大象传媒

One fine day at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park!

It's hot, ten in the morning, real hot, and I'm sweating with the rest of the bus. I've got my bag jam packed with dictaphone, camera, two note pads and at least three pens. On top of this I'm carrying my jacket in case it rains, some water in case of drought and a sandwich in case of famine. Maybe I've gone a little overboard but I usually plan for every eventuality.

This is my first outing as a 大象传媒 Blast reporter and I'm taking it seriously. I'm heading to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) to view their latest exhibition by Isamu Noguchi.听听This work is made up of Zen inspired wonders, shipped over from the artist studios in New York and Japan. Presented in an underground gallery, visitors see sculptures, paintings and landscapes produced by Noguchi. This is however just the start, as much of the artist's work is exhibited outside in the YSP's expansive gardens, free for all to roam and admire.听

A Zen sculpture created by Isamu Noguchi

The sculptures are made predominately from stone. Granite and hard basalt are the materials of choice. All are marvellously moulded with smooth contours, many starting life as boulders. The gallery also features some of Noguchi's stage designs, huge works produced for the stage.

The glorious day enhances the beautiful gardens and I'm drawn outside to look at the artist's work in an environmental setting. Strolling round admiring the art is when I really start to appreciate his work. It's simple and so un-intrusive it seems to blend in with the park's setting like a chameleon. If I wasn't told otherwise I would have thought the art was created for the garden and the garden for the art. It's this ease of viewing that gets me into a calm state.

After viewing most of Noguchi's work, and enjoying some lunch, it's time for the second half of the day - a Zen Garden Workshop, found in the very far corner of the park. This workshop is open to all - it's truly free art. Run by Helen Moore, the YSP community and outreach coordinator, these workshops, inspired by Noguchi, offer people, mainly children, the chance to have a go at making their own Zen garden.听

Helen hangs a wish

Helen tells me: "Zen gardens comes from Zen Buddhism which is a religion practised in Japan...In garden form it's all about balance, simplicity and minimalism. It's stripping all of the unessential items out and concentrating on the bare minimum".听 In a garden this approach means using rocks and sand to create a seemingly simple setting.

Helen goes on to explain: "The rocks are symbolic of mountains or islands; it's about creating your own landscape. The sand represents the ocean and the sea, so the patterns you create in the sand are the waves of the sea". This helps me understand Noguchi's art - the smooth contours I admire in his work are representations of the oceans' waves.

Young artist plans his next exhibition

I am still very intrigued about some information given to me earlier, while touring the gallery. The rocks placed in an authentic Zen garden are sunk two-thirds into the ground, I asked Helen why this is? "It's connected to religion - it's about setting something really deep in the ground so it's solid, almost absorbed by the sand. In Japan they have people called 'rock masters', people who have mastered the art of placing rocks, what they mean and how they go. It's a real, true art form".

This doesn't mean that you can't create your own Zen garden, it's not exclusive to the 'rock masters' as Helen explains: "A lot of it is based on instinct". There are a few simple rules to follow for those out there who fancy building their own Zen garden: the rocks you use should be different sizes, never puts rocks of the same size or shape together. Look for contrast in shape and colour and don't use bright colours, dark browns, blacks and greys. Group your rocks in twos, threes or fives and most importantly keep it simple!听听

Helen says that those involved in the morning programme told her how relaxing the exercise had been and that the workshop was proving to be quite "therapeutic". With this in mind it's time for me to have a go at created my very own Zen garden.

Ryan goes 'Ground Force'!

Using Helen's advice as my reference point, I go for a small pot and a simple design. I start my garden with a bed of sand and mould curvy lines in it with my finger. Once this is done I take three stones of different size and place them in the sand. I don't think too much about this, deciding the stones position with my newly emerging, Zen instinct. Once my rocks are set two-thirds down I create a shape with much smaller pebbles and my garden is finished.

I really enjoy getting involved in a project that is related to the art I have seen. This certainly helps me gain a better understanding of the artist's motivations and influences - it also makes me feel like a bit of an artist for the day.

This is a breath of fresh air in the sometimes over complicated art world, where art can be easily overwhelmed by explanation and long paragraphs of indigestible text - this was more of a 'light bite'.

Ryan makes his guaranteed wish

Towards the end of the day, like all the other visitors in the park, I'm invited to add a wish to the Wish Tree. This is another of Helen's ideas brought back from her visit to Japan. Guests write a wish on a pad-sized piece of wood and tie it to a large tree. By the end of the exhibition the tree will be full of visitors' wishes and will provide an interesting insight as to the wants of other people.

I add my wish (guaranteed to come true) and ask Helen what people are wishing for. She says that the only recurring wish is: "People wishing for the ability to sing". Unfortunately, she won't reveal her own wish but I'm sure she's just worried about jinxing it.听听听

Sat at home after writing the article, thinking back to my conversation with Helen, I'm brought back to her words about Zen in life and how the western world is very "Un-Zen". After this I leave my desk and take a look in my bag. Did I really need to carry all this today? The three pens and the two note pads. Did the phone and the ipod matter? No, not really, at least I don't think so... I guess that's the Zen starting to work.

Thanks Noguchi!听

Ryan after a shot of Zen

Isamu Noguchi's work is exhibited at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield until Febuary 22nd, 2009.听听听