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Sign of the Logos
Artist's Books
and
Related Materials
A Retrospective Exhibition
of Sol Invictus Press
November 19, 1998 - April 16, 1999
St. Mark's Library Special Collections
The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church, New York
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Exhibition Checklist
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Exhibition Checklist
The Jesus Prayer
The Jesus Prayer is a short invocation associated with the Hesychasts,
a late medieval sect of Byzantine monks, many of whom were icon painters.
The prayer, which was known as early as the fifth or sixth century, reads,
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me," though slight variations
in wording are common. By the thirteenth century, the Hesychasts were
using it in conjunction with meditative techniques of breathing and concentration
upon the region of the heart. These techniques were intended to produce
a state of hesychia ("quiet") in which a vision of divine light was seen.
The Hesychasts' first known teachers were the late thirteenth-century
monk of Mt. Athos, Nikephoros the Solitary, and the monk Gregory of Sinai
(d. 1347).
Though Byzantine mystical theology had long emphasized the importance
of the vision of divine light, Hesychast techniques were attacked by some
theologians as materialistic and superstitious. St. Gregory Palamas (ca.
1296-1359), a Mt. Athos monk, composed a defense, declaring that the human
person is an integrated whole of body and soul. It was therefore entirely
fitting, he wrote, that the body should participate in prayer.
Hesychast techniques may have been borrowed from the Sufis, who, in turn,
may have adopted them from a pre-Muslim cult or imported them from India.
The silently or audibly recited prayer helps maintain the rhythm of inhalation,
holding of breath, and exhalation, and helps keep the mind focused. The
vision of light
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which the Hesychasts experienced was said to be the light
of Christ's
Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor and of the Second Coming. That
this experience lies beyond words and dogmas is, for Arteni, its most
significant feature. He sees in the Hesychast techniques similarities
to Buddhist and Zen practice.
The images which Arteni selected for the Jesus Prayer cycle of drawings
and books, and which he titles "Prayer of Jesus," contain traditional
Orthodox iconic images as well as versions of the images transformed by
Arteni's imagination. For him, these interpretations are part of an exploration
of the many layers of meaning which exist behind every sign and symbol.
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1. The Prayer of Jesus I
1992
Accordion folding format; 9 brush and sumi slate-blue ink, abstract monotypes,
plus 1 colophon leaf and 1 title leaf; Japanese handmade paper. [11] leaves;
21 x 16". Edition size: 1.
One contribution of Byzantine theology to Christian spirituality is its
teaching of theosis (deification), achieved through silent, uninterrupted
prayer. Theosis, as taught by the Hesychasts, is preceded or accompanied
by an experience of light. Arteni sees an affinity between the Hesychasts'
silence of the heart and Zen samadhi or satori. Both Hesychasts and Zen
monks, he notes, live in accordance with the principle of kenosis (non-violence
and spiritual humility).
Accompanying each of the monotypes for The Prayer of Jesus I is an Arteni
signature seal. Shown is the opening for "The Transfiguration" (left)
and "The Crucifixion" (right). The light generated by the Transfiguration
is called by St. Gregory Palamas "uncreated and divine radiance."
Accordion formats were invented by the Chinese and used mainly for Buddhist
sutras and albums of calligraphy and painting.
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2. The Prayer of Jesus II
1992
Accordion folding format; 9 collages and sumi ink paintings on Japanese
handmade paper, plus 1 title leaf and 1 colophon leaf. [11] leaves; 21
x 16". Edition size: 1.
Arteni has written in Greek with a brush directly on the collages, each
of which is accompanied by one of his signature seals. Shown is the opening
for "The Resurrection" (left) and "The Anastasis" (right). The image of
the Resurrection used by Arteni, following a Byzantine tradition, is of
the three Marys (the Myrophores) bringing oils to Christ's tomb, which
they find empty except for an angel. The Myrophores image may have appeared
as early as the mid-third century at the Baptistery at Dura Europos.
The Greek word "Anastasis," which means "to rise" or "to raise," is used
in Byzantine tradition to refer to Christ's Harrowing of Hell. The account
is found in the apocryphal, fifth-century Gospel of Nicodemus, in which,
prior to his resurrection, Christ confronts Satan and robs him of his
captive souls, raising them out of Hell. The first soul saved is Adam's.
In the left-hand portion of "The Anastasis," Christ, holding a cross,
is raising Adam and Eve, the sinuous figures on the right. In early Byzantine
representations of the Anastasis, the figure of Eve is not always present.
