The Sound of One Hand Clapping, Pultneyville, New York,
October 10, 1957
Minor White, 1908–1976; born Minneapolis, MN; died Boston, MA; active Portland, OR, Rochester, NY
x1970-14
Paradoxical statements of questions, known in Japan as kōan, are used in Zen Buddhist meditative practice. Minor White was well acquainted with the kōan "two hands clap and there is a sound; what is the sound of one hand?," which is attributed to the monk Hakuin Ekaku (1686–1768). White wrote, "After several months of intensive work on this kōan, I saw rather than heard any sound." On seeing again The Sound of One Hand Clapping, Pultneyville, New York, the kōan sprang to White’s mind, and the other photographs were afterward added to this sequence, or "cinema of stills."
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The Sound of One Hand Clapping, Pultneyville, New York
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Minor White (1908–1976; born Minneapolis, MN; died Boston, MA; active Portland, OR, Rochester, NY), The Sound of One Hand Clapping, Pultneyville, New York, October 10, 1957. Gelatin silver print; 25.5 x 30.3 cm (image), 35.2 x 34.3 cm (sheet). Museum purchase, gift of David H. McAlpin, Class of 1920 (x1970-14)
Princeton University Art Museum.
https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/art/collections/objects/11540
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