THE BOOK OF MA
April 11 - May 4, 2024
Opening Thursday, April 11th 6–8pm
Organized by Keith J. Varadi
Jenny Hata Blumenfield
Michael Kennedy Costa
Patricia Fernández
Luc Fuller
Andy Giannakakis
Susanna Kim Koetter
Hyungi Park
Keith J. Varadi
In the summer of 2020, my son was born. A neighbor who had become a bit more than an acquaintance had mentioned the film Porco Rosso by Hayao Miyazaki to me. At that point, I had only seen Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, way back when I was still in college. My neighbor, who was also still a somewhat-newish father, strongly suggested that I do a Studio Ghibli deep dive. I didn’t get to it right away, but one by one, I began to consume his films.
While going through Miyazaki’s filmography, I came across this interview Roger Ebert conducted with him in 2002, the year after Spirited Away was released and the year before I graduated high school and went away to college. There was one particular passage that truly affected me.
I told Miyazaki I love the “gratuitous motion” in his films; instead of every movement being dictated by the story, sometimes people will just sit for a moment, or they will sigh, or look in a running stream, or do something extra, not to advance the story but only to give the sense of time and place and who they are.
“We have a word for that in Japanese,” he said. “It’s called ma. Emptiness. It’s there intentionally.”
Is that like the “pillow words” that separate phrases in Japanese poetry?
“I don’t think it’s like the pillow word.” He clapped his hands three or four times. “The time in between my clapping is ma. If you just have non-stop action with no breathing space at all, it’s just busyness, But if you take a moment, then the tension building in the film can grow into a wider dimension. If you just have constant tension at 80 degrees all the time you just get numb.”
When I read Miyazaki describe the concept of “ma” to Ebert, it was a real a-ha moment for me. I had been contemplating and appreciating this idea of the pauses in between the action for most of my existence, but I never had a word for it.
So many of my favorite artists seem to embrace and put forth their own versions of ma. To me, ma isn’t just one thing; anything has the potential to be ma, but not everything does. It’s a vibe, it’s an essence; it’s fluid, it’s slippery. It is the calm presence of life and the moments (of) near death; it’s the often-neglected moments of living. It can happen at any time and at any place, but you must have a certain sort of awareness in order to experience it. You need to be perceptive, you need to be patient, and you need to be willing to adapt and change your perspective.
Keith J.Varadi, March 2024
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f7b6608c67ad775639e2786635a99523f6fb0102124c0c2a6fbae7f7742e77e8/SB-4-9-004-1.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a94e64c7917d5eb3ee4349c90e53271011a2483a566555cb810ef9a92674afac/MassedActivity_MKC.jpg)
Massed Activity, 2024
Michael Kennedy Costa
Flashe on linen
8 x 16 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/42934e269a2c534671d29800dc2d1c7ea2f8c9ea2ae47b828815c795ec0e2101/NewPresent_MKC.jpg)
New Forest, 2024
Michael Kennedy Costa
Flashe on canvas
8 x 16 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/45ae8f793b5c5c3a4fd8d7fa8342f20e24c92d554163950336f5b48ec7e86e3a/SB-4-9-024.jpg)
Outskirt, 2023
Michael Kennedy Costa
Flashe and acrylic on linen
8 x 16 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a568e9f3149d40d573990843c27ae4e1f9688896d8d54048c45264cce118973e/Measure_MKC.jpg)
Measure, 2024
Michael Kennedy Costa
Flashe and acrylic on linen
8 x 16 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e0d0eb61552db7eb75a88540229cd22118050da374761477e23f584606208786/SB-4-9-002-copy.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/722efe5270eddb5141eb0e4d89a392deb81fe86a72d23350719d178733f8a42c/Low.jpg)
Low, 2024
Michael Kennedy Costa
Flashe on linen
8 x 16 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a2d57e12a4c9079788790e69b8228c2ebaf66cdf106b8334479031ec1f181285/BrownSun_MKC.jpg)
Brown Sun, 2024
Michael Kennedy Costa
Flashe on linen
8 x 16 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b41f374d9b8e875a5ab326488d61086625f4d01ed55466c577d4f22f6b3fdcd5/Watch_MKC.jpg)
Watch, 2024
Michael Kennedy Costa
Flashe on linen
8 x 16 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/265c6c082e99c75ecc032faa2895deb14ef14da0dfad168574f3f002b41b01e5/Scent_MKC.jpg)
Scent, 2024
Michael Kennedy Costa
Flashe and colored pencil on canvas
8 x 16 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ac751ab8bc8ed2893cf36f3a1afe43be8326e9c6b3c03e9e7afc7efd1e069f57/QuickDream_MKC.jpg)
