The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860–1989 at the Guggenheim Museum, New York, offers a journey through the history of modern and contemporary American art shown through a new lens- a lens that focuses on the myriad ways in which American artists’ engagement with Asian art, literature, music, and philosophical concepts inspired them to forge an independent artistic identity that would define the modern age and the modern mind. These artists developed a new understanding of existence, nature, and consciousness through their prolonged engagement with Eastern religions (Hinduism, Tantric and Chan/Zen Buddhism, Taoism), classical Asian art forms, and living performance traditions. Some of the key artist in the exhibition includes John La Farge, Mary Cassatt, Isamu Noguchi, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Ann Hamilton.
On the ground floor is Paul Kos’ installation Sound of Melting Ice (1970) which comes under the Buddhism and Neo-Avant-Garde section. The installation consists of two twenty-five –pound block of ice, eight boom microphone stands, eight microphones, mixer, amplifier, two large speakers, and cables. The ice blocks are surrounded by eight boom microphones amplifying; literally the sound of melting ice there by the artist reveals to the audience that there is no such thing as silence. Even in the absolute moment of silence, there is something audible beyond the reach of the listener hence there is no emptiness.
Melting of ice need not be an important view for an audience, anyone who would see the artwork would actually think, what exactly is happening? The work first appeared to be funny, since the microphones looks resemble birdlike creatures craning to hear what the blockhead will say? But, the installation has a genuine touch of Zen--school of Buddhism, which values emptiness as something that can help the mind transcend the limitations of ordinary discourse and rational thought. In depth, the installation aims at the concept of life, the twenty-five pounds of ice can be a metaphor for a quarter of life. The melting of ice becomes time span of life and death. At each stage of life, we feel different; same would be the sound of ice. Hence, slowly from solid to liquid, and finally to vapor is a personification of our life, death and after- life, just like a never ending circle, which ultimately is the symbol of Zen.
A close similarity of this installation is Stephen Vitiello’s Tetrasomia who combined physical and natural sound pieces and organized then in accordance with four elements-Earth, Air, Wind and Fire. He recorded sound of fruit-fly courtship(Air), an underwater volcano(fire), poison frogs(water) and extracted fiery sounds of the Saturn 5 lift-off(earth). When each of the icons is clicked you hear these extra-ordinary sounds that are left unheard. Vitiello shows medium of art exists in silence; a concept created by audience, and does not exist.
When so much of the Western culture sees silence as emptiness which mean nothing or absence of thought, Paul Kos’s Sound of Melting Ice(1970) has taken the ideas from Eastern culture, where nothing and everything has a meaning and is valued. Just as the proverb says, “silence is golden”-silence is as valuable as gold is.
On the ground floor is Paul Kos’ installation Sound of Melting Ice (1970) which comes under the Buddhism and Neo-Avant-Garde section. The installation consists of two twenty-five –pound block of ice, eight boom microphone stands, eight microphones, mixer, amplifier, two large speakers, and cables. The ice blocks are surrounded by eight boom microphones amplifying; literally the sound of melting ice there by the artist reveals to the audience that there is no such thing as silence. Even in the absolute moment of silence, there is something audible beyond the reach of the listener hence there is no emptiness.
A close similarity of this installation is Stephen Vitiello’s Tetrasomia who combined physical and natural sound pieces and organized then in accordance with four elements-Earth, Air, Wind and Fire. He recorded sound of fruit-fly courtship(Air), an underwater volcano(fire), poison frogs(water) and extracted fiery sounds of the Saturn 5 lift-off(earth). When each of the icons is clicked you hear these extra-ordinary sounds that are left unheard. Vitiello shows medium of art exists in silence; a concept created by audience, and does not exist.
When so much of the Western culture sees silence as emptiness which mean nothing or absence of thought, Paul Kos’s Sound of Melting Ice(1970) has taken the ideas from Eastern culture, where nothing and everything has a meaning and is valued. Just as the proverb says, “silence is golden”-silence is as valuable as gold is.
