On Kawara

In their foreword to this publication, Ikon Gallery Director Jonathan Watkins and curator Franck Gautherot write ‘No artist’s statement here, as ever, no portrait of the artist and no interview…no newspaper cuttings to provide a commentary of current affairs for Date Paintings, and no colourful postcards.’ What instead is presented, is an anthology of writing compiled by On Kawara himself, a fascinating variety of texts that indicates the breadth of the artist’s reading, and his ongoing, intense preoccupation with the theme of consciousness. Included is poetry from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran; writings on meditation by Indian spiritual teacher Osho; a philosophical study of Cosmic Consciousness by Kajin Yamamoto; observations on Three Kinds of Consciousness and Volition by Ikuro Adachi, and an essay by Stuart Hameroff and Roland Penrose which explores the connection between consciousness and the phenomenon of quantum gravity.

This publication was produced to accompany the exhibition Consciousness. Meditation. Watcher on the Hills, which debuted at Ikon Gallery in 2003 and went on to circumnavigate the world, clockwise, during the next four years – through France, Switzerland, Germany, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada and Peru – thereby playing on the artist’s preoccupation with the passage of time.

The exhibition presented a combination of works by On Kawara – an early drawing, Date Paintings, the One Million Years books and a batch of telegrams – all of which are reproduced in this catalogue in a series of black and white photographs.

This catalogue is also available in a box set which includes Consciousness. Meditation. Watcher on the Hills - Volume II, a publication that documents the international  tour of the exhibition. Volume II features documentation of each presentation, alongside the publicity material and media cuttings generated for each location. The format is hardback, 143 pages, W182 x H243mm and costs £17 to buy separately or £35 together with the Volume I.