Sunday, August 30, 2009

like the pure sky


just as many rivers are one in the ocean
all half-truths are swallowed by the one truth;


the effulgence of the sun illuminates all dark corners.


clouds draw water from the ocean to fall as rain on the earth
and there is neither increase nor decrease;

just so,
reality remains unaltered like the pure sky.

words sarahapa

42 comments:

Joanna said...

Oh I recognized Andy Goldsworthy's work right away. Isn't he the most inspiring artist the way he works with nature? And the words are a perfect match. This was a lovely way to end my day. Thank you and good night.

Dan Gurney said...

Wonderful! I love Andy Goldsworthy's art. I saw a documentary movie made of his work a while back. He reminds me a bit of Christo who once built a running fence across the landscape here running from inland right by my school through the fields to the sea.

Thank you Steven, for reminding me of these wonderful artists!

Rachel Fenton said...

Nice composition!

One of my favourites of Goldsworthy's images is one where he'd left his dry silhouette on a boulder in the rain. I think it was because it was an honest image - ovbiously man made...whereas I tend to think nature does a better job of art in comparison to some of his other images. He is one of the reasons I decided not to be an artist! But, grudge aside, I really like the way you have paved his images with the imagery of the words. A new appreciation of him may develop! Thank you.

Rachel Fenton said...

It just occurred to me that was possibly why you posted those words with the images...crumbs, I'm slow off the mark! Hey, at least I've always admitted I know nothing :)

Sixpence and A Blue Moon said...

It's refreshing, knowing some things are "pure", like the rain, snow, the wind that rearranges my hair, and the sky...

Reality, I'm still working on making sense of "reality"? Have you ever thought about a thing that happened in your life and wondered if it was "REAL or IMAGINED"? I do.

I'll always be...growing into my dreams...growing into me... Perhaps I am afraid of getting there and finding..."reality"?

xoxo

Jinksy said...

Words and pictures give one much to contemplate...

Titus said...

hi steven: did that strange double take as soon as I saw the first photograph, then the next, and thought, that's Goldsworthy! Andy Goldsworthy lives in our village, and in the woods behind my father-in-law's house you quite often stumble onto his works, usually the very ephemeral ones. The village, Penpont, is also "protected" by his Sentinel, a sandstone egg on a small hill just as you enter.
Once again, we connect in more ways than we imagine.
Lovely post.

Pauline said...

I read this over and over until it seemed more real than art - what a marvelous compilation you've made here!

Jenn Jilks said...

Very inspiring, yes.
Just a question, while Canada is reinventing its copyright laws...are these pictures by this artist and copyrighted poetry? Do you have copyright permission to post them?
The website, Sarahapa, has © Copyright 2003. InspirationZone®TM at the bottom.

steven said...

hi joanna, yes, he has a recognizable approach to his work. i came across him years ago and then bought a copy of the documentary rivers and tides. i love to sit and watch him think and work his way through something so utterly fragile and improbable that it shouldn't exist and then bring it into the fullness of being. have a lovely day. steven

hope said...

Wow...just wow! The first one made me do a double take and the rest were like magic.

As usual, you've shown me something new. Now I'm off to learn more.

Have a great school year!

steven said...

hi dan, i've seen photographs of that fence because i try to keep on top of what he and his wife are creating and there it was stetching improbably across fields and hills!!! the documentary you mention - well i wonder if it's the one i mnetioned in my previous comment "rivers and tides"? it's absolutely stunning and you can't walk through this world again without seeing the possibilities that exist with bits of wood, leaves, feathers, rock. here's a post i did on andy a while back:
http://leakstev.blogspot.com/2008/12/and-so-is-life.html have a peaceful day dan!! steven

steven said...

hi rachel, lovely to see you again! a grudge against andy!! oh my!! that's unexpected!! i love the space that's created at the point where a human rearticulates some element of the rest of the natural world. so i love andy's work. nils udo is another person who creates with natural objects. but rachel there's got to be more to you deciding not be an artist than that . . . . . fascinated onlookers need to know!!!! see you again. steven

steven said...

hi rachel, i didn't realize there was a second element to your comment!! i think it's good and wise to remain open to possibilities, including the one that the person or persons who bugged you immeasurably might someday move into your good books!!! there are countless instances of that in my own life and when i look at what i am and what i like compared to when i was in my mid-twenties i worry at first and then when i step further back i can see how it makes sense. have a peaceful day. steven

steven said...

hi sixpence - what a great comment - no really i mean that!!! i love that things that are beyond judgement allow me to reexperience my innocence.

reality. well i hover in a space between real and imagined much of the time in terms of things that happen. particularly when it comes to remebered events. i've been cruising through a long long stretch of deja vu and apres vu in respect to this blog and all that has come out of it. i feel a bit like a bit player in a drama unfolding at times.
so when you say "i'll always be...growing into my dreams...growing into me... " where we differ is that for me that is reality! have a lovely day. steven

steven said...

hello jinksy - oh yes they do. thank goodness it's sunday so i can afford the time to contemplate!!! have a contemplative afternoon. steven

steven said...

titus he's right 'round the corner?!! that's crazy!!!! there are so many people who would love to have access to his work. to see it for real. probably even to see him!! he lives right there?!! it's very nice to have a human sense of artists and musicians if only because there fame propels them beyond the real and elevates them above the rest. which is why so many of them lose themselves, because they then have to play into the role. i really like andy's work and have done for a long time. if you read my other comments on this you'll see a little more of my experience with his work. i love the fragile strength of his creations. that they are so transitory . . .but especially that they are so improbably beautiful. thanks for your cool comment! steven

steven said...

