On Kawara: 10 Tableaux and 20,834 Pages

Charles Wylie

Hardcover |21.95 x 2.18 x 28.68 cm | 192 pp

Yale University Press | 2008 |9780300137347

Since the mid-1960s, On Kawara (1932-2014) objectively recorded his existence through everyday numbers, words, and found images. This handsomely designed and illustrated book presents works selected by the artist from throughout his illustrious career, including paintings made at the time of the 1969 moon landings, other large-scale paintings, a 100 Years Calendar, and his own books that chronicle his extensive travels, acquaintances, and personal readings. 

The book features a translation of an essay on the Apollo space mission and its impact on human consciousness by Takafumi Matsui; a chapter from Ervin Laszlo’s The Whispering Pond, which presents theories of understanding possible connections between mind and matter; and a new essay by Charles Wylie that discusses the specifics of Kawara’s 2008 exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art and his contribution to and divergence from the main currents of art practice across five decades.