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3. World [Chinese character]
Undated
Single sheet. Brush and sumi ink and gouache on Japanese handmade paper.
38.5 x 24".
This is the Chinese "seal-script" character for "world." (Seal-script
is a very ancient form of Chinese writing which was used at least as early
as 600 B.C.) The cross, in Chinese, signifies the number ten, which represents
"totality," "completeness," and "wholeness. "Arteni was attracted by the
coincidental harmony of meanings between the three crosses in the Chinese
character and the Christian symbol.
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4. Buji (Non-action)
1996
Scroll format. Brush and sumi ink on handmade Japanese paper. 77 x 18".
Arteni calls his calligraphy "Meditation with a brush." Buji is the scroll
which won the 1996 Japan Foreign Minister's Grand Prize in the international
calligraphy competition organized by the Japan Calligraphic Art Academy.
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5. Collages I
Undated
Accordion folding format, matted. Cut-outs from journals pasted with methyl-cellulose.
[7] leaves; 8 x 8.5". Edition size: 1.
A suite of 7 collages on board.
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6. Collages II
Undated
Accordion folding format, matted. Cut-outs from journals pasted with methyl-cellulose.
[6] leaves; 8.5 x 8". Edition size: 1.
A suite of 6 collages on board.
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7. Apocalypse
1996
Portfolio format. Brush and sumi ink, gouache, and watercolor on Chinese
handmade paper. [27] leaves; 19 x 15". Edition size: 1.
This is a portfolio of studies on Chinese handmade paper for the clay
monotype Apocalypse suite (see no. 46 a-c). The studies and the suite
are composed of images described in the Book of Revelation. On the left-hand
page is "Angel with a Stone" (18:21); on the right-hand page is "Archangel
Michael and the Dragon" (12:7).
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8. A Small Book Of Engraved Mountain Stone Seals
1993
Accordion folding format. Red and black Chinese sealpaste prints of soapstone
seals. [22] leaves; 5 x 3.5". In silk drop-spine box with blank soapstone
seal. Edition size: 1.
This is a book of seal engravings, including more than 100 versions of
Arteni's name and nickname ("Crazy Hermit"), which he uses as his signature.
The seals are made of soapstone. Arteni included the character for "mountain"
in the title to emphasize the connection between the stone seals and the
larger whole from which they came, and also because when the character
for "mountain" is followed by the character for "stone," the two characters
may be read as separate words or as one.
Shown is the title page. On the right is a seal-stone print of the name
"Sol Invictus" in Chinese; the four characters read, "The Big Yang (Sun)
Not Vanquished." At left is the book's title. The soapstone seal displayed
was acquired to accompany the book. One end is carved into a dog's figure.
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9. Encountering Sorrow
-English translation from Chinese and Japanese
by S. Arteni
1996
Accordion folding format. Red and black Chinese sealpaste prints of seal-script
hand-carved soapstone seals. [15] leaves, i.e., gilt-edged shikishi boards;
10 x 6.5". Silk brocade boards. In silk drop-spine box with blank soapstone
seal. Edition size: 1.
Arteni composed the text by combining inscriptions from ancient Chinese
and Japanese paintings and poems. The title is a translation of "Li Sao"
(usually translated as "The Lament," though it literally means "Encountering
Sorrow"), the title of a famous poem by Qu Yuan (340-278 B.C.), who lived
during the "Warring States" era. It is a poem about exile, integrity,
and the spirit's incorruptibility.
On the right-hand page, the seal in the lower right-hand portion reads,
"Heart [mind] like the autumn moon." On the left-hand page, the seal in
the lower left-hand portion presents a saying of a 17th-century Chinese
painter:
"These rules are no rules and therefore they are my rules."
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10. A Large Book Of Recently Engraved Stone Seals
-English translation from Chinese
and Japanese by S. Arteni
1993
Accordion folding format. Red and black Chinese sealpaste prints from
soapstone seals. [24] leaves; 10 x 6.5". Brocade silk boards. In drop-spine
box with blank soapstone seal. Edition size: 1.
Arteni composed the two-poem text by combining inscriptions from ancient
Chinese and Japanese paintings and poems. Each of the lines is formed
by five or seven characters, a traditional Chinese and Japanese form.
Shown is the title page for the poem "All Quite at Random." The long line
of characters is the title; the small seal-stone print beneath it is Arteni's
name; at left is the Chinese translation of "Sol Invictus."
