It’s all about the beauty found within.  Roger Callois was a writer, a French intellectual who associated with philosophers and surrealist artists.  He was particularly interested in drawing drawing analogies between the organization of the natural world and human society. (from www.english.hawaii.edu) It is his book, The Writing of Stones, that caught my attention and sparked my imagination with its rock and stone illustrations.

Roger CailloisRuin marbles, Tuscany, dust jacket of The Writing of Stones

In the show that I recently participated in, the Art of the Land, I had to submit an artist statement along with my work.  I put a statement in there about how things I pick up in nature can  be infinitely more beautiful, crafted by nature, than pieces I can spend hours on, created in the studio. This book is a wonderful illustration of that statement.  The polished rock and stone featured are masterpieces.

"Septaria," Spain“Septaria,” Spain, from The Writing of Stones

Caillois’ writing is the perfect, poetic commentary to be absorbed and enjoyed along with the Art of the Stones.

“Meanwhile the tree of life goes on putting out branches. A multitude of new inscriptions is added to the writing in stones. . .  The scrolls and laces of ferns are imprinted in coal. Ammonites of all sizes, from a lentil to a millwheel, flaunt their cosmic spirals everywhere. A fossil trunk, turned jasper and opal like a frozen fire, clothes itself in scarlet, purple, violet. Dinosaurs’ bones change their petit-point tapestries into ivory, gleaming pink or blue like sugared almonds.” – Roger Caillois

Roger Caillois, The Writing of Stones“Jasper,” Oregon, The Writing of Stones

Primitive painting, fine line illustration, carved sculpture and pop art — the stones illustrate and speak their stories.

Roger Caillois.An eye agate from Uruguay, The Writing of Stones

Caillois lived from 1913 to 1978, and left behind an interesting legacy.   See a list of publications on Amazon. There are quite a few sites that discuss this man, his work, and his philosophies, and I leave you today with one I found pretty interesting: http://www.inthemedievalmiddle.com/2008/07/roger-caillois-among-nonhumans.html

 

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