i'll see you along the way baby

Traveling and waitressing (as well as running, biking, driving, drunkenly skipping, etc.) have made me realize that not only do I like moving, I'm most alive while being anything but static (..whether this means moving in a certain direction, knowing where I'm going, wandering wherever my whims happen to take me, or being carried by the wind). In fact, it was while running and listening to this song, that I realized how true this stillness-is-a-move-business is.

This exhibit builds off of this concept, beginning with quite literal stillness (i.e. abandoned homes and death) and then takes a look at a more abstract stillness, found in nature and religion. From there, it examines stillness as a physical movement, stillness in love, and finally stillness in its most innocent state.

Hope you've enjoyed the ride- and aren't going anywhere too far away, cause round two is coming right up.

-d.m.m.

Exhibit A: Stillness is a Move

on top of every mountain..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMPF6lpM0XM

Exhibit A: Stillness is a Move

velocity = the root of centered-ness

"You imagine a spinning top. Stillness is like a perfectly centered top, spinning so fast it appears motionless. It appears this way not because it isn't moving, but because it's spinning at full speed. Stillness is not the absence or negation of energy, life, or movement. Stillness is dynamic. It is unconflicted movement, life in harmony with itself, skill in action. It can be experienced whenever there is total, uninhibited, unconflicted participation in the moment you are in - when you are wholeheartedly present with whatever you are doing."

-From Erich Shiffmann's "Moving Into Stillness, the book"

Exhibit A: Stillness is a Move

to be three..

"The child is in me still... and sometimes not so still."

-Fred (Mr.) Roogers

Exhibit A: Stillness is a Move

then again, stillness might not be the move you should be going for..

"Mamihlapinatapai" is a word from the Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego, listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as "the most succinct word". It is also considered one of the hardest words to translate into the English language. However, "mamihlapinatapai" generally refers to a look shared by two people with each wishing that the other will initiate something that both desire but which neither one wants to start.

(The above picture was part of British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare's installation at the Parisol Unit Contemporary art space in London. You must wind your way through an indoor labyrinth before stumbling upon these headless figures in African wax-printed textiles, posed in French, landscaped gardens. Read more about Shonibare and how the exhibition came to be at: http://www.quaibranly.fr/uploads/media/DP_Jardin_d_amour_EN.pdf).

Exhibit A: Stillness is a Move

"men are from mars, women are from venus" presents the rubber band theory

So the rubber band theory, John Gray's slightly corny breakdown of the intimacy cycle, goes something like this:

Men sometimes need more intimacy but at other times, they become saturated with it and need time to cool off. A woman will then tend to react in one of three ways:

1. She freaks out and starts chasing after the guy, which in turn freaks him out and pushes him to run further away.
2. She becomes bitter and starts pulling away herself, and their both pulling in separate directions puts a strain on their relationship.
3. She relaxes, realizing this is just a normal stretch in their relationship and things will come back around.

Soo- what exactly does this have to do with an elastic band? Not a whole lot, to be perfectly honest. But! an elastic is often used as a metaphor to represent this theory.. If the two partners are on the inside of a taut elastic, on opposite ends, then the woman chasing after the man will cause the elastic to collapse. On the other hand, if the woman starts pulling away, then the elastic will eventually break. Therefore, Gray seems to be suggesting here that stillness is the ultimate relationship move- if you care at all about that elastic.

Exhibit A: Stillness is a Move

when the stars align

"If it doesn't have ambiguity, don't bother taking it." -Sally Mann

(Photo taken by John Denne)

Exhibit A: Stillness is a Move

vertigo, anyone?

Exhibit A: "Stillness is a Move"

"Are we born to run?"

What did an ancient Mexican tribe know about running that we just might have been missing? (And why is sweating pretty awesome?)

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/christopher_mcdougall_are_we_born_to_run.html


Exhibit A: "Stillness is a Move"

perhaps meditation is not your thing..