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11. A Book Of Collected Seal Script Carvings
1994
Accordion folding format. Red and black Chinese sealpaste prints from
soapstone seals; "cicada wing" [light-toned ink] rubbings of inscriptions
from sides of seals. [23 leaves]; 10.75 x 7.25. Edition size: 1.
Arteni took the texts of these carvings from Buddhist sayings. On the
right-hand page, engraved in white-line against a black background, is
a quote from the Zen Master Muso Soseki's (1275-1351) satori poem:
"For many years I dug the earth in order to see the blue sky."
In Zen tradition, when an individual achieves enlightenment (satori),
s/he writes a poem about the moment.
On the left-hand page, engraved in white-line against the black square
to the right of the meditating figure is the phrase "Sitting quietly."
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12. Ai Tai I's Carvings
1995
Accordion folding format. Red Chinese sealpaste prints from soapstone
seals [36] leaves; 10 x 6.6". Edition size: 1.
This book contains the complete collection of the artist's seal carvings
to 1995. "Ai Tai I" is Arteni's Chinese name.
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13. Casual Writings By A Window
-English translation from Chinese by S.
Arteni
1995
Accordion folding format. Red Chinese sealpaste prints from "seal-script"
carved soapstone seals, and bamboo stick and black sumi ink calligraphy.
[46] leaves; 16 x 11". Brocade silk boards. In drop-spine box. Edition
size: 1.
Casual Writings by a Window is a poem which Arteni composed by combining
inscriptions from ancient Chinese paintings and poems. These he either
carved in stone and printed, or wrote with a bamboo stick. For the seals,
Arteni has adopted an ancient style of Chinese writing invented at least
as early as 600 B.C. and whose various forms had become standardized by
200 B.C. Now, it is used only for seals and is called "seal-script." Here,
Arteni plays with the traditional seal-script forms, sometimes intentionally
distorting them to the point of illegibility, thereby transforming them
into designs of almost pure form. For the text, he has used a semi-cursive
style of Chinese character. However, instead of employing a brush, the
traditional means of forming these characters, he has used a bamboo stick.
Arteni's calligraphic style incorporates elements from Japanese and Chinese
traditions, as well as his own interpretations of them. The mingling of
the two styles, he feels, is natural, since in earlier centuries, the
characters of both languages were essentially identical, though a Chinese
and a Japanese would pronounce them differently.
On the right-hand page, the two seals and the line of calligraphy read,
"Measure of not understanding" and "If solitude is deep, there is no world
of people." On the left-hand page, the seal and calligraphy read, "Whatever
I have received from the heritage of the masters, I dare not forget."
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14. Seal I
Undated
Soapstone seal. 2.25 x 1.5 x 1.5". Double-sided gago in (nickname seal);
one side carved in relief, other side in intaglio.
Shown is Arteni's gago in (Japanese for "nickname seal") carved in relief.
It reads, "Crazy Hermit's Seal," after the nickname Arteni has chosen.
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15. Seal II
Undated
Soapstone seal. 1.13 x 2.75x 1.25". Inshu in (seal traditionally used
to begin painting, calligraphic work, or document); legend carved in relief.
The legend reads, "A thought of the past becomes a forest."
Four Icon Scrolls
The iconography of the icon scrolls is based on Russian podlinniki ("how-to"
manuals for icon painting) and on Ivan Schneider's and Peter Fedorov's
Technika Ikonopisi ("The Technique of Icon Painting"), published in Paris
ca. 1920.
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16. Studies of Icons
Scroll format. Brush and sumi ink and gouache on Chinese handmade paper.
19.5 x 86". Edition size: 1.
Shown is an image of the angel Gabriel.
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17. Studies of Icons
Scroll format. Brush and sumi ink on Chinese handmade paper. 19.5 x 86".
Edition size: 1.
Shown is Elisha witnessing Elijah's ascension to Heaven in a chariot of
fire drawn by horses of fire.
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18. Studies of Icons
Scroll format. Brush and sumi ink on Chinese handmade paper. 19.5 x 86".
Edition size: 1.
Shown is a portrait of St. George and the Dragon; in the upper right is
Jesus's hand reaching down in assistance.
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19. Studies for the Prayer of Jesus
Scroll format. Brush and sumi ink on Japanese handmade paper. 152 x 12".
Edition size: 1.
At the extreme left is a portrait of Jesus; on the extreme right is God's
hand; next to it is the Descent from the Cross.
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20. Crucifixion
Undated
Sumi ink pochoir on vellum. 9.5 x 8".
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21. Transfiguration
Undated
Brush and sumi ink on Japanese handmade paper. 38.5 x 24".
