Central to Kariya's practice is the ongoing inscription of the phrase "the now is" on diverse objects, which he describes as a trinity—"the" as an index pointing to phenomena, "now" as simultaneity, and "is" as testament to all existence—declaring the simultaneous presence of everything and revealing reality as illusion.[3] This concept frames his view of an "unfinished landscape" where the visible and invisible worlds coexist in a perpetual state of "now," with all things, including trash, dust, and ordinary debris, holding equal status in the present moment. [1]
(These three characters do not possess "meaning" in isolation; they form a trinity within a structure where each complements the others. At the same time, this very trinitarian structure hints at the existence of unknown, alternative systems of complementarity. It suggests a structure of contradictions that mutually complement one another—and therein, a fluctuation arises. Might that very fluctuation be the source of spiritual energy?)
Kariya employs self-archaeological methods by treating the present moment and everyday materials—such as shredded pages from the Blank paper, Scrap memo, Bible, Quran, and Heart Sutra, New York Times articles, beans, seeds, bones, receipts, sea shells, stones, construction debris, plastics, and more—as objects of examination to uncover structural traces of existence, trial and error, and illusory surfaces. His installations and series, including "Sutra" (first shown in 1989 at Exit Art, New York), "Seed Sutra," "Face Sutra," and "Fossil Chalk," transform these materials into evidence of simultaneity, often incorporating news media as "virtual information" to verify existential conditions in the given society.
Through decades of exhibitions at venues such as Mizuma Art Gallery in Tokyo, Exit Art and the Armory Show in New York, and ICA Philadelphia, Kariya's work continues to document and meditate on the interplay of creation, fiction, conflict, and ongoing the archetypal "now," presenting personal and collective existence as if we choose, interconnected process.
Early life
Hiroshi Kariya was born in 1948 in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. He grew up in Japan, where he was immersed in the language and culture through international conference organizing works at Japan Convention Services Inc. 1970~1974, that later informed aspects of his artistic philosophy of the archetype of our world, including the dual reading of the kanji character for 「元」"moto" (origin), which can also be pronounced as "hajimaru" (beginning), highlighting notions of origin and simultaneity.
Moved to the United States
In 1977, Hiroshi Kariya moved from Japan to the United States, settling in New York City where he has lived and worked since.
The following year, in 1978, he lived at Westbeth artist house downtown, near by Hudson liver pier, after several changes,
he established his studio at 359 Canal Street in New York. This space had previously been occupied by Kazu Butsuhara , Fluxus artists Nam June Paik and Ay-O and served as a venue for Fluxus performances. Dick Higgins maintained a studio in the same building downstairs.
Artistic career
Hiroshi Kariya's artistic career began in Japan but shifted significantly after his relocation to the United States in 1977, where he has since lived and worked in New York. His early exhibitions in the late 1970s included "School Days" (1977) and "State of Things" (1978) at St. Michael’s College in Vermont, as well as participation in the "Sound Show" special project at MoMA PS1 in 1979 with a performance titled "Meditation." [2][1]
PS1, "Meditation" special project at The Sound Show, 1979 Photo: Bernd Jansen
During the 1980s and 1990s, Kariya gained recognition through solo exhibitions in the United States and Japan. Notable solo shows included "Sutra" at Exit Art in New York (1989), "Sutra: One thing in everything: Everything in one thing" at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia (1990), and exhibitions at Ihara Ludens Gallery in New York (1990 and 1992). In 1993, he presented "In Memory of 1992" at Spark Gallery II in Tokyo, which served as a predecessor to Mizuma Art Gallery. From 1994 to 1997, he held annual solo exhibitions at Mizuma Art Gallery in Tokyo, including "Sign of the Times" (1994), "Chalkboard Sutra" (1995), "Emptiness" (1996), and "Parallel Chalkboard" (1997). Other significant 1990s presentations included installations at Art Tower Mito in 1994 and participation in "Et Maintenant" at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1998). [2][5][1]
Kariya's long-term association with Mizuma Art Gallery marked a key milestone in his career, beginning with the 1993–1997 series of solos curated by gallery director Sueo Mizuma. After reducing public exhibitions in the 2000s to focus on studio work—including a web project "In Memory of 911" for Art Tower Mito (2001–2003)—he returned to Mizuma with "It Is All About the One Piece, and Millions of Others" in 2018, his first solo there in 21 years. He also exhibited at Tokyo Designers Week in 2011 in collaboration with the gallery. [5][1]
In recent years, Kariya has expanded his presence in New York through Mizuma & Kips, presenting "Archetype" in 2020 (interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic) and participating in The Armory Show in 2019. His international recognition is evident through exhibitions across the United States, Japan, France, and other countries, reflecting a sustained trajectory of institutional and gallery support since the late 1970s. [1][2]
Reference: [1][2][3][4][5] Gokipedia https://grokipedia.com/page/Hiroshi_Kariya
?Autoarchaeological Art?
Hiroshi Kariya pioneered autoarchaeological art, also known as self-archaeological art, a distinctive form of artistic practice that he developed after relocating to the United States in 1977.[1][4] This approach entails an ongoing investigation into the archetypes of existence, language, and artistic creation, transforming these inquiries into artworks that present attachments to concepts of existence and meaning, along with systemic landscapes that continue to explain them. [1][4]
To pursue these archetypes, Kariya emphasizes the need to first recognize a "first" existence, "first" language, "first" consciousness, and "first" questions. The Japanese character "moto" (origin) can also be read as "hajimaru" (beginning), suggesting that everything originates in the "now." The practice centers on examining the "location" of the concept of existence and the representation of linguistic structure through the traces of a work's infancy. These traces, manifesting as processes of trial and error, form an ongoing "unfinished landscape" that encompasses the universe, including both visible and invisible worlds, in an unfinished state. [1]
"The now is" sutra curving. 1989, plaster, acrylic, oil, cement, mixed media, 48"x62" collection of the artist
The surfaces of Kariya's works serve as temporary vestiges of appearance, often retaining visible records of the creative process—such as conflicts, hesitations, revisions, and "errors"—that are integrated into the final piece rather than erased. This method simulates an archaeological excavation, treating the artwork's making as a site for questioning reality and illusion, with the unfinished quality reflecting the continuous, flowing nature of existence. [4][6]
Autoarchaeological art is closely connected to Kariya's central concept of "the now is.” [1]
The "the now is" concept
The "the now is" concept forms the core of Hiroshi Kariya's philosophical and artistic inquiry, serving as both a title and a structural code he has applied repeatedly to objects since the 1980s. Kariya describes "the now is" as a trinity of three words—the, now, and is—that together declare the simultaneity of all existence. [3]
Each word lacks independent meaning but complements the others to form a unified expression: the functions as an index, now denotes simultaneity, and is serves as a testimony to all existence. The three words connect referent, creation, and phenomenon into a single system, explaining a structural concept in which subject, phenomenon, and existence are simultaneously realized. [3]
These three characters do not possess "meaning" in isolation; they form a trinity within a structure where each complements the others. At the same time, this very trinitarian structure hints at the existence of unknown, alternative systems of complementarity. It suggests a structure of contradictions that mutually complement one another—and therein, a fluctuation arises. Might that very fluctuation be the source of spiritual energy?
