Roots of the Spirit and The Red Book

Roots of the Spirit: Lonnie Holley, Mr. Imagination, Charlie Lucas, Kevin Sampson (September 19– November 26, 2014) at Notre Dame de Namur University’s Wiegand Gallery in Belmont, California, presented the deeply rooted and widely ranging work of four untrained African American artists. The influences and intimations of these rich and multilayered pieces are explored in tandem with the richly imbued illustrations of The Red Book—created by the also artistically untutored C. G. Jung. Redolent with ritual and mythical themes, these Roots pieces provide numerous exemplars of the sociocultural experience and spiritual foundations of the African American psyche. These foundations have their origin in African ancestral traditions, such as Yoruba, which are examined in conjunction with Jung’s African explorations. In addition, the alchemical nature of artistic expression and psychological integration are explored in the context of these two bodies of visual expression. © 2016 C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco.