The collective unconscious, with its symbolic archetypes, was identified in the 1920's by the Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung. Freud, Jung and the field of psychology in general have always fascinated me, even while studying civil engineering in the 1960s. Thirty years later, after a successful career as an engineer and real estate developer, I embraced my interests more fully by enrolling in the depth psychology program at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria, California earning a master's degree in 1996.

In addition to academic and experimental psychology, Pacifica's program also included art, literature and mythology. At Pacifica, the production of new works of art every quarter revealed my interest in symbolic expression in a contemporary style. A door to a new exciting chapter of my life was opened — one in which I could integrate in art all I had learned from the linear world of engineering to the imaginary world of psychology.

Created in 1994, Substance and Essence was my first archetypal work and is part of a suite of two paintings, titled Collective Self-Portrait, after the second (pp. 20-21). In 2002, I also created a playful variation of Substance and Essence, titled Just Say Yes (p. 23).

Carl Jung believed in individual growth encouraged by a dialogue between the ego and the unconscious. To that effect, he designed a psychological technique of awakened dreaming, also known as "creative imagination," where one would rest and invite unconscious characters for a chat. During such a session at Pacifica, I received a visit from the following three mythical characters: Atlas, Peter Pan, and Pegasus. The mythical meaning of these three archetypes repeatedly resonated in my psyche and continues to serve as a source of artistic inspiration.

The central archetype of the artwork is Atlas, who symbolizes concrete responsibilities that never end. Since, according to the myth, there is no hope that someone will ever take over this burden, people who identify with Atlas are often resolved and accepting of their fate. The task requires a permanent holding of energy, and the immobility demands constant staying power. The only way to keep up with this endless burden is occasionally to follow Peter Pan to Never Land, the world of fantasy.

The opposites are clear. On one hand, the concrete world of Atlas represents work and daily responsibilities, and on the other hand, the imaginary world of Peter Pan represents fantasy and play. Integration of the opposites is accomplished, thanks to Pegasus, the creative link between the earthy Atlas and the airy Peter Pan.

While Pegasus is present in both Moreau's Wayfaring Poet and in my work, our symbolic styles are very different. Moreau's style was still marked by Romanticism, while mine is definitively marked by postmodern aesthetics. With their pared down shapes and flat color fields, the symbols in my work are presented with the greatest economy of graphic means. Moreover, being computer designed, the mathematically harmonious lines give a geometric feeling to the image.

Additional psychological insights can be gained from the three symbols in Substance and Essence by learning more about their corresponding mythic stories. Later in this chapter, the psychological meaning of Atlas is further described in a work titled Collective Self-Portrait (pp. 20-21) while the modern myth of Peter Pan is illuminated in an illustration from the turn of the century (pp. 18-19).