About

Symbolic arabesques

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The recurring motifs in the works of Camelia Tutulan are the sphere and the circle, to which are added the fluid shapes of plant tissues and plant arabesques. More recently, Camelia is interested in the marine universe from which she chooses to represent jellyfish in all their beauty and fragility.

 

The visual universe created by Camelia is based on symbols such as the circle, the sphere, the square. Since ancient times, the sphere has represented perfection and harmony. In the Middle Ages, the sphere was used as a royal badge by several monarchies in Europe. The Reichsapfel or Globus cruciger was the royal badge used for the coronation - a Christian symbol illustrating the spiritual dominion of Jesus Christ over the world. In Renaissance iconography, this symbol is carried by Christ in his left hand, while with his right hand he blesses. Representation known as Salvator Mundi (Jesus, saviour of the world), the work is attributed to Leonardo da Vinci dating from the period 1490-1500.

In addition to the spheres, many circles are found in the works of Camelia Tutulan. The circle represents, in equal parts, the finite and the infinite, unity and multiplicity, perfection, but also limited and homogeneous space. The concentric circles are representations of the becoming of being in a repeatable sequence. Saint Dionysius the Areopagite - one of the Athenian Greeks who followed the Apostle Paul - interprets the concentric circles as representations of various human poses. In Zen Buddhism, concentric circles express inner perfection, the reverse movement from wandering to inner harmony. In the Middle East, rays and rosettes are often used in architecture, but also in the form of amulets or as simple decorative objects. They were generally considered remedies against the evil eye and evil forces. The warriors, before going into battle, drew a circle around them for protection or wore circular bracelets with energy protection properties.

The two symbols - the circle and the square - were often integrated into the same composition, especially during the Renaissance. In his book - Vitruvian Man or the Proportions of Man - Leonardo da Vinci illustrated the ideal body using the circle and the square. Drawn in the 15th century, it has remained a symbol that reflects the ideal symmetry of the human body, but also the link between man and the universe. Starting from the writings of Vitruvius, the Renaissance author believed that to be beautiful, a building must have perfect symmetry and proportions like those found in nature. This statement represented an allusion to the microcosm theory in which man represents a miniature version of the entire universe. Here, the circle is associated with the cosmic elements and the square with the terrestrial elements. Later, the idea was taken up by Jews, Muslims and Christians.

During the artistic act, Camelia Tutulan assumes the role of homo faber (creator), coupled with homo ludens (the one who plays). Thus, she creates cosmogonies in which disparate universes - of plants, circles, spheres - form a common body.

Camelia Tutulan translates her own creative process into images where fluid shapes and arabesques facilitate real fabrics of composition. The paintings of the talented artist have compositional harmony and technical unity (ink, pencil, pastels). With a plastic consistency, her interior studio is transposed onto paper in the form of symbolic arabesques that make up the astral, vegetal and, more recently, marine universes.

 

   Raluca Băloiu, historian and art critic,

member of the AICA (International Association of Art Critics)