Part 3
Epilogue
Homage to
Robert Ryman
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For all the differences between Ryman, Rothko, Mondrian, and
Newman, the content they may share is the poignancy of the
desire for an absolute. Ryman's distinction, however,
is that he takes the absolute as his subject matter,
circling around it and knowingly
exploiting its elusiveness.
Vittorio Colaizzi
from Robert Ryman, Phaidon Press, 2017
Introduction
I'm concluding my
Homage to Robert Ryman with a collection of symmetrical photographs constructed with images published in
Parts One and
Two of the project. I think of the symmetrical photographs as "round" or circular images, "flowers" of numinous beauty which have "opened" from within their own point of
Origin. The transformation of a
"straight" (source) photograph using the ritual-like
four-fold symmetrical process often manifests unexpected, surprising images pulsatingly alive with an interior luminosity and a heightened
presence of
creative energy, or
grace.
Sometimes, as I witness the
source image going through its
four-fold visual transformation, I undergo a subtle internal change as well. When Ryman said that for him painting was about "enlightenment," perhaps he was referring to changes he experienced, knowledge unveiled within himself,
as he worked through the process of creating paintings to their unfolded completion.
The symmetrical photographs in this project (and those published in my other projects as well) are quite literally the visual embodiment of
Unitary Reality, images radiant with the
Light of Consciousness, the light of the supreme
Self. The yogic sages teach that all created things, including the human heart, have at their innermost center this divine "light," this
shakti or
grace.
~ Click on the images for optimum detailed viewing ~
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Fig. 1 Ryman 2000 (Drawing on paper)
Fig. 2 Homage to Robert Ryman Part Two "A Child's Drawing on paper"
Fig. 3 Symmetrical transformation of "A Child's Drawing on paper"
Sometimes the
four-fold symmetrical process can manifest delightful and even humorous images. For example the photograph immediately above (
Fig. 3) was constructed from a close-up photograph (
Fig. 2) of a drawing created by my three-year-old grandchild. I took the photograph in response to the play of light upon the crumpled surface of the paper, but later when I saw the photograph I could not help but associate the image with one of my favorite Robert Ryman drawings (
Fig. 1).
When I decided to try transforming the image (
Fig. 2) with the
four-fold symmetrical process--just as an experiment, to see what would happen--I was totally amazed by the "portrait-like" image that emerged. In a rather funny kind of way, seeing that image the first time--with its large circular eyes looking straight out at me--was a bit startling! . . . like coming (unexpectedly) face-to-face with my own self. Startling, and yet a delight as well!
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I have also included in the collection of images below a symmetrical transformation of a photograph I took of a child's poem
entitled "Ants." Our neighbor's grand daughter, Alicia gave it to me and Gloria as a gift, and we immediately taped it onto our stainless steel refrigerator door. Days later I photographed it in relation to a light reflection on the door. (
Fig. 4)
Fig. 4 Part Two, Image #12 "Alicia's poem"
~ Click on the image to enlarge ~
Fig. 5 Symmetrical version of Alicia's poem
In the symmetrical transformation of the image (
Fig. 5), the reflection of light turned into yet another pair of eyes peering directly (luminously) out at me. I have come to realize--after making so many images like this one--that
everything has eyes! Everything I look at is looking at me!
Since the poem is practically unreadable in its symmetrical version, and since some of the words were cropped-off in my initial
source photograph, I am presenting to you here below Alicia's poem--with
all of its words:
Ants scampering around,
up a bush and down a hose,
but if you look too close,
my friends,
the world is suddenly
still.
The poem suggests to me that when one looks closely at something, the entire world is transformed; the world suddenly becomes
still. Also, perhaps looking
too close at something makes the thing "open" in a way that allows the
seer to imaginatively enter
into the thing--passing by the thing's surface appearances to its central core
. In
some spiritual traditions the
Origin of all created things is said to be a
point of light, and this light is a living
presence within each thing and the entire universe.