hi pauline, thankyou for that generous comment. i always hope that for someone the words and images afford a window into something other - an assocation, a thought, a dream, an idea, an inspiration or an insight. i'm glad that they allowed you to move a little distance away from them into something uniquely your own! have a peaceful day. steven

steven said...

hi jenn, thanks for the question. you might have noticed that i have not placed any restrictions on my own photographs or text. my approach is that i share it - share being the operative word - as soon as i choose to upload it.
i like that. if anyone wishes to take those images, take that text. i'm good with that.
i generally share fragments of text, attribute them, and float them into the ether. today's post is one example of that. the text is from something quite ancient. it isn't owned by anyone. i've linked it to someone who has other examples of the beautiful writing of this person.
images - well if they aren't mine, i have either photographed them from a book i own or searched for them on google. a burning question that i've wondered about myself: is google also not subject to copyright? they have milllions of images belonging to other people that they freely display much as i do and they make money at it!! what do other people think of that?
i operate in innocence, without malice and certainly not at anyone else's expense. if i cross someone's proprietorial path then i remove whatever picture or text as soon as i am asked.
thanks for visiting and have a peaceful day. steven

ellen abbott said...

What a beautiful post Steven. I too recognizes Andy Goldworthy's work. I just love his esthetic. I too, share my pictures without strings with one exception and that is my work as an artist and even then, as long as I am given proper credit, I don't mind people using the images. I think most people feel the same way.

steven said...

hello ellen, thankyou very much for your generous comment!!! if you like andy's work then you might want to wander through the work of nils udo as well. i think you're wise to ask for credit for images of your work. it's stunning and you should be recognized!!!! have a peaceful day down there! steven

Lisa Ursu said...

This is a beautiful post Steven.
"just as many rivers are one in the ocean
all half-truths are swallowed by the one truth"
I love that. The first photo in this post has captivated me. For some reason, thoughts of skipping stones come to mind.
Enjoy your day everyone.

Barry said...

A beautiful composite of words and images, Steven. Goldworthy is an exciting artist with a unique vision of the world. I enjoyed this very much.

Tess Kincaid said...

Goldsworthy's images are amazing. And they pair perfectly with Sarahapa. Hope you're having a lovely Sunday, Steven!

Lorac said...

Amazing artist and lovely words to intensify the pictures meaning.

Friko said...

A post to savour, words and artwork are splendidly matched. I will take my time over this.
Thank you.

steven said...

hi liza, thanks for your comment. when i first saw that image i assumed it was a still-shot of a stone with ripples moving outwards and then i looked more closely and realized that it wa in fact a structure. a structure capturing the same visual essence. i really like his work and the piece of poetry is excerpted from a larger piece of writing linked at the bottom of the post. have a lovely day. steven

steven said...

hi barry - thankyou and i'm glad you appreciated goldsworthy's work. i'm hoping that people will look up more of his work as it is extraordinary. have a peaceful afternoon. steven

steven said...

hi willow, i love the idea of visual illusion and allusion. "half truths are swallowed by the one truth". have a lovely day at the manor willow. steven

steven said...

hi lorac, lovely to see you!!! when i was reading the sarahapa writing, i was actually looking over buddhist texts for something else but i had in my mind's eye the goldsworthy piece made of leaves (i think it's the third image down in the post) because it carries you through beauty into all and everything at its black centre. i'm glad that it worked for so many people. thanks for your generous comment. steven

steven said...

hello friko, i'm glad you could drop by!!! i love the images - i have several of them on a dvd documentary of andy's work. it shows how he made them as well as the stunning finished product!!! have a lovely afternoon. steven

Nancy said...

Amazing artwork. I continue to be amazed that there is never an increase nor a decrease.

alaine@éclectique said...

Wonderful art and the words to go with - three talented people!

steven said...

hello nancy and welcome!!! he is an incredible artist. what he sees and does are inspiring and inspired!!! i look forward to seeing you again. steven

steven said...

hey alaine - up and at 'em already i see!!! well thanks for the kind words and i hope that you have a lovely day down under. steven

Delwyn said...

Hi Steven

Another good word for today: effulgence...

the effulgence of the sun illuminates all dark corners...

Happy days

steven said...

ahhh delwyn - isn't that a peach of a word - "effulgence". shining forth, brilliant. i'd like to see words like that come back to the forefront of our language - words that have layers of descriptive wealth. have a lovely day by the river. steven

Cheryl Cato said...

Steven, these are lovely words and the last line "reality remains unaltered like the pure sky" resonates with me. I absolutely hate to admit that I am unfamiliar with Andy Goldsworthy, but I will certainly research his work. All are stunning, but I especially like the first. Have a wonderful day. Lizzy

Cheryl Cato said...

Whoops, I jumped the gun... I DO know Andy Goldsworthy's work! I just did not make the connection. I too saw the documentary on PBS or BBC (can't remember which) and think he is amazing! Lizzy writes this sheepishly... :-)

Crafty Green Poet said...

I love Andy Goldsworthy's artworks...

steven said...

hi lizzy! she does / she doesn't / yes she does remember andy and the documentary. of course she does!!!! he's an amazing talent and it's in his seeing nature and then reinterpreting its forms that he has the greatest effect. i love his work as well!!! steven

Seth said...

I love Goldsworthy's work and you have chosen some inspiring images here.