この三文字は、独自にその「意味」をなさない。それぞれがそれぞれの意味を補完し合う構造下において三位一体である。同時にその三位一体構造自体が、これら以外の補完構造という未知の補完構造を示唆するのである。説明を補完し合う矛盾の構造の暗示、そこに揺らぎが生じる。その揺らぎこそが精神のエネルギーの源ではないだろうか？と
Kariya emphasizes that nature, phenomenon, and existence are all one, so that every entity—including dust—possesses "the now is." He states that he is simultaneous with dust and that no distinction exists between them. [3] This equality extends to all things: the exists equally with trash, dust, and useless objects, as everything participates in the single "now" without hierarchy. [3]
The phrase points to a singular simultaneity where all phenomena coexist in an illusory landscape. Everything manifests as an illusion of one "now," with fragments—whether letters or objects—serving as testimony to the simultaneous existence of all things. [3] Kariya's ongoing application of "the now is" to everyday materials thus encodes this simultaneity, revealing the illusory unity underlying apparent divisions. [7]
Simultaneity and illusion
Kariya's philosophy emphasizes that true meaning emerges solely through conscious awareness of simultaneity, the state in which all phenomena coexist without hierarchy or sequence. He asserts that "meaning can only be recognized by the act of being conscious of that 'simultaneity,'" where fragments—whether encoded as letters, objects, or events—serve as testimony to the simultaneous existence of everything, from amoebas to cosmic debris.[1] This recognition reveals existence as a unified field where "everything exists simultaneously: 'is,'" rendering distinctions artificial and secondary to the overarching “now." [1]
In this framework, division, discrimination, and falsehoods arise as manifestations of the illusion of a unified "one." Kariya states that "division, discrimination, and false lies all manifest the illusion of a unified 'one,'" portraying these as perceptual distortions that obscure the interdependent nature of reality. Everything, including seemingly trivial elements like trash or dust, participates equally in this simultaneity, exposing separation as a fabricated construct rather than inherent truth.[1] He describes the world as "a mere illusion, 'as it is given to be,'" where human perceptions impose illusory boundaries on an inherently undivided whole. [3]
Kariya questions presuppositions regarding origins, sources, existence, words, creation, and questions themselves, viewing these as human fabrications or endless layers of explanation built upon explanation without foundational proof. He questions presuppositions of "first" existence, language, consciousness, or inquiries, implying they stem from human invention rather than objective reality. [1]
Such fabrications, including artificial labels for right and wrong, chance, necessity, meaning, or meaninglessness, reflect attempts to impose order on an illusory landscape, where the phrase "the now is" serves as a tool for recognizing simultaneity.[6][1] This critique underscores his view that explanatory systems rest on questioned foundations, perpetuating illusions of origin and authority. [1]
Reference: [1][2][3][4][5] Gokipedia https://grokipedia.com/page/Hiroshi_Kariya
Unfinished landscape and traces
In Hiroshi Kariya's autoarchaeological practice, the "unfinished landscape" describes the perpetual, incomplete state of his artistic process and its resulting works, which resist finality to reflect the ongoing nature of existence itself. The traces left from the infancy of each piece reveal the method, form, and act of creation while examining the conceptual "location" of existence and the structure of linguistic representation.[1]
These traces emerge through a process of trial and error inherent to autoarchaeological inquiry, manifesting as an ongoing "unfinished landscape" that encompasses the universe, including both the visible and invisible worlds, in a perpetual state of "now is." This unfinished condition underscores that everything begins "now," with all phenomena existing simultaneously in the present moment.[1]
The representation inherent to this landscape incorporates the entirety of reality as an unfinished tableau, where the visible and invisible coexist without resolution or closure. The traces thus testify to the simultaneity of all things, from the most minute fragments to cosmic scales, affirming existence as an ever-evolving, incomplete continuum rather than a fixed state.[1]
Artistic practice
Materials and methods
Hiroshi Kariya's artistic practice relies on everyday, discarded, and humble materials that he assembles through collage, repetitive inscription, layering, and recycling processes to create multimedia installations and works he describes as "news paintings" or "news sculptures." These pieces often incorporate newsprint, shredded news articles, California white beans, bones, debris, ink, vinyl resin, and related elements to explore simultaneity and the traces of existence.[1][8]
Newsprint and shredded materials from newspapers and magazines form a core component, used for collage or as surfaces for written phrases drawn from global events, transforming them into evidence of the virtual present in information society. Kariya frequently writes or pastes text onto these, creating layered compositions that reflect contemporary reality and the illusion of classification.[8][1]
NewsprinCalifornia white beans serve as a common substrate for collage and ink inscriptions, often sealed or preserved with vinyl resin to form durable mixed-media elements. Bones, including chicken, pork, or ox varieties, and debris such as studio, construction, or trashed items are incorporated to evoke fossil-like traces or cycles of material reuse, emphasizing the interplay between organic and inorganic matter.[1]
Ink is applied repetitively for sutra-like writings or phrases on these surfaces, while collage techniques combine elements like shredded paper, beans, bones, and debris into fragmented assemblages. Vinyl resin provides protection or structural binding in many pieces, contributing to the physical persistence of ephemeral materials. Kariya's process emphasizes recycling, where materials are reused in new works or repurposed, symbolizing cycles between material and non-material realms.[8][9]
Multimedia installations arise from these methods, layering diverse media into ongoing, experimental arrangements that manifest an unfinished landscape of trial and error.[1]
Reference: [1][8][9] Gokipedia https://grokipedia.com/page/Hiroshi_Kariya
Artistic Practice...continued
Key series and motifs
Kariya's oeuvre is characterized by the recurring motif of "sutra," which functions as an overarching conceptual and titular framework. Derived from the Sanskrit term for thread, string, or scripture, he reinterprets it as a "binding string" or "sacred code" that links disparate elements—materials, ideas, and phenomena—into a unified whole, emphasizing simultaneity and interconnectedness.[1][10]
This motif appears consistently across series through titles incorporating "sutra," often applied to everyday or found objects in mixed-media works. The Face Sutra series frequently employs collage on California white beans, vinyl resin, and related materials to explore surface, identity, and perception.[2][11] Similarly, the Seed Sutra series uses Japanese ink on the same bean substrate, incorporating elements like paper, whiteout, and tracing paper to evoke growth, origins, and continuity.[2][11]
These sutra-titled works reflect Kariya's broader engagement with recurring themes of repetition, meditation, and the binding of fragments into coherent structures, as seen in exhibition contexts that connect "sutra" to his persistent inscription of "the now is."[1][2] Other variations, such as Artus Sutra or references to Stone Sutra in earlier installations, extend this motif to additional objects and materials, reinforcing its role as a unifying thread across his practice.[1]
Installations and processes
Kariya's installations are not neutral exhibitions but deliberate acts of "writing to life," where the space itself functions as a form of life that plays a decisive role in the artwork, rather than serving as an abstract backdrop. This approach treats the installation as an act of storytelling within the dimension of time, documenting phenomena and personal experiences without distorting their qualities.[3]
His creative process is ongoing and meditative, characterized by continuous trial and error, with mistakes, hesitations, conflicts, and traces of conflict—such as drips of paint, brushstrokes, and misalignments—intentionally left visible as integral elements of the work. These traces reflect the process of questioning the phenomenal world, existence, language, and consciousness, transforming raw experiences and everyday encounters into art through repeated description, verification, and action.[3][12]
Kariya begins with virtual experiences and encodes them into physical forms, moving from intention to realization in a playful yet rigorous simulation of the present. He employs repetitive actions, such as daily writing or layering, to materialize concepts, often incorporating a wide range of found materials including newsprint, debris, bones, and organic objects to create non-neutral spaces that testify to simultaneity and the unfinished state of "the now is."[3][12]
This method results in works that remain unfinished landscapes, where the ongoing accumulation of traces and fragments reveals the method, form, and creation itself, emphasizing that the process of trial and error is not merely preparatory but constitutes the art.[1][3]
Reference: [1][2][3][10][11][12] Gokipedia https://grokipedia.com/page/Hiroshi_Kariya
We are the chalk; We are the eraser; We are the chalkboard"
"If what is called life is recorded only narratively and cannot be presented, how such a record is exhibited in the art space without distorting its qualities. Is it possible? In many cases, art documentation is presented in the context of the installation, but the installation is not only the images and texts, other objects installed on the spot, but also the space of the installation itself.
