VOP: THERE WAS AN ARTICAL ABOUT ZEN ART IN YEASTERDAY'S NEW YORK TIMES
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I almost forgot to menion this -- and it was where I was going w/
that junk about "egoists" at the top of last post, but I got sidetraked
and I don't even remember what the intended segway was...
In yeasterday's (Nov 22) New York Times there was an artical "The
Artless Art of Painting" that -- if you're intrested in the subject -- I'm
sure you can still find on the shelves of you're local library. I got
real excited when I saw this because -- not only is it a big intrest of
mine -- but it's pure "sinchronicity," for just last Thursday I had the
opportunity to meet a Chinese master calligrapher who is visiting my
univeristy and talk w/ him -- which was cool. But anyway...
"The Art of 20th cen Zen" is an exibet feturing 14 contemperary
Japanese Zen masters who are also caligripher-painters. And I wanted to
quote the 1st 2 paragraphs for you -- which I liked a lot:
____________
Remember "Zen and the art of Archery"? At the peak moment of this
perennially popular book by the German philosopher Eugen Herrigel, the Zen
archer hits the bull's eye although he shoots the arrow in total darkness.
"Melodramatic" is how the composer John Cage assassed this story, and he
offered another. A Japanese friend, he said, told him of a highly esteemed
archer who had never hit the bull's eye even in broad daylight.
West subtily meets East in these two anecdotes. In the German
view, sucess is the goal and the arts are supporting players to the ego's
yearning for mastery. In Zen, sucess is considered a figment of the ego.
Ultimatly nothing is gained, so the goal disappeares. There is only the
moment, which calls the master archer's whole being into play. If you are
truly one w/ the target, why bother to release the arrow?
_____________
There is one phrase, often shown in the caligraphy which may
intrest you: "The Zen master is the world is the dharma."
Also intresting was this: "Knowing the meaning of the characters
[in the caligraphy] isn't really necessary. Intellectual understanding is
not important in Zen; it may even get you wacked w/ the kyosaku (the
training stick)."
The show is at the Spencer Musem at the University of Kansas 'till
Jan 10 and will travel from there to 3 other US museums (which I'm trying
to track down as well as get a cataloge for myself -- if you're
intrested...).
TTFN (ta-ta for now)
Donny
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