Blog — Page 159 of 278

Zen and Japanese Culture

Princeton University Press

Zen and Japanese culture are inextricably linked and this tome on the topic explore how embedded in its original context Zen is much more than what the public would perceive as religion.

It makes for both a delightful and profound read as Zen tackled from a myriad of angles, professions and viewpoints, shedding light on underlying concepts and teaching and thereby ultimately simmering it down to the unity of mind and spirit.

The fact that Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki’s considerate and refreshingly undogmatic writing style is calibrated at the right frequency helps as it tunes in with the flow of the themes that are explored – it’s worth reading if you are in for beautiful literature alone as the chapters on e.g. swordsmanship are beautifully crafted, despite the occasional digression.

Having undergone training as a disciple of Buddhism and having honed his craft via writing hundreds of books on the topic certainly helped as well to refine his approach.

The way Zen’s relationships with haikus, art, nature and regional traditions like e.g. tea ceremonies are explored, tying them to the way of the bushido and Confucianism, which are backed by extra information and references contained within ample footnotes.

For the starter, I’d be hard pressed to recommend another book that is as informative and easy to handle and provides a better introduction to Zen from nothing.

For the initiated luminary, the book might still be a bit light as it overly glamourizes everything remotely connected to Japanese culture and one cannot help but something feel the need to interject that merely being Japanese does not automatically bring enlightenment, a sentiment that seems to accompany most of Suzuki’s train of thoughts.

I am personally more with Robert Pirsig who quipped that the Zen you might find is the Zen you have to work on within yourself, independently from who you are or where you were born.

Escher X nendo | Between Two Worlds

National Gallery of Victoria

Melbourne, Australia

M. C. Escher, one of the many prolific artists that form the art pantheon of the Netherlands, might not ring a bell, but trust me, in some shape or form you would have encountered one of his intricate handmade emissions, i.e. relief techniques, lithographies and the employment of drypoint methods.

The National Gallery of Victoria’s homage to Escher juxtaposes his work with the expertise of the individuals that comprise the design collective nendo, which after the hugely successful Andy Warhol / Ai Weiwei extravaganza is yet another well-curated coup and jewel in the well-adorned crown on the head of one of Australia’s most eclectic and prominent art institutions.

We follow Escher’s travels through Southern Europe, and are allowed to see depictions of the sights, landscapes and regions through his lens, which are featured prominently  throughout Escher’s early oeuvre.

While Escher has mastered elevating often mundane depictions by adding his idiosyncratic twist, the attention to detail and virtuosity he displays when he zooms in on both flora and fauna phenomena is never not mind-blowing and an example par excellence for art imitating life and vice versa – the latter aspect is predominant in Escher’s borderline obsession with everything remotely linked to patterns.

Whole sections are dedicated to Escher’s faible for shapes and endless repetitions thereof, interlinking them and creating another dimension during the process, which he uses to tackle and overcome what usually meets the eye and in a bid to portray and capture the elusive beast that is infinity.

Escher channels his alchemy working with the illusions created through the interactions with light, seamless transitions back and forth between the second and the third dimensions, the exploration of hidden dimensions, distortions and the ambiguities of spatial perception, which tickle and boggle the mind and – most importantly- are a whole lot of fun to experience.

By using unconvential angles and viewpoints, Escher managed to create something reminiscent of reality yet at the same time questions and defies logic.

The last segment of the Escher exhibition pays homage to him dabbling in mathematics, which resulted in him creating constructs that cannot not be found in reality.

In that regard, nendo with his immersive minimalism sets the ideal counterpoint that also forms a symbiosis with Escher’s exhibits and makes the total something much bigger than the mere sum of the individual constituents would suggest.

nendo let himself clearly inspire by Escher’s art and his installations enable the visitor to experience Escher’s work in a more tangible manner - be it through a split-level gallery that lets the recipients immerse themselves in Escher’s world through light installations and physical presentations that are ever changing depending on your vantage point.

The accompanying catalogue is one comprehensive tour de force documenting Escher’s career with the help of close to two-hundred artworks set in scene by nendo’s altering of our grasp on reality and geometry.

Learn more.

Punk and Perfume.

Jean Paul Gaultier.

Visionary.

Icon.

Designer.

Fashionista.

Born in Paris.

London mindset during his formative years.

Belle Époque meets punk meets mainstream meets recycling meet androgyny meets challenging the conventions of taste.

He ascended to the firmament of international fashion design and eventually established his own couture house informed by what have become his trademark of giving new twists and nonconformism. A designer home in the echelons of haute couture with the essence of punk running through his veins.

My relationship with JPG started through the ephemeral and with what infuses our imagination with a subtle power and transmits an expression on intimacy, i.e. perfume.

Despite being in the midst of a crust punk phase, the fragrance Le Mâle became the go to in the mid-'90s when it came to convening with the ladies. It offered a melange of spicy, sweetness and flowery briskness that I had not encountered before and despite perfume not being held in high esteem by my peers, I could not care less what message it was perceived to send, if it was “too popular” for the cool kids or the fact that a sailor of the Turbonegro ilk was the token poster model  – the fragrance reminiscent of woody barbershops, orange blossoms and bergamot certainly clicked with me and I have never subscribed to the notion of “guilty pleasures”.

Many a cologne and perfume have since been tried and worn, however, this powerful scent has remained an evergreen, as has the iconic blue torso flacon it comes in.

