As above, below … as within, without …
〰️
As above, below … as within, without … 〰️
Seeds of vast complexity
the growing season in April 2024. The full garden has five raised beds that he constructed and eight 55 gallon-barrel planters.(Photo: AnaMaria Walle)
Navigator, 1994 Vandorn Hinnant, acrylic paints and Prismacolor pencils on 100% cotton rag paper The Navigator title implies the genetic navigation that drives the expansion of the seed from its core.
Notice the star shape stamens within the stippled clusters of petals. Photo by Hinnant’s friend, Dominique Bordereaux Hiigli.
The “navigation” principle is reflected here in the dynamic patterns around the seedling, life’s interwoven “blueprint.” The double helix's spiraling form reflects the geometry found in creation from seashells to galaxies and black holes. The navigation is also occurring beneath the seedling as a labyrinthine root system reaches deep into the earth. Its fractal branches mirror the branching of veins and arteries in other life forms. (Ecollective graphic)
Vandorn Hinnant, Before We Knew: From the mother of Everything.
Voice, Vandorn Hinnant, acrylic paints and Prismacolor on 100% cotton rag paper
Illumined, 2020 Vandorn Hinnant acrylic paints and Prismacolor pencils on 100% cotton rag paper.
Flower blossom Photo: Vandorn Hinnant
The “how to draw” diagram above the sand drawing shows the first seven circles of the Flower of Life pattern. The diagram is by Hinnant and is part of a mandala-making kit that he created for non-artists.
Vandorn Hinnant, A Light From Circle Island, 1999, metallic inks, graphite, and prismacolor pencils on 100% cotton rag paper.
View of the first garden in 2016. “The trellis was for lemon cucumbers that grow on vines.,” says Hinnant. “The cukes have both five-and-six petaled flowers: male and female flower blossoms for pollination.”
On this rainy April 20, 2024 day, vibrant leafy green stands out as Nepalese flags send prayers through the wind in the Hinnant-Walle front yard. The rustic, cedar (painted in a complimentary color) frame house blends harmoniously with the woods.
The corten steel and cast iron sculpture, An Homage to The New Physicists, in the yard in front of Hinnant’s studio.
“Yardbird!” I exclaimed when I saw the sculptural bird form in black metal (above right). “Does the sculpture really refer, at least in part, to Charlie Parker?” I asked. In his reply, Hinnant referred to his mentor and sacred geometry collaborator, Robert L. Powell, Sr. (1923-2015). A trailblazing yet under-recognized black physicist, Powell was a founding theorist of holography. “We can say this in light of the fact that Parker's music was playing in the background when Powell was busy contemplating the ‘essence of all things physical.’ There is always a connection between the musings of the physicist and musician via the etheric and invisible forces of consciousness (the web of life). “
“Nature is the healing we apply to our lives in every way, as often as possible,” says Hinnant. “The back yard is part garden and more woods. Flowers are scattered here and there. We have a 10 foot deep deck that wraps around about 1/2 of the house where we have a variety of potted plants that flower. Inside the house are plants and one is a Christmas cactus that blooms beautifully and generously.”By the time this article was being prepared in April 2024, Hinnant and Walle had planted potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, radishes, cucumber, zucchini, Swiss chard, poblano and jalapeño peppers, basil, and cilantro in their garden with more to come. At the start of the season, Hinnant and Walle buy compost to mix with soil for the multiple beds. As the season progresses, they draw from the food scraps and vegetation decomposing in the composting bin.