It is an art form that plays a decisive role. This space is not abstract or neutral, but is itself a form of life. Thus, the documentation is an act of writing oneself into a particular space. Forming as an installation is not an act of neutral exhibition, but an act of storytelling in the dimension of time, so to speak, an act of writing to life, "said *Boris Grois.
* Boris Groys "Art in the Biopolitical Era-From Art Works to Art Documents"
We are the chalk; We are the eraser; We are the chalkboard, ENSBA, Paris, 1998 Photo: Bernd Jansen
-"The now is" Writing-
Everything exists in “oneness” in "simultaneity." This includes everything that is visible, invisible, constantly changing, and existing in different dimensions and densities.
Kariya integrates and presents this "oneness" in a trinity of words: “pointing," "naming," and "acting." The three words are ① pointing "The," ② the representational object "now," and ③ existing "is," which appear simultaneously with everything else. The structure is that the three letters appear simultaneously as "demonstrative pronoun," "representation," and "existence." These three letters also indicate the simultaneity of three structures that exist both consciously and unconsciously during writing and reading. Regardless of consciousness, it is a simultaneity with everything in this world, including trash, feces, miso, and evil.
It is a presentation of a semantic illusion, asking whether you can understand the fact that everything is included. This implies a semantic shift in the meaning of the words "what is the present moment?" ① That which appears now in ② the representation ③ represents the background of the time of creation; news articles and events are used for historical context.
The three letters show the simultaneity of symbolism, materiality, and the act of description, revealing the system of social structures that materialize on the surface. In the exhibition, it plays the role of eliciting a perspective to observe and verify the true nature of the illusory landscape of the information society.
Kariya presents a virtual experience record using the principles of art. Virtual means that it does not retain its form but continues to flow, an attached file stored in a temporary frame, a temporary encoding of the perspective "The now is." The extreme position, THE, is no longer THE, a theoretical argument of eternal debate; imagination is creation, presenting a prize. Therefore, it encodes virtual expression into everyday encounters. It is a playful scholarship that is only a simulation of the present. The work is an attachment and explanation of personal beliefs, consciousness, existence, or itself. The painting, as an illusion unbound by the constraints of time and space, becomes one with the three-letter composition "The now is." In other words, the immortal past and future are presented and viewed in this "present moment."
-The Simultaneity of "The now is"-
The three letters "The now is" are a code that declares the simultaneity of all existence. Each of the three letters independently connects referent, creation, and phenomenon into a single system. The three letters explain the structural concept in which the trinity of "subject, phenomenon, and existence" is simultaneously realized. Kariya consciously experiences the present through the act of description. Nature, phenomenon, and existence are all one. Therefore, each and every one of us, including the dust, possesses "the now is." And I am one with "the now is." Simultaneous with the dust. Therefore, there is no distinction. The structure "the, now, is" is a tool for observing intention, creation, and action. The unconscious is created through repeated description and action. We are powerful conscious beings. Our intended goals are materialized through repeated practical actions and intense contemplation. Starting with the virtual, we move down to the details of the real world, intending a scene that is vibrant with emotion.
-About The Face Sutra-
A work is presented as a "structure" for observing superficiality. The surface is the back, or explanation of the background, and the back is the layer of observation from the viewer's perspective. It is a device that reveals the superficial side of structure. Structure is a story of superficiality, and story is a story of information. Explanation is a mechanism that evokes further explanation. How can these be reflected in society? The creative process, metaphorically referred to as "narrative," is intentionally left pictorially on the surface as traces of description. "Artistic quality" is presented as an in-progress action or a fragmented account of life. The countless minute details of the objects involved in the creative process—their relationships with things, events, and everything in the world—continue to be connected in a single line to the direction of the observer's perspective.
-About The Armory Works-
Kariya accompanied the exhibition of sister works at the 2019 Armory Show with the caption "Law and Order/His." Countless traces of conflict, background, and history remain "pictorially" on the painting's surface. These are labeled "errors," artificial labels for right and wrong, chance, necessity, meaning, and meaninglessness. At the same time, they are integrated into "the now is." Kariya moves between creation, fiction, objectivity and subjectivity, concept and expression. He observes a landscape in which he examiness, observe, and enjoys the structural traces of the brushstrokes—the drips of paint, the definition of surfaceness, and the dialectic of creation.
At the solo exhibition "Archetype" this spring, Kariya had planned to create a "Face Sutra" piece, in which visitors would voluntarily wear face masks. However, the exhibition was canceled and closed early due to the arrival of April Fools' Days of COVID-19. The image of the face is a randomly selected time stamp from a newspaper article, cutouts pasted on the back of a Seed Sutra.
Imagination, chance, and necessity appear simultaneously. Paintings also contain transgressions—mistakes made in action. If the viewer encounters a misalignment of the three letters, it is the paint of a painting that they happen to see, the drips and smudges of a brush, the misalignment of a criminal's brush tip, hesitation, mistakes, or the waveform of scratches on the film of a fabricated "Space Opera 2025."
You exist. But (12/2021)
You exist. But, as Gaston de Pavlovsky asks, "By what method, other than your own sensory experience, do you know this?"
