[Buddha-l] An ephemeral, kitsch Buddha

[Jo]

Thanks, Randall.
I love it---a new concept of making a Buddha image--all the associations
work for me. 

Art historians/critics tend to think of the kitsch object as based in
nostalgia. This Buddha doesn't seem to me to qualify that way as kitsch.
Better than solid plaster, stone, or painted wood, it aesthetically sends
Buddhist messages on anatta and anicca, and others.
(And anyway, the concept of ephemerality in art production has been around
already for decades in contemporary arts practice.) 

If I could visit this park, I'm sure that even if I were not into the
Buddhist teachings, I would appreciate this contribution far more than the
various weird often ugly stuff one often sees in so-called public art spaces
these days.

Joanna
---------------------


Randall Jones
Sent: Friday, October 05, 2012 12:07 AM


At Socrates Sculpture Park, NYC Parks and Recreation:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/03/nyregion/buddha-sculpture-invites-reflecti
on-and-instagram-photos.html?src=un&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjson8.nytimes.com%2
Fpages%2Farts%2Fdesign%2Findex.jsonp&_r=0
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