Variations on the Transfiguration theme:
 
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22. Crucifixion
Undated
Brush and sumi ink on Japanese handmade paper. 16.5" x 12.5".
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23. Anastasis
Undated
Brush and sumi ink on Japanese handmade paper. 16.5" x 12.5".
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24. Hodigitria I
Undated
Brush and sumi ink on Japanese handmade paper. 16.5 x 12.5".
Hodigitria is the Greek word for "Mother of God."
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25. Hodigitria II
Undated
Brush and sumi ink on Japanese handmade paper. 16.5" x 12.5".
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26. The Prayer Of Jesus III
Undated
Accordion folding format. 10 bamboo stick and sumi ink drawings on Japanese
handmade paper, plus 1 title leaf and 1 colophon leaf. [12] leaves; 11.25
x 9". Edition size: 1.
This is a maquette for The Prayer of Jesus albums in accordion formats
(nos. 1, 2, 4). Written above the image on the left is the Greek word
for "Pentecost."
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27. The Prayer Of Jesus IV
1992
Accordion folding format. 9 brush and sumi ink drawings on Japanese handmade
paper, plus 1 title leaf and 1 colophon leaf. [11] leaves; 21 x 16". Edition
size: 1.
On the left is shown the Transfiguration; on the right, the Crucifixion.
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28. Vices And Virtues
1992
Coptic binding format. Brush and sumi ink drawings on Japanese handmade
paper. [18] leaves; 21 x 16". Edition size: 1.
Shown are the plates for Sloth, symbolized as a pig (left), and Stupidity,
symbolized as a goat (right).
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29. Apocalypse
Undated
Single sheet. Brush and sumi ink and gouache on Japanese handmade paper.
38 x 24".
This wash is part of a study for a projected book of prints on scenes
and images from the Book of Revelation. It will be titled Apocalypse.
Variations on the Apocalypse theme:
The Apocalypse triptych
  
Mixed technique on paper laid on wire mesh
Each panel 30 x 24”
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30. Anastasis
Undated (Descent into Hell/Rising of Christ and His Raising of the Dead)
Single sheet. Brush and sumi ink and gouache on Japanese handmade paper.
38.5 x 25".
Flanking a figure of Christ holding a scroll are two groups of the Just
(as they have come to be known in art historical literature), including
David, Solomon, and John the Baptist, whom Christ has raised from Hell.
In the painting's upper portion are two hills, which represent the earth's
rending and the revelation of the world's foundations. In the lower left
and right are figures of Adam and Eve.
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31. Democratie (Arthur Rimbaud)
1996
Flutter format. Sanguine etching-ink and monotype calligraphy and images.
[10] leaves; 16 x 11.5". Edition size: 1.
"Democratie" is one of Rimbaud's group of prose poems entitled Illuminations.
In "Democratie," Rimbaud denigrates modern democracy, mocking the gullibility
of the masses.
The flutter format is a type of accordion format popular in China during
the Song dynasty (960-1279).
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32. Cantique de Saint Jean (Stephane Mallarme)
1996
Sumi ink monotype images and sumi ink calligraphy. Paper handmade in China,
Mexico (laid on wire mesh), and the Philippines. [10] leaves; 15.5 x 12.5".
Edition size: 2. Copy: no. 1, with 3 additional artist's proofs monotypes.
Shown is a depiction of a winged John the Baptist looking at his own head.
Traditional iconography for John usually depicts him in the desert dressed
in a camelhair shirt (Matthew 3:4) and includes the images of an ax embedded
in a tree (Matthew 3:10, Luke 3:9) and John's head on a plate (Matthew
14:10, 11).
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33. Cantique de Saint Jean (Stephane Mallarme)
1996
Modified lithographic ink monotype images and modified lithographic ink
calligraphy. Paper handmade in China, Mexico (laid on wire mesh), and
the Philippines. [10] leaves; 15.5 x 12.5". Copy: no. 2, with 3 additional
artist's proofs monotypes.
Arteni's image is composed of a rising sun and setting sun, referred to
in the stanza on the right.
• Two Artist's Proofs for Mallarme's Cantique de Saint
Jean (nos. 32, 33)
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34. Hand of God
Undated
Single sheet. Brush and sumi ink monotype on Chinese handmade paper.
12.5" x 9".
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35. Salome with Saint John's Head
Undated
Single sheet. Modified lithographic ink for monotype on Chinese handmade
paper. 12.5" x 9".
