ETERNAL AUGUST
ONE
Was there ever a show that consisted entirely of On Kawara's August Dates?
In 2002, the large solo show Kawara curated himself, and which Jonathan Watkins put on at the Ikon in Birmingham, focused on Sundays. The main part of the show was a Sunday Date Painting from each year that Kawara had date painted by then, which is to say from 1966 to 2002, inclusive. The 36 Date Paintings (six of the Sundays were in August) then went clockwise round the world to a dozen venues (Geneva, Bangkok, Singapore, Mexico, Toronto, etc.) and ended up back in Birmingham where the paintings were shown exactly as they had been four years before, with the addition of a Sunday from the years in the intervening period, which is to say 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Now this wasn't a show of August dates, but of Sundays, though the principle is similar. A different curator might have chosen August instead of Sunday as the organising principle.
Similarly, the two most substantial collections of Date Paintings in institutions, hold a Date from each year of Date Painting until the collection was put together. In the case of Dia Art Foundation in the United States, they have 35 Dates (3 August Dates) from 1966 to 2000. While Frankfurt Moderne Kunst (MMK) in Germany has 37 Dates (4 August Dates, two double-Dates) from 1966 to 2000. In each case the collection consists of one Date per year. Neither has constrained themselves to a particular month.
Now, as On Kawara painted about 2700 Dates in his career, and I calculate that his estate, One Million Years Foundation, still owns about 2000 of them, such a show could easily be put together in the future. I'm not (yet) saying that I particularly want to see a show of August Date Paintings, I am just setting out some of the possibilities that On Kawara's unique oeuvre presents.
So let's take the August idea further. A show of August Date Paintings from 1966 to 2011. AUG., AUG., AUG., AUG., AUG., AUG... 46 in all. An almost endless summer. However, some of these were painted in Mexico, France, Japan and Iceland and so are AGO, AOUT, AŬG and ÁG, respectively. Still, the vast majority of the Dates were painted in New York or elsewhere in the United States, and so AUG. predominates. Moreover, German abbreviates AUGUST into AUG., just as English does. It's good to think that English and German have a few fine things in common.
Oh, blast, my inner curator is insisting I get specific about this hypothetical show. So I am going to have to look through two of my On Kawara catalogues and put together a show of actual OK August Dates. One in each of the 46 years from 1966 to 2011. How do I go about this? The task is easy enough. As soon as I establish a Date Painting in August of one year, I move onto the next year. If the result illustrates nothing else, it will show that On Kawara tried never to miss a calendar month.
Wouldn't that be a great show, though? An endless summer. Well, no, all things come to an end, but a summer that lasted for at least forty-six years. I'm not sure how many Dates On made in his last two years when he was succumbing to cancer. His previously immaculate records became incomplete. He did make Date Paintings in both 2012 and 2013, but he didn't update his 100-year Calendar. And only the occasional Date from this period has been shown in public. No doubt there was a falling off from perfection that his estate is unsure how to deal with.
I've just realised something. Because this hypothetical 'show' I'm curating isn't a physical gathering together of actual paintings, I can be more ambitious. This essay can be a list of all the Date paintings that On Kawara made in August. True it means I have to go through two books in more detail, but that's the price one pays for ambition. That's the price one pays for a blockbusting exhibition housed in the mind.
So let's go, starting with 1966 I'm going to use blue for Dates made in New York, and red for Dates made elsewhere:
AUG.3, 1966… AUG.4, 1966…AUG.7, 1966…AUG.8, 1966…AUG.9, 1966…AUG.10, 1966…AUG.11, 1966…AUG.17, 1966…AUG.18, 1966…AUG.19, 1966…AUG.25, 1966…AUG.27, 1966…AUG.29, 1966…AUG.30, 1966…AUG.31, 1966…AUG.31, 1966.
Sixteen in that first year. One size 'A', 12 size 'B', two size 'C' and 1 size 'C'.
AUG.6, 1967… AUG.22, 1967… AUG.23, 1967… AUG.29, 1967… AUG.31, 1967…
Five in August of the second year. Three size 'B' and two size 'C'.
9 AGO. 68… 14 AGO. 68… 15 AGO. 68…
Three in the Mexican year. All size 'A'. The preferred size when the artist was travelling.
AUG.1, 1969… AUG.11, 1969… AUG.20, 1969… AUG.30, 1969… AUG.31, 1969…
Five in the month following the moon landing of Apollo 11. I'm going to stop commenting on sizes, most of the time, as you get the idea of how they come and go.
AUG.11, 1970…AUG.25, 1970…AUG.27, 1970…AUG.27, 1970…AUG.29, 1970…AUG.31, 1970…AUG.31, 1970…
That's the first year that On Kawara made Date Paintings while in different places in August. He was in New York at the beginning of the month but took a trip to Canada towards the end of it.
AUG.1, 1971… AUG.1, 1971…AUG.6, 1971…AUG.7, 1971…AUG.7, 1971…AUG.20, 1971…AUG.21, 1971…
A solid, productive, New York August. All size 'A'.
AUG.17, 1972…AUG.27, 1972…
The first time On Kawara's August output dropped to two paintings.
AUG.4, 1973… AUG.22, 1973…AUG.24, 1973…AUG.26, 1973…AUG.27, 1973…
The artist had spent July in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Kasper Kong was working. In August he slowly made his way through eastern Canada back towards home in NewYork.
AUG.14, 1974… AUG.15, 1974…AUG.16, 1974…AUG.27, 1974…AUG.29, 1974…
In between a road trip across America and a trip to Switzerland for his first solo show, these are all size 'B' New York Date Paintings.