Kariya remains silent. He intentionally deconstructs the concept of "existence, explanation" into a tripartite structure, arranging a body that simulates and practices the illusory images of a virtual reality world. He presents a landscape that observes the process of a virtual present where the self experiencing "it" in the virtual world is fragmented and coexists in a state of cognitive dissonance.
Kariya arranges "existence, explanation" into the trinity of "the, now, is." He presents observational art that verifies existence through the recording of intention, thought, action, and consciousness. It is not a depiction of existence, but a landscape observing the virtual nature through the documented traces of the creative process.
Kariya presents the observer → us. Therefore, you, I, and everything else are one. All existence in this world is one. Everything is one: one is everything: everything is simultaneous: simultaneously realized and changing. The act of arbitrarily choosing that one subtlety is the act of choosing one. That one is everything. What you choose is everything arbitrarily. We are the masters who choose it. My alter ego, in my case, bestows a posthumous name upon "that" choice, as a document that the record exists simultaneously with all actions. That document is a testament to the present, representing the simultaneity of all systems: garbage, origin, end, beginning and end, subtle nuances, good and evil, beauty and ugliness, right and wrong.
The surface of the work is nothing more than a group of characters that "explain" "existence," or traces of continuous time symbols. In the exhibition, the illusion between the spatial arrangement, the work, and the physical evidence related to the space-time domain is verified. On the wall, any trace is a prophetic declaration of "existence," and nothing more than a landscape of all systems, chains, relationships, and explanations.
The landscape is a continuous sequence of "this is it, that is it," and "but, it is no longer that." These are temporary phrases, objects. All natures are temporary, and all landscapes "are as they are," thus constituting an endless landscape that must be "continuously recorded." This practice must be carried out consciously with one's own body.
The description is "the now is," repeatedly changing along with events and objects. The description is a landscape that feigns to be a tool for observing and laughing at the schemes of language information such as "archetypes, relationships, explanations, and time," with the grid arrangement of time, space, and place being intentionally considered.
In parallel with the three characters, a "time stamp" representing the virtual "present" is simultaneously attached; it presents the basis and verification of social linguistic information, which is an embodiment in a state of fluid change, such as words, titles, objects, faces, symbols, signs, titles, and codes.....
The work is constant ONGOING "thread" makings. All is from the same source, but with different aspect of life. His early works were exhibited in his solo show at Exit Art, NY in 1989, and following solo exhibition "SUTRA" at ICA Philadelphia, in 1990. It becomes the codex of following works.
“Sutra” Sanskrit; code, thread, string, book binding string, or a scripture. Sacred code, line, measuring line, sequence, column, grid.
Kariya has exhibited at the MOMA PS1 "Meditation" for the "Sound Show" special project, 1979. Exit Art "Sutra" 1989. ICA Philadelphia "Sutra: One thing in everything: everything in one thing" 1990, "Et Maintenant" ENSBA, Paris, 1998, lectures and exhibitions at sebral organizations, museums, galleries.
(copied from 12/2021)
2020
The work "OSDLM 2017" is a collage, of a handful of daily works of "Seed Sutra", on a transparent plate. There are two layers, one on the front and the other on the 2nd layer behind, with seeds on the front and data of the work in progress (instruction, quantity, location, mistakes, corrections, rewrites and fabrications) .
Hiroshi Kariya, OSDLM2017, Assemblage of Seed Sutra, Mizuma and Kipps, New York, 2020
2019
The work is made as a document of making, with foot note directly left on the surface as painter’s brash stroke. It is in-facts as whole story was left on the surface under artist’s law and order, whatever is. It is to investigate wether we find any truth or just magical illusion on the surface.
Hiroshi Kariya “OSDLM 2018 Mother” The Armory Show, New York by Mizuma Art Gallery
2019
Combine with Face Sutra and Seed Sutra. The work is made as a document of making, with pasted face articles cutout, as sign of the times collaged. The surface presents as painter’s sign of the time strokes. It is to create the new magical illusion on the surface.
Hiroshi Kariya “OSDLM 2018 Her Children SR” The Armory Show, New York by Mizuma Art Gallery
2019
The work is an installation composed of situated photographs: facial specimens are lined up in a transparent bookshelf storage, image covered with the entire wall. It is the library shelves, and each container has numbers of face masks lined up. The storage is transparent, the groups of faces situated on another layers of the containers behind. The arrangement of faces is casual and lying arbitrarily. Each facial expression captured in a snapshot, set to be an emotional, sentimental, or inquiring, otherwise transparent, prison-enclosed expression.
Hiroshi Kariya, “Archetype”, Mizuma and Kipps Art, New York, 2019
2018
Olga Burakmedi, Independent curator/ @artkukhnia
Kariya Hiroshi says that the code is in “the index to point what is the illusion and the index to point what is the reality”. This world is a twisting the reality and art is trying to bring you back to awareness to differ the illusion from the reality. The code is not out it is inside you.
Olga Burakmedi, “It’s all about the one piece, and millions of others, Mizuma Art Gallery, Tokyo, 2018
2018
His “the now is” written each day for the amount of a handful of seed pasted the same Palm-sized transparent acrylic, one day “the now is” in the day, along with, we actually see in the Gallery of a myriad of the acrylic is the iterated accumulation. Seed flock while painting with acrylic plate of every different pattern as a whole come a huge movement of small particles.
Another part of this exhibition series, entitled “Face Sutra” further also were on display. Human face news photo article image were collaged on the surface of the each seeds, and pasted on the acrylic, while on the other side “the now is” or “else” was written.
2012 0605 1060 The body of microorganisms is an enzyme
2012 0605 1059 Insurance, Pharmaceuticals, Doctors Trinity
2012 0102 1019 You won't die
2012 0102 1018 You are human now
2012 0102 1017 This is the part inside you
2012 0102 1016 You created the universe
2012 0101 1015 Crazy theory dream
2012 0101 1014 Forget and remember yourself
2012 0101 1013 Nothing exists without you
2012 0101 1012 You created the existence
2012 0101 1011 You changed your appearance
2012 0101 1010 You are "an event"
MORE > selected from Kariya's diary memo.
2012 0605 1060 微生物の本体は酵素
2012 0605 1059 保険、製薬、医者が三位一体
2012 0102 1019 あなたは死なない
2012 0102 1018 あなたは今は人間です
2012 0102 1017 あなたは内にある全部です
2012 0102 1016 あなたが宇宙を創った
2012 0101 1015 夢中説夢
2012 0101 1014 自分を忘れ思い出す
2012 0101 1013 あなたなしには何も存在しない
2012 0101 1012 存在を創造したのはあなた
2012 0101 1010 あなたが「出来事なのです」
Selected from Twitter @Me_We_Me_We 2012
内観無眼界乃至無意識界
目を閉じると「現実」が起き。目を開けて見る世界が「虚構」?
