Shiva Mandala

Designed and built by Art Donovan. September, 2008- January, 2009

Part 1. Designing and Building the Mandala.

My most recent Steampunk work, The “Shiva Mandala”,

(2009) is the culmination of my life-long interests in antique

science, history, freemasonry, astronomy, iconography and

global religions. To date, it stands as the most complex design

in my entire Steampunk collection.

After rendering hundreds of preliminary sketches and

concepts, the final rough sketch at the bottom became the

basis for Shiva Mandala

The Mandala would consist of a large central unit

surrounded by four “planets”- top, bottom, left and right.

A large Gimbal Ring in the center will now physically

and graphically support each of the separate units in the

design. Each unit could now boast a unique personality

and illustrate the entire story of the piece. With this type

of design I could now include the very important element

of physical movement. It was this wonderful kinetic

quality that was implied in my previous Steampunk

designs but absolutely necessary in this particular work.

Now that I had the correct proportions, I could hand craft

all of the mahogany and metal parts of the Mandala in the

dimensions as needed. But the success of the Mandala to be

rendered in it’s exact proportions depended on one final

element- the Human Skull for my ‘Craniometer.’

Locating a suitable and realistic skull is not easy.

Although there are thousands of skulls available in

many materials, there are very few that have the

anatomical proportions and authentic details required.

With no choice but to sculpt it myself of solid plaster,

the skull became the singular design element that guided

the entire size and proportions of the Mandala.

This means that the completed unit would need to be a

full 6' tall by 6' wide in order to match the proportions of

the final sketch.

Part 2. The Shiva Mandala. Technical Description and Emblematic Study.

The central part of the Mandala is the illuminated Astrolabe.

The astrolabe is 32" in diameter and is a precise reproduction of the ancient Persian model

created by Muhammad ibn Abî Bakr in the year 1221, as seen in the Oxford History of Science

Museum in England. Since the original astrolabe is made entirely of solid brass, I enlarged the

original image and transposed the materials so that the piece could be back lit, yet still have the

detail and drama of the original ancient masterpiece. The astrolabe unit is entirely hand painted in

translucent and opaque dyes with the addition of hand made brass details.

The “Rete” or movable piece that covers the face of the astrolabe is hand made of black polycarbonate.

Opaque enough to have visual mass but still transparent so that it would still illuminate.

Hand painted color and B/W details were added to the outside of the “Mater”.

According to James Morrison, “The astrolabe is the first complex device used for navigation.

It locates the celestial bodies at specific times as does the later mariner’s sextant and quadrant.”

This is emblematic of the innate desire to find our own place and proper position in the world

around us. Click on the link below to read about the original ancient astrolabe:

http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk:9673/Astrolabe/WebInterface/User/browseReport?Astrolabe_ID=165

The four bodies or “planets” that surround this astrolabe have both metaphoric and scientific meaning.

Time

Destruction/ Life Force Rebirth

Mortality Time: The 24 hour Clock at 12:00 represents the 24 hours of the day that freemasons are

taught to divide into equal parts according to prescribed masonic law. Below the clock is the masonic

“Past master’s Jewel”. This illustrates the desire to attain perfection in both the corporeal and

spiritual worlds. It consists of the Compasses, set at 30 degrees, with which masons are taught “to

circumscribe their desires and keep them in due bounds with all mankind”. The Sun Disk represents

the master of the lodge, who is sworn to govern the lodge with the regularity of the celestial bodies.

The mariner’s quadrant replaces the standard masonic square and it represents the tool that aids

the master in correctly and safely navigating his lodge. The pyramid placed in the center of the

quadrant contains the masonic “All Seeing Eye” of God.

Life Force: The Plasma Disk represents both the essential component of all physical life:

electricity, and also the noble pursuit of all the physical sciences: astronomy, biology, and the

physiological arts.

Mortality: The Craniometer. Here, I rendered my own version of this antique 19 centuryth

device- Originally used in phrenology a tool to measure and compare the dimensions and proportions

of the human skull. Masonically, the skull reminds us of our brief mortality but greater still, our

shared and identical human bonds.

Nataraja Shiva: Destruction and Rebirth. Positioned at 9:00, the Shiva is located in the final

quadrant of the design. In this Mandala, Shiva, representing the end , beginning and rebirth of the

universe, blurs the distinction between religion, philosophy and science.

To view the video of the Shiva Mandala, Click here www.vimeo.com/2935752

This video is also available on my blog spot below.

For all inqueries, please contact Leslie Tarbell Donovan. Email: ltdonovan@optonline.net

www.donovandesign.com www.artdonovan.vox.com www.donovandesign.blogspot.com

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