DENISE C. MARTS - artist, philosopher and theorist in the emerging field of metapsychology.

"An artist that pursues his or her art deeply enough becomes a philosopher by default" - Denise Marts

The relationship between art, philosophy and metapsychology is an integral one. Contemporary metapsychology contends that we are in the midst of a modern renaissance that, like the European rebirth which took its inspiration retrospectively from Greek philosophy, looks even further back to the blazing brilliance of Egyptian classicism for its reference point. Like Jungian psychology, metapsychology concurs that modernity has developed as a consequence of a dissociation from a fundamental ground of human existence. Metapsychology further contends that 20th century modernism, whose roots are clearly linked to the masters exposure to pre-modern art, reflected an initial, leading edge wave of a modern renaissance whose intent is to heal this historical disconnection. It is the metapsychological viewpoint that at the turn of the 21st century, we are now riding the edge of "the second wave" of the paradigm shift known as modernism that was set in motion at the turn of the last century primarily by Freud, Picasso and Einstein.

My work as a philosopher and theorist in metapsychology is, in many ways, a contemporary restatement of Egyptian classicism, a process actually begun by Freud 100 years ago. Most people are unaware of Freud's interest in metapsychology or that major constructs of psychoanalytic theory mirror Egyptian concepts of genesis which Freud applied brilliantly to the sphere of human ontology in recognition of the truth of the Hermetic axiom, "as above so below". Freud was an avid collector of antiquities and the influence of Egyptian philosophy and art upon his work is widely acknowledged among those familiar with that aspect of it. As far as my own work in metapsychology is concerned, the traditional scholarly approach to Egyptian classicism is insufficient as a means of study and interpretation due to the vast differences between modern and ancient Egyptian consciousness. The modern psyche cannot directly apprehend Egyptian thought due to a subjective reference point which is opposite that of the Egyptian. The modern psyche defines subjectivity as within the individual, the Egyptian psyche experienced it as without. My interpretive work therefore requires that I enter directly into the actual state of Egyptian consciousness, which still exists in the timeless, collective realm of human consciousness, and describe it in modern terms as best I can. Accessing this archaic realm of human consciousness has involved a 30 year period of regressive psychospiritual therapy that has employed, among other things, art as an excavation tool. My collected art works over this period reflect the various stages of the regressive process which has expressed itself variously through works mirroring the influence of 20th century modernism, pre-modern sub-Saharan African art and ultimately the Egyptian period. The purpose of my art is investigatory and ultimately motivated toward the specific end of entering into an obscure period of human consciousness for the purpose of retrieving and reintroducing its contents into modernity at a time when it is highly relevant.

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