THUNDER, PERFECT MIND:art by Judith Laura
The art in this shop was created by Judith Laura in response to the text "The Thunder: Perfect Mind," from the 4th century manuscripts unearthed in the 1940s. Known as the Nag Hammadi Library, these texts are usually classified as Coptic Gnostic. The "Thunder" text, however, is often considered an exception to this classification. It contains no specific Christian, Jewish, or Gnostic allusions and scholars say that due to its concepts of immanence and other factors, it doesn't fit as easily into the Gnostic category as the other texts. Its narrator is apparently a female deity, possibly called Thunder, which in Greek is a feminine noun. Scholars have remarked upon the similarity between statements in Thunder and previous Goddess texts, especially those of Isis. The Thunder text contains two different forms: seemingly paradoxical "I am" assertions, and reprimands for apparent moral failures. In her art, Judith Laura has chosen to focus on the apparently paradoxical statements.
There are 3 prints/posters in this series. They can be used individually, or together as a sort of modern triptych. The background of the digital originals is deep violet but the color of the reproductions may vary slightly.
Panel 1 focuses on a group of antithetical "I Am" statements near the beginning of the manuscript. Judith Laura presents these antitheses as units, and in one case, one figure represents both opposites. The Three Coptic Greek letters: Alpha, Omega, and Tee portray the assertion of being "the first and the last." The words of the text appear as a lightning bolt. This panel is horizontal.
Panel 2: "I Am She" statements, taken from the text's middle section, led Judith Laura to portray the speaker as an enthroned Goddess. She wears the crown of Hathor, often seen in Isis images. Objects at the four corners represent festivals. Text words are above and beneath her, and emanate from her hands, raised in the traditional pose of Goddess blessing. This panel is vertical.
Panel 3 is built around the claim, "I Am The One," and other statements from the end of the text. The central focus is a large flame whose center contains the Coptic Greek letters Alpha, Omega, and Tee. Two abstract figures stand beside or behind the flame. The text appears on one side as a lightning bolt, and on the other side emanates from the flame itself in a circular/oval shape. This panel is horizontal.
Because only 1 print in each size can be shown in each shop. The prints/posters in this shop are three different sizes. Three sizes of the prints/posters are available in this and Judith Laura's other shops. Here are their locations:
Panel 1
Mini (12x18): This Shop
Small (16x20): cafepress.com/judithlaura2t (bottom of page)
Large (23x29): cafepress.com/judithlaura (bottom of page)
Panel 2
Mini: cafepress.com/judithlaura (bottom of page)
Small: This Shop
Large: cafepress.com/judithlaura5tha
Panel 3:
Mini: cafepress.com/judithlaura5tha
Small: cafepress.com/judithlaura5tha
Large: This Shop
This shop also has greeting cards and a print calendar with the belly dancer from panel 1. For cards and a print calendar with the Goddess figure from panel 2, please go to cafepress.com/judithlaura4tha
For a wall calendar with art for each month, in which both the Dancer and Goddess figures, and art based on the flame detail from panel 3, each have their own month, see Judith Laura's larger Calendar of Art and Words on www.cafepress.com/judithlaura and www.cafepress.com/judithlaura3g
For Judith Laura's other art, start at cafepress.com/judithlaura