Photos from previous years illustrate the abounding mathematics in the yard.One of three sunflower seed spirals on this page of the National Museum of Mathematics website. Image used with permission. (am seeking repro permission)
Many of Hinnant’s sacred geometry compositions have a tiny core that’s comparable to the microcosmic seed of the macrocosmic source. A seedling looks simple, but plant growth indeed is as constellated as the intricate design of the universe. So the seed, in its simplicity and complexity, mirrors the journey of creation, from the singularity of the source to the multiplicity of existence.To emphasize the genetic information that regulates plant development and shapes its form, Hinnant capitalized “form” in this statement: “A seed contains the necessary inFORMation for the formation of the maturing plant. Similarly, each of my compositions contain core inFORMation which determines its expanding patterns. The Navigator drawing can be viewed as a visual analogy of a seed in germination."In January 2024, Hinnant revisited the “navigation” theme with the photo of a flower accompanying the poem he wrote entitled “A star for navigating NOW.”A star for navigating NOW a tickling of ‘self’a ‘prodding’ of memoryNOW speaks of THE ALL THAT IS.necessity catapults us forward.seeing this dream decoded…we enter the forever dream ofNOW ETERNAL NOW…consciousness climbing...awake, and ever renewed…I AMHinnant’s sacred geometry compositions reflect the unity of ancient wisdom traditions, including Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta. Advaita’s non-duality principle sees the Self — yourself, the reader of this article — as the ultimate source. In being “one without a second,” it’s your self and all of all selves as simultaneously one and all. The Self is the only existence because the apparent beings such as you and me are only fluctuating illuminations within the oneness of existence – the effulgent empty presence of awareness.In Advaita, the “I AM” refers to knowingness—the unmanifest Source knowing itself through the sentience of its entire manifestation. The “now” expresses the timeless dimension of formless knowing. Everyone knows the “I Am.” Who is the “I”? It will neither be within or without… . “I am”— that is all.(Remark by Sri Ramana Maharshi on why the Self is one without a second.) In this context, the apparent fluctuations of the physical realm, known as maya in Advaita, yield to the sustained reality of the Self’s pure presence and infinite openness. This ‘one without a second’ openness allows for maya’s appearance of multiplicity. Physicists interpret maya as the behavior of particles and waves in arising and dissolving energy fields.The heart sutra of Mahayana Buddhism succinctly captures this idea: ‘form is emptiness; emptiness is form.’ Despite their solid appearance, things fundamentally exist as quantum fields, devoid of intrinsic essence or nature. In decoding the dream (of forms that are ultimately formless), scientists learned that DNA contains the genetic information that codes for the proteins and enzymes which regulate plant development and hormones. Environmental cues such as light, water and temperature act as navigational signals for plants, also guiding their growth, development, and adaptation to changing conditions. Botanical analogy is one of the simplest ways to show the recursive aspect of “matter” (i.e., “manifestation”) developing from energy and energy developing from Source consciousness, our ultimate Self.If you don’t look closely at Presence and Voice (below), you might think that different captions were mistakenly inserted for the same drawing. The drawings are similar but different to show the functional differences of increasing physical manifestation. Mathematical principles are expressed in these drawings but even the untutored eye can see that Voice appears to have more circles and vectors than Presence. The image Voice represents more manifestation and differentiation in contrast to the seeming openness of energetic no-thing-ness expressed in Presence. The no-thing-ness of presence of Source (i.e., formless Self) is the infinite openness that allows multiplicity to appear.The quality of radiance is obviously expressed in light. It’s also a movement of sound (like the concentric circles of radio broadcast signals) and the primordial om. Fractal geometries in nature include radial, spiral, lateral, lattice, coil, toroidal shapes, and irregular but recursive patterns seen in coastlines, mountain ranges, trees and branches, and other natural forms. The irregular patterns (Mandelbrot configurations) are fractals in the self-similar aspect of those natural elements. So with the regular and the irregular but recursive patterns, we get the fundamental geometrical nature of physical manifestation. The fractal pattern of a flower’s petal formation is outlined beginning in the center of the Illumined drawing above. Hinnant’s compositions are deeply influenced by the golden ratio. Often represented by the Greek letter φ), the golden ratio is “directly tied to a numerical pattern known as the Fibonacci sequence,” says Hinnant.
Presence 2000 Vandorn Hinnant, acrylic paints and Prismacolor on 100% cotton rag paper
Vandorn Hinnant, “Radiance” metallic inks and prismacolor pencils on pigmented Lokta paper photo: courtesy of Saatchi Art
Fibonacci fractal formations stand out among the teeming plant life at the Haupt Conservatory of the Bronx Botanical Garden. A spiraling leaf in the background is encircled in red so you don’t miss it. The one in the foreground is unmistakable. Once you begin to see fractals in the natural world, you notice so much more of that realm. (Photo: Juliette Harris, April 6, 2024)
“the natural numbering system of the cosmos”“The Fibonacci sequence is often referred to as the natural numbering system of the cosmos,” Hinnant explains. “It is composed of numbers that are the sum of the previous two numbers in the series. The sequence starts out simply (0+1= 1, 1+1=2, 1+2=3, 2+3=5, 3+5=8...) but before long, you'll find yourself adding up numbers in the thousands and millions (10946 + 17711 = 28657,” 17711+28657=46368, 28657+46368=75025...) and it just keeps going on forever like that.
Titles of Hinnant compositions shown in this article — Presence, Voice, Radiance and Illumined — signify spiritual concepts of creation.
Presence: all-pervading presence known as the Self or Brahman (Source) in Advaita (and by various names in other spiritual traditions (the “God” of contemplative Christianity, the Tao, the Whole, etc.)
