Zen circle

Kazuaki Tanahashi (c1933) is an accomplished Japanese calligrapher, Zen teacher, author and translator of Buddhist texts from Japanese and Chinese to English, most notably works by Dogen (he began his translation of Shobogenzo in his twenties). He first met Shunryu Suzuki in 1964, and upon reading Suzuki's book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind he stated, "I could see it's Shobogenzo in a very plain, simple language."[1] He has helped notable Zen teachers author books on Zen Buddhism, such as John Daido Loori. A fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science—Tanahashi is also an environmentalist and peaceworker. - Wikipedia

This post's pic of Kazuaki Tanahashi demonstrating a Zen circle (traditionally black with a red seal or chop) is really good. It makes no attempt to do anything more than illustrate a formal moment of calligraphic completion. The unloaded brush and empty bowl are its tongue-in-cheek honesty. I see this image as a modernist art piece because of that. A waxwork museum exhibit. A surreal political diorama. A symbolic statement of reversal and the ultimate emptiness of material values. A rather frightening (almost horrific) Zen satire. Painting with nothing whilst frozen in time. Sealing personality over the void.