in praise of the stones

Natural double-terminated Peridot crystal from Mansehra, Pakistan.

Engraved carnelian scarab with the head of a gorgon, Greek, circa 500 BC

Clive Murray White (English/Australian, b.1946)

Assisted Suiseki No: 4 (empty space and moving particles) - Coopers Creek limestone - 17"x 20"x 7" - 2020-2022

Q: "Can you explain what you mean by the title Assisted Suiseki?"

Clive: ". . . I’ve always been fascinated by sloppy work by art historians; two examples of most relevance to me are the assertion that Henry Moore invented the hole and Marcel Duchamp the 'ready-made'.  Neither of these are even remotely correct but the stirring thing for me is that this kind of assumption often fires my imagination: I usually interpret a stone with a hole in as a 'ready-made' Henry Moore - for free!"

"My family comes from Far East Asia and I was, as a child, surrounded by artefacts from Japan, Korea and China.  Being Western trained I realised that art concepts claimed as Western had ongoing 1,000-year-old Chinese, Japanese and Korean precedents, none more important than Gongshi and Suiseki, both meaning Scholar Rocks or “ready-mades”.  So “Suiseki” means “ready-made” and “assisted” refers to Duchamp’s habit of so naming them after he had altered them. The most engaging thing, for me, about the Scholar Rock Suiseki tradition is that the smallish rocks were chosen for their ability to invite the scholars to contemplate the meaning of existence and nature from the comfort of their own desks.  The clearest example of this would be Assisted Suiseki: No 8, where the black limestone is filled with an endless number of fossils - it’s a perfect depiction of a slice of time and also of empty space and moving particles."

www.instagram.com/clivemurraywhite/

for comparison below are some images of traditional Suiseki viewing stones:

Suiseki or scholar’s stone - Furuya type, grey-black stone with white quartz inclusions - rosewood stand - Taisho era, c.1912-26

Delightful Mountains - this mountain stone is a Makko-Ishi from Japan - 20 cm x 6 cm x 9 cm

Ligurian stone has great similarity with Grisly Falls, a well known waterfall in King's Canyon Park, USA

Black Mountain Suiseki

Henry Moore rock

Literally translated 'Suiseki' means waterstone, the stones often represent mountains, waterfalls and other natural scenes. The art of Suiseki involves the collection process, preparation of the stone (though not altering their shape or appearance) and appreciation.

History of Suiseki stones

Suiseki originates from China (called “Gongshi”, or scholar's rocks) and to some extent Korea (called “Suseok”). The art of Suiseki was introduced in Japan by the Chinese Imperial court during the Asuka period (538-710AD). The art became more popular during the Kamakura period (1183-1333AD) as it gained acceptance with the Samurai ruling class. Stone appreciation was introduced in the west when they were displayed at early Bonsai exhibitions.

Suiseki stone classification

The classification and evaluation of Suiseki revolves around their shape, possible markings and subtlety of color. Landscape Suiseki (Sansui keijo-seki): in the form of a mountain, island, waterfall, shore- or coastline, cave, canyon or a plateau. Object stones (Keisho-seki): representing a person, animal, boat, house or bridge. Classification by surface Celestial (Gensho-seki): with patterns resembling the moon, sun or stars. Plant (Kigata-ishi): with patterns picturing flowers, fruits, grasses, forests or even Bonsai. Weather (Tenko-seki): resembling rain, intense sunlight, lightning or snow. Abstract (Chusho-seki): with surfaces similar to animal prints, tangled nets, etc.

Tuco Amalfi

Love and Four Elements - Air, 1996