Daoism visual poetry

Daoism visual poetry artist's statement
My video represented an average human journey through everyday life. The symbolic importance of this concept exemplified the nature of Daoism. Unlike many other beliefs and religions, there is no deity, it is not a higher being that is worshiped, it is not inhuman or heavenly it is very different from the beliefs of many religions adopted in western culture, especially Christianity. The Dao is a concept and a way of life, the way of life, is what is believed. It is ever present but can only be followed if one is conscious of "the way". My main goal of the video was to make that concept evident. I did not want the concept to be obvious, but something that you had to notice once made aware, parallel to" the way" of the Dao in itself.
The significance of the woman's journey in the video is representative of the lives of many people. We all have routines and changes and paths but we do not notice the Dao unless we are made aware of its ever existing presence. As we follow the girl through her morning routine the first time, we notice the ever present existence of water. The symbol of water is very prevalent in the text of the Dao because like the concept of Dao is it also ever present. It is a constant thing that we could not exist without, following a flow around us and within us. It also has neither shape nor size and can never be explained as one specific thing.
When the woman follows her path outside she is overwhelmed by the world around her and does not know where to go, but yet she still keeps on going. We see the coffee pot appear sporadically as the cycle moves forward, once again following paths but not knowing where to go. The coffee pot is intentionally never empty because at this point in the woman's life she is not an empty vessel, as the Dao proclaims we should be. As the cycle continues her paths becomes more and more broken, and her perspective gets choppy and blurred. The woman fills a glass with water and drinks from it amidst the chaos. This is once again an example of her filling her vessel and avoiding the Dao. Yet as she drinks the water emptying the cup she gets ever closer to her empty vessel and awareness of the way. It takes the force of the vessel breaking entirely for her to stop and take a deep breath realize its presence. The black screen gives us all a second to be consumed with the music and the chaos and make this realization as well. The music calms and becomes quite distant, yet we still here its existence. But this existence only enhances our universe, it does not disrupt it, it is peaceful and balanced like the yin yang representation of the Dao.
After the darkness and the calm settle in the woman's feet, which are representative of the paths she takes, enter the screen and are finally bare. They merely exist, their presence a representation of the active inactivity that the Dao proclaims. We finally see her walking down the street she has crossed many times but for the first time she does not hesitate or feel dizzied by the world, she walks a straight path into the uncertain distance until we cannot see her and the strangers distract us because she is merely following the way.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• DAO

[womaninthemaking]

Great video!