Premise: (Inspired by a visit to the Ringling Museum’s collection…) A study of the geochemistry, cultural history, and aesthetics of Scholar’s Rocks (Gongshi) (also Korean suseok) and Japanese suiseki, with a dose of 3d-printing and sculptural practice. A framework to think about issues of generative/AI artwork, the boundary between human practice, nature, and chance in art, etc. Topics include…

Some discussion topics

History of gongshi, etc.
Aesthetic theories of gongshi
- Gongshi as a subject for painting, including contemporary movements
- Gongshi as a proto-readymade, with reference back to Duchamp’s art meta-project of curation and taste
- How does this relate to generative AI as a natural process that creates items that are human-curated and modified?
Geochemistry: How is it that natural rocks are formed? Basic petrology
Computational sculpture and generative design, in the flavor of Mandelbrot—posit some simple generative processes and see what looks cool. Maybe this is a way to sneak some computer programming into the course

Some activities

Mohs rock hardness tests
3d scanning Scholar’s Rocks
3d printing some rocks
3d design / generative art

Reading list

Emerson-Dell et al Cultivated Stones: Chinese Scholars’ Rocks from the Kemin Hu Collection (2023) — probably a good place to start and most easily aquired
Singer, Elias, Hu, Spirit Stones: The Ancient Art of the Scholar’s Rock (2014) – Photographs of 150 gongshi, with an introductory essay on appreciation and aesthetics
Mowry Worlds Within Worlds: The Richard Rosenblum — color plates of 80 stones, and essays, from an exhibition at the Harvard Sackler museum

Allies and resources

Viewing Stone Association of North America: Many resources, include extensive list of books and articles, base carvers, etc.

Field Trips

Metropolitan Museum collection
Chinese Scholar Garden in Snug Harbor, Staten Island
Mineral Collection at the AMNH
Go to some mineral shops in NYC
Mineral collecting sites in the NY/NJ/CT/PA area

Fordham stuff

Interdisciplinary ICC course (Visual Art + Art History + Chemistry/Computer Stuff + Chinese studies)
- People: Asato Ikeda (asian art specialization)
There’s a Sculptural Methods course on the books, but none of the visual arts faculty are sculptors, per their bios