Frederick FranckRecensioni

This is Dutch-born author and artist Frederick Franck's seventeenth book, following on the heels of The Zen of Seeing, seeing/drawing as Meditation (Vintage) and Pilgrimage to Now/Here (Orbis Books). According to Professor Masatoshi Doi of Kyoto it was 'logical' that Dr. Franck should write this essay on a reliigion that sees art as a way of prayer and meditation, 'for he is the only person I could think of who could do it.' Frederick Franck, whose paintings and drawings are in the permanent collections of museums in America, Europe and Japan, holds doctorates in Fine Arts, Medicine and Dentistry. As a doctor he served on the staff of Dr. Albert Schweitzer's legendary hospital in the African forest, and he was the only artist to record Pope John's Vatican council in its entirety. He is also the designer-builder-sculptor of 'Pacem n Terris,' 'a chapel of peace' next to his home in Warwick, NY. Franck was instrumental in organizing the 1975 American tour of Onisaburo, co-founder of Oomoto and martyr under the fascist regime of pre-war Japan. After several visits to Japan, and after the opportunity of drawing and talking to Oomoto's leaders, he has written an accoount of a religion whose devotion to the traditonal arts of Japan may help to restore our awareness of the common roots of art and religion. Contents By way of introduction Oomoto and the New Religions of Japan The birth of Oomoto A visit to Kameoka The Foundress as a prophet The shaman of Mount Takakuma Oomoto, Onisaburo and art Some notes on Oomoto as a religion Appendix A short on the tea ceremony and on Noh drama Bibliography

World-renowned artist and teacher Frederick Franck shares his philosophy and spiritual approach to creativity. The author of the classic The Zen of Seeing has drawings and paintings in the permanent collections of more than 20 museums throughout the world.

"The Meaning of Life is to see," said the seventh century Zen sage Hui Neng. Franck agrees. In this user-friendly paperback he presents techniques for "seeing/drawing," which he has used in workshops over the past 20 years. There are exercises on drawing from the heart, caressing, accenting, catching the lightning, and keeping the artists within attentive.

More than 100 of Franck's exquisite drawings are peppered throughout the book. They ably demonstrate his meditative approach. He notes: "The moment the eye opens up, all becomes equally fascinating, equally inspiring, equally pregnant with meaning." Zen Seeing, Zen Drawing is a wonder-inducing and deeply spiritual resource. The book includes Zen stories, quotations, proverbs, and anecdotes.

This book shows us how racticing an Art is a form of meditation. The author introduces us to Seeing/Drawing as an experiential approach to reality. Seeing as an exercise of mindfulness. As an act of letting experince wash over us without reacting to it with desire or aversion. A really good book i would recommend to anyone and not just an artist.

28 min. biographical documentary on the life and art of Frederick Franck, author of The Zen of Seeing: Seeing/Drawing as a Meditation. English.

Zen of Seeing is not a how-to book. No drawing lessons here. Instead, pleasant drawings and inspirational messages (hand written) encourage the reader to let go of rules and inhibitions.

A good, 'feel-good' art book of the kind that makes me lazy: it's so much easier to read about drawing than it is to pick up a sketchbook. Franck sees drawing as a Zen practice close to meditation, and much of the book is about the way he sees the world and tackles it with his pen, with personal insights that he intersperses with comments from Zen masters. I'm not sure you could learn to draw from this book, but it has inspired me to look a bit more carefully at what I do when I am drawing.

Seeing/Drawing is a way of contemplation by which all things are made new, by which the world is freshly experienced at each moment. It is the opposite of looking at things from the out-side, taking them for granted. "What I have not drawin, I have never really seen," says Frederick Franck, and he goes on to show that "once you start drawing an ordinary thing, a fly, a flower, a face, you realize how extraordinary it is-a sheer miracle..."

For Franck Seeing/Drawing is a spiritual discipline, a "Zen method" admirably suited to the active temperament of Western people. Even if you have never thought of drawing, if you claim to be one of those people who cannot draw a straight line, this book will make you want to pick up a pencil and begin...to SEE.

Frederick Franck, whose drawings and paintings are part of the permanent collections of a score of museums in America and abroad, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, the Fogg Museum, and the Tokyo National Museum, is an uncommonly versatile man. He holds degrees in Medicine, Dentistry, and Fine Arts. For three years he served on the staff of Dr. Abert Schweitzer at Lambarene. He was the only artist to record all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). His many books deal with Africa and Albert Schweitzer, with life at the Vatican, with religious experience, and with his concept of drawing. In memory of Pope John XXIII, for whom he has unbounded admiration, he converted the ruins f an eighteenth-century watermill near his house in Warwick, N.Y., into "Pacem in Terris," a "transreligioius place of inwardness." Among the artistic, spiritual events at "Pacem in Terris" are performances of Franck's own modern version of the ancient Play of Everyman.