言葉は物質。声高のグリッドに繋げ物質化意識が作動？。
「明日何が起こるかわからない」表現は「不安」を煽ぐ罠。
「外側の世界」表現は、分断意識の罠が隠されたグリッド。
同じカラクリで、己は好きな創造をコントロール出来る。
この文章も含め断言の洗脳によって物質密度に誘導される。
安堵感を持って響く、平和を思う、祈る、願うの類も罠。
祈りは他力本願「そのようになる」と「断言」意明示する。
他力本願は「他に何々をして頂く」潜在支配を下認する罠。
無数に偏在することごとくとはひとつも残さぬ全て同時存在。
段階的、少しづつ、第三密度脱却、云々は潜在階級性呪の罠。
「自由を求める？」、元々自由であるのに「誰が誰に？」
1998
It is certainly this consciousness that Hiroshi Kariya animates his work. He engraves the names of the genocide scenes being exercised in the world on a black slate plate, which has already healed in the fact that they become news articles and that the articles are cut out. It may have been slaughtered. However, Kariya physically perceived the weight of suffering by recording it in a format at the same time as his sutra, and tried to make this series of actions a prayer to relieve the pain that now tears our planet. is. It is immortal because it is not "coming" but "its present" its continuation.
Izumi Omata, ”Now, THEN, SO WHAT !” Contemporary Art of Japon, ENSBA,1998
1998
Eric Mezil, Directeur du musée Collection Lambert
Hiroshi Kariya's method is, He accumulates passes, sometimes he retains only The title, cut in newspapers whole world events and sticks these words on slates of school chalkboard. On the reverse side, he writes a small sentence in white chalk that will inevitably fade over time. "Now is the now is the now ..." is a lifetime motif in all of his work. For many years he has chosen to live in New York, and like any immigrant, he feels concerned by the problems of his country but also by every drama that taints the world well beyond the archipelago.
Eric Mezil, "Now, THEN, SO WHAT !” Contemporary Art of Japon, ENSBA,1998
1997
I am still writing “The now is” sutra.
I am still wondering about it.
1997
Takashi Kitaoji, Review on Hiroshi Kariya "1996 Sutra" Exhibition
If a person with no preliminary knowledge visits the gallery in the afternoon, he will not be able to read the letters "the now is", which covers the blackboard as usual, and will probably understand that they are unknown foreign languages on vague grounds of the cut-out of a 1996 newspaper article on the back of the chalkboard - the disasters in Bosnia, Rwanda, and elsewhere. So why is this blackboard appearing here? If I would ask him "Is this Sarajevo ruin here?”, I assume that he would not say yes to it. Then, the ruins placed here are speech-loss. “What is here is one thing: that is everything… nothing exists apart from that” (quote: H. Kariya)
1996
Planting the seed of an idea in the here and now
“...Kariya writes “The now is sutra” on both sides of a dried bean, going through about 100 beans every night before going to bed...with notes of his daily thoughts… Based in Brooklyn, N.Y., his open poem was first in English;
One piece of Brahma Day
One piece of “the now is”
One piece of 8,640,000,000 years
104 pieces”,
Miki Miyatake, The Japan Times, 5.1, 1996
1996
I am still reading ‘The New York Times’;
in different date, in different name, in different place, in different print.
I am still reading ‘The New York Times’; in different words, in different pictures, in different stories.
I am still reading ‘The New York Times’; in different titles, in different times, in different killings.
“1996 Sutra”; (news title sutra), typed on paper, 1996
Words are “produced and exist, so also our presence that the world has existed”, yet I could live without it.
If you have observe the detail of Kariya’s “Chalkboard Sutra”, you will recognize that the writing on this work is not freshly written but layered, written and erased over and over. The chalkboard as media; writing on a
whitish half-clear surface, as it is difficult to erase previously written words perfectly. I think everyone recalls, with this sort of chalkboard image, the memory of school life in childhood.
“Chalkboard; 10 Years later, Chernobyl”
acrylic on masonite+chalk+eraser, collage on reverse side, 1996
1996
“Chalkboard: 10 Years later, Chernobyl” reverse side of work
To enter the gallery floor… is my chalkboard… My foot to enter… My hand to chalk proceed my life…
To enter this life… Proceed my chalk writing… To exit my foot proceed to erase my writing…
With my light particles creating holographic of physicality, everything no begins nor ends, but is the now.
The world is a chalkboard.
Our feet are the eraser
Our hand is a chalk
Within ourselves we built and we demolish
Hiroshi Kariya
“Chalk writing of “∑ 139+89 words”, and placing a daily work of “Seed sutra”, Mizuma Art, Tokyo, 1996
1996
“The concept of ‘making’ as a Buddhist theory of composition...His creation, as well as destruction of visual form; It begins with a concept, that works through his body using feet and hands, and ends with an incredible sight of beauty on the gallery floor... his endless ”the now is” writing...”,
Toshihiko Washio Komei newspaper, 5.15, 1996
1996
“innumerable ‘the now is’ writings in chalk, lead us to another dimension… while you are focusing on the spiral writing,...soon you begin to notice the gallery space transforming into the metaphysical field; from ordinary concrete floor to an aged ancient granite rock, and the wall begin moving away out of sight”
Akio Sagegami, Shodoh Kai magazine, July, 1996
Let the candle light
to see what is writing;
“the now is” to read
“the now is” writing
“the now is” lighting
“the now is”
Reading Candle Writings
curved on candle, 1995, photo; Hideki Hiromoto
I am still writing “the now is”
I am still writing “the now is”
I am still writing “the now is”
1996
“Gallery”, weekly magazine PIA, 4.30
1996
Toshihiko Washio “The concept of ‘making’ as a Buddhist theory of composition...His creation, as well as destruction of visual form; It begins with a concept, that works through his body using feet and hands, and ends with an incredible sight of beauty on the gallery floor... his endless ”the now is” writing...”,
Toshihiko Washio, Komei newspaper, 5.15
1996
Akio Sagegami “innumerable ‘the now is’ writings in chalk, lead us to another dimension...while you are focusing on the spiral writing,...soon you begin to notice the gallery space transforming into the metaphysical field; from ordinary concrete floor to an aged ancient granite rock, and the wall begin moving away out of sight”
Akio Sagegami, Shodoh Kai magazine, July
1996
Miki Miyatake “Planting the seed of an idea in the here and now...Kariya writes “The now is sutra” on both sides of a dried bean, going through about 100 beans every night before going to bed...with notes of his daily thoughts...Based in Brooklyn, N.Y., his open poem was first in English;
One piece of Brahma Day
One piece of “the now is”
One piece of 8,640,000,000 years
104 pieces”,
1995
A.M. Weaver “Hiroshi Kariya’s installation
‘No man is free who is not master of himself’ is a grand crescendo. His chalk board writings, collages and wrapped forms are crowded into a prison-like enclosure… Kariya’s construction attempts to engage the viewer by challenging the perception of prison; here the prison is the self, the mind, systems and world conditions...”
