Portrait From The Show In National City

 

Here I am with the piece "El Puente Del Corazón"

El Puente Del Corazon (The Bridge of Heart)

 

The piece that I chose to submit to the show titled — “Kinetics Art that Moves You” is a mathematical visual poem titled: El Puente Del Corazón (The Bridge of Heart) 56"x 56" polyester digital print

The piece involves bridging two historic traditions from opposite sides of the world. (Central America and East Asia) The concept of emptiness is found in the Mayan creation story described by the Popol Vuh yet, emptiness is also a fundamental concept of the Heart Sutra, an important tenet in the tradition of Zen Buddhism.
In the context of mathematics, the piece uses a "Similar Triangles Poems" mapping across two sets of corresponding legs found in similar triangles (a/b = c/d) to express the statement: "Emptiness is to Form as Form is to Emptiness." In mathematical form: (Emptiness divided by Form is equal to Form divided by Emptiness) Algebra is then used to simplify the expression in order to point at the concept of "Oneness" or atonement. Atonement is generally thought of in a Christian context and relates to sin. In this context we can think about karma and how it can be burnt away by enlightenment. I would like to use a quote from Sam Harris to help us understand the phrase used in the mathematical poem.

In the Prajna Paramita Sutra (Heart Sutra) it is written that form is emptiness and emptiness is form. Form is not other than emptiness and emptiness is not other than form. Emptiness in this context, refers to what experience is like prior to conceptualization. Everything is simply appearing and at the level of experience everything is inseparable from consciousness itself - or what ever you want to call this condition of appearance. So there are no things, really - there is just this display of appearances. And consciousness is not one thing either - nor is it many - it is merely open and without definition and yet it allows for everything to appear without impediment. It’s no mere vacancy. Rather it is vividly aware of itself - as itself. Ceasing to overlook this condition where ever you are whatever is apparently happening - is meditation.

Within the imagery of the work a circular shaped 'Il won sang', (enso) Zen Buddhist symbol of emptiness, appears as the Mayan creator God reaches for it. A quote from the Popol Vuh follows
(English Translation):

Now it still ripples
Now it still ripples
Now it still murmurs
Ripples
It still sighs
Still hums
And it is empty under the sky

Here is the English translation of the left side of the work:

For a deep dive into the cognitive linguistic view of Similar Triangles Poems read this paper: A Cognitive View of Pandemic Meditations.

Label information

Title: El Puente Del Corazon (The Bridge of Heart)

The Piece is 56" x 56" Polyester weave / sealed acrylic digital print

The show opens Thursday April 14th 2022
5 PM to 8 PM

The Art Center
200 E 12th St, National City, CA 91950

The Caveat of Capitalism

This piece was done in the spring of 2020 and inspired by the politics of the day. It uses the similar triangles form.
In addition I spoke in detail about this piece published in Karie Ross's book, Artists, Art and Story. Purchase it here: clickhere

 

Shoebox Projects Call and Responce - Spring of 2020

 This work was a collaboration between myself and Coleman Griffith sponsored by Shoeboxprojects of Los Angeles California. The method we used was that Coleman provided me a photo and I manipulated it and provided a mathematical poem to accompany the new image.  I used the similar triangles form for all of the math poems.

The Heart Sutra in Similar Triangles

 This version executed in the spring of 2020

Disengendered

The mathematical visual poem titled Disengendered is a pencil drawing created around January 2020. While on a trip to Oklahoma—a state known for its conservative views—I was inspired to make this piece during a discussion with a friend from Oklahoma. She shared with me the experience of one of her close friends, whom I will refer to as “TJ” for clarity.

TJ was struggling with a gender transition. TJ had been born with both sets of genitalia, but as an infant, TJ’s mother cut off the male genitalia, forcing TJ to grow up as a girl. By the time TJ reached the age of thirty, he began to feel convinced that his mother had made a mistake and that he was, in fact, a man. Yet, TJ also carried the lived experience of growing up as a girl and retained female genitalia.

From a distance, TJ appears to be a normal and well-adjusted person. However, the closer one gets, the more complex and confusing his gender struggle becomes. This would not ordinarily be a problem, except that one cannot help but feel empathy for the profound pain and conflict TJ is experiencing.

I sought to capture this paradox visually in my drawing. From afar, the image appears clear—even to the point that you can recognize that TJ is wearing glasses. Yet, upon closer inspection, the drawing becomes confusing, almost to the point where it is difficult to discern whether it depicts a person at all. In this way, I attempted to express my compassion for TJ’s transition struggle, while also pointing toward metamorphic hope through visual and mathematical metaphors.

The mathematical poetic form I used is a “Similar Triangles Poem.” For those interested in understanding the mechanics of this form, I have provided a link below with an in-depth analysis. Translated from mathematics into a lexical expression, the poem can be read in two ways:

• The Lost Soul is to a Cosmic Nursery as Being on an Ocean Raft is to Times Square (NYC).

• Or, alternatively: The Lost Soul is to Being on an Ocean Raft as the Cosmic Nursery is to Times Square.

 

Poem for Niels Bohr

 I have been really behind on my blog and am trying to catch up. This piece is a similar triangles poem done in December of 2019

What Is Wet?

Here is another similar triangles poem titled "What Is Wet?"

The Delusions of Control

Afghanistan has a horrible history of not only bands of marauders trying to control this land but, empires trying to control it as well. The piece was inspired by an Afghanistan general who said that his country is the graveyard of empires. Even today it is in political turmoil with militants trying to seize control of this vast mountainous area.  This is a proportional poem that addresses the imperial struggles of control and the futility of such a quest. 

In the vernacular, the poem can be read many ways including the following: "The value of Afghanistan is to the value of Hope as the value of The Graveyard is to the value of an Empire. Or the Value of Afghanistan is to the value of a graveyard as the value of hope is to the value of an Empire.

Addition

Here is a proportional poem by Kaz Maslanka that points to the mechanics of commerce.

Singularity at Vulture Peak

This Similar Triangles Poem titled "Singularity at Vulture Peak"is a refinement from an earlier piece and is much more direct with what I want to express.  -Kaz

One vernacular translation for this mathematical expression is, "Enigma is to a flower dream as the truth is to the experience of a flower."

One may want to Google "Vulture Peak" to see what many say is the first transmission Zen from the Buddha.

Fog

Here is a Proportional Poem titled "FOG"

FOG - 2012

Don't Think About This

Here is a proportional poem titled "Don't Think About This"

The Tao Of Campbell

Here is a polyaesthetic proportional poem titled "The Tao Of Campbell"
To understand how proportional poems work click here
Dreams are to personal myths as myth is to cultural dream.


Here is a detail of the image:

Singularity (Polyaesthetic)

Here is a polyaesthetic version of the proportional poem titled "Singularity"



Here is a detail view from the piece titled "Singularity"

New Singularity

This post is a new version of the proportional poem posted December 13, 2010.

Singularity by Kaz Maslanka

Here is a new proportional poem titled "Singularity".

If you are not familiar with how to read proportional poems please click here

Blood Manure Nature And The Despot

Here are three new proportional/similar triangles poems.

Iteration

Here is one of my new proportional poems titled "Iteration"

Afghanistan

Here is a new proportional poem titled “Afghanistan”

I find that you can switch Hope and Empire and get different results that still provide something interesting