Poetic, visionary,
intense seeing--seeing which turns the world
inside-out--is essentially an
encounter with
grace, an encounter which
unveils the mystery, the "hidden treasure" within all things. This revelation is what poets--all serious artists--long for, though at first they may not recognize it as such. The longing only grows stronger until it becomes a conscious awareness, a feeling of
inner necessity. At the heart of any True
Creative Process there is this longing for
grace, the desire for seeing and understanding that transcends appearances. This longing is satisfied when poetic transcendence becomes a sustained mode of being, a
continuum of experience
in which one's creative process merges into every aspect of one's personal life.
When I look
closely at something I'm about to photograph, or when I've become absorbed in a piece of music, a poem, a photograph I'm contemplating, sometimes I notice my thoughts dissolving into silence, my mind becoming still. This is a sign to me that I have come into the presence of a
symbol and that I have become absorbed by it's "light," its
grace, its
creative energy.
I may have experienced this kind of stillness when I was contemplating a Ryman painting at
Dia Beacon. It was over seven years ago that I saw an exhibition of his work there, and I'm not sure if what I am remembering now actually happened, if I imagined it, or dreamt it: As I was contemplating the painting, getting deeper and deeper into its
Imaginal space, the space turned into light, a beautiful light that absorbed me as it expanded outward from inside the space . . . . Time came to a standstill; light became silence; I experienced a profoundly intimate
presence of peace and contentment.
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According to the yogic scriptures,
perfect stillness
, perfect silence
are the essential nature of the supreme
Self, "the
One," the
Absolute.
Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, a poet-saint and my Siddha Yoga Meditation teacher, lives in the continuous conscious awareness of her union with the supreme
Self. It is thus appropriate to conclude this introduction with her words which are enlightened with the
grace of True understanding:
The supreme Self, the still center of your own being, holds you
together when everything else is falling apart.
Good and bad swirl around it like
children swinging around a
maypole, but the center
holds fast. Unmoving
and untouched,
the supreme Self
is totally unaffected by
your ups and downs. It is
eternally blissful and absolutely pure.
*
Once you experience the inner silence you never
feel empty, because in the inner silence
you can hear the stars speak, you
can hear the voice of the water,
you can hear the voice of the
great Self. You can
hear and you can
understand.
Gurumayi Chidvilasananda
from the book Resonate with Stillness
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Symmetrical
Photographs
~ Click on the images for optimal viewing of details ~
Homage to Robert Ryman Part Three : Epilogue Image #1 Symmetrical Photograph
Homage to Robert Ryman Part Three : Epilogue Image #2 Symmetrical Photograph
Homage to Robert Ryman Part Three : Epilogue Image #3 Symmetrical Photograph (Chid's poem and drawing)
Homage to Robert Ryman Part Three : Epilogue Image #4 Symmetrical Photograph
Homage to Robert Ryman Part Three Image #5 Symmetrical Photograph (A Child's Drawing on crumpled paper)
Homage to Robert Ryman Part Three Image #6 Symmetrical Photograph
Homage to Robert Ryman Part Three Image #7 Symmetrical Photograph
Homage to Robert Ryman Part Three Image #8 Symmetrical Photograph
Homage to Robert Ryman Part Three Image #9 Symmetrical Photograph
Homage to Robert Ryman Part Three Image #10 Symmetrical Photograph (Broad Brook)
Homage to Robert Ryman Part Three Image #11 Symmetrical Photograph (Broad Brook)
Homage to Robert Ryman Part Three Image #12 Symmetrical Photograph (Broad Brook)
~ Please click on this image for optimal viewing of details ~
Homage to Robert Ryman Part Three Image #13 Symmetrical Photograph (Broad Brook Trees and leaf shadows)
This project was announced on my blog's
Welcome Page February 1, 2018.
Related Project links
Homage to Robert Ryman ~ Part One: Introduction and Commentary
Homage to Robert Ryman ~ Part Two: Surface Veils, Light, Delight & Enlightenment
Homage to Robert Ryman ~ Part Three: Epilogue
Broad Brook Photographs, October 14, 2017
Symbolic photograph
The Complete Collection of Homage Projects
Please visit my
Welcome Page which contains a complete listing of my online photography projects, my resume, contact information, gallery affiliation, and much more.