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36. Laudes Creaturarum (Saint Francis of Assisi)
-English translation from Italian by Barbara
Carle
1992
Unbound leaves. Brush and sumi ink drawings, hand-carved initials, and
red Chinese sealpaste prints from signature seals; text printed in letterpress,
Goudy Old Italian; all on Colombian handmade paper. [32] leaves; 23 x
15". Wrapper with brush and sumi ink images. In drop-spine box. Edition
size: 26. Copy: no. 9. Acquired by St. Mark's Library.
For Arteni, archetypal symbols are the most potent visual expressions
that humanity can form to communicate the world's continuously manifesting
joy.
The book's wrapper when closed shows the Chrismon, a circle whose three
radii are formed by an I and a X, the Greek initials of the name Jesus
Christ. Arteni sees in it a similarity to the Hindu Wheel of Life. When
the wrapper is opened, it reveals the Ichthys, a fish symbol used by early
Christians, who may have borrowed it from pre-Christian cultures. There
are specifically Eastern pre-Christian manifestations of the Ichthys which
may have influenced Byzantine tradition. One of the Greek gods had been
called Ichthys, and his death in the sea created an abundance of fish
upon which his people fed. Another link, Arteni surmises, might be the
Thracians, ancestors of the Balkan peoples, for whom the fish was sacred.
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36 a.
The book's first image, the Alpha sign, is here made with a cross
forming the line on the right. Arteni saw the Alpha made in this way in
a
Greek Orthodox icon painting.
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36 b.
This image combines the form of an early (ca. 1500 B.C.) Chinese
character for "rain" with a Native American symbol for "abundance."
In the
upper left is a signature seal of a cross surmounted by a bird. Arteni
remembers seeing this form of cross at rural crossroads in his native
Romania.
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36 c.
The mountain outline, here symbolizing the "earth" of Francis's
poem,
is shown with three peaks, after the traditional Japanese drawings of
Mt.
Fuji.
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36 d.
Arteni saw this form of the Omega in a Greek Orthodox icon painting.
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37. The Large Emerging from the Small
1994
Accordion folding format. Brush and sumi ink drawings. [18] leaves, including
3 letterpress leaves printed in Goudy Old Italian, all on Colombian handmade
paper. 15 x 12.5". Edition size: 1.
These are the first drawings for the Laudes Creaturarum (see no. 36).
At left is an iconic portrait of Christ; at right, a name of God in the
Greek Orthodox tradition ("the One who is") within a Zen circle. The Zen
circle must be drawn in a single movement, without lifting the brush from
the paper.
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38. Wandering (Muso Soseki)
-English translation from Japanese by W.
S. Merwin and Soiku Shigematsu
1995
Accordion folding format. Brush and sumi ink monotypes. 10.75 x 9.5";
[46] leaves, including 2 letterpress leaves printed in Goudy Old Italian
; bound in blue silk boards. In silk drop-spine box. Edition size: 1.
The Zen Master Muso Soseki (1275-1351) was born in Ise, home of a pure
form of Japanese architecture and enclosed forest clearings. Such clearings
were planted with Zen gardens in a ritual use of space. (See no. 46 for
Heidegger's allusion to this concept.) Soseki lived through the civil
war which initiated the Ashikaga shogun dynasty.
The seal on the front page of Wandering, and the monotypes, are based
on two Chinese characters written in seal-script styles, which form the
word "pilgrim":
[like] clouds  [over]
water 
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39. Painting
Undated
Oil on canvas
16" x 22"
Adoration of the Magi
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collage study for exhibit 39
12" x 16"
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40. Painting
Undated
Oil on canvas
14" x 22"
Christ Washing the Disciples' Feet
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collage study for exhibit 40
10" x 14"
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41. Ink
Undated Accordion folding format. 16 brush and sumi ink monotypes on Japanese
handmade paper. [18] leaves; 21 x 16". Edition size: 1. Arteni has translated
his haiku to read, Daybreak Bearing up under its solitude To make ink
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42. River Bank (Tu Fu)
-English translation from the Chinese by
Rewi Alley
1997
Accordion folding format. Brush and sumi ink monotypes and calligraphy.
[46] leaves; 10.75 x 9.5". In drop-spine box. Edition size: 1.
Tu Fu (712-770) was a Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty who lived during
the An Luchan Rebellion (755-757), a period preceded and followed by many
years of political turbulence and social unrest. Tu Fu was a contemporary
of two other famous Tang dynasty poets, Li Bo and Wang Wei. All three
were high officials in the imperial bureaucracy and, during the upheavals
at the imperial court, were banished to distant outposts of the empire.
