notes from the drifting spaces
Blair’s art notes…
-
Momentary State – Kusen Collaboration with John Fraser
John’s Kusen Zazen is often called the mountain still state, the balanced state. What we need to understand is that the state is momentary. It is a quality of this moment. Not the person, the moment. This moment rolls in and out of balance. When out of balance, self, world and linear time all arise,
-
Windswept Carn an Tuirc and Glas Maol
waga iho wakoshi no shirayamafuyugomorikouri mo yuki mokumo kakari keri my Koshiwhite mountaincozy winter denice and snowoverlaid by clouds Eihei Dogen The voice of the valley is endlessly preaching.The colour of the mountain is nothing but pure body.During the night, I heard eighty-four thousand verses.How shall I expound this to others? Su Dongpo, composed when
-
Through Discord and Harmony – Glasgow School of Art Fine Art and MFA Degree Shows – Part 2
(article continued from previous post) A vaguely familiar and catchy game type tune pulled me into an installation piece, ‘THE PURGE’, a joint work by three artists Chitra Sangtani, Lewis Prosser and Martha Simms. The tune and glittering colours welcome me to enter into the game world of The Purge, with an unsettling laughing audience
-
Through Discord and Harmony – Glasgow School of Art Fine Art and MFA Degree Shows – Part 1
Methodically I began the GSA Degree Show journey. Working my way through the gleaming open spaces of the Steven Holl designed Reid Building, an interior shimmering in neutrality and sinuos equilibrium, taking in the impressive efforts of the students in the various design disciplines. Spotless presentation in a perfect exhibition environment, no place for
-
Working on a new artist film – Directionless
I’ve been continuing the themes of the Journey to Nowhere series with a second film, called Directionless at the moment, which I have started editing, adjusting clips, cropping, trying out combinations and planning ‘scenes’, though like the previous film there is no clear plot from a to b, nor dialogue at the present. Detached from
-
Transient worlds within worlds, and divergence – with translations of Basho and Ryoukan
within the thin covering snow Three Thousand Worlds again inside this world fragile snow falls Ryoukan vision of decay in mind, the wind permeates the body Basho at the month’s end moonless – a one thousand year old cedar is hugged by the storm Basho Diverging Contained – Spaciousness Tranquil – Distorted Phenomenon – Concept
-
-
Vapour Sky 11315
rocky mountain passes, transparent clouds – no up no down, passing between horizons non continuous
-
Exhibition Review – ‘JANUS’ – Stephanie Burt and Kirsty Palmer
Upper image: Janus (satellite) as imaged by Cassini, NASA, 2008. Lower image: ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’, 1975, Peter Weir. Screen shot. A refreshing breeze moved through the Saltmarket in Glasgow in January, with a series of temporal, light and strangely magnetic works shown by artists Stephanie Burt and Kirsty Palmer. Being exhibited at 87 Saltmarket