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    marc peter keane
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    Ichi-monji Bench

    Ichi-monji Bench

    Gneiss boulder and black walnut slab. On display at Chamber gallery, NYC.

    		Stone Hunting

    Stone Hunting

    Searching for stones at Sticks and Stones Farm

    Stone Hunting

    Stone Hunting

    Searching for stones at Sticks and Stones Farm

    		Preparations

    Preparations

    Adjusting the stone in the process of cutting the base

    Working the Stone

    Working the Stone

    Cutting the bottom off the stone. The raw bench slab waits in the foreground.

    		Installation

    Installation

    Setting the stone in the gallery with a tripod and hoist. The finished piece weighs about 1200 lbs.

    Ichi-monji Bench

    Ichi-monji Bench

    Gneiss boulder and black walnut slab. On display at Chamber gallery, NYC.

    		Ichi-monji Bench

    Ichi-monji Bench

    Gneiss boulder and black walnut slab. On display at Chamber gallery, NYC.

    Ichi-monji Bench

    一文字ベンチ

     

    ​​  In Japan the word "ichi-monji" means the number one. Since the number one is written with a single horizontal brush-stroke, anything that has a single “stroke” in its design might be called a “ichi-monji” style object.

      Crafted from a gneiss boulder and a graceful slab of black walnut wood, the Ichi-monji Bench represents a harmonious juxtaposition of two aesthetics: shin (真) the aesthetic of human perfection, and sō (草), the aesthetic of being in a natural state. The perfectly cut and finished slab of wood, and the weathered boulder that is left in its natural state.

     

      On display at Chamber, NYC.

     

       **click upper photo to enlarge