Enso: What Is Beheld -- David Scheinbaum

"These photographs/photograms are to be considered 'chemical calligraphy' unique, split-toned gelatin silver prints....These works are truly a mirror, a visual representation of my inner or emotional self at the moment they were drawn, what Alfred Stieglitz referred to as 'Equivalents.'--David Scheinbaum <p/> "In this remarkable collection of David Scheinbaum's ens&#333;s, brushstrokes appear under a kind of starlight in a darkroom--what we witness is a miraculous unfolding of light and dark dancing through moments of time, coming and going in a vast landscape of being and non-being. The images startle our attention into a state of wakefulness, a flurry of feelings that often settle into a quiet awe, curiosity, wondering. What is it we are seeing?"--Ninso John High <p/> Ens&#333; (Zen circle) represents enlightenment. Creating ens&#333; art is contemplative, the drawings meditative. The word "ens&#333;" in Japanese refers to a circle that is hand drawn, often in one single brushstroke movement and one single breath. The ens&#333; circle can be open or closed, representing either "complete" or "openness." It symbolizes the complete cycle of life, birth, death, and rebirth. The ens&#333; can also express our totality of being. It is the direct expression of this moment-as-it-is. It is believed that the character of the artist is fully exposed in the way their ens&#333; is drawn. <p/> Quarantining during the COVID pandemic offered photographer David Scheinbaum the removal of li