Lifelong runners often describe their runs as spiritual, trans-formative experiences and even for novices, running can serve as a form of meditation (..the rhythm of a run and the cadence of footsteps pounding the surface, along with the awareness of a regular heart beat, creating a "meditative-attentive" state).

To practice more zen-like running, it is recommended that you first become more aware of your physical movements and surroundings: the surface that you're running on, the things around you, etc. After that, you can begin to pay closer attention to more specific things, like the movement of your hands, the sensation in your lungs, individual sounds etc.

Sound like too much work? No worries. The natural release of endorphins known affectionately as "a runner's high" and the myriad other emotional, physical and mental health benefits of running will probably make you feel like you're on cloud 9 anyway.


Exhibit A: "Stillness is a Move"

the man makes an appearance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJHquOEChRg.

Exhibit A: "Stillness is a Move"

the hub when the wheel spins

The wheel is an important Buddhist symbol and appears in several different forms. The "Dharmachakra," or "Wheel of Law" (shown above) has eight spokes representing the Noble Eightfold Path (..essentially the paring down of Buddha's teachings).

"The Wheel of Life" is another iconic Buddhist symbol and is supposedly the only thing Buddha ever drew. (Check out the interactive version at http://www.buddhanet.net/wheel2.htm )

In general, Buddhism emphasizes experiencing, rather than teaching or learning. Meditation is therefore an important practice because it allows Buddhists to see things on a different level and to strengthen their beliefs.

Exhibit A: "Stillness is a Move"

and then there were nuns..

"Keep the corners of your mouth turned up. Speak in a low, persuasive tone. Listen; be teachable. Laugh at good stories and learn to tell them...For as long as you are green, you can grow."

-Mother Teresa

(MT could speak fluently in five languages- English, Albanian, Serbo-Croat, Bengali, and Hindi- greatly facilitating her ability to communicate with so many people around the world..)


Exhibit A: "Stillness is a Move"

into the mystic

"I believe in God, only I spell it Nature."
-Frank Lloyd Wright

Exhibit A: "Stillness is a Move"

The Nike of Samothrace

Created around 190 BC, Nike of Samothrace, also known as the "Winged Victory of Samothrace" was created both to honor the goddess, Nike, and as a memorial to an epic sea battle.

It is famous for its convincing rendering of a pose in which violent motion and sudden stillness meet, for its graceful balance, and for the impressive attention to detail in Nike's garments, depicted as if rippling in a strong sea breeze.

FIFA world cup trophies have been modeled after this statue and Frank Lloyd Wright has used reproductions of it in several of his buildings.


Exhibit A: Stillness is a Move

"The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. To dig for treasures shows not only impatience and greed, but lack of faith. Patience, patience, patience is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach-- waiting for a gift from the sea."

-Anne Morrow Lindbergh (Gift From the Sea)

Exhibit A: "Stillness is a Move"

wave that dog bone

..dogs judge objects first by their movement, then by their brightness, and lastly by their shape..


Exhibit A: "Stillness is a Move"

Death

He's dead
the dog won't have to
sleep on his potatoes
any more to keep them
from freezing

he's dead
the old bastard--
He's a bastard because

there's nothing
legitimate in him any
more
he's dead
He's sick-dead

he's
a godforsaken curio
without
any breath in it

He's nothing at all
he's dead
shrunken up to skin

Put his head on
one chair and his
feet on another and
he'll lie there
like an acrobat--

Love's beaten. He
beat it. That's why
he's insufferable--
because
he's here needing a
shave and making love
an inside howl
of anguish and defeat--

He's come out of the man
and he's let
the man go--
the liar

Dead
his eyes
rolled up out of
the light-- a mockery

which
love cannot touch--

just bury it
and hide its face
for shame.

-william carlos williams

Exhibit A: "Stillness is a Move"

room with a view

"Death destroys a man, but the idea of death saves him."
-E.M. Forster (author of "Room with a View")


Exhibit A: "Stillness is a Move"