Quick Dream, 2023
Michael Kennedy Costa
Acrylic on linen
8 x 16 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/98f5c8229f5a512cccc201b0c4c8f6f25464fdceda3f79ebac55e6c9ed3b908a/SB-4-9-003-crop.png)
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KEANO Flag (let me help you), 2019
Susanna Kim Koetter
Crayon and pencil with screen printed bleach,
dye, and phosphorescent ink on batik-dyed muslin
113 x 72 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d668a0b884d4c251af91d70e74e15060473a81e6f168776fe927d938cb775749/Nude_2_JHB.jpg)
Nude, 2014
Jenny Hata Blumenfield
Stoneware
17 x 11.5 x 3 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8d1acaa7d452f323f8d3fd0470f9e9a8aa1646e9bb3fef0725f3770d8d9897e2/CudgelMe_KJV.jpg)
Cudgel Me, Baby, 2024
Keith J. Varadi
Ink on Hahnemühle paper
11 x 8.5 / 13 x 10.5 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5b5612a1684ce200ca9245e2041c7ecd21040f8bc4498c681dd929b86b192ae3/HorseDrinksBeer_KJV.jpg)
Horse Drinks Beer; Is One of the Guys, 2024
Keith J. Varadi
Ink on Hahnemühle paper
11 x 8.5 / 13 x 10.5 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f2eabf0fbf22d0aaf8431496817fc2c3685cc7a1484aa6e0f1823209c0183df1/Kintsugi_KJV.jpg)
Kintsugi, 2024
Keith J. Varadi
Ink on Hahnemühle paper
11 x 8.5 / 13 x 10.5 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/683729006b752f98f273d677428fbc5a6aed9b59fd1d184cbc1da55e9d3f7a51/SB-4-9-007.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b220d85086004ca414b90aaa419e127312e46ea235b5b3accb3a622bb97521a4/ThankYouPlate_SKK.jpg)
Thank You Plate (고마워), 2022
Susanna Kim Koetter
Glazed stoneware
13 x 13 x 2 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2756b38ee5f067f96b3c0eda42be494d767c9a54afd4f391be0ba88c4ec63e46/FeminineBodyofUnknownOrigin_JHB.jpg)
Feminine Body of Unknown Origin, 2023
Jenny Hata Blumenfield
Stoneware and Kintsugi
11 x 11 x 7.5 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1c3d04d3c1949b4ca6e2d48e5d724ae9cf089e40ef400dd689cd7afa93ba1991/SB-4-9-006.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8a2d71c69b95d1369ed87cec1b4032fe0b39d881bf33ea3d696f8ecdecc255ea/Severnaya_AG.jpg)
Severnaya, 2022-2024
Andy Giannakakis
Oil on masonite
24.75 x 23 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9ac99a1b1572abd75a14cc0db23c5dd446a9974558f0e94e638cfeca716bde31/ANoviceHeart_AG.jpg)
a novice heart outgrows long from a and not a Once guiltless destiny, 2022-2024
Andy Giannakakis
Oil on masonite
14 x 13 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/91171aced751656f5b1484adafe719bb6f506028db51034be9f7642df980a876/Untitled_PF.jpg)
Untitled, 2015
Patricia Fernández
Oil on linen
11 x 14 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f3a7c72e7d6b4e43fea4c2ab6cbc96842d733a8b85e21d24ee23da8862ef5554/Triangulation_PF.jpg)
Triangulation, 2015
Patricia Fernández
Oil on linen
9 x 13 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/788d74092b698844433d51a3d085792877ada007088d484e8e307a38c15d357c/WhatIsItAllAbout-I_SKK.jpg)
What Is It All About? I, 2023
Susanna Kim Koetter
Colored pencil and charcoal on dyed muslin; silk
72 x 42 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fccd6ac9dbaeaf1222dce7c995828699a6826b0ce6313bf0425155219dc9ccba/WiseGod_ClockWise_SKK.jpg)
Wise God / Clock Wise, 2023
Susanna Kim Koetter
Glazed stoneware
14 x 14 x 2 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/78121df1cb5686898f3aa4e24c6c916041f2fc48544e18597feedf7b68f58b96/BlueAndWhiteOre_2_JHB.jpg)
Blue and White Ore, 2019
Jenny Hata Blumenfield
Stoneware
8.5 x 12 x 6.5 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2157fd14e372a023754075b52cf38592d87761210700f38c6390f5385e568914/08BrassIncenseBurner_HP.png)
08 Brass Incense Burner (silver one)
Hyungi Park
Vintage brass incense burners sourced from Japan
2.75 x 3 x 3 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/12149b793f81d3235721ab380460aea20b94ae17a1413942a7df34e07a9c937c/15UrnReplicaIncenseBurner_HP.png)
15 Urn Replica Incense Burner
Hyungi Park
Vintage brass incense burners sourced from Taiwan
2.5 x 2.25 x 2 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/44ea2b9876b16762ad2cf724f1f69037229677e5f1babecc6f2b985efe823f8e/SB-4-9-013.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/72855535d92544c14951d0790c596cd5db70a38a36accc550291727c58b31f39/Untitled_LucFuller.jpg)
Untitled, 2018
Luc Fuller
Oil and wax on canvas
35 x 55 inches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/77323dc62e1bd09c45ea4336536c7c608a95a83ab76b6b4492e7f4339ceafe70/Untitled_2_LucFuller.jpg)
Untitled, 2018
Luc Fuller
Oil and wax on canvas
35 x 55 inches