Tao
Te Ching And Photography The
Heavenly Way to Perfection for Photographers
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This
small project deals with the text of Tao Te Ching,
an ancient Chinese philosophical book, which was supposedly
written by Lao Tzu (Laozi). I tried to select a number of thoughts
and ideas that may be useful not only to photographers
but to other creative people as well. Of course, this
primary Taoist writing says nothing about photography.
However, we must admit that photography often plays a significant
role in lives of many people, and Tao Te Ching focuses
on nothing else but on crucial aspects of life.
When
creating this text, I completely realized that any interpretation
would be imperfect. So please do not treat this text as
a piece of finished and unambiguous information. The purpose
was unpretentious. All I wanted was to promt your own independent
understanding
of the ancient Chinese classic about Way of Power (one
of the possible translations of the hieroglyphs Tao Te
Ching).
All
quotations are based on the translation by J. Legge. The
numbers in braces indicate the relevant chapters of Tao
Te Ching.
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1. Photography that can be expressed by
means of visual images is not the genuine photography. The true
photography is something that prompts us to produce images. It
is also something that remains deep inside our souls after we
looked at photographic pictures. Only those who are free from
passion can see the marvelous mystery of photographic art. {1}
2. Do
not avoid ugliness, because the beauty and the ugliness constantly
give birth to each other. That
is a foundation of the Harmony. "All
in the world know the beauty of the beautiful, and in doing
this they have the idea of what ugliness is".
{2}
3. Do
not be upset by impartial criticism. It is also nothing else
but the necessary antithesis. "…the
ideas of height and lowness arise from
the contrast of the one with the others…" {2}
4. Avoid
idle snapping. If you can refrain from taking pictures, do
not photograph. Each image must be the result of the absolute
inability to avoid taking pictures. "…the
sage manages affairs without doing anything…» {2}
5. Do
not pursue photography with the purpose of producing a lot
of images. It is better to have a moderate amount of pictures
of high quality. Be critical to yourself. Do not hesitate
to throw away a significant part of your photographs. Give
yourself pauses for thought. Spare as much time as you can
for contemplation
and accumulation of new ideas. "It
is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt to
carry it when it is full. If you keep feeling a point that
has been
sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness".
{9}
6. Do
not live for old projects. Make progress! "When
the work is done, and one's name is becoming
distinguished, to withdraw into obscurity is the way of Heaven".
{9}
7. If
the process of photographing unexpectedly requires a lot
of effort, do not persist! Put off the project. Try to reconsider
your
approaches. When you squeeze the result out of yourself,
it is almost never neither good nor satisfactory. When you
try to achieve your
goals, remember that "the Tao
produces all things and nourishes them;… and
yet does not control them". {10}
8. In
addition to an author's ideas, photographs should have a
lot of emptiness in them. This emptiness is typically filled
by the viewers. It helps to avoid unambiguous interpretation.
As a result, a lot of important nuances and subtle details
are added to the pictures. "Clay is
fashioned into vessels; but it is on their empty hollowness,
that
their use depends". {11}
9. No
unnecessary things should be present in photographs.
"Color's five hues
from th' eyes their sight will take;
music's five notes the ears as deaf can make;
the flavors five deprive the mouth of taste…" {12}
10. The
secret of a photograph has nothing to do with what it shows.
The secret is in what its author sees in it and in what viewers
can see. "We look at it, and we
do not see it, and we name it the
Equable". {14}
11. Do
not confuse a picture with ideas it conveys. A photograph
does not contain anything but itself. "Then
appeared wisdom
and shrewdness, and there ensued great hypocrisy".
{18}
12. The
name of a picture is nothing else but a verbal label. A true
photograph exists beyond a language. "Abstaining
from speech marks him who is obeying the spontaneity
of his nature".
{23}
13. Do
not seek fame. Do not bend every effort to achieve glory.
"He who displays himself does
not shine; he who asserts his own views is not distinguished;
he who
vaunts himself does not find his merit acknowledged; he who is
self-conceited has no superiority allowed to him". {24}
14. Do
not rest on your laurels! Improve yourself! "He
who knows other men is discerning; he who knows himself is
intelligent. He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes
himself is mighty". {33}
15. When
you try to introduce an external essence to an image, you
are very likely to fail. The larger such an external addition,
the worse. "…The Tao is hidden,
and has no name; but it is the Tao which is
skilful at imparting to all things what they need and making them complete". {41}
16. Any
work of art depends on its author's ability to stop at the
right moment. A piece of art can be neither extended nor
reduced. "Who knows to stop
incurs no blame". {44}
17. Do
not look for innovations. Strive after naturalness instead. "Tao
produces all things … it carries them
through their processes and does not vaunt its ability in
doing so; it brings them to maturity and exercises no control over
them; — this is called its mysterious operation". {51}
18. When
taking pictures, follow calls of your heart, not you mind.
Only your heart can produce unsurpassed results. "He
who has in himself abundantly the attributes of the Tao
is
like an infant. … — showing the perfection of its
physical essence". {55}
19. He
who knows the art does not take pictures. He who does take
pictures does not know it. "He
who knows the Tao does not care to speak about it;
he
who is ever ready to speak about it does not know it".
{56}
20. Make
progress little by little. Begin with tiny goals. Great tasks
will come to you with time. "The
master of Tao anticipates things that are difficult while
they
are easy, and does things that would become great while they
are
small. All difficult things in the world are sure to arise
from a
previous state in which they were easy, and all great things
from one
in which they were small. Therefore the sage, while he never
does
what is great, is able on that account to accomplish the
greatest". {63}
21. The
world around you contains neither a cause, nor a source
for creativity. "Action should
be taken before a thing has
made its appearance". {64}
22. Do
not foist your opinions and feelings on others. Self-perfection
is more important process than idle disputes. "He,
who in Tao's wars has skill, assumes no martial port; he
who fights with most good will, to rage makes no resort".
{68}
23. Do
not waste time fighting against others. Accept and follow
your destiny.
"It is the way of Heaven not to strive,
and yet to
overcome".
{73}
24. Sincere
photographs are not fine; fine pictures are not sincere.
"Those who know the Tao are not
extensively learned; the extensively learned do not know
it". {81}
*
* *
Other translations can easily
be found on the Internet.
You
must obtain a written permission from me to use any materials of
this site for any commercial or non-commercial purposes, unless there
is an explicit statement to the contrary.
