaks recur in his Christian and Kalevalic narrations are par- art, practices and writings. Gallen-Kallela alleled in a manner typical of Theosophical is seeking for personal answers to the enig- thinking (Kokkinen 2020: 24–34, 48–56). mas of life and death from many directions
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 21 and he anticipates a new era marked by ‘an attitude of picking and choosing’. As more spiritually-focused art and pursuits for Gallen-Kallela, it was important for to develop his senses towards clairvoyance. Kandinsky, too, to find a synthesis between His actions and interpretations are largely art, science and religion. In addition, both guided by the hermeneutics of suspicion artists were interested in invisible forces as he tries to discover his own truths about and vibrations, clairvoyance, and the ‘laws religion and art. of nature’ that were believed to underlie the Although the behavioural and discur cosmic unity. The task of spiritual art was sive patterns of seekers remain relatively to express these universal truths (Ringbom similar due to the ideology of seekership, 1966, quotes on pp. 396–7).15 Such similar- the sources referred to, and the topics of ities show that the practices and discourses interest, vary between different contexts of the artist-seekers had at least some con- (times and places) and individuals. Like tinuity from the late nineteenth century to seekers in general, artists approach their the first decades of the twentieth century. contemporary esoteric discourses from By inquiring into what kinds of sources their own personal standpoints and inter- such artist-seekers as Gallen-Kallela and ests. In Gallen-Kallela’s case, a significant Kandinsky have used in order to find factor was the wish to seek some sort of their own spiritual truths – how they have synthesis between art, religion and science. expressed their seeking and what kinds The artist likened himself to a scientist who of contemporary discourses their art and actively observed the nature surround- writings have participated in – we can study ing him and the myths and beliefs of vari- how seekership has been actualised in dif- ous ‘primitive’ cultures. He was also keenly ferent contexts, time periods and places. interested in scientific discussions on elec- In addition, such comparisons between tricity and magnetism, among other things. seekers eventually provide an opportunity Gallen-Kallela wished to make a leap from to say something more general about con science toward metaphysics. tinuums and breaks in the modern practice Gallen-Kallela probably understood of seeking. At the same time, it also offers his seeking to be an individual and inde a chance to outline how the connections pendent activity. However, similar ques between art and esotericism have changed tions, answers and sources fascinated other over time. seekers of the fin-de-siècle occulture. In the When focusing on the practices of seek- 1960s, Sixten Ringbom actually described ing, the somewhat obscure debates con- Kandinsky’s relation to heterogeneous spir cerning whether an individual should be ituality in very similar terms. Although seen primarily as an artist or as an occultist, Ringbom’s primary goal was to highlight become less relevant. Hilma af Klint offers a Kandinsky’s interest in Theosophy, he case in point (cf. Bauduin 2018). In recent also wrote that the artist never became ‘an years there has been a widely-accepted orthodox Theosophist’ and that he had res- desire to see af Klint as a pioneer of abstract ervations about it: ‘on the whole it appears avant-garde art, preceding Kandinsky and as if he had at first accepted Theosophic other male artists. However, not everyone al teachings only so far as they coincided with his own beliefs, finding in Theosophy a peg on which to hang his convictions’. 15 On Gallen-Kallela, see Kokkinen 2019: According to Ringbom, Kandinsky had 148–61, 175–92.
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 22 has accepted this view. For the critics, scholarly discussions about the chang- af Klint’s art often seems to be primar- ing religiosity of modern Western socie- ily concerned with spiritual aims, and her ties. Viewed from such a perspective, art- artworks function mostly as mediators ist-seekers can be seen as active agents in of the Theosophical-Anthroposophical constructing spirituality, in which indi worldview. From such a point of view, the viduality and the meaning of self is often artistic value of af Klint’s works can easily emphasised. In addition, the heterogeneous become questionable. Although distin- spirituality seems to form its own intrigu- guishing ‘novels written by an occult- ing layer in the history of modern and ist’ from ‘occult novels written by a mod- subsequent art. The sociologist of religion ernist’ may in some cases be helpful (see Robert Wuthnow (2001: esp. 266–74) has Bauduin and Johnsson 2018: 20), when paid attention in recent years to the spir- the connections between art (or literature) itual journey that guides the work of con- and esotericism are analysed, the division temporary American artists who are seek- is also a bit problematic. Such distinctions ing something sacred, a deeper meaning are symptomatic of the divided narratives of life. According to Wuthnow, artists have about modernity and the wish to keep increasingly become the ‘spiritual leaders avant-garde art separate from the history of our time’. In their work, they dive into of esotericism – which for some, still rep- questions of spirituality and formulate new, resents a history of psychologically ques creative solutions to them. tionable fools and eccentrics, in opposition The concepts of seeker and seekership, to ‘secular’ and ‘rational’ modernity. developed by sociologists of religion, can When studying