Saturday, October 10, 2009

Science, Art and Zen

You may not realize this about me but I have been working on a Masters in Paleontology/Geology for the past few years at SDSMT and have always been amazed at how beautiful many scientific illustrations and photographs can be. Unfortunately these pieces are largely unrecognized as the pieces of art that they are. I was pleased to find this listed under one of the past exhibitions at the American Museum of Natural History.

"John Daido Loori, scientist, photographer, and Zen master, explores the link between Buddhism and artistic inspiration with more than 25 striking abstract photographs of Point Lobos State Reserve in California. His photographs of kelp strands on the shore, algae, starfish, and sea-tossed stones echo the contours of larger landscapes and the curves of the human body. Contemplative and sensuous, the images bridge a gap between viewers and the world around them."

The only photographs from John Daido Loori Roshi that I have seen previously were his black and white ones but the color ones are beyond beautiful. The combination of art, Zen, scientific photography and natural beauty are overwhelming. If Daido Loori Roshi included a scale bar with these pieces, I would call them perfect.

This exhibit ran in 2005 and I hope they consider running it again to honor the memory and art of John Daido Loori Roshi.

Beach FlowerSea Debris
Subtle BeckoningWave Echo

All photographs are from the AMNH Website and copyrighted © by John Daido Roshi

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Posted by Unknown at 4:15 PM
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3 comments:

  1. ALOctober 10, 2009 at 8:27 PM

    "There is nothing you can see that is not a flower;
    there is nothing you can think that is not the moon."
    ~Basho

    ReplyDelete
  2. KyleOctober 11, 2009 at 9:57 AM

    Thanks for this post Jack.

    ReplyDelete
  3. KyleOctober 11, 2009 at 2:44 PM

    "Some goddamn fool once said that flanks have got to be secure. Since then sonofabitches all over the globe have been guarding their flanks. I don't agree with that. My flanks are something for the enemy to worry about, not me. Before he finds out where my flanks are, I'll be cutting the bastard's throat."

    ~George S Patton August, 1944

    ReplyDelete

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