MULTIPLICATION

   All processes tend to be cyclical. This theory stems from varied sources, perhaps most notably the Hermetic principles, or the reincarnation idea of the 'sangsara', or even, to an extent, the Christian concept of 'rebirth' in Heaven. The procedure from birth to death does not end with death, it continues into a new birth and so on. This is evident in the plant world when a plant emerges from the seed in the spring, thrives and then dies off in the winter only to emerge once more the following spring. In this case the plant does not totally die; it merely appears to. The life force which animates it lies dormant deep inside the plant’s body while the physical manifestation of stems and leaves withers and disappears. The Eastern theories of reincarnation find basis in this cycle.

   In a simple alchemical context the process. involves the basic elements combining to form a unified entity, which decomposes to form individual basic elements, which recombine to form a unified entity ad infinitum.

   ART should not be any different. Once it is created out of the basic elements it ‘decomposes’ into an elemental form from which new ART can be created. Whether that elemental form is perceived as motivation or as an actual media to be utilized in subsequent artworks (such as the Mona Lisa being used by Duchamp as the foundation for his "L.H.O.O.Q.") is inconsequential to the importance of the art existing for whatever purpose arises out of necessity.