seekership, it is not nec- offer new possibilities more generally for essary to evaluate if an individual artist is the study of art and esotericism. My aim most interested in esotericism, art or even is not, of course, to claim that it is sensible science. In the process of seeking, these are to examine all art from the nineteenth cen anyhow entangled with each other and form tury onwards from perspectives that focus a heterodox collage in which one cannot be on seekership. I do believe, however, that fully understood without considering the the concept of seekership can help us to other. Rather, the attention should be paid develop a more comprehensive under- to what sorts of elements the artist-seeker standing of the role esotericism and spir- uses and how they are woven into their art ituality has played in the lives and works of and writings. Such sources may include some modern and subsequent artists. The some material that does not appear to be concept could be especially helpful regard- esoteric in any obvious way, but which, due ing those artists who do not subscribe to to the seeker’s activity, becomes absorbed as any esoteric movement or doctrine but part of the occulture of the time. In fin-de- stress a relatively individual and independ- siécle occulture, Tolstoyism, for example, ent relationship with the heterogeneous became intertwined with Theosophical spiritual milieu of their time – the contem- worldviews, although Leo Tolstoy’s ideas in porary occulture. themselves were not especially esoteric in In addition, utilisation of the concept nature (Kokkinen 2010). supports a better understanding of the One of the benefits of exploiting the important role that artist-seekers such as concept of the seeker is that it connects the Gallen-Kallela have had in the construction study of art and esotericism to the ongoing of the discourses of spiritual art, as well as in
Approaching Religion • Vol. 11, No. 1 • March 2021 23 the process through which modern religi- articles on the subject and brought the results of osity has changed since the nineteenth cen- her research to the attention of the wider public tury. Focusing on seekers draws attention in the art exhibitions she has curated. also to the circles of artists, writers, crit- Bibliography ics, patrons and esotericists alike, who have Asprem, Egil. 2014. ‘Beyond the west: towards a shared the desire to find deeper knowledge new comparativism in the study of esoteri- and more spiritual art. In Gallen-Kallela’s cism’, Correspondences: Journal for the Aca- case such communities of seekers were demic Study of Western Esotericism, 2(1): 3–33. formed, for example, in Helsinki, Berlin Balch, Robert W. 1998. ‘From self initiation to and Taos. When studying art and esoteri- heaven’s gate: charisma and conversion in cism, such trans-national seeker communi- two new age cults’, in Sects, Cults, and Spir- ties should be given at least as much atten- itual Communities: A Sociological Analysis, tion as the actual esoteric societies or other eds. William W. Zellner and Marc Petrowsky organisations with which the artist-seeker (Westport: Praeger Publishers), 1–26. Ballin, Michael. 1978. ‘The third eye: the relation- often has a more complex relationship.16 ship between D. H. Lawrence and Maurice By examining the behaviour and expres- Maeterlinck’, in The Practical Vision: Essays sions of seekers, it is possible to trace vari- in English Literature in Honour of Flora ous esoteric discourses flourishing in spe- Roy, eds. Jane Campbell and James Doyle cific times and places. In other words, the (Ontario: Wilfried Laurier University), concepts of seekers and seeking provide an 87–102. Bauduin, Tessel M. 2018. ‘A “vessel filled from opportunity to study different occultures above”? Hilma af Klint as mediumistic art- and open up a more comprehensive – and ist – and woman’, in ‘Conjuring Creativity: theoretically justified – perspective on art Art & the Esoteric in Theory and Practice’, and esotericism. academic symposium and artistic event organised at Fylkingen, Stockholm, Swe- den, 29.4.2018. Dr Nina Kokkinen is a Bauduin, Tessel M., and Henrik Johnsson. 2018. researcher (University ‘Introduction: conceptualizing occult mod- of Turku) working in ernism’, in The Occult in Modernist Art, Lit- the fields of art his erature, and Cinema, eds. Tessel M. Bauduin tory and the study of and Henrik Johnsson (Cham: Palgrave religion. She has spe Macmillan), 1–30. cialised in discourses Bergquist, Lars. 2005. Swedenborg’s Secret: The relating to esotericism Meaning and Significance of the Word of and alternative spirit God, the Life of the Angels, and Service to uality particularly in God. A Biography (London: The Sweden- modern art. In her borg Society). doctoral dissertation Burhan, Filiz Eda. 1979. Vision and Visionaries: (2019) she studied the idea of ‘sacred, spiritual Nineteenth Century Psychological Theory, art’ at the turn-of-twentieth-century Finland and the Occult Sciences, and the Formation of the developed the concepts of occulture and seeker Symbolist Aesthetic in France, PhD disserta- ship for the study of art and religion. In addition to tion (Cambridge, MA: Princeton University). her award-winning Totuudenetsijät (‘Truth-seek Campbell, Colin. 1977. ‘Clarifying the cult’, The ers’, Vastapaino 2019) she has edited books and British Journal of Sociology, 28(3): 375–88. thematic issues on the history of esotericism and ——2002. ‘The cult, the cultic milieu and secu- its relation to art. She has also written numerous larization’, in The Cultic Milieu: Oppositional Subcultures in an Age of Globalization, eds. 16 On Tyra Kleen’s ambivalent relationship Jeffrey Kaplan and Heléne Lööw (Walnut with esotericism, see Faxneld in this issue. Creek: Rowman Altamira), 12–25.
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