A.M. Weaver , Painted Bride Art Center, catalog essay
1995
Hiroshi Kariya’s “No Man Is Free Who Is Not Master Of Himself” EPICTETUS
is a grand crescendo. His chalk board writings, collages, and wrapped forms are crowded into a prison-like enclosure. (Kariya quote: this is a small scale of our 3D-physically-informed world, we are the prisoner)
Each item, material and mark alludes to a complex matrix of events, activities, public and private and world conditions. No Man Is Free Who Is Not Master Of Himself is a continuum of a work created in 1993. Sign of the Times, Kariya’s installations evolve and flow like a river from one piece to another. An integral part of his process is to compile layer upon layer of data, building each project by expanding or editing depending on time and space.
A. M. Weaver, Curator, Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia, 1995
1995
NO MAN IS FREE WHO IS NOT MASTER OF HIMSELF
-EPICTETOS-
Installation:
3 The prison is our world,
2 The prison is our nation,
1 The prison is our border,
0 The prison is our religion,
9 The prison is our hierarchy,
8 The prison is our system,
7 The prison is our program,
6 The prison is our classroom,
5 The prison is our choice,
4 The prison is our believe,
3 The prison is our thoughts,
2 The prison is our physicality,
1 The prison is our consciousness,
“13 wrapped bodies lie on the floor inside the prison. Beneath them, the floor is covered with 1000 multisided, chalk writing covered chalkboards. They are individually chalk board is attached with collaged newspaper clippings of our social news articles, and or erased surface. Erasers and chalkboard are randomly placed.”
***
*Large version of 4 installations was originally installed in 1994, at the Art Tower Mito, Ibaraki and Mizuma Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan, under the title “Sign of the times”.
Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia, Penn. USA
Hiroshi Kariya, 1995, Catalog Essay
1995
Toshihiko Washio “Kariya is trying to capture ‘Time’ by means of his symbols which appear and disappear. Without their emergence, ‘Time’ exists only in an undisturbed limbo...However, if none exists, no sign appears..the meaning in his writing of “the now is” expands to an extraordinary dimension..”
Toshihiko Washio , Art Journal, magazine, July
1995
Tsunaki Kuresawa “Chalkboard Sutra with combined element, chalkboard, chalk and eraser as one unit...as composition of our world...Each chalkboard is marked with writings or erasing of his ‘the now is sutra’. The phrase is an index which points to every moment of “now”… a meaning extends, at the same time, to the unascertained existence of eternity...”
Tsunaki Kuresawa , monthly art magazine BT, Sept.
1995
Hideki Nakamura “Art as representation of today’s mental structure”,
Hideki Nakamura, monthly art magazine BT, June
1995
“..by using discarded objects to rebuild‘Time’”,
Monthly Gallery, magazine, June
1995
Tamaki Harada “the work is a healing art. His writing of ‘the now is the now is..’ strikes us very deeply to heart.”
1995
Taiji Yamaguchi “small chalkboards each the size of a magazine, similar to a memorial tablet,.. each chalkboard framed in gilt rests on its gilded chalk ledge..the surface layered with repetition of his ‘ the now is sutra’ writing and erasing.”
Taiji Yamaguchi , Akahata newspaper, 6.23
1995
Toshihiko Washio “Striking at first, then a moment of serenity washed over me..He is performing a memorial service; producing a monument dedicated to every moment by infixing his sutra on the surface of the chalkboards...”,
1994
“Writing on Chalkboard exists with the intention of being erased. Written exclusively by hand, it stresses the existence of life. Words are ‘produced and exist, so also our presence that the world has existed”. Once they appear, they vanish quickly. These works are deeply connected with the writer’s movement of hands, body and voice in front of chalkboard; the writing and this activity becomes one. On the surface, Writing on Chalkboard
holds the presence of “now”, it reveals the artist’s voice and performance.
A classroom is a mysterious place where fundamental and universal truths are revealed, where a teacher’s total life experience is exposed.
As I have already mentioned, Writing on Chalkboard does not become invisible, but remains as sheer traces even though they are erased. Through erasing they simultaneously create a background of new writing. This
system is quite similar to human life, isn’s it ? As someone dies, their trace as karma will harmonize with the whole, and forms the background of new life.
I believe that one of the most interesting ideas in Kariya’s work is the fact that he has connected the notion of copying the sutras into Writing on Chalkboard.
In copying sutra, the writer’s life is settled on the paper by written words, which will last for a very long time. Kariya transferred this process from paper to chalkboard and succeeded in showing a momentary and instantaneous side of life. The chalkboard writing expresses a collective “voice” of today’s humanity as if it were one loud scream. In this stage Kariya’s installation is a classroom, yet, at the same time, could be a prison, a barracks or an abandoned house where graffiti/scribbling is found on the walls...
Yasushi Kurabayashi, “Sign of The Times”, Mizuma Art Gallery, catalog
1994
Yasushi Kurabayashi “Kariya’s work is an action complete unto itself with its own complete meaning...Kariya’s work does not present a world situation that is looked at ‘objectively.’ Instead he strives to grasp the world as a whole, including his existence...”
Yasushi Kurabayashi, “Open System”, Art Tower Mito, catalog
1994
Seiichi Watanabe “...The end of life, the cessation of a national system or ideology are all influenced by a sense of termination...Today, have many artists experienced or claim that the horrors of termination are inevitable ?...”
Seiichi Watanabe, “Open System”, Art Tower Mito, catalog
1994
Akio Sagegami “..the expression of his work is in his writing, more specifically, the sutra
writing, which he has simply named ‘SUTRA’ ; the string to connect everything from dust
to debris as one organic living unit...”,
Akio Sagegami, Shodoh Kai, magazine, Aug.
1994
“Installation...his grid (the axis of co-ordinates) drawing on the gallery wall and floor along with placement of the flowers, chalkboards, candles, and the white cloths of fragments... relating to the work at Art Tower Mito’s gallery wall...”
1994
“It was shocking ...Kariya’s work...100 wrapped dead bodies, Collapsed girl and vulture waited...questioned us in what is the real beauty ?...”
1994
“Kariya’s life work theme; ‘The existence is what ‘The now is’ writing is”
1994
“Open System as ‘94 Mito Annual...”
Artist, magazine, Taipei, June
1994
Junichi Konuma “Strong and powerful, Kariya exhibits material as historical evidence and proof of its preexistence”,
Junichi Konuma, monthly art magazine BT, June
1994
Tamaki Harada “Every event of the world is connected to our time in ‘The now is’”
Tamaki Harada, CAZ, magazine, 5.25
1994
“as many as 100 human figure objects, wrapped in white cloth, Kariya’s caustic statement on ‘WAR’...”,
Asahi shinbun, newspaper, 5.12
1994
“Installation, Hiroshi Kariya’s The class room with labyrinth’ expresses our today’s world.”, Art Tower Mito, Mito Annual 1994, 4 artist were selected for this year.
