msdm a nomadic house-studio-gallery for photographic art and curatorial research, an expanded practice of the artist's book, photobook publishing and peer-to-peer collaboration created by contemporary artist paula roush
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TITLE WORK: before rules / every night is a good night
AUTHOR: paula roush
TITLE PROJECT: There Is No Such Thing As Darkness
CURATED BY: Luis Carvalhal

MEDIUM: Drillgrams
3 sheets FujiColor Crystal Archive paper
20.3 x 25.4 cm
drilled with a Makita hp457d
for 30”, 1’40” and 2’ 23”
scanned with a Epson Pefection V700
28 February 2021 4:30 am starting time


At the zoom meeting on Saturday, January 16, 2021, Luis presents the rules for "There Is No Such Thing As Darkness." The first, a technical rule. Use 3 exposure times in reference to 4'33 ”work. The second, a conceptual rule. The 3 photos are a record of darkness.
I like working in dialogue with John Cage. "Every day is a Good Day," is one of the books here in the library. Since the beginning, my photo sculptures have incorporated chance, dice games and I Ching of Cagean aesthetics.

After the meeting I open the book “Looking and Seeing Nalanda Miksang Contemplative Photography” and in the preface I find the following comment by John McQuade.
Having attended a presentation in an American camera club  where a photographer defended the need to break all the rules for creative work, the book’s co-author writes:
"It was a good presentation but I felt it missed the root issue. In my presentation soon after I suggested that the most direct way to spontaneous creativity was not in “breaking the rules.It was in making contact with the world before there are rules at all."

 In Zen Buddhism and Cage’s aesthetic philosophy, we work with what we hear /  what we see, in the case of Nalanda MIksang.
This comes before rules.

 pr

 


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contact

paula roush   :::   paularoush@gmail.com
msdm studio :::      msdm@msdm.org.uk