1 A Matter Of Course.indd 1 9/10/18 11:46 A Matter of Course August 13 – September 23, 2018 A Matter of Course Jedediah Caesar Whit Deschner Cara Despain Paul Harris Haley Hopkins Virginia Katz John Knuth Candice Lin Tony Marsh Alison Pirie Cole Sternberg Richard Turner Viewing stones from the collection of Thomas S. Elias and Hiromi Nakoji Co-curated by Richard Turner & Marcus Herse 2 A Matter Of Course.indd 2 9/10/18 11:46 Table of Contents Stones in Time by Thomas S. Elias .....................................................................6-7 A Matter of Course by Richard Turner ............................................................32-38 Essay by Kylie White .................................................................................................60-61 Artist Biographies..............................................................................................80-83 Mission Statement.....................................................................................................84 Cover: Large Chinese gray Taihu stone in wood base Detail Sedimentary limestone 16 x 30 x 8 inches Viewing stone from the collection of Thomas S. Elias and Hiromi Nakoji Inside Cover: Richard Turner In My End is My Beginning #17 India Ink and tempera drawing 30 x 22 inches Page 1: Chinese Chrysanthemum Flower Stone with root base Sedimentary marine limestone 12.5 x 26 x 2.5 inches Viewing stone from the collection of Thomas S. Elias and Hiromi Nakoji Pages 4-5: Installation view 3 A Matter Of Course.indd 3 9/10/18 11:46 4 A Matter Of Course.indd 4 9/10/18 11:46 5 A Matter Of Course.indd 5 9/10/18 11:46 producing fascinating shapes. Thus, their Stones in Time keen interest in abstract stones. The be- lief that a single small rock could embody by Thomas S. Elias the essence of a mountain range or even more, inspired many collectors. Some Rocks are usually thought of as timeless scholars collected stones for contem- static objects that form much the crust plation while others admired the shape, covering Earth. Over vast amounts of colors, texture and patterns of the stones. time, enormous plates on the Earth’s Finding beauty in natural and enhanced surface drifted and collided with other rocks has become a global practice, popu- plates to form the backbone of the phys- lar with hobbyist and connoisseurs alike. ical topography on this planet. Thou- sands of fault lines were created from the Taihu Stone (Jiangsu province, China) pushing, pulling, and subduction of these plates. Mountains ranges were pushed Depressions and holes in this ancient up, valleys were formed, and one layer piece of limestone, sedimentary rock, of rock and sediments was deposited on were originally created by wave action top of another. Volcanic activity, past and over thousands of years. Gradually the present, brought molten materials from softer portions were eroded away leav- deep with the Earth to the surface to form ing behind this abstract form of ridges, new rocks that mixed with those already on the surface. collected from Lake Tai near Wuxi; how- Over subsequent millennia exposed rocks ever,valleys, the and supply holes. was These exhausted stone longwere ago. first were subjected to varying weather con- Now, similar stones are collected from ditions and the action of moving waters. other regions of Jiangsu and additional Some rocks are one or two billion years provinces but still bear the name Taihu old while others are measured in millions stones. The stones are generally cream and hundreds of thousands of years. Still colored, but also found in gray, tan, red other younger rocks can be measured in and black. Many of these stones have tens of thousands of years or just in just a been enhanced by stone carvers to im- few years, months or days. Consider the prove their appearance. the Hawaiian archipelago where stones Indian Blanket Stone (Death Valley, Califor- canrecent be volcanicseen forming activity as theand magna lava flows hard in- nia) ens. Stones are formed and subject to aging before they begin a long slow pro- This siltstone stone was collected in gression of breakdown and decay. In the Death Valley long before this area was process, they have developed into many made into a National Monument. It is a varied and fascinating forms, a few of sedimentary stone that is composed of which have been gathered and appreciat- ed as viewing stones. bigger than clay particles. Silt particles People have collected unusual and beau- arefine between grains that 0.00015 are smaller and 0.0025 than sand inches yet tiful stones for varying reasons. Ancient in diameter! The silt was compressed Chinese scholars steeped in the teaching over time to form a relatively soft stone. of Daoism and Buddhism aspired to live in The reddish colorful patterns on this thin harmony with nature. They believed that lens of siltstone stone were formed by de- a universal life force