Spring 2015

Zenside

Zenside is my first installation carved from a 10’ x 12’ x 12’ space. It is in the middle of a row of painting spaces shared with another grad student. In Zenside we find a true sanctuary where we can experience new things beyond the day-to-day pressures, where we can rediscover aspects forgotten in the rush of life and feel balanced and calm. The meditation room must be free from confusion and distractions adapted to be open and calm in this cramped working cubical.

I began by making a sketch of a divided space—one representing the outside world and one representing the meditation room. After building a mockup, I bought 1” x 4” x 12’ pine boards to use as ceiling supports for my hanging pieces—lunar calendars, newspapers, and dividing curtain. Three more boards were bought to tent the meditation room, giving it a cloistered feeling while allowing translucent light to enter the space, evoking the ever-changing quality of natural light outdoors.

I called the library to save stacks of the New York Times and the Washington Post for me to be picked up by the middle of March. Researching the origin of lunar calendars seemed to me early indicators of man’s awareness of time and possibly the early creators of stress. I was surprised to find the earliest copies of these calendars in the Lascaux Cave 17,000 years ago.

Canson cream colored translucent sketch papers and Monotow inks were purchased, and I began laying out (4) 10’ long lunar calendars—each representing a quarter of the year.

Thinking about what I “see” during my meditations, I started gathering Blick art tissue, FW acrylic pearlescent inks, and gloss medium. Because I often see free floating nebulae—luminescent parts of an interstellar medium that produce giant clouds of dust and gas in space, I translated this as close as possible. This focal point needed to be free floating and slightly moving with the aid of a tiny fan. I added a 6’ dowel to the ceiling above the gray brick wall. As I finished each cloud, I hung them one at a time on fishing line.

I made the newspapers into stacks and tied them with twine to make meditation cushions this month. They also represented the accumulations of news articles causing stress in our everyday life. As Indira Gandhi said, “We must learn to be still in the midst of activity and be vibrantly alive in repose.” Five of the newspapers hung over dowels, like those found in some libraries, separating the outside world from the entrance into the meditation room. 

I spaced the four lunar scrolls at the entrance, insulating the outside from the inside room. Serving as noren curtains, they provided an additional texture and allowed warm light to invigorate and energize the space between the two worlds. 

I made two enormous screens from translucent white fabric and covered them with evenly spaced needlepoint canvas pockets. A Buddhist prayer bell hung between the two parts. Tintinnabulation marked the comings and goings of the meditators. I made distinctly individualistic malas and placed them inside the pockets for easy access. I invited the meditators to take one with them to remind them of their visit. 

Sandalwood incense and low volumed chanting filled the meditation room with clarity and relaxation. The outside world was marked by a narrow hallway filled with a bombardment of broadcast news, harsh lights, electrical wiring, exhaust fans, and exposed ductwork.