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| Glassblowing, illustration from the 'Encyclopedie des Sciences et Metiers' by Denis Diderot (1713-84) engraved by Robert Benard (fl.1734) published c.1770 |
The images, in other words, illuminate by clarifying and simplifying movement into a series of clear pictures of the sort the photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson called "decisive moments."
It might be possible to imagine an experience following this photographic procedure, one that enables our eyes to do the thinking about material things. In silence, as in a monastery, communication among people would be reduced to a minimum for the sake of contemplating how an object is made. Zen Buddhism follows this nonverbal path, taking the craftsman to be an emblematic figure who enlightens by showing rather than telling. Zen counsels that to understand the craft of archery you need not become an archer; instead, silently compose its decisive moments in your mind.
The Craftsman, by Richard Sennett [pg. 95]
