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Home » News » FSU Art MFA ’12 Tyler Dearing showing at 621 on 5/2/14

FSU Art MFA ’12 Tyler Dearing showing at 621 on 5/2/14

Published April 22, 2014

1WONDER & WANDER TO THE PURE LAND BUDDHA FIELD

There are sacred and holy places beyond this physical world free of pain, worry and suffering.  Whether that afterlife is Heaven, Paradise, Nirvana, or Moksha, one must be of pure mind, body and soul to enter.  Christianity preaches repentance as a way to purify one’s thoughts and actions.   Buddhism use’s the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path as a way to reach Nirvana (a peaceful state of mind that is free from craving, anger and mental suffering).  Meditation provides control over our own mind and is crucial in obtaining enlightenment.

Wonder & Wander to the Pure Land Buddha Field is meant to function as a peaceful and calm retreat for viewers to sit, relax and meditate in an attempt to find a more centered place in themselves and this world.

Mandala:

A spiritual and ritual symbol representing the Universe.  Employed for focusing attention of aspirants and adepts, as a spiritual teaching tool, for establishing a sacred space, and as an aid to meditation and trance induction. “A support for the meditating person”, something to be repeatedly contemplated to the point of saturation, such that the image of the mandala becomes fully internalized in even the minutest detail and can then be summoned and contemplated at will as a clear and vivid visualized image.

Meditation:

The practice of focusing the mind on one point in order to purify the spirit, eradicate illusions, and perceive the truth.

Pure Land or Buddha Field:

A Buddha’s land.  The term is contrasted with impure land, meaning the saha world, this world that is tainted with suffering and desire.  A Buddha’s land is said to be blissful and free from impurity and is therefore called a pure land. The saha world reveals either its pure aspect or impure aspect in response to the purity or impurity of the hearts and minds of those inhabiting it. One with a pure heart thus dwells in a pure land here and now. Collectively, when people purify their hearts and minds, the society or world where they live becomes a pure land.

The 621 Gallery, Inc
621 Industrial Drive
Tallahassee, FL 32310
850­‐224-‐6163

Exhibition runs from May 2­‐31, 2014
regular gallery hours are Thursday-‐Sunday, 1­‐5pm

Biography:

T. F. Dearing was born in Louisville, Kentucky and currently lives in Tallahassee, Florida.  He holds a BFA from the University of Kentucky, a MFA from Florida State University, and is currently a professor of art history and photography at Florida State University.

Recent works include site-­‐specific outdoor and indoor installations utilizing natural materials and re/up-­‐cycled materials from the local community.  In addition to being a gardener and landscaper, his artistic practice allows for cross-­‐pollination of what could be considered simple manual labor and material waste into artworks created by meditative practices and viewing the natural world as a gift of wonder.

[quote] If  the  world  of  the  not-­‐self  is  felt  as  a  mere  resource  to  be  used  it  will surely be abused; if the world is regarded as a gift, a wonder, as a reality having an integrity of its own -­‐ it will be rightly used. [/quote]

‐   Dr. Joseph Sittler, theologian
Environmental Education Act of 1970 congressional hearings

[quote] We are psychically numb.  We numb our senses from morning to night, whether it’s with noise or loud music or light at night.  So, nobody sees the beauty.  And if we have lost the feeling of the beauty in the world, then we are looking for substitutes.   Larry Calfur said, ‘You can never get enough of what you don’t really want.’  Meaning we rush around permanently needy.   But the loss, the feeling of loss, is that we don’t know what it is we have lost.   What we have lost is the beauty of the world.   And we make up for it with attempting to conquer the world, own the world, possess the world. [/quote]

‐   James Hillman, psychologist excerpt from The 11th Hour, documentary