Stephen Guenther

SUISEKI SERIES | The term Suiseki literally means "water stone". Originating some 2,000 years ago in China, interesting, rare or well formed stones were placed and displayed in watered trays. Imitations of classic landscape paintings, they were also associated with the legendary mountains, islands and seas represented in Buddhist and Taoist texts. With photography using both the camera’s ability to capture and the ability to use "time" to allow movement to be present in the images. The motion, the light and the flow relate directly, for me, to the patterns in Zen gardens and eastern aesthetic. This aesthetic also connects me to Minor White, his use of time, of sequence and his practice of Zen in his photography and his life.

“While we cannot describe its appearance (the equivalent), we can define it’s function. When a photograph functions as an Equivalent we can say that at that moment, and for that person the photograph acts as a symbol or plays the role of a metaphor for something that is beyond the subject photographed.” – Minor White

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