The assignment for the week of 17 - 23 January 2011 is based on a style derived from the religion of Buddhism or philosophy of life. I won't pretend to be an expert on Zen; however, I think it is worth exploring in order to further expand our creative minds. Perhaps a few readers more versed in the meanings of "Zen" can help us better understand the concept?
In order to guide you in your quest to create Zen images, here are a few explanations from select references:
From Answers.com: "WORD HISTORY: Zen, which has been in English since 1727, is the Japanese pronunciation of Chinese chán, "
quietude." Chán comes from Pali jhānaṃ, from Sanskrit dhyānam, "
meditation," from the Sanskrit root dhyā-, dhī-, "
to see, observe." The Indo-European root behind the Sanskrit is *dheiə-, *dhyā-, "
to see, look at." This root also shows up in Greek, where *dhyā- developed into sā-, as in Common Greek *sāma, "
sign, distinguishing mark." This became sēma in Attic Greek, the source of English
semantic."
Quoted from "Zen Buddhism And Its Relationship to Elements of Eastern And Western Arts" by Fredric Lieberman: "Art in the West has developed a complex linguistic symbolism through which the artist manipulates his material to communicate something to his audience... [Sound familiar?
] The Zen artist, on the other hand, tries to suggest by the simplest possible means the inherent nature of the aesthetic object. Anything may be painted, or expressed in poetry, and any sounds may become music. The job of the artist is to suggest the essence, the eternal qualities of the object, which is in itself a work of natural art before the artist arrives on the scene. In order to achieve this, the artist must fully understand the inner nature of the aesthetic object, its Buddha nature. This is the hard part. Technique, though important, is useless without it; and the actual execution of the art work may be startlingly spontaneous, once the artist has comprehended the essence of his subject."
And by Carol Haywood, in Oxford Companion to the Mind: "The qualities inherent in expressions of Zen include spontaneity, simplicity, directness, naturalness, austere sublimity, subtle profundity, freedom from attachment, and tranquillity. Exposure to these qualities can resonate at the profoundest level and provoke an unbearable dissatisfaction at their apparent absence from ordinary everyday life. Yet Zen is fundamentally about ordinary everyday life. One of the best-known Zen haikus is by Master Basho: "The old pond, ah! A frog jumps in: The water's sound!" This is a clear expression of the immediate, simple, and fresh perception of what is, with nothing added or taken away. Life is just as it is. To realize this is to be fully alive. This is the truth of Zen that is manifest everywhere in every moment and can be experienced by anyone."
And I'll leave you with this image, created by Jaime Dorotan and submitted for the "Detail" assignment:
Photographed by Jaime Dorotan
Please upload your images to the Zen album in the Weekly Assignments category of the gallery no-later-than midnight Mountain time (GMT - 07:00) on Sunday, 23 January 2011.
I'll look forward to seeing your images.
Keith
