K’UN
The point of departure for this body of work is the calligraphy for K'un, The Receptive, the second hexagram of the I Ching. It was developed as a 3-dimensional model and explored photographically. A Chinese calligraphic character, deceptively simple in appearance, embodies the amazing depth and complexity of their language. It is an image, a word; possibly an esoteric concept or a work of art. Virtually exploring an apparently simple object also allows for an opportunity to experience something as multi-dimensional; in this case, the intricacy of its nature, the dynamics of its component parts and the vast amount of space it contains.
K'UN is a work in progress. Three very diverse series of photographs are evolving. The first series, the white k’uns, focuses on the amount of space an object actually contains and the mercurial nature of the object itself. In the second series, the grey k’uns, the components that make up K’un become more substantial; their interactions more distinct. The black k’uns, the third series, returns to a less complex view of the model. In these images K'un appears two-dimensional; reminiscent of line drawings in ink. In the video our intent is to present a visual narrative of the nature of this virtual sculpture. A Chinese philosophical tradition of juxtaposing Absence and the 10,000 Things makes a good metaphor for the range of visual experiences within the dimensional calligraphy of K'un.
Late into this work we became aware of the wild-grass calligraphers whose calligraphic art has been described as unfurling into sprawling and indecipherable abstract forms. The work, K'UN, is dedicated to the memory of two famous wild-grass calligraphers of the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Xu and Huai Su. The duo is affectionately referred to as the crazy Zhang and the drunk Su.