Steffi Grant Biography

Steffi Vera Grant (née Friedmann)

Soror Ilyarun

Born: 1 December 1923 in Berlin, Germany.

Died: 6 October 2019 in London.

See her artwork HERE.

Steffi Vera Friedmann was born to Jewish parents on 1 December 1923, in Berlin. In 1938 her family had to leave Germany, taking Steffi with them to London where they settled. At the age of 17 while attending the Regents Street Polytechnic (a gymnasium at 309 Upper Regent Street in Central London), she met Kenneth Grant, who being one year younger was only 16 years old. Kenneth, was already reading esoteric authors such as Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, and it appears that Steffi came to share Kenneth's interest in occultism at an early stage. But it was not only their common interest in esotericism that united them, but perhaps more importantly their shared interest in art, and more specifically surrealism. In fact, it was their teenage dream to publish a journal similar to the avant-garde literary magazine Minotaure—which had been published between 1933 and 1939 by the Swiss publisher Albert Skira—but with a more pronounced esoteric emphasis. This dream eventually manifested in the publication of the ten Carfax Monographs, published between 1959 and 1963. The content of these monographs was based on daily researches conducted by Kenneth and Steffi Grant in the Round Reading Room at the British Museum in the post-war years, combined with the study of Aleister Crowley's unpublished letters, diaries and manuscripts, and further relevant materials loaned to them by Gerald Yorke. Published in a limited edition of 100 copies only, nine of the ten monographs contained one original coloured pen and ink drawing by Steffi Grant, whereas one monograph contained a black and white photograph of a stélé painted by Austin Osman Spare. These striking drawings by Steffi are in many ways unique in the history of British occultism in that they not only encapsulate key esoteric concepts and formulae, but also that the use of colours is, apparently, based on the Golden Dawn's secret theory of colour symbolism, the so-called 'flashing colours', which was used in particular for creating talismans. The effect of the use of these colours in the Carfax Monographs is almost psychedelic in nature, with bright colours standing in sharp contrast to each other. Steffi Grant's published artworks show that she is very careful in the selection of colours, not least when illustrating magical insignia and other concepts based on the kabbalistic Tree of Life.

On 14 February 1946, Kenneth Grant and Steffi married, at the age of 21 and 22, respectively. Steffi came to share Kenneth's interest in Thelema and gave him a beautifully illustrated copy of the Book of the Law as a wedding gift, and although she never met Crowley, she joined the O.T.O. and was initiated into the Ninth degree by December 1952. Soror Ilyarun, as she became known in the O.T.O. held a prominent position in the New Isis Lodge, as well as in the Typhonian O.T.O. of the 1970s and 1980s.

One of the most obvious influences on Steffi's art, in terms of content rather than form, is the British artist Austin Osman Spare, who Steffi met for the first time on 24 March 1949. Steffi had come across Spare's work in the early 1940s through his book The Book of Pleasure, and after having read an article about him in The Leader, decided to write to him. By her own account, it was the magical side of Spare's work that struck her the most, and it was in particular his Panic astral landscapes that became he favourite category. Steffi introduced Spare to Kenneth some months later and a deep and lasting friendship developed between Spare and the young couple. The interest they took in his art helped to rekindle not only Spare's artistic output, but also the development of the magical system, which was codified with the help of Kenneth into the Zos Kia Cultus.

The majority of Steffi Grant's published artwork comes from the early 1940s to the late 1950s, and ranges over a wide variety of types, or as she expressed it herself: :As for drawing and painting in the 'forties and 'fifties, I also carved, engraved, etched, embroidered, knitted, crocheted and made garment: everything 'hand-made' as in the Middle Ages. So did many other people—of necessity at a period without volume production or reproduction".

Turning our attention to Steffi's art itself we are confronted with the difficulty of ascribing her work to a specific art style. In fact, the complexity of her style, the motifs and purpose of her work, makes it better to talk of a combination of art styles. The most obvious style is Surrealism, given Austin Osman Spare's impact upon her work and her shared interest with Kenneth in Surrealism in general, and the work of Salvador Dali in particular. At the center of the Surrealism movement was the aim to explore and manifest the unconscious. The second style which is apparent when studying Steffi's art is Expressionism, with its focus on emotional experience rather than physical reality. Many of Steffi's artworks are distorted from a subjective perspective, creating an emotional effect with the aim of evoking certain ideas, experiences, or states of consciousness. Examples of such works are 'Evocation', 'Materialisation of Masks', and 'Full Moon'. To this category one can also add depictions of ceremonial scenes, which often feature hands held in ritualistic positions, frequently in the form of mudras used in Eastern traditions as aids in meditation. A recurrent theme is the duplexity of the outward meditating subject, and the inner visions or experiences.

Finally, the third art styles that comes to mind is Symbolism, with its emphasis on dreams, mysticism and myths. The motifs in Steffi's art are to a large extent drawn from the Typhonian Tradition, with references to ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses, dark entities and witches' Sabbaths. These sabbatical scenes are often highly sexualized and it is especially the female sexuality that is being explored. Steffi's use of symbols is often intensely personal and private with obscure references, reflecting the private magical universe created by the Grants.

To summarize Steffi Grant's views on art, we can observe that 'great art' speaks directly to the subconsciousness, and that the true artist is able to access other dimensions through the subconsciousness, and to express these experiences through art. Furthermore, art created by 'true artists' can be used as means to explore the subconsciousness as well as other sacred realms, depending on how the subconsciousness is interpreted.