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THE PERPETUAL EDGE
The Later Years of Austin Osman Spare
by Jaq D. Hawkins
Note: It is presumed that readers of this essay will
have some previous knowledge of the history of A.O. Spare.
With that in mind, I will begin with a sparse outline of
this history for the sake of context.
Austin Osman Spare was a well-known artist and
magician of great talent. He was born the son of a London
policeman on the last day of 1886, and by the age of 19 had
made a name for himself as an artist in the West End of
London. His first published work, 'Earth Inferno', was
hailed as a collection of unusual graphic drawings. However,
even in this early work, his commentaries showed a deep
spiritual interest and a viewpoint of his fellow man that
was uncommon to the average artist or collector. There are
several comments in 'Earth Inferno' depicting an attitude
toward mainstream society that comes from a perspective
outside of this mainstream. One such reads: "The perpetual
youth of man arises, Draws aside the curtain-faith (a token
of humanity's LIMITED knowledge), and exposes the inferno of
THE NORMAL."
'The Book Of Pleasure', published in 1913, is
considered his most important magical work. Spare's art and
magic were always intertwined, depicting varied aspects of
himself. His published works were illustrated by his unique
drawing style, whether they were meant as books on magic or
as art collections.
In the mid 1920's, Spare had become disillusioned
with the values of the day, especially among the self-
absorbed smart set with whom his artistic successes had him
dealing. In 1927 he published 'The Anathema of Zos: A Sermon
to the Hypocrites'. With this work Spare left his life of
success behind. In his own words: "I turned my back on fame
and continued unmolested my quests into the unknown realms,
my natural stoicism supporting me in times of want."
The work contains only one drawing, a self-portrait
in profile with a hand raised in the traditional gesture of
excommunication. The text shows his disillusion with the
values and attitudes of the people to whom it is addressed.
After the publication of this work, he was shunned by former
friends and fellow artists. There were a few mor e art
exhibitions, but he did not publish any more books. He spent
the remainder of his life living in obscurity, his
companions being lower class residents of the London
pavements, including the prostitutes and other seedy
characters that he used for models in those days. He
occupied a run down basement apartment, making his living by
selling his drawings for trifling sums of money in the local
pub.
One may wonder why a man with the natural resource
of Spare's obvious talent, as well as his past reputation as
an artist, would 'settle' for such a life style when he may
have been able to re-establish his artistic fame and fortune
over time. Spare spent these years concentrating more on his
magical philosophy and observing a different part of society
than that from which he had turned away.
Spare was not blind to the faults of the lower
classes either, but money did not hold much importance for
him. He drew the people that he happened to see, and traded
his talent for the price of a meal or a drink quite often.
He squandered what little money he had on drink and women,
finding value in pleasures rather than material things.
Even Spare's closest friends can only speculate as
to his motivations. To understand why a man would choose to
live less well than he might, it is necessary to see the
situation from his point of view. This, I think, requires
the experience of living in a variety of circumstances and
observing the effect of these circumstances on the people
within the societies they create. It is the purpose of this
essay to try and explain this point of view, by someone who
has had a similar variety of inter-societal experiences.
As already stated, Spare began life in working class
circumstances. He was the middle of five children and money
was scarce for the family. Art school was a hardship for
the family, and it is likely that Spare was able to
appreciate the sacrifices that his family would have made to
provide tuition and materials. With his artistic successes,
Spare was drawn into a different part of society. Art
patrons of the day were probably as varied as they are
today, with the exception that the financial resources
required to partake of this sort of diversion in those days
were further removed from the middle classes than what is
required today. This was before the days that a middle-class
wage earner could produce a major credit card to invest in a
promising work of art. In those days, and art collector was
likely to be described as "rich and spoiled", at least by
those less fortunate.
In 1927, with the publication of 'Anathema of Zos',
a lot of built up frustration was released. The fair weather
friendships and false smiles which are all too common among
the privileged classes left less than a favorable impression
on Spare. It is plain to see in all of his writings that
Spare had an uncanny ability to see through to the real
motivations of people. He was not fooled by the glamour and
games of these people. He may have enjoyed the fame and
recognition for a time, but in the long run was unable to
stomach the lies and false promises.
Among the layabouts, the prostitutes and the other
'downtrodden', Spare found a sector of the population who
did not follow the robotic life style into which the
'system' shuffles the average citizen. These were people
who could get up in the morning and have no idea what they
were going to do today, certainly not what they did
yesterday. Each day holds a new adventure for these people
of the streets. They can be found in any major city, any
period of time. I am not referring to the homeless of today
or the mentally ill people who have become recently
publicized in the media. I am referring to the people who,
with the independence of their own spirit, choose not to
'take their place' in society. They choose to live in lesser
financial circumstances than they might because in exchange
they have freedom. There are no bills to pay beyond the
rent, if that. They live by various means. Some trade some
talent such as street performers; some sell some part of
themselves, such as prostitutes; some simply beg on the
streets. This can be more profitable than most people
realize.
Life on the streets, surviving from one moment to
the next, provides the right impetus for what Ray Sherwin in
his book 'Theatre of Magick' refers to as "living on the
edge". This phrase has been used by many, but how many
people who use it have ever truly experienced it? Sherwin
uses situations of physical danger as examples in his book,
but all that is required for the emotional state that we
are discussing is a certain awareness that most people only
experience in these times of danger. People of the streets
live in this emotional state most of the time. Some of them
are living slightly outside the law, others are simply aware
of the vulnerability that they face every day. Few of them
would change their circumstances.
In 'The Book of Pleasure', Spare tells us not to
indulge in idle mummery and imitation, "You are alive!" He
is referring to ritual, but he may just as well be talking
about how the average person lives his or her life. We do
what is expected, and despite some small rebellious
behaviour on occasion we imitate what we are taught is the
norm. Not so the street people. Spare said, "If you want
the truth, ask a cockney!" In this sector of society, Spare
found the obscurity necessary to spend his time within his
own mystical state, without the distractions of material
acquisition or any reason to please society. Spare had his
art and his spells to sell. He would not accept large
amounts for either, to the confusion of many. He remained
in simple circumstances for the remainder of his life. If
he sometimes longed for the comforts of prosperity as he
became older, still , he took no action to change his life.
Thirty years is a long time. He was not idle; he left papers
behind on his magical philosophies, and many drawings. He
died in May of 1956, several months before I was born, but I
am inclined to believe that he died a satisfied man.
________________________________
References:
'The Collected Works of Austin Osman Spare' compiled and
edited by Christopher Bray (includes 'Earth Inferno', 'The
Book of Pleasure', 'Automatic Drawing', 'Focus of Life' and
'Anathema of Zos')
'Images and Oracles of Austin Osman Spare' by Kenneth
Grant
'Theatre of Magick' by Ray Sherwin
'Excess Spare' compiled by TOPY (a collection of articles
by various authors by or about A.O. Spare)