Much of their poetry speaks of the pain of exile.
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River Bank
Here sits a man by
The river bank, who thinks
To return home; he is an
Ordinary scholar, drifting
Like a piece of cloud above;
At night, I am lonely
As the moon, but at sunset
I am still of good heart;
In these autumn winds
My illness gets better;
In past times, they were kind
To old horses, not sending
Them off on tiring journeys
After they had served so long.
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43. Coda (Daniel Simko)
1997
Accordion folding format. Brush and sumi ink monotypes and calligraphy.
Signed by the poet. [46] leaves; 10.75 x 9.5". In drop-spine box. Edition
size: 1.
Daniel Simko is a Czech/Slovak poet living in New York City
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44. Abbreviated Christological Cycle
Undated
Single sheet. Brush and sumi ink and gouache on Japanese handmade paper.
38.5" x 25"
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45. Nativity
Undated
Single sheet. Brush and sumi ink and gouache on Japanese handmade paper.
38.5" x 25"
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46 a-c. Apocalypse
1996
Portfolio of 19 sumi ink clay monotypes on synthetic paper, including
1 colophon leaf and 1 title leaf. [19] leaves; 21 x 17". Edition size:
2 copies. Copy: no. 1.
Arteni based the iconography of this work on the imagery in the Book of
Revelation as depicted in the Kremlin Master's Apocalypse icon (ca. 1500)
in the Dormition Cathedral in Moscow's Kremlin. The painting is the first
known Orthodox Apocalypse, though some scholars believe that a slightly
earlier example, no longer extant, may have existed.
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46 a. "Ladder and Door to Heaven"
"A door stood open in heaven, and the voice that I had first heard speaking
to me like a trumpet said, 'Come up here, and I will show you what must
take place hereafter'" (4:1). The plate is displayed upside-down because
Arteni and the curator feel that its formal characteristics are best appreciated
in this manner.
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46 b. "Black Sun, Blood Moon"
When the lamb broke the sixth seal, there was a violent earthquake and
"the sun turned black as a funeral pall and the moon all red as blood"
(6:12).
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46 c. "Angel with a Stone"
"Then a mighty angel picked up a stone like a great millstone and hurled
it into the sea, saying, 'Thus shall Babylon, the great city, be sent
hurtling down, never to be seen again'" (18:21). This plate, like 46 a,
is displayed upside-down.
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47 a-c. No-thing-ness
Undated
Portfolio of 9 sumi ink monotypes on Japanese handmade paper. [9] leaves;
29.5 x 21". Edition size: 1.
Arteni comments on this work: "Artists succeed in circumventing fate.
Momentarily tasting transcendence, they are freed from human individuality.
Artistic creation suspends Time. No, no-thing-ness, emptiness."
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48 a-b. The Thinker as Poet (Martin Heidegger)
Unbound leaves. 29 pages of brush and sumi ink calligraphy, sumi ink drawings,
and artist's handprint on Japanese handmade paper; text in bamboo stick
and sumi ink. [5], 1-50, [6] pp.; 22 x 16". Brush and sumi ink calligraphed
wrapper. In drop-spine box. Edition size: 1.
In this work, Heidegger describes the artist, poet, and philosopher as
"sayers" (i.e., tellers of sagas) and as persons who speak "more
daringly" than others. Arteni is attracted to Heidegger because he
"accepted the notion of mystery."
Arteni also finds in Heidegger specific affinities with Zen. Heidegger
elsewhere has written that every person is like a piece of potter's clay
"thrown" into the clearing of a dense forest. The "clearing,"
a metaphor for every person's life, is a gift of sacred space in which
we dwell for a time. In Japan, Zen monks would make forest clearings and,
in a ritual use of space, design and plant gardens in them. The changing
seasons and accidents of nature were expected to play a role in shaping
the gardens' forms.
Shown are two of the book's double-page openings. On the left is a recreation
of a famous drawing by the Zen Master Sen Gai (1750-1838).
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Technical Terms
Monotype -
Clay Monotype -
Sumi -
Shikishi -
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Single image produced from ink on plate. Arteni produces monotypes with
brush and ink on glass or plexiglass; he prints the plates by hand.
Monotype image printed from wet clay slab, to which mixture of paint or
dye and clay has been applied; print is sprayed with fixative.
Japanese black ink; occasionally bluish-black, brownish-black, purplish-black.
Japanese calligraphy board (paper pasted to board).
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