The Art of Few Words

Shadows Nijo Castle, Robert Castagna, edition of 20

Photographs inspired by Japanese Haiku:

Special Reception: Friday, April 6th 5-7 PM

The oft used catchphrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” is being put to a challenge in the exhibition of photographs by Robert Castagna entitled The Art of Mystery, Kyoto in its Season, on display at ROLLY-MICHAUX GALLERY throughout the month of April. The images of nature, season and mysterious detail are distillations drawing inspiration from the short but very meaningful poetry of haiku.

Many would agree that the thousand word adage, although hackneyed, is true. But describing a picture can be done in various ways. A documentary image has as its purpose the telling of a story. It therefore lends itself to words. But the images in Castagna’s new series are anti-documentary. Instead of telling a story, they rely on the muse of haiku and the Japanese aesthetic. Poetry, especially the shortest of its versions the haiku, gets to the essence of something poignantly and with little superfluity. It conveys insight and meaning while allowing room for participation. In this way so much more is said, when very little is actually there.

The images of The Art of Mystery, Kyoto in its Season should be read as haiku: viewed as short essences of time and representations of the repetitious cycle of the seasons providing insight to the moment and its details.