Voice (logos, “the word,” generative speech): And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light…. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” (Italics added.)
Radiance and Illumined: light as the radiance that makes the universe visible and is the basis of all colors. Also, light as “enlightenment” and the effulgence of the silent source Self.
Vandorn Hinnant and his partner Ana Maria Walle plant seeds in their garden that grow into what can be perceived as the eloquent expressions of these concepts.
Vandorn Hinnant, Synthesis (accentuating sameness), metallic inks and Prismacolor pencils on pigmented Lokta paper.
Vandorn Hinnant, Synthesis. (accentuating sameness and difference, unity and multiplicity)metallis inks & Prismacolor pencils on pigmented Lokta paperAlso: the correct title for the composition above right is: Evening Star a.k.a. code 9 (purple heart) from the Sublime Revelations series
What beauty said to the Witnessbehold! i surrender myself unto thee In this reading of the “What Beauty Said to the Witness” poem, the “witness” is the awareness of the Self (Source). This witnessing presence projects the appearance of our individual transitory selves.“Surrender” is key to Advaita as well as expressing the meaning of the “What beauty said to the Witness” photo and miniature poem. Beauty expresses the ecstatic aspect of surrender. And the full surrender of maya’s apparent self to the Self of oneness is what’s known as “enlightenment.”The enlightenment process is aided by the bhakti form of surrender that puts the personal self in selfless service to others thereby decentering the ego.
“Synthesis consists of two identical, mirror image, tenfold symmetry mandalas that are entangled with one another in a specific way that accentuates their sameness,” says Hinnant. “The drawing is colored to denote difference within unity and, metaphorically, the appearance of separation within the Undivided (e.g., Witnessing Presence, Higher Self, Source, God).” Hinnant explains: Diagrams such as this one are alchemical formulas that assist our pedestrian awareness in accepting what it sees outside of itself as also existing within. This is ‘the great work’ of the alchemist: to provide evidence of how outside equals inside – a directing of one’s attention towards the eternal yin/yang dance of creation.These twin mandalas are reflections of one another and illustrate how mirrored qualities can be perceived in the context of psycho-spiritual projections; i.e. “I am another yourself,” a.k.a. The Hindu “namaste” greeting we came to know as “Bowing to the God in you.” Christianity expresses the “one is the many” wisdom through Jesus declaring “Know thyself (to be God),” “The kingdom of heaven is within,” and “On that day, you will realize that I am in my father and you are in me.” NEED TO FIX OVERLAPPING TEXT BELOW!
Vandorn Hinnant with the “seed of life” pattern consisting of seven circles of the same radius, drawn in the sand at Wrightsville Beach, NC., March 15, 2024. Photo: Ana Maria Walle
Chart drawn by Vandorn Hinnant
Vandorn Hinnant’s 37 circle mandala drawing in the sand at Wrightsville Beach constitutes the total number of complete circles required to create the “flower of life” diagram.
Hinnant’s Seed of Life and Flower of Life patterns drawn on Wrightsville Beach is a microcosm of his A Light from Circle Island diagram. Hinnant says "A Light From Circle is the perfect example of the notion of an infinite space-filling fractal diagram.” He explains further:
Imagine the “seed form” of an infinitely large plane of circles, akin to a cosmic “web of life” or a “tree of life.” Each of the ‘unit circles’ in this diagram have the same radius as the original seven ‘unit circles’ at its center (forming the Seed of Life pattern).Now, consider an expansion: six additional circles, each with a radius double that of the original seven. These circles are centrally oriented in the drawing forming a larger pattern. Then, another set of six circles are added with a radius double that of the previous set of circles larger than the unit circles. The essence here lies in the repetition and growth. The Seed of Life expands into a more intricate fractal, suggesting unity within diversity.The Seed of Life, with its inherent repetition and growth mirrors the spiritual truth of interconnectedness. Just as the circles with ever increasing diameters expand outward, our understanding deepens as we recognize the divine within ourselves and others—a beautiful convergence of geometry and wisdom.Garden of earthly, heavenly and mathematical delights
Except where otherwise noted, all photographs in the following section were taken by Vandorn Hinnant or AnaMaria Walle.Just outside of the northern city limits of Durham, NC, Vandorn Hinnant and AnaMaria Walle live on almost one-acre of land and cultivate a garden there. This buffer between themselves, neighbors and street traffic is conducive to Hinnant’s work which, he says, “emerges out of a deep communion with inner stillness and silence.”
