Visual Koan

Discussion 4 posts |  Only members can post. Join?

About Visual Koan

Have you ever encountered an image that made an impact on you but you couldn't logically explain why? You could feel the impact of it but words escape you? The image knocked you out of your normal state of mind and into some realm of your psyche that eluded logic? If so, it's a visual koan.

A koan is a simple question or statement expressed with the intention of knocking you out of your normal state of mind and, even briefly, into a more abstract and illogical state. It should intentionally bemuse and befuddle you but at the same time, it should enlighten. The most famous koan is "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

Images appropriate for this group's pool are any that you feel have such an impact, or that were meant to elicit such a response. They can be anything from the abstract to the concrete, accidental images, unfound, posed, heavily Photoshopped or unaltered; it can be taken with anything from high-end photographic equipment or a camera phone. The technique doesn't matter. What matters is that the image must try to cause a reaction in the viewer that is beyond words, beyond logic. It must attempt to paralyze your thinking when you first view it. Here is an excellent example... and in fact, the image that inspired the creation of this group: "Blue" by Unbridled Expression (tm).

Some people view koans as simply paradoxical or surreal, but it goes beyond that. Sometimes, the simplest of images can be a visual koan. It doesn't have to be extremely elaborate or wild. It only has to catch you off-guard for a moment and cause a reaction that you can't fully explain.

A note about adding to the pool. Your image doesn't have to be a proven visual koan. Just add things that you believe might have that impact or images that have attracted comments to that effect. Or add images where you tried to achieve such an effect.

For more information about koans, you can see the Wikipedia entry.

Here's a quote:

A koan is a story, dialog, question, or statement in the history and lore of Chan (Zen) Buddhism, generally containing aspects that are inaccessible to rational understanding, yet that may be accessible to Intuition. Koans are often used by Zen practitioners as objects of meditation to induce an experience of enlightenment or realization, and by Zen teachers as testing questions when a student wishes to validate their experience of enlightenment.