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The political and military figures adorning London’s Trafalgar square are currently joined by a sculpture of another sort. Marc Quinn’s “Alison Lapper Pregnant” is the Fourth Plinth project’s newest commission.
Alison Lapper, an artist herself, was born severely physically disabled. Sculptor Quinn has this to say about her image commingling with the others on the square:
“In the past, heroes such as Nelson conquered the outside world. Now it seems to me they conquer their own circumstances and the prejudices of others, and I believe that Alison's portrait will symbolize this.”
Quinn, Lapper and the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group have staged an all-out Beauty Conquest - expanding the realm of what constitutes a recognizably beautiful being.
Not only does the Dalai Lama’s newly released book, “The Universe In A Single Atom," initiate the fulfillment of its subtitle, "The Convergence Of Science And Spirituality,” it also offers a timely antidote to the scourge of fundamentalism.
So, what does a non-fundamentalist spiritual leader look like? This statement renders a potential portrait:
“My confidence in venturing into science lies in my basic belief that as in science so in Buddhism; understanding the nature of reality is pursued by means of critical investigation: if scientific analysis were conclusively to demonstrate certain claims in Buddhism to be false, then we must accept the findings of science and abandon those claims.”
The congruence between advanced quantum physics and Buddhist cosmology has been popularly noted, at least since the publishing of “The Tao of Physics” and “The Dancing Wu Li Masters” in the 1970s. What the Dalai Lama is saying in this newest book is that the time has come for these two traditions - one born of observational inquiry, the other of, oh, yeah... observational inquiry - to embark on a collaborative endeavor to help humanity meet the challenges we face now.
And how does His Holiness recommend that science avoid the lure of its own brand of fundamentalism?
“Perhaps the most important point is to ensure that science never becomes divorced from the basic human feeling of empathy with our fellow beings.”
His Holiness The Dalai Lama is currently on a speaking tour in The States. A Sunday speech at Rutgers will be titled “Peace, War And Reconciliation.” But you can catch a stream of his thoughts on “Individual Responsibility in the Global Community” at The University of Texas radio station, KUT.
When given a choice, opting for a window seat is irresistable. There's nothing like an unobstructed view from 35,000 feet. Last night, secrets of the swirling, pocked surface of those sparsely inhabited stretches of Washington, Oregon and Montana were revealed on a fascinating episode of Nova. The interactive map at their site is equally compelling.
The ancient music of the spheres is still playing. Groove on this: The fundamental building block of matter is engaged in a constant Cha Cha.
Today, I became a small gaggle. Fascinated by a team of painters adding final touches to the huge recreation of Alex Katz’s “Give Me Tomorrow” on B Bar’s garden wall, I’d stopped in my tracks.
Soon, five people joined me. It was pedestrian rubbernecking in the name of art. Eventually, an inquisitive fellow admirer asked one of the four painters “what was the hardest part?”
The answer came, “Climbing from the ladder to the lift,” and I thought: Apt, a painting is a field of unified attention. If the image is resolved then there isn’t going to be a hard part.
Plus, he got a laugh.
You can see it at E. 4th and Bowery. Billboards featuring the work of Gary Hume and Lisa Sanditz are also part of this project.
AUGUST PROCESS REPORT: While these palettes were coming in and out of existence, the following experiences shaped the process -
• spent three weeks engaged in the direct care of my father through chemo and his first-round victory against lung cancer.• returned to NYC to complete and sign "Goya Moment," the large, oil canvas I've been working on since Aug. of 2004. The complete time-lapse film of its development will be posted here in early Oct.
• made 91 graphite drawings and finished two acrylic paintings.
• subbed for Dad in a golf tournament, my first round ever.
• worked up seven minutes of monology for nyc's local open mics - podcasts to come.
• became involved in a class action suit against WorldCom.
• launched the first interview in TINSQUO's new W.I.T. Series.
