A decelerated and aware contemplation. A slow introspection that arises in response to a meticulously wrought aesthetic object. Walter Pater asked, "What is this song or picture, this engaging personality presented in life or in a book, to me?" To discover Hiroshi Sugimoto is to answer that question

Contemplative, Empty, Ethereal, Minimal, Serene, Silence

In the new wave of Japanese contemporary music, Akira Nishimura is the front-runner for the "heterophonic concept." Using droning melodic variations, Nishimura creates a spacious kind of zen spikiness that can either calm the soul or mystify the mind. Nishimura exhibits a particular concern with t

20th-century music, Contemplative, Eclectic, Ethereal, Hypnotic, Layered, Silence, Spiritual

During the climactic battle scene in Kurosawa's "Ran," the camera gazes on soldiers pierced with arrows or thrust against burning battlements. In the castle tower, a patriarch searches in vain for a sword with which to commit hara-kiri. As our eyes take in the tragedy, we hear neither the cries of me

20th-century music, Contemplative, Ethereal, Moody, Organic, Silence

Applying the strategies of Deconstruction to Post-Colonialism, Gayatri Spivak seeks to undermine the power of centralized discourses in the interest of clearing a space for marginalized voices. Known for her ample erudition and opaque theoretical texts, Spivak combines abstract philosophical specu

Deconstruction, Deconstructive, Dense, Intimate, Political, Post-colonialism, Self-reflection, Silence