Swastikas

The ability of the visual to evoke an emotional response is at the heart of art and perhaps nowhere is that response more strongly seen as in the political symbol, be it the eagle, the maple leaf or the tri-color.

One symbol, far older and more universal than those mentioned, is the swastika, which has largely fallen into disrepute in the West because of its adoption by Hitler and the National Socialist Party.

Much of my art uses simple shapes, the circle for example, and I also use the swastika. Because of the notoriety of the symbol in the West, I’ve created this page to help educate viewers that the swastika is seen as a powerful, positive religious symbol around the world.

So prevalent is the swastika that author and scientist, Carl Sagan, suggested that, in antiquity, the gas jets from a comet were bent as it approached near the earth and became visible to the whole planet, leading to its universality.

My former art teacher, ManWoman, spent the latter part of his life in an effort to redeem the swastika, including tattooing the symbol on his body. The painting below by the artist illustrates the use of the symbol by virtually all of the world’s major religions.

My first piece using the swastika was created in clay in Saudi Arabia and my first two-dimensional pieces in Norway. I’ve continued to reference the swastika in my work and have created a number of pieces combining it with the happy face as part of my happy face series.

Here’s a video, created February 4, 2019 that references the shape.