In Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha, Siddartha comes to realize there is no such thing as time. Upon the realization it is said, “Nothing was, nothing will be, everything has reality and presence.”
Today, we have a little something different in the form of an experiment not only in pencil, but in time as well. With the help of my friend Richard Gluck and his awesome Canon 5-D, I was able to document the process of today’s sketch. I asked Richard if he could time-lapse my sketching. I knew he could, but he suggested that we animate the sketch instead, taking shots of the drawing little by little. The effect was to remove my hand and pencil so it wouldn’t cover up the drawing. It could use a little more contrast, but this is my first attempt and it would have been a little longer too if my drawing hand had not knocked the camera out of place. It’s a Buddha Journey.
There is truth and wisdom to Siddartha’s concept of time, but today it does occur to me that if there is no time, there is no sketch-lapse. Reality though… Maybe?… Presence, surely. I hope it gives you something to wrap your mind around.
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