Thursday Thoughts...

"(…) we find beauty not in the thing itself but in the patterns of shadows, the light and the darkness, that one thing against another creates. A phosphorescent jewel gives off its glow and color in the dark and loses its beauty in the light of day. Were it not for shadows, there would be no beauty". 

Junichirô Tanizaki, “In Praise Of Shadows”

A good friend gifted me this book  many years ago, and at the time I did not think of it much. It was only later as I began to explore my art-life that I realised how important it really is; the manner in which it thinks about the unseen, the hidden, and the illuminated, and how this thing here makes that thing there come to life.

I came to understand especially that gold leaf, glows in the shadows. It can seem dull or flat or indeed over done in the light, depending, button the shadows it finds an inner light. Shadows add such dimensionality to work, they enable you to see it as a different piece by virtue of where they lead your eye. 

It's probably a good guide to life - don't just look at the obvious thing. Look to the side, look behind, look elsewhere to see what else is happening... 

GOMA December 2023, apologies for inaccurate reference to artist. I think Taloi Havini...