Natures Silent Music

Download or read book Songs of Nature written by John Sallis and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2020-02-04 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The work of the contemporary Chinese painter prompts reflections on nature, art, and music from one of America’s leading philosophers. This text by John Sallis carries out a series of ruminations by taking up Cao Jun’s art and thought, with a focus on questions of the elemental. Sallis’s reflections are not a matter of simply relating art works to philosophical thought, as theoretical insights and developments run throughout Cao Jun’s writings and inform many of his artistic works. Sallis maintains abundant points of contact with Chinese philosophical traditions but also with Western philosophy. In these reflections on art, Sallis poses a critique of mimesis and considers the relation of painting to music. He affirms his conviction that the artist must always turn to nature, especially as reflections on the earth and sky delimit the scale and place of what is human. Full-color illustrations enhance this provocative and penetrating text.