Natural and sculptural elements abound in and around the house which is in the middle of a long, narrow lot. The entire front yard is filled with trees: “oaks, tulip poplars, beech, hickory, a few cedars” and others which Hinnant fortunately cannot identify — fortunately because not being able to name everything contributes to the forest ambiance. “Each tree has a soul essence that we commune with, in something like a constant heart song of gratitude,” says Hinnant.
Mathematical glory in kale seed pods and blossoms
View of the later garden with Hinnant’s studio in background and the sculpture, Raven, in foreground.
Hinnant works in various mediums including cast iron, aluminum, stainless steel, and corten steel.
Composting bin is next to the house.
Sunburst, seedburst
Sunflowers near Hinnant’s studio
The green, seed-filled, kale pods sprout from the dying flowers in life's ongoing recycling and, says Hinnant, “the kale blossoms' four petals stand out like liquid golden yellow light. The centralized cluster of 'yet-to-bloom' flowers create spiraling pathways to the very center of the array. This spiraling pathway is common to many life forms. The pine cone is but one excellent example of this.”
Sunflowers “speak” profusely to the gardener, artist and geometer. “How can one observe this pattern in the center of a sunflower blossom and not know that 'chance' is not a variable in this equation?,” Hinnant asks. “The spiral pattern of the seeds are simultaneously turning in opposite directions. The Fibonacci numbers are present in both the left turning and right turning spirals of the seed formations.”
The sunflower sensory experience feels ecstatic to Hinnant: “Seed formations appear as spiraling clusters at the center surrounded by bright yellow petals that sing beauty into sight. They’re my favorite 'sun singers' – they show us what it feels like to bathe in the sun.”
Hinnant sees these seed and petal configurations as “ 'consciousness patterns' — my way of stating that consciousness 'materializes' as a result of entering the physical/material realm of space and time. Consciousness interacts with spacetime as the myriad fixed patterns we witness as biological life.”
Hinnant developed a printmaking technique using fruit that is a unique form of botanical art and its mandala form relates to sacred geometry.
“This composition,” says Hinnant, “is based upon 10 fold symmetry established via a sacred geometry formula for dividing a circle into ten equal pie wedges. Each of the differently colored patterns are created using a stamp made from something that grows in nature. Stamps are made from cross sections of celery stalks, apples, walnut shells, hickory nut shells, star fruit, acorn caps, okra, and cucumbers.”The symmetry in the mandala reflects cosmic order and harmony. Just as the sun radiates energy uniformly in all directions, the symmetrical patterns in the mandala symbolize balance and interconnectedness. Bridging the material and spiritual realms through solar symbolism, plant-derived stamps, and the form of sacred geometry that is the mandala, this composition is yet another reminder that we are part of a universal pattern. 
Sunflowers near Hinnant’s studio
Squash flowers in the “sun singer” choir.
Vandorn Hinnant, SolarHeart Mandala, veggie and fruit print (Private collection)
caption to be inserted
Sunflowers near Hinnant’s studio
Hinnant took this photo of a dragonfly in the garden which prompted a closer look at a dragonfly’s face from another source.
Staring back at the smiley face dragonfly, Hinnant sees “what we commonly refer to as bilateral symmetry: what is on the left side is seen on the right side.” But remarkably uncommon is that “the eyes have many faceted lenses that make it possible to see in many directions simultaneously.” Many people in the contemporary West draw a hard, conceptual, dividing line between organic and inorganic matter but Hinnant believes that “ all of nature is sentient. Humans are slowly remembering the song lines of our ancestors. We are slowly reclaiming our rightful place within the great web of life.” As I read Hinnant’s “great web of life” comment in an email, a few inches to my left lay a 1996 edition of visual artist John Biggers’ book originally published in 1962 and based on Biggers’ 1957 trip to West Africa. 
Ananse: The Web of Life in Africa (detail from book)
I’d been referring to Biggers’ Ananse: The Web of Life in Africa but hadn’t mentioned the title to Hinnant and so it was a nice coincidence that both Hinnant and Biggers refer to “web of life” phenomena. Hinnant and Biggers are closely connected as we’ll see in the second part of this article.Biggers’ use of the term in the original 1957 edition of the Ananse book reveals an extraordinary, seminal understanding of ecosystems as was biologist Rachel Carson’s insight in a different way. Carson’s Silent Spring was published in 1962. Biggers painted the Web of Life mural at Texas Southern University in 1958. Here’s a detail of the mural. And here’s a full view of the preparatory study that Biggers did for the mural. Biggers’ interests in African cultures and environmental ecologies eventually led him to formally incorporate elements of sacred geometry into his artwork.In an opening blurb for the Ananse book under his stylized drawing of the spider, Biggers wrote that Ananse is a heroic character in West African mythological and scientific wisdom: “There is an Ananse story for every situation in life. God gave Ananse the meaning of order. He taught him architecture, the structure of dwellings, and the structure of life and society. He is symbolized by his web, which stands also for the sun and its rays, and the sun personifies God.” Spider web in the night garden
In photographing the spider in the dark, Hinnant captured a clear image of the outer portion of the web. The overall pattern of the web radiates from its core.Vandorn Hinnant’s fractal visions of nature and the infinite
Everything is everything: one without a second.