AUG.1, 1975…AUG.7, 1975…AUG.8, 1975…AUG.11, 1975…AUG.12, 1975…AUG.13, 1975… AUG.14, 1975…AUG.15, 1975…AUG.16, 1975…AUG.17, 1975…AUG.18, 1975…AUG.19, 1975…AUG.20, 1975…AUG.21, 1975…AUG.28, 1975…AUG.29, 1975…
Back up to sixteen in the year, same as in 1966. Though these are all size 'B' except the last two, which are size 'A'.
1. AUG, 1976…3. AUG, 1976…6. AUG, 1976…7. AUG, 1976…18. AUG, 1976…28. AUG, 1976…31. AUG, 1976…
Seven in the Berlin year, all size 'B'.
AUG.23,1977… AUG.31,1977…
Only two in the first August at 140 Greene Street.
AUG.29,1978
Only one in this month, four months after Akito was born. July 12, 1978 being the previously painted Date. So that was a gap of more than a month, but not the omission of an entire calendar month.
AUG.6, 1979… AUG.10, 1979…AUG.30, 1979…
Solid New York, the month before the trip to Europe when he lost his briefcase and stopped making 'I GOT UP', 'I WENT' and I' MET'.
AUG. 6, 1980…AUG. 10, 1980…AUG. 29, 1980…
Solid New York.
AUG.1, 1981… AUG.3, 1981…AUG.5, 1981…AUG.19, 1981…
Solid New York.
5 AŬG. 1982…AUG.30, 1982
That was the first summer spent in Japan.
26 AŬG. 1983
Second Japanese summer. The Kawara kids (age 5 and 3) were to be educated between New York and Tokyo. Date Painting at an absolute minimum.
4 AŬG, 1984… 12 AŬG, 1984…
Third Japanese summer.
3 AŬG. 1985… AUG.27, 1985…AUG.28, 1985
Fourth Japanese summer.
3 AŬG. 1986
Fifth Japanese summer.
14 AŬG. 1987
Sixth Japanese summer. And the third August spent in Tokyo to result in just a single Date Painting.
2 AŬG. 1988…6 AŬG. 1988…
Seventh Japanese summer. The painting made on August 2 ended up in MOMA, New York.
2 AŬG, 1989… 5 AŬG, 1989… 17 AŬG, 1989…
Eighth Japanese summer.
7 AŬG. 1990…AUG. 20, 1990
Ninth Japanese summer.
AUG. 25, 1991… AUG. 27, 1991…
Tenth Japanese summer.
6 AŬG. 1992… 12 AŬG. 1992… AUG. 28,1992… AUG. 29,1992…
Eleventh Japanese summer. The late August Dates (28 and 29) were made in Vancouver, On Kawara having returned from Tokyo to America that way.
4 AŬG. 1993… 6 AŬG. 1993…26 AŬG. 1993…
Twelfth Japanese summer.
8 AŬG. 1994…AUG.22,1994
Thirteenth and last Japanese summer. The children had gone from ages 5 and 3 to 18 and 16.
12 AUG. 1995…13 AUG. 1995…15 AUG. 1995…19 AUG. 1995…22 AUG. 1995…26. ÁG, 1995…27. ÁG, 1995
August spent in Cologne making Dates that were shown that same month in a Cologne gallery. Site-specific near-performance! Plus a trip to Reykjavic.
AUG. 12, 1996… AUG. 19, 1996…AUG. 23, 1996…
Back to August in New York.
AUG. 11, 1997…AUG. 20, 1997…
Another New York August.
AUG.1, 1998… AUG.2, 1998…AUG.3, 1998…AUG.4, 1998…AUG.23 1998…AUG.23, 1998…AUG.29, 1998
Making the most of August in New York. Still at 140 Greene Street, which had been moved into in 1977.
AUG.1, 1999…AUG.2, 1999…AUG.3, 1999…AUG.4, 1999…AUG.5, 1999…AUG.6, 1999… AUG.7, 1999…AUG.8, 1999…AUG.12, 1999…AUG.19, 1999…AUG.24, 1999…AUG.31, 1999…
Twelve August Dates including the first 8 days of the month.
AUG.22, 2000… AUG.24, 2000…
New York.
AUG.7, 2001… AUG.11, 2001…AUG.19, 2001…AUG.31, 2001…
New York.
AUG.4, 2002… AUG.13, 2002…AUG.14, 2002…AUG.19, 2002…AUG.25, 2002…AUG.26, 2002…AUG.30, 2002…
New York.
AUG. 13, 2003…AUG. 19, 2003…AUG. 22, 2003…AUG. 28, 2003…
New York.
AUG.22, 2004…AUG.25, 2004…
New York.
AUG.1, 2005…AUG.2, 2005…AUG.3, 2005…AUG.8, 2005…AUG.13, 2005…AUG.21, 2005…AUG.25, 2005…
New York. Including the first three days of the month. Those first three days of August, plus the first three days in September, all mid-blue size 'A' Date Paintings are in the Vanmoerkerke collection in Ostend, Belgium. Pictured on page 242 of Candida Hofer's book.
3 AOUT, 2006…4 AOUT, 2006 …20 AOUT, 2006
The first August of Date Paintings made in France, though the Kawaras had owned a flat in Paris since 1993.
2 AOUT, 2007… 9 AGO. 2007…9 AGO. 2007…10 AGO. 2007…AUG.27,2007
On Kawara had stopped making 'I READ' in 1996. So not much is known about the subsequent years. The first Date Painting of August, 2007, was made in France and then three were made in the tiny city-state of Andorra. (The inclusion of one of these Dates in Date Painting(s) in New York and 139 Other