Tuesday 13 October 2009

Even Kooler Kwan Yin



Mmmm. Very subtle level of discourse on Buddhist iconography. S/he is reelly kool, though, no? I can appreciate, but not articulate - when I stop working, I'm sadly aware of this empty, crackling space between my ears! For intelligent and moving commentary, see Antony Gormley's article, which Marja-Leena spotted on the V&A site. No surprise to know that ancient Buddhist figures are very meaningful to him. The deep pleasure and satisfaction I find in much of his work, and especially the Iron Men, is certainly akin to what these provoke.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very cool.

Dave said...

The Gormley essay reminds me of how I used to fantasize about becoming an itinerant buddhist iconographic sculptor, impressed by the mossy stone statues I encountered all over Japan. They tend to be, as he says, very site-specific, and the attraction for me was primarily the making of a beautiful outdoor sculpture, not so much the religious practice. Now I am slightly horrified that I ever would have fantasized about trying to improve on natural cliffs and boulders, destroying their own unique presence in the process of manufacturing a stereotyped presence from an alien thought-system.