Created by perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, the essence of Le Mâle can be condensed to…well, a scent that works with me.

What makes Le Mâle is that its base notes are perfectly blended, a subtle sweetness and a lingering vanilla note that culminates in something that reminds me of apples.

However, the secret to getting the best out of Le Mâle is by applying it sparingly as there is an amount that can tip the scales to gaucheness.

Francis Kurkdijan’s Ultra Male followed in 2015, also housed in aa torso bottle yet striped in black and blue, and in essence, it is Le Mâle on steroids in terms of a centre of vanilla framed by a more intense spiciness, bergamot, minty nuances and cinnamon as well as sage.

Now, discovering your own favourite fragrance is one thing.

However, eventually I explored if through the act of gifting I could convince my better half to take an interest in the female equivalent to Le Mâle, i.e. I got her the first incarnation of JPG’s female range.

The direct female equivalent is Classique, originally launched as JPGaultier Eau de Parfum, both in terms of the appearance of the flacon, including the JPG trademark metal box, as well as far as the fragrance is concerned.

There are rose notes, hints of rum, vanilla sandalwood, vanilla beans and more – sound enticing?

It is, and it led to the next gift:

Scandal.

From the get go, I liked not only the flacon but also the enchanting hints of orange, musky candy and honey that pervaded this floral scent that is reminiscent of Dior’s Miss Dior Cherie and was at the same time a tad disappointed because it there is nothing remotely scandalous about it, yet it is one seductive perfume.

August 2018 then saw the release of Scandal By Night, which was created by Daphne Bugey. Again, the foundation of sweet, sweet honey reminds of its mothership Scandal, yet it is more opulent like a well picked bouquet of flowers with a dominant balsamic tonka bean note, sandalwood and a bit of spice.

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Photo by T

Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Co-Conspirators

Co-Conspirators Brewing Company and the awesome designs of their cans instantly caught my eye when I was perusing the craft beer section.

Word around the campfire has that it after having excelled in DIY brewing competitions and having first convened as part of the Merri Mashers homebrew-centric club with a sincere passion for all things beer, two couples proceeded to conspire together to found their own brewery.

With the mission statement that can be encapsulated in the maxim to make great classic beers while pushing the boundaries of style, they have certainly accomplished their objectives with what has become one of my favourites of their emissions, i.e. The Matriarch NEIPA.

Clocking in at 6.5 ABV, this tarty, hazy beauty foams instantaneously after pouring and spreads her personality with aromas of citrus and fruits. Teaming the Matriarch up with a smoky Islay whisky, not unlike the Ardbeg An Oa that I had with it, elevates the enjoyment event further.

The Butcher expression takes the game up a notch as it is a quite a bit bolder with its both tropical and refreshingly dank aromas, which are embedded in a tasty sea of hop and a pleasantly lingering bitterness which culminates in a dry finish.

Co-Conspirators’ The Undertaker is a rye kind of guy. The Undertaker is actually a pretty good companion to accompany the Sour Matriarch on a lonely night, which makes for a spicy tete-a-tete indeed. Piney. Citrussy. Fruity. Tropical.

A new recent discovery is the Middleman, which can be classified as extended family of the Sour Matriarch as he is also resting on a foundation of grapefruits, citrus and an elongated finish through the alley of pine.

Needless to say, that each of the characters are represented and depicted on the respective cans in the trademark Co-Conspirators cartoon style, which consistently pervades their portfolio. It makes for a nice hello every time you encounter one of the Co-Conspirator family when you open the fridge.

I cannot wait to sample Co-Conspirators’ The Belgian Breakfast and the Wheelman – Blueberry which apparently also has Himalayan Salt added for good measure.

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Photo by T

J Mascis

Factory Theatre

Sydney, Australia

March 1, 2019

Dinosaur Jr. is one of those trios the mere mention of elicits goose bumps from folks devotedly invested in independent music.

While the distortion riddled mothership can turn up the volume quite a bit when it comes to dishing out riffage of gargantuan proportions, the solo explorations of their driving force, i.e. J Mascis, are channelled in more relaxed and laid-back acoustic waters. J Mascis’ sophisticated song-writing craftmanship shines through each of his refined folk-rock tunes, even more because of the deliberately low-key acoustic arrangements.

Incarnating in a live environment, J Mascis instantaneously evokes a tangible and soothing intimacy. It feels like every note coming from the man is meant to sound exactly the way it does and results from a long genesis that he has labourated about.

Distress and heartache might have always been key ingredients of Dinosaur Jr’s oeuvre, but it hardly felt rawer than tonight. While there is an overarching coherent red thread, each song feels like a plaintive microcosm of its own contributing to a whole that is much bigger than merely the sum of its visible constituents.

Stripped back in nature, the precision with which Mascis operates becomes prevalent and the way he picks and plucks, which is at times still framed by a bit of distortion, is a sight to behold.

For the ones who would not guess it or have not witnessed Mascis in the flesh, stage banter is certainly not his forte and it does not have to be as the music speaks for itself.

A memorable and immensely enjoyable apart from the fact that I will never not be delighted to witness one of the original members of one of my favourite bands ever, i.e. Deep Wound, secretly hoping to witness again what happened in 2004 after a Mascis gig when a song of their Radiobeat vinyl 7” from 1983 was performed as an unexpected encore.

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Image courtesy of Feel Presents