Day 7 / The Sun Tarot
Jess (Jess Collins), The Sun: Tarot XIX, 1960. Philadelphia Museum of Art
[A]rt became an antidote to the scientific method. . . . the real truth—if there is such a thing—that you can learn from science is how little we know about reality. Art seemed to address this more openly. —Jess
In this collage by the California counter-cultural artist known simply as “Jess,” human anatomical diagrams stand in tandem with a dense tapestry of images referencing art, history, technology and pop culture. In contrast to dominant fine art sensibilities of the day that prioritized hierarchy and simplicity, this dense collage celebrates randomness and excess. Jess was known for these so-called “paste-ups,” which often took him years to produce. In his collages, Jess utilized hundreds of images from books, old magazines, puzzle pieces, steel engravings, and newspapers to produce works that reference mythology, the occult, and the immaterial world.
Originally trained as a chemist, Jess embraced uncertainty in his art as an alternative to scientific knowledge. In The Sun: Tarot XIX, the artist draws inspiration from tarot cards, which people have turned to over the centuries for existential reflection and contemplation. Whereas the Sun card traditionally represents spiritual alignment between individuals and the universe, Jess’s depiction of human bodies enmeshed within an intricate and unknowable system introduces infinite interpretations. As Jess insisted, “[c]ollages must . . . remain in flux so that no single story dominates.” Indeed, many overlapping stories coexist in this collage. We might see The Sun: Tarot XIX as an embodiment of the complex and entwined, unfolding nature of our lives.
reflections
Which stories would you weave together to tell the narrative of your life?
How can we reconcile the contradictions and incompatible stories that span our lives?
How might we learn to embrace and find meaning in the unknown?
Sources
“Biography.” Jess Collins Trust. Accessed October 14, 2021. https://jesscollins.org/artist-biography.
“An Opening of the Field: Jess, Robert Duncan, and Their Circle at the Grey Art Gallery on Washington Square January 14–March 29, 2014.” Grey Art Gallery. Last modified April 2016. https://greyartgallery.nyu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Jess_ Duncan_PressRelease_FINAL.pdf.
Cotter, Holland. “The Company They Kept.” The New York Times, January 16, 2014.