“Seeds of complexity” refers to "the one is the many" nature of the ultimate whole. Walt Whitman intuited this context when he sang, “I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey work of the stars.” And beginning around 1966, some young black people in the U.S. intuited the essential "the one is the many" nature through the popular expression, “Everything is everything.” In the black spoken vernacular, the second “everything” became “everythang” – a modification which can be metaphorically viewed as how physical forms appear to be different from the formless, undivided whole but they have no reality apart from the whole.Visual artist Vandorn Hinnant expresses this intuition through his sacred geometry compositions – “sacred” here refers to the source of creation. And this intuition is reinforced by immersive environmental experiences that include gardening, landscaping, creating 3-D compositions from earth elements, and drawing “seed of life” and “flower of life” symbols in ocean beach sand.
Ananse, architectural genius. Web of life… and death. And beyond it all, fractals of infinity. Photo: Vandorn HInnantFractal geometries are embedded in all of nature and inform the construction of insects and animals. The following explanation of web construction (synthesized from information on another web, the worldwide one) verifies John Biggers’ conception of Ananse, the architect. Spiders begin by anchoring the edges of their web onto strategic points. These threads are the net’s frame, holding it open and taut. As the spider walks along these frame threads, it lays more threads between anchor points. Then come the radius threads. The spider starts laying out radius threads from the center of the web to the frames. These threads form the spokes of the web. And finally, the spider uses an elastic capture thread. This sticky silk connects the spokes together, creating the web’s intricate pattern and its flexible yet sturdy quality.Something to ponder: how can Ananse build this intricate structure without standing back from the web to visually gauge the unfolding pattern like a human creator would?
In a May 6, 2024 re-enactment of Grant Wood’s American Gothic painting, Walle and Hinnant playfully subvert the dour imagery.
This “seeds of complexity” article expanded so far from its energetic core that we needed to divide it into two parts. Part two covers Hinnant’s association with John Biggers through their mutual colleague, the trailblazing but under-recognized physicist and mathematician Robert L. Powell Sr., Powell’s own work, Hinnant's work with Powell, and other topics with extraordinary implications yet to be realized in mainstream STEM realms.
John Thomas Biggers (April 13, 1924 – January 25, 2001), pioneering visual artist who explored the fractal geometries of organisms, ecosystems and West African art.
Biggers photo: original publication: University of North Texas College of Visual Arts & Design
Other source: Wikipedia bio of Biggers which states “fair use” reproduction of photo.
Physicist Robert L. Powell, Sr. (1923-2015), mentor to, and collaborator with, Vandorn Hinnant. A brief bio of this founding theorist of holography is in the second half of this article. Photo: collection and courtesy of Bob Powell, Jr. and Vandorn Hinnant.
Artist bio Vandorn Hinnant (b. 1953) is a graduate of North Carolina A & T University and did further studies at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. He first exhibited work based on Fibonacci numbers in 1988. He began studying sacred geometry formally in 1989 with his mentor Robert L. Powell, Sr., a pioneering black physicist. In 1990 Hinnant introduced fractal mathematics, the Golden Ratio, and the logarithmic spiral into his sacred geometry repertoire, and more recently, STEAM concepts. His work also draws from the ancient architectures in Egypt, India, Rome, and Greece that embody metaphysical concepts. He has cited Buckminster Fuller, Leonardo da Vinci, Frank Lloyd Wright, and M.C. Escher as inspirations because of their use of geometry and math in creating their works. He is also inspired by music from the African diaspora. Part of his objective is to catalyze public dialogue through his work, connect these concepts to human relationships and African American experience, and encourage education oriented around the golden proportion. His work has been exhibited widely and is represented in numerous private and corporate collections. His books include The Rest of Euclid: An Ancient Architecture of Arithmetic and the Modern Theory of Number, LOVE… Opera House of The SOUL: A book of Musings”, and ”PATHS TO THE INFINITE: Finding Your Sacred Center”.