condensed in rocks, 6 A Matter Of Course.indd 6 9/10/18 11:46 posits of iron oxides. These contrast with environment. Even portions of the bark the patterns of more intricate black lines on the tree trunk were faithfully replaced with minerals that maintained the origi- nal form of the bark. The stone is mainly ofcomposed Death Valley of manganese is complex. that There infiltrated are chalcedony, a form of silica. manyfine cracks alluvial in thedeposits siltstone. formed The by geology streams Chrysanthemum Flower Stone (China) underground. During the Pleistocene period,flowing recentinto the along valley the and geological disappearing time This large black stone is composed of ancient marine limestone, a sedimentary - rock about 250 million years old. It was ent.scale, As lakes these fed waters by waters resources flowing were from cut formed when calcium carbonate pre- off,the theeastern lakes flank slowly of thedisappeared Sierra were leaving pres cipitated and drifted in a shallow sea to dry lake beds. The Indian Blanket stone the interface between the water and sea was one of the products of the changing bottom. Three dimensional mineral for- geological and environmental conditions mations slowly developed when a suitable forming Death Valley. nucleus was available. These large, whit- Gobi Desert Agate (China) over several million years. The marine limestoneish, flower-like was uplifted calcite formations and eventually develop The concentric rings on this rock indicate formed much of the underlying rock in that it was formed by the deposition of southern China. one layer after another of silica rich min- erals on another microgranular quartz Chrysanthemum Flower Stone (Japan) layer resulting in the formation of a band- ed rock. As a result, it is neither sedimen- The more colorful and harder Japanese tary, igneous or metamorphic. Agates most often form as mineral deposits in air their origin in ancient marine limestone. pockets in volcanic rocks. However,chrysanthemum this rock flower has been stones subjected also have to intense heat and pressure as the Japanese Ventifact Rock (Nevada) archipelago was formed. Impurities in the rock add color to many of these Jap- This very dense rock was shaped by many years of exposure to blowing sand lad- composed of calcite, aragonite and related en winds. The harder portions remain minerals.anese stones. This The stone flower-like originated material from Shi is - while the softer ones are lost. It contains koku Island in southeastern Japan. streaks of hard quartz in a larger matrix containing silica and possible rhyolite Mountain-shaped Stone (Japan) which would indicate that this is of volca- nic origin. This old classic Kamo River stone rep- resents traditional Japanese stone appre- Petrified Wood (California) ciation. It may have been used to decorate the waiting room in a formal tea ceremo- This stone was formed by the slow re- ny house. This basaltic stone is volcanic placement of all of the organic matter in origin and has been subject to further with minerals, typically in a low oxygen wear in the fast-moving head waters of 7 A Matter Of Course.indd 7 9/10/18 11:46 Patternthe Kamo Stone river (United that flows States) through Kyoto. The unusual wavy patterns on the stone from the Trinity River in northern Califor- gravel that eroded the softer portions of thisnia were metamorphic formed by rock. water, The sand green and por fine- tions of this stone are serpentine alternat- ing with other minerals. Juilong Bi Stone China) This is an unusually hard rock that was found in the cataracts and pools of the headwaters of the Juilong River in Fujian province, China. This stone is a combi- nation of quartz, feldspar and the silicate minerals diopsode and tremolite, hence, it is a metamorphic rock with an igneous or- igin. It has a characteristically wrinkled surface and is typically greenish to bluish green in color. North American (California) 11 x 26 x 6 inches Viewing stone from the collection of ThomasPetrified S. wood Elias in and wood Hiromi base Nakoji 8 A Matter Of Course.indd 8 9/10/18 11:46 9 A Matter Of Course.indd 9 9/10/18 11:46 North American (Nevada) Ventifact stone in carved wood base 13 x 4 x 6.5 inches Viewing stone from the collection of Thomas S. Elias and Hiromi Nakoji Page 11: Chinese Gobi Desert agate 8 x 6 x 4 inches Viewing stone from the collection of Thomas S. Elias and Hiromi Nakoji 10 A Matter Of Course.indd 10 9/10/18 11:46 11 A Matter Of Course.indd 11 9/10/18 11:46 12 A Matter Of Course.indd 12 9/10/18 11:46 North American (California, Trinity River) Pattern Stone Metamorphic Rock (serpentine possible with jade) 11 x 13 x 4 inches Viewing stone from the collection of Thomas S. Elias and Hiromi Nakoji 13 A Matter Of Course.indd 13 9/10/18 11:46 Japanese Mountain Stone in carved wood base 13.5 x 6.8 x 8 inches Viewing stone from the collection of Thomas S.