New photography by Pat Cagney captured with a digital camera.

Dried Grass, Chesapeake, VA

Artist Koichiro Kurita (Japanese, b. 1943)

CultureJapanese | American

DateFebruary 1991, printed April 2000

MediumPlatinum print

DimensionsOverall, Image: 17 3/8 × 21 1/4 in. (44.1 × 54 cm)
Overall, Support: 19 1/2 × 24 in. (49.5 × 61 cm)
Overall, Mat: 24 × 30 in. (61 × 76.2 cm)

InscribedSigned lower right, in black border: K. Kurita

Credit LineMuseum purchase, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank

Object number2005.5

On View

Not on view

DescriptionIt is a platinum print on Gampi paper of dried grass during February in Chesapeake, Virginia. It is edition 4/10 and is printed on Gampi, a handmade high-quality paper.

Label TextKoichiro Kurita Japanese (b. 1943) Dried Grass, Chesapeake, VA, February 1991 Platinum print, 2000 Museum purchase, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank 2005.5 Kurita read Henry David Thoreau's Walden Pond and was profoundly moved by the passages describing the rewards of living close to nature, "Absolute freedom of the spirit without any constraint by society's rules" and "the ability to enjoy life in harmony with nature." To Kurita this was a manifestation of Zuangzi's philosophy and closely aligned with the Oriental way of understanding nature. (Zuangzi/Chuang Tzu was a Taoist philosopher who lived in China ca. 330 BC.) Deeply inspired by Thoreau's and Zuangzi's clairvoyant, independent thinking, Kurita has the ability to recognize seemingly insignificant natural occurrences as beautiful and important images. Ostensibly, this photograph depicts nothing more than a jumble of marsh grass. Beautifully composed the image is transformed into an ephemeral tapestry woven by nature and rendered as a luminous platinum print. Thanks to his efforts the fragile image becomes worthy of our contemplation and admiration. Edited By: CW Edited Date: 2007 Approved By: ERL Approval Date: 2007Exhibition History"The World of Photography," Alice R. and Frank B. Sol Photography Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, June 20, 2007 - May 25, 2008