Astrological Aesthetics #3 - Libran Aesthetic
If this is your first time reading ‘Astrological Aesthetics,’ consult the first installment to orient yourself.
Where Earth Signs (such as Virgo) are concerned with texture, Air Signs (such as Libra) are concerned with line & lighting, pattern & symmetry; how things fit together more than any single point among them. Libra, being a Venusian Sign, is gentle: Its light is a soft halo, its lines are flowing, and its symmetries are neatly balanced.
Tadao Ando*, Venus Libra (1). In The Oval (1995) at Benesse Art Museum, Naoshima, we see not only the effortless curve of the circle, but the symmetry between it and the pool below - even in the contrast of the shadowed ceiling with the illuminated floor.
Ando’s Church of the Light (1999) displays fourfold symmetry; his 4x4 House (2003) displays symmetries within symmetries.
Ingo Swann, Venus Libra (1); Sagittarius 5th House ruled by Jupiter Libra (4). Launch (1976) is another case of fourfold symmetry, here also incorporating Libra’s smooth curves.
His illustration for The Matter of Space Law (1979) doubles the road & the mountain ranges, which themselves flow outward with a Libran regularity (as do the cloudtops).
Carolee Schneemann, Venus Libra (1). Fourfold symmetry in Schneeman’s Parallel Axis (1973); the smooth curve of her back. Where Libra cannot flow neatly, it’s mirrored to retain its equipoise.
Man Ray*, Venus Libra (1). See his Solarized Double Profile (1932). The smooth, weaving line of a human profile is Libran; compare it to the tops of the clouds in Swann’s work above, or Schneeman’s back.
Georgia O'Keeffe, Venus Libra (1) trine Pluto Gemini (5); 5th House Pisces ruled by Jupiter Scorpio sextile to Mars Virgo (8). More Libran doubling & smooth curves in Blue Morning Glories (1935); see how the pink flower faces right while the blue faces left. Asymmetry is mirrored, balance is restored.
Although O’Keeffe’s work contains Virgoan textures (and its clarity of line), the predominant organizing principle is Libran: Doubled forms, flowing forms. Compare the nimbus of light which girds the mountains in her Lake George Reflection (1922) to the limning of Ray’s ‘solarized’ portraits.
Picasso, Venus Libra (1). His Nude Reclining Woman (1932) is neatly symmetrical, whirling around the two breasts in the center. Once again, compare the face here to Ray’s Solarized Double Profile - this is a more abstract version of the general tendency.
Silenus Dancing in Company (1933), a heap of flowing lines themselves flowing forward. (With Earth Sign Taurus influencing his aesthetic, Picasso’s work is textured, but not in ways one can get stuck on - not like Virgo. Moreso in ways one can sink into.)
Karim Rashid*, Venus Libra (1). Rashid’s works Fun Factory Munich (2015) and Koaster (2020) eschew clear symmetry (aside from the reflective walls and ceilings) for an emphasis on flow & light. (Note: Libran forms make a primarily visual and intellectual (rather than tactile) impression, in contrast to Virgoan forms.)
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