François Cheng: Empty and Full: The Language of Chinese Painting (1979–) [ES, EN]

“Chinese painting might be called ‘philosophy in action,’ for it is one of the highest expressions of Chinese spirituality. Both a medium for contemplation leading to self-transcendence and a microcosm embodying universal principles and primal forces, it is a means for making manifest the Chinese worldview. At the heart of this worldview is the notion of emptiness, the dynamic principle of transformation. Only through emptiness can things attain their full measure and human beings approach the universe at the level of totality. Focusing on the principle of emptiness, François Cheng uses semiotic analysis and textual explication to reveal the key themes and structures of Chinese aesthetics in the practice of pictorial art. Among the many Chinese writers, poets, and artists whose writings are quoted, he gives special emphasis to a great Ch’ing dynasty theoretician and painter, Shih-t’ao. Twenty-seven reproductions of the words of Shih-t’ao and other masters illustrate the interpretive commentary.”

First published as Vide et plein: le langage pictural chinois, Seuil, Paris, 1979.

Translated by Michael H. Kohn
Publisher Shambhala, Boston and London, 1994
ISBN 0877739560, 9780877739562
ix+158 pages
via doublr

WorldCat

Vacío y plenitud (Spanish, trans. Amelia Hernandez and Juan Luis Delmont, 1985/93, 13 MB, via Amir Brito)
Empty and Full (English, trans. Michael H. Kohn, 1994, 8 MB)

Maya Tonuta (ed.): A Solid Injury to the Knees (2016)

A book of essays, short stories and speculations on depression’s percolation into politics, its fraught relationship to productivity and its potential for resistance.

With contributions by Florian Cramer, Travis Jeppesen, Nina Power, Joshua Simon, Maya Tounta, and Marina Vishmidt.

More about the exhibition project: DoubleBind.eu.

Publisher Rupert, Vilnius, 2016
ISBN 9786099558721
137 pages
via FC, via Double Bind

Publisher

PDF, PDF (8 MB)

Michael Snow: The Collected Writings of Michael Snow (1994)

“Writing, for Michael Snow, is as much a form of “art-making” as the broad range of visual art activities for which he is renowned, including the “Walking Woman” series and the film Wavelength. Conversely, many of the texts included in this anthology are as significant visually as they are at the level of content — they are meant to be looked at as well as read. Situated somewhere between a repository of contemporary thought by one of our leading Canadian artists and a history book as it brings to light some important moments in the cultural life of Canada since the 1950s, these texts tell their own story, marking the passage of time, ideas and attitudes.

The works included here, ranging from essays and interviews and record album cover notes to filmscripts and speeches (which, in Snow’s hands, often fall into the category of performance art), are not only “built for browsing,” they offer insights into both the professional and the private Snow. Together, they expand the context of Snow’s work and show the evolution of a great Canadian artist, beginning with his early attempts at defining art, to his emergence and recognition on the international art scene.

This book is one of four books that are part of the Michael Snow Project. Initiated by the Art Gallery of Ontario and The Power Plant Gallery, the project also includes four exhibitions of his visual art and music.”

Included texts: The Real “New Jazz,” 1950; Poem, 1957; Something You Might Try, 1958; Title or Heading, 1961; A Lot of Near Mrs., 1962-63; Around about New York Eye and Ear Control, 1966; Statements/18 Canadian Artists, 1967; First to Last, 1967; Crafts, 1967; On Wavelength, 1968; Abitibi, 1969; Tap, 1969; Ten Questions to Michael Snow, 1969; La Région Centrale, 1969; Converging on La Région Centrale: Michael Snow in Conversation with Charlotte Townsend, 1971; Michael Snow: A Filmography by Max Knowles, 1971; Passage (Dairy), 1971.

With a Foreword by Louise Dompierre
Publisher Wilfrid Laurier University Press, Waterloo, Ontario, 1994
ISBN 0889202435, 9780889202436
viii+295 pages
via KD

Publisher
WorldCat

PDF (29 MB)
ARG