Published in Journal ANAKAINISI, 10/2000, p. 21-24 By Prof. Dr. Platon Alexiou
Analysis of artwork created by Iannis Nikou reveals a deliberate attempt to engage the viewer in travel to an uncharted and mystical world in which knights, pixies, angels, warriors, heroes, kings, allegory, dreams, fantasy and history coexist, sometimes in harmony and other times in agony.
Iannis most often organizes his work into categories related to Greek mythology, paganism, legends, the Bible, allegories, and psychedelic and historical themes such as the Siege of Constantinople and Alexander the Great in the Battle of Granicus.
Some years ago, Iannis admitted that he controls his compositions to the minutest detail and that nothing is coincidental. In this way, he compels the viewer to become a participant in his compositions, in which the focal point is the human figure, usually twirling into mythical and fantastic chambers. Consequently, he creates his own unique magical surrealism. (1)
Contrary to the notion that the elements, which come to life in his paintings, appear to have no connection, Iannis demonstrates full control of his compositions through “Cartesian” geometry (2). Hence, while geometric structure is present in his compositions, it is not readily visible, which makes it challenging to discover the hidden geometry beneath the surface of his canvas (3). The objective of this short study is to reveal the completely new images that are derived through electronic analysis of his paintings and thus prove his mastery in geometry. To demonstrate this, a small number of his pagan works were randomly selected for analysis.
Paganism is a term that developed among the Christian community in southern Europe during the Late Antiquity period to describe religions other than Christianity. “Paganus” acquired its religious connotations by the mid-4th century. As early as the 5th century, the term paganos was metaphorically used to denote persons outside the bounds of the Christian community.
Paganism would later be studied during the Renaissance and Romantic era. Forms of these religions, condoning belief in idol worship influenced by various historical pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe, still exist today and are known as contemporary or modern paganism, also referred to as Neopaganism.
Since worshiping idols and false gods was considered anti-Christian, pagans worshiped their beliefs in remote areas, mainly in forests under the full moon light. The mystery surrounding pagan practices has captured the imagination of painter Iannis Nikou, who visualizes and renders such metaphysical scenes on his canvas through strict geometry.
In his compositions, at the same time, Iannis aims in a metaphorical way to deal with sensitive issues regarding Christianity, mainly the battle between good and evil in which the winner is Christ and his Church (St. John’ s Revelation) (4).
In his oil painting, “Moon Ceremonies” (1993), Iannis depicts on a canvas of 300x200cm displayed in an Athens Private Collection (pic.1-1a), a composition divided into four equal parts (purple broken lines), which identify strong elements in the composition (i.e. figures).
The participants in the ceremony, who represent different periods and social status, are gathered in the lower area of the composition in order to provide “optical” stability. Their heads, considered to be reference points, are allied in horizontal straight (red) lines offering in this way solid “foundation” to the structure of the painting.
The leader, the snake woman, orchestrates the ceremony alongside a winged demon. On these two domineering figures, broad red lines are applied, which offer equilibrium with the thinner red lines over the lustful women and trees to the right. The vertical axes suggest strong energy and elation, which are frequently present in the paintings of Iannis.
At the same time, the main elements in the composition formulate a series of triangles (yellow, blue and green), the base of which lies on the lower part with their sharp ends facing upwards to signify the elation and ecstasy of participants during the ceremony. Additionally, they signify the desire of the participants to reach the divine in heaven (5).
Similarly, such geometric structure is found in the oil painting, “The Procession of the Faithful” (1994), depicted on a canvas of 160×100 cm displayed in an Athens Private Collection (pic. 2,2a).
In this multi-ethnic parade, lustful women coexist with Christians and Muslims in a silent mode since they all speak different languages. They are depicted listening to the music, laughing and making faces. The lustful women symbolize the passion for sins among the pagan participants and the cross-symbol of Christianity expresses support for Christians. Additionally, the falcon, according the painter, symbolizes freedom and strength.
Basically, the geometry in this composition is similar to the previous painting, but the existence of the weak (white) triangle facing downwards indicates downfall, which means that worshiping false gods constitutes the minority and something temporary in comparison to the strong (yellow and green) triangles facing upwards, which indicate that eventually the divine in the sky will be the winner. Finally, the painter concludes the ultimate geometry with a centralized circle, which contains the stronger elements in this composition.
In another oil painting, “Saturnalia” (1994), depicted on a canvas of 230×150 cm displayed in an Athens Private Collection (pic. 3-3a), Iannis captures the distinctive Roman celebrations dedicated to Crones (Saturn or Saturnus in Latin), father of Zeus.
The duration of these celebrations, held on 17th December of the Julian calendar, lasted three days. During these days, and under disguise with carnival masks, those at the celebrations disregarded the social classes, sacrificed animals, and engaged in orgies and other forbidden acts as if it were part of their everyday life. To capture the celebrations, Iannis depicts the participants in medieval armor, Commedia Del Arte and Venetian masks.
