David Jones, artist and poet (1895-1974) begins his PREFACE TO THE ANATHEMATA :
'I have made a heap of all that I could find.' (1) So wrote Nennius, or whoever composed the introductory matter to Historia Brittonum. He speaks of an 'inward wound' which was caused by the fear that certain things dear to him 'should be like smoke dissipated'. Further, he says, 'not trusting my own learning, which is none at all, but partly from writings and monuments of the ancient inhabitants of Britain, partly from the annals of the Romans and the chronicles of the sacred fathers, Isidore, Hieronymous, Prosper, Eusebius and from the histories of the Scots and Saxons although our enemies . . . I have lispingly put together this . . . about past transactions, that [this material] might not be trodden under foot'. (2)
(1) The actual words are coacervavi omne quod inveni, and occur in Prologue 2 to the Historia. (2) Quoted from the translation of Prologue 1. See The Works of Gildas and Nennius, J.A.Giles, London 1841.
The expansion to which
I am referring is called a Klein group when employed mathematically and has
various other designations, among them the Piaget group, when used by structuralists involved in mapping operations within the human sciences.* By means of
this logical expansion a set of binaries is transformed into a quaternary field which
both mirrors the original opposition and at the same time opens it. It becomes a
logically expanded field which looks like this:
* The dimensions of this structure may be analyzed as follows: 1) there are two relationships of
pure contradiction which are termed axes (and further differentiated complex axis the
neuter axis) and are designated by the solid arrows (see diagram); 2) there are two relationships of
contradiction, expressed as involution, which are called schemas and are designated by the double
arrows; and 3) there are two relationships of implication which art. called deixes and are designated by
the broken arrows.
For a discussion of the Klein group, see Marc Barbut, "On the Meaning of the Word 'Structure'
in Mathematics," in Michael Lane, ed., Introduction to Structuralism, New York, Basic Books, 1970;
for an application of the Piaget group, see A.- J. Greimas and F. Rastier, "The Interaction of Semiotic
Constraints," Yale French Studies, no. 41 (1968), 86-105.
regarding Phillip O'Sullivan respond to Rosalind Krauss's diagram
Following on from the previous scene by Masanobu Okumura (1686-1764) of a white-caped samurai un/seen from behind in front of whom (above whom, even) a white-capped see script ~~~
collection FIAPCE
Today, arguably the prime image for Buddhism in Japan, Bodhidharma aka Daruma in wall-gazing meditation for nine years. This lotus throne version is by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), the greatest of Japan's haiku poets.
Theatre of the Actors of Regard
The model and challenge of these three scenes,
if we include our own present act of regard ~~~
"Zen points directly to the human heart, see into your nature and become Buddha."
This makuri (unmounted/dis-mounted scroll work) is by the master printer-painter Masanobu Okumura (1686-1764). We cannot see the head the face the eyes the mind of the depicted samurai figure, so to caption the scene 'secretive samurai sees the see' would be speculative and limited.
collection FIAPCE
We can note, at least, the rolling white-capped see script and, formally quite different, the angular white-caped cover of the samurai. Co-existing.
Hyakka Ryōran (百花繚乱) is a Japanese phrase meaning 'Countless flowers blooming in profusion'.
The scroll below, 'Hyakka Fukunozu' (百福之図), we take to be of the same genre. Here, the flowers are countless Otafuku (the goddess of laughter) engaged in their various wisdom activities. (One is washing her hair.)
In the top right corner is a meta-scroll regarded by two Otafuku. It depicts a 'hoju' aka 'the flaming pearl of wisdom'.
