Carl A. P. Ruck

And the relevance of his work to the artistic practice of Iason Yannakos

Carl A. P. Ruck is currently a professor in the Classical Studies department at Boston University. He received his B.A. at Yale University, his M.A at the University of Michigan, and a P.H.D. at Harvard University.

Working primarily within the fields of mythology and religion, Ruck is best known for his contribution to the discussion of the sacred role of entheogens in classical western culture and their influence, through history, on modern western religions. An entheogen, strictly speaking, is a psychoactive substance used in a religious, shamanistic or spiritual context. First coined in 1979 by Ruck and a group of ethno-botanists and scholars of mythology including the late R. Gordon Wasson and Richard Evans Schults, entheogen literally means “that which causes God to be within an individual”.

Ruck has written and co-written over twelve books, countless scholarly and mainstream articles and actively participates in many public and institutional lectures. He currently teaches a class in mythology at Boston University which expounds his theories regarding the role and influence of entheogens in the western tradition.

 Cover image from Apples of Appolo (Ruck, Staples, Heinrich) - The Luminous Cross

   (De Testamentis Christi), Boehme, Alchemical Drawing, Theosophia Revelata, 1730

The relevance of Carl A. P. Ruck to the artistic practice of myself, Iason Yannakos, and to this particular course of study (Contemporary Art Criticism) is manifold but can easily be reduced to three main categories. The first being the intimate nature of my artistic practise; the second, in bearing my artistic practise within a broader context; and finally, concerning the role of art as a common, symbolic and non linear form of communication and record.

Initially, my art practice almost exclusively centred on the documentation and metabolisation of visions and experiences relating to my use of entheogenic substances and the personal philosophies which emerged as a result. It was a time when I found art to be a most beneficial and healing practise. Due to the inherent quality of visual expression to allow a symbolic and intuitive navigation of the irrational, I found it an important tool in the exploration of liminal experience and psychological regression.

As time meandered by and the knowledge of my internal terrain became more acute, I became increasingly interested in the commonality of liminal experience; the various arenas within which it could be found, differing methods of attainment and the cultural and philosophical interpretations of the experience. In short, I craved context. I am of a mixed, broken but stoic and proud heritage with an unusually divers mixture of culture, creed and calling. And having naturally eclectic interests didn't help. I came to feel that everything was relevant. Interest in unification theories, holistic philosophies and comparative religion resulted and as tangent lead to tangent, enter Carl A. P. Ruck. Ruck's work was important as it followed the movement of people and their understanding of the liminal from the depths of antiquity, to influence and form what we now call western culture. It is within this ancient tradition, and its unexpectedly expansive root system, that I trace my heritage.

Using a blend of etymological associations, linguistic metaphors and mythological allegory coupled with representational and symbolic art as a yard stick, Ruck and others attempted to unravel the sacred foundations of western culture. The role of art as a symbolic and layered representation and record of complex and interrelated ideas is key to this particular area of study and to the study of art itself.

Iason Yannakos