Perhaps a garden fashioned of engaging rocks, for a beauty less dependent on flowering alone. 

Image: Jean Rondelet

There are infinite ways to connect subjects and matter; and of course no taxonomic system is correct, though some are useful. Grouping is always a failure by way of reduction (of the self-servingly over-permissive sort). We mention this as we want to be forgiven in our brief attempt at contextualizing the artist Liam Gillick, whose work and simple/sharp site are our subject.

In our youth the arrival of what might be called minimal abstraction created a paradigm shift in our understanding of art and the world at large (truly). With the event of Donald Judd, Agnes Martin, Anne Truitt, Robert Ryman, et al, came the freedom of no longer having to suffer alone the vain, endless, mawkish subjectivity posing as compassionate objectivity of the people around us. This minimal abstraction was theory and supposition getting down to empirical business, eschewing lame but profitable broadness for poetic albeit rigid phenomenological exploration. It remains a continually sharpening filter through which most of our perception and subsequent conceptions pass.

Our attraction was always toward negentropic works of abstraction, pieces that though experiential, were ultimately one sided propositions, to be completed personally (non-socially). Subsequently, we looked at art by the likes of Dan Graham and Lawrence Weiner admiringly, but at a distance — we felt something like a civic entanglement promoted in their work, and though it was clearly of a positive sort, our trauma of the aforementioned disingenuous social contract, kept us from engaging. That is until encountering the work of Liam Gillick.

With Liam Gillick’s work the scope of abstract proposition becomes comprehensive, mostly because his output is highly critical of it. With Gillick, abstract art becomes full Hegelian dialectic, containing the thesis, antithesis and synthesis. “By making the abstract concrete, art no longer retains any abstract quality; it merely announces a constant striving for a state of abstraction and in turn produces more abstraction to pursue.” It is our opinion that this tension of point, counter-point, merger, is what is wanted in any serious love or sincerely offered premise. Theoretical detachment or the centripetally oriented should be strong enough to handle the broader social context from which it is condensed. As well, the social, the institutional, the solipsistic, the aesthetic, the escapist, or what have you, should all be part of the experience of the abstract expression. And Liam Gillick is certainly a wonderful, aspirational, fundamental agent in this continual broadening and strengthening of what might generally be called perspective in art. 

As an aside it must be said that liamgillick.info is a wholly gratifying example of a site as living archive; it rewards perusal.

At the beginning of each week, we draw a single Tarot card and consult the I Ching. The Tarot card represents the person (you, me, us). The I Ching reading speaks to the nature of the scenario that you, me, us will face throughout the week. Think of it as protagonist (tarot) and plot or theme (I Ching). It is our opinion that neither the I Ching nor the Tarot are tools of prediction, but rather a mechanism to aid in self reflection.
        Before reading further, we recommend you collect your thoughts regarding the state of affairs inside your head as well as what you are involved with externally. Take precise stock of your emotional temperature and your goals for the week. The more preparation and detail, the better the results. 

So, of both the Tarot and the I Ching, we asked the following: for the coming week, what is the best advice for the engaged and sincere person?

Petite Reading
        We cannot control our fortune. Like last week’s note about “fear of change” — our pervasive lack of control, is a tough pill to swallow. If you have difficulty even beginning to accept change, start with the least you can do. The least of the positive steps you can take is simply accepting that change is coming (whatever it may be) — just basic acceptance. If you are able to muster more proactivity, the following is a step further: Which part of a wheel has the most variation (change)? Well, by sheer surface area, the outer part. Which part of a wheel has the least variation? The center. But the center of a wheel rotates faster and is a kind of a hum; the outside of a wheel rotates slower, and is more of a sequence. This week spend time musing on all aspects of The Wheel of Fortune, or The Wheel of Life — in this light. Do you want to be more toward the center or the outer edge of the wheel?

Complete Reading
        This week we pulled the Wheel of Fortune card, reversed. With this card it is first helpful to muse upon what it is not, that is, it is not the rock of fortune, or the bird of fortune or even the dice of fortune. It is a wheel of fortune; an implication that fortune rotates — sometimes you are on top, sometimes off to the side and sometimes at the bottom. But it is always turning; think of this card as rotating too. Since we pulled the card reversed there is an indication to focus on an acute misfortune. When facing this setback know that it is not permanent — even a terminal illness doesn’t last forever (#gallowshumor).
        Our first hexagram, which we partner with our tarot to describe (or further detail) the current situation, is #24, Return (The Turning Point). With this hexagram is the implication that a cycle is completing itself; darkness or decay will yield to young light and a refresh. Like-minded tendencies will begin to coalesce naturally “in full public knowledge” and will be “in harmony with the time” and “all selfish separatist tendencies” will be “excluded.” “The return of health after illness, the return of understanding after an estrangement: everything must be treated tenderly and with care at the beginning, so that the return may lead to a flowering.” There were three changes in this hexagram so expect variation this week. Some specifics regarding these changes are: “Return always calls for a decision and is an act of self-mastery.” Keep in “good company.” Put aside any pride. Look to great people to model yourself after.
        Our second hexagram, the one that suggests how best to meet the challenges (or the changes) is #5, Waiting (Nourishment). Here the notion of patience and anticipation is explored. Since much of life cannot be forced or willed — we have to wait to see what happens. But is waiting only impotence? “Waiting is not mere empty hoping.” “It is only when we have the courage to face things exactly as they are, without any sort of self-deception or illusion, that a light will develop out of events, by which the path to success may be recognized.” Waiting is a kind of preparation. If you can’t take the boat out, take the boat out of the water and prepare it for the journey when it eventually arises. You can do all sorts of great things when waiting — reduce the drag of the barnacles of the past, stock up on supplies, plan more deeply…