NHK TV video Sunday Review, 5.8
1994
“Sign of the times...Hiroshi Kariya, a N.Y.-based sculpture and art journalist, records words from articles in the news and in journals on tiny blackboards. His installation of 1083 pieces plays up the ridiculous repetition of life’s events.”
1994
Chie Kaihotsu “human figures wrapped bodies attached with many small chalkboard, and written topics from the daily newspaper. It seems like an unusual kind of simulation art, but every detail of work is related to his concept; ‘Sutra’”
Chie Kaihotsu, Studio Voice, May
1994
“Expression of spirit as open- minded in ‘94 Mito Annual”,
1994
Ryoko Hirabayashi “...to guide art for a higher level of system”,
Ryoko Hirabayashi , Elle Japon, magazine, 5.5
1994
“His work examines the sign of the times, with his unique work; Journalistic Painting, Sculpture’”
Geijutsu Kohron, magazine, May
1994
Tamaki Harada “Our world exists as humanity does all on the same plane, at the same time,
they are all connected in one by ‘Karma’”,
Tamaki Harada, City road, April/May
1994
“Kariya who lives and works in New York City, picks up the daily topics from the newspaper, then he copies the titles on the chalkboard...repetition of his writing as much as our world events repeat... as his sutra copying...”
1994
“Sign of the times; monument of the world’s events Year 1993”
Iwate Broadcasting TV News, 4.26
1994
Tsutomu Shimoda “...discarded object as a reference to our Karma”,
1994
Taiji Yamaguchi, “...floor filled with an enormous amount of writings in chalk, an installation, you walk on to”,
1994
Dylana Accolla “Kariya’s powerful Boltanski like monument to war dead is a caustic statement on international diplomatic hypocrisy that contributes to the deaths of thousands of people every year...”
Dylana Accolla , Asahi Evening News, 4.21
1994
Miki Miyatake “Kariya believes that the dead do not vanish from the universe but are present somewhere. To acknowledge their existence, Kariya did a performance that included chalking the topics of his pieces-places of conflicts, oppressed peoples and social problems-on the stone floor of the museum balcony, while those present offered red roses and candles along with their silent prayers....His writing is a confirmation of his life: He writes on air by breathing and on water by drinking...”
Miki Miyatake, The Japan Times, newspaper, 4.17
1994
Tamaki Harada “Open System-Art.. as sutra copying, he picks up-dated topics from daily newspaper, and copies on the discarded objects..Then, he assembles them, and finally he exhibits on the wall, this expression appears as a prayer to the world and for the human races”,
Mainichi Graph, weekly magazine, 4.17
1994
“There is a room filled with work; ‘Gate of Bandages’, ‘World’s Wall (Torn Bosnia)’, ‘ Turk’s Window’, through ‘Wrapped Bodies’, ‘Bloody Stretcher’, and ‘Sand Bags Wall’, laying on the floor while writings on the chalkboards were hung on the wall..”
1994
“Kariya’s performance; 100 bouquet,Candle light, Chalk writing...”
Shin Ibaraki Shinbun, newspaper, 4.2
1994
“Mito Annual ‘94”
Shin Ibaraki Shinbun, newspaper, 4.1
1994
Previews “Will Closed Art be opened ?”
1994
Yasushi Kurabayashi “Conceptual”
1994
Yukiko Shikata “Open System”
1993
“In Memory of 1992”, catalog, Spark Gallery II, April
1993
“Fax from New York; article of Kamaishi’s life-long employment policy,... in New York Time’s front page...”
Katsuhiko Sato , Kahoku Shinpo, newspaper, 5.12, 1993
1993
Katsuhiko Sato “Kariya expresses poverty and war victims as ‘used and useless’ by using discarded objects in his art...What can we do with the limited; nature, resources, city, and human...”
Katsuhiko Sato, Kamaishi Shinpo, newspaper, 5.11, 1993
1993
Hiroshi Kariya “Tale of Sutra; 9 episodes”,
Hiroshi Kariya, Kamaishi Shimpo, newspaper, May/June
1993
“...regarding New York Times’s article about Kamaishi as an example of ‘City as a resource’..What we have done to the city and human was consumption then abandonment...because of past mistakes...Fax from Hiroshi Kariya...”
Katsuhiko Sato, Kamaishi Shinpo, newspaper, 5.4, 1993
1993
Hiroshi Kariya “What is here, is one thing; that is everything, including organic matter, time, space, and events
which become one single unit... nothing exists apart from that. My work of art: its expression, activity, and our life’s form are on the same plane”,
Nikkei Image Climate Forecast, May, 1993
1993
“Mourning in 1992...” Art Now Japan, Mar./Apr.
1993
“Gallery”, PIA, weekly magazine, 3.30
1993
“As journalist’s report, Kariya exhibits today’s wounded world; Somalia, Bosnia, AIDS... in his Art: Journalistic sculpture/ painting”
1993
“In memory of 1992, includes 18 wrapped bodies..”,
AERA, Asahi Shimbun Weekly, 3.30, 1993
1993
“The Year 1992: as journalist, Kariya shows the sadness of our world in his ‘In memory of 1992’”,
APO, biweekly magazine, 3.18, 1993
1993
Katsuhiko Sato “...will we also become the discarded object,... in the near future ?
The discarded object: it was useful, but now useless. We live, and die... a reference to his mother’s death, Kariya exhibits illness and sadness of our today’s wounded world in his ‘In memory of 1992’”,
Katsuhiko Sato, Kamaishi Shimpo, newspaper, 2.26,1993
1993
415 Chalkboard Installation, 415 Palestinians
“Peace Before Land” Rabin
“Land Before Peace” Assad
Hiroshi Kariya, In Memory of 1992, Spark Gallery II, Tokyo
1990 NYU archive Exit Art Kariya Interview
(Transcription need to edit)
1 https://findingaids.library.nyu.edu/fales/mss_343/audio/fttdzbwd/
2 https://findingaids.library.nyu.edu/fales/mss_343/audio/b2rbpbc9/
1990
“ICA represents thousands of sutra, by Hiroshi Kariya”,
Penn Life, news, Phil., 3.8, 1990
“Sutra Tomb”, ICA Philadelphia, 1990
1990
“Memory: Ilya Kabakov’s wall”, ICA Philadelphia, 1990
1990
“Kariya illustrates the principle of the sutra by linking his installation with those of ICA’s
past. He recycles walls used in a recent exhibition by Ilya Kabakov,...”,
University City Review, weekly news, Philadelphia., 3.2, 1990
1990
“1 Piece = $1bill cash = 1 person’s only; No $10, $100, $1000, nor $10,000 bill is accepted
Hiroshi Kariya, 800 Kabakov’s wall fragment”, ICA Philadelphia, 1990
1990
“8000 Years Spring, 8000 Years Autumn”, ICA Philadelphia, 1990
1990
Edward J. Sozanski “Contemplating, Creation, Rebirth...It attempts to stimulate
in the observer a higher consciousness akin to a state of grace,..far from an outstanding objective...installation represents a prolonged act of meditation on immortality...the process of making it...is more consequential than the artifacts it produces. It is, in fact its essence... search for communion with a cosmic unity.”