Regarding the geometry in this composition, the vertical and horizontal axes are weak, but Iannis places his characters in groups left and right of the canvas, creating in this way a series of triangles (yellow, green, blue) facing upwards; again indicating the desire of the participants to reach their false gods. The existence of the strong (green) triangle in the middle facing downwards represents ‘good’ and pushes them down, not allowing them to reach their destination.
Pagan symbolism is also powerful in another oil painting, “The Allegory of the Zodiac Circle” (1984), depicted on a canvas of 225×170 cm displayed in an Athens Private Collection (pic. 4-4a).
In this painting, Iannis depicts eight out of the twelve zodiac signs, which coexist with strange beings that resemble the Renaissance beings depicted in the paintings of Giotto and Hieronymus Boss. Here, of course, Iannis depicts them in his own unique way. Additionally, medieval beliefs relate these odd beings with Lucifer’s angels, whose main task was to feed Lucifer with humans in the presents of his believers.
The dynamic vertical and horizontal axes provide solid geometric support to the composition, but the strongest elements here are the triangles (blue, yellow, green) facing upwards, which contain all of the bizarre beings and the zodiac signs.
Finally, in the oil painting, “Erotic” (1981), depicted on a canvas of 180x110cm displayed in an Athens Private Collection, (pic.5-5a), Iannis depicts a theme only partially related to paganism, but because it contains social discrepancies, the painter includes it in the same pagan category.
In this painting, some figures are deformed or decapitated and some are hermaphrodite or pierced, which act as symbols in a bizarre erotic game. The shy, the beautiful, the aggressive, the passionate, the unfaithful etc. participate in a chaotic erotic game or in this “battle” between the sexes, to which it is referred by Iannis (6).
In this composition, the geometric structure is different from the previous structures. The painter divides the canvas in to three main groups grounding the weak characters in the lower heavy red axis and the strong characters in the middle purple axis, where they move upwards towards the glory of heaven in order to mate in a unique erotic environment (green) (7). Through the artist’s hidden geometry, the figures are contained in triangles (white, yellow and blue) facing upwards, which attempt to penetrate the erotic environment.
In conclusion, through the digital analysis, it is absolutely obvious that the painter, Iannis Nikou, incorporates strong geometry in this category of paintings. He claims that these compositions are structured under the same mathematical x-variant equation (8). In the hidden geometry of Iannis, it becomes evident that he divides his compositions into four or six equal parts with strong axes, offering at the same time solid optical “foundations” and weight in the lower part of the canvas. Additionally, the isosceles triangles, facing upward signify exaltation to the divine. It is also notable that no strong triangles facing downwards have been identified, which would symbolize a fall and destruction.
Metaphorically speaking, through these paintings, the end intention of the artist is to signify the victory of good and the defeat of evil. Moreover, in these compositions, which are basically monochromatic except for some complementary semitones, Iannis incorporates theatrical and musical elements, since he is also a poet and his background includes classical studies in theater, music and poetry:
“..the paint has melted in the actor’s soul
the bell rings twice
the show started, please
the dance is sensual, just me and you…” (9)
Notes
1) Αλεξίου Π, Μοντέρνα –Μεταμοντέρνα Τέχνη, Αθήνα 1999, σ. 80-81.
2) Νίκου Γ, Ζωγραφική και Σχέδια, Αθήνα 1995, σ. 5.
3) Ό.π. σημ. 2.
4) Ό.π.σημ. 2, σ. 8.
5) Ευγγέλου Ι, Αισθητική και Τέχνη, Αθήνα 1997, σ.316.
-Βακαλό Ε, Η έννοια των μορφών-ανάγνωση της τέχνης, Αθήνα 1985, σ. 202.
6) Ό.π. σημ. 2, σ. 21.
7) Ό.π.σημ. 6.
8) Ό.π.σημ. 6.
9) Verses from the unpublished poem of Iannis Nikou “The manikin”, 1980.
Bibliography
1) Αλεξίου Π, Μοντέρνα –Μεταμοντέρνα Τέχνη, Αθήνα 1999.
2) Βακαλό Ε, Η έννοια των μορφών-ανάγνωση της τέχνης, Αθήνα 1985.
3) Βακαλό Εμμανουήλ-Γιώργος, Οπτική Σύνταξη, Αθήνα 1997.
4) Μουρελός Γ, Θέματα αισθητικής και φιλοσοφίας της τέχνης, Αθήνα 1985.
5) Panofsky E, Meaning in the visual arts, Middlesex 1970.
Text and digital geometric analysis by Prof. Dr. Platon Alexiou,
Fine Artist, Designer, Art Historian & Archaeologist.
Dean, College of Fine Arts and Design
University of Sharjah
United Arab Emirates