Edward J. Sozanski, The Philadelphia Inquirer, newspaper, 3.18
1990
Robin Rice “Still breathing, still thinking,...Kariya’s work...an ‘ordering’ activity that is being recorded, and that activity is a spiritual end in itself.”
Robin Rice , Philadelphia City Paper, newspaper, 6.22, 1990
1990
Sutra
NYU archive Exit Art Kariya Interview 1989
(Transcription need to edit)
1 https://findingaids.library.nyu.edu/fales/mss_343/audio/fttdzbwd/
2 https://findingaids.library.nyu.edu/fales/mss_343/audio/b2rbpbc9/
1989
“Begins and ends” curved stamp, ink, plumb pointing the core stamp, Exit Art,1989
1989
“I-ching chance hexagram, the choice, the chance, the change, the season, the period, the symbol”
1989
“the image, the title, the word”
1989
Kunie Sugiura “the work is entitled ‘Sutra’ . This title refers as searching for the meaning
of existence, and is a study in the concept of infinity..”,
Kunie Sugiura, BT, monthly art magazine, July
1989
Sutra: Origin Sanskrit; Meaning literally thread or string, sacred cord or measuring line, sketch, plan
This work is a telepathic message from Kariya’s higher self written in a single phrase. Coded to the most simple of forms. It focuses on the finite concept of being in recalling the infinite reality of being. It brakes the barrier of time, space, and matter and reveals limitless isolated moments for a universal oneness.
Despite linguistic forms, this writing divulges a pure abstract awareness. inherent within the independent consciousness of time / space/ matter immediately proceeding the present. All is happening at the same “the now is”, but with different level of interpretation, or frequencies, or dimensions. As we are all at the state of learning process for the universal enlightenment of love. Not the fear fabricated factors to control humans.
1989
The work is a composite of three functions:
(1) to affirm the writing a s generative force.
(2) to produce a *ruler to measure the writing.
(3) to recall, on the surface: the form of sutra.
*language verse by which to gauge or describe symbolic forms.
This could be by ruler, structure, materials, system, rather than writing.
1989
3 From the now all proceed
In the now all exist
and to the now all return
2 This is the now, that is the now,
From the now the now has come
The now remains the same
The now subtracted
from the now results in the now
4 The now is here
The now is there
It is near and it is far
It is inside of all this
and it is outside of all this
All beings in the now
and the now in all beings
1 “What is the now ?”
“Whence has the now come ?”
“Where the now going ?”
5 The now is all this, and again
Hiroshi Kariya, Recreation from the text by Upanishad, 1989
1988
“Stone sutra” curving on lime stone, 1988
1982
“One thing in thirty-four words: thirty-four words in one phrase: one phrase in thirty-four changes”
acrylic on drifted wood, 1982
1982
“29 words in 1 phrase: 1 phrase in 29 things: 29 things in 1 work”
acrylic on drifted wood, 1982
1982
“83 Words in one thing: one thing in 83 times; 83 times in one sutra”
acrylic on drifted wood, 1982
I am still writing “the now is”
I am still thinking about it.
1982
“One thing in thirty-four words: thirty-four words in one phrase: one phrase in thirty-four changes”
acrylic on drifted wood, 1982
“29 words in 1 phrase: 1 phrase in 29 things: 29 things in 1 work”
acrylic on drifted wood, 1982
“83 Words in one thing: one thing in 83 times; 83 times in one sutra”
acrylic on drifted wood, 1982
1981
“Water sound instrument”, Gowanus Memorial Art Yard, 1981
1981
John Shell “Talk of Town,....It is called ‘The’ sound”, he told us that the sound is
the meaning of time,...to be experiencing the time is sound...”,
John Shell, The New Yorker magazine, 7.27
1981
John Perreault “gigantic...performance of his ‘The’ sound; this water pool sound
instrument was the most visual thing I had come across yet.”
John Perreault, The Soho News, newspaper, 5.27
1979
Kay Larson “built a pool and amplified the sound of water
dripping into the center plop, plop, plop,...
It was a contemplation piece; you were to focus your attention on
the plop sound and notice that it seemed disconnected from the image of the droplet
...entering into the mood of a work like this gets harder as the years drag on.”
Kay Larson, Voice, weekly newspaper, 10.2
1979
“Meditation”, PS 1 Museum, 1979 (Water pool, sound, light)
1977
“The now is” sutra
1977
One word in two hundred and thirty-four strokes;Two hundred and thirty-four strokes in one work;
One work in two hundred and thirty-four days; Two hundred and thirty-four days in one meaning;
One meaning in Two hundred and thirty-four places; Two hundred and thirty-four places in one thing;
One thing in Two hundred and thirty-four changes; Two hundred and thirty-four changes in one thinking.
“the now is” writing, typed on paper, 1977, Store at: Mizuma Art Gallery
Let The Work Be
“No Change, No Chance, No Choice, Not Here, Not There, No Progression; No Beginning Nor No Ending, No Finite Nor No Infinity, Nor This, Nor That, but with the state of “the now is” writing
“Still”, Type writer with “the now is” writing
contained in glass case, 1977, Structure destroyed.
“the now is” writing on the stone, ink on lime stone, piercing the hole, 1991, Private Collector, Japan
“Writing on the stone as a brush’s traveling the world;
from north pole through the equator to south pole.”
1) The writing begin at a random point continued from left to right traveled geometrically,
become a spiral line. The writing reaches the limit at the edge of stone.
2) The writing continues, by turning the stone. The form of ♾️ guides the direction.
3) The writing ends. The chance point was discovered. The result of this writing
on the stone: The creation of an axis.
4) Piercing the stone axis: begins and ends; front and reverse,
to connect with string for another stone of work.
I am still counting the Brahma days in my single grasp,
beginning with single piece.
I am still writing the Brahma days in my single grasp,
still begin with single day.
1977
“The Is Now”
“Is Now The”
“Now The Is”
“Now Is The”
“Is The Now”
“The Now Is”
1977
“The”
“Now”
“Is”
1977
“Index to focus” Conscious, Point, Focus to What ?
“Phenomenon” Image, Vision, Thought, Message, How to sense ?
“Being” Isness, Suchness, That is, It is, Being Being Being, Continuity?
1977
“That now is”
“I am that I am”
“It is what it is”
1977
“ “
“vision”
“Sence”
“Illusion”
“Real ?" It disappears, but close thee eyes, it appears”
1977
“Namo”=ナモ=namas=Recall (Name)=Thee=汝=水母
"Amo" =アモ=amo =Meaning Of =Is-Be=図=意明示
"Dabo" =ダボ=daboh =Truth (Now) =Consciousness=意
1977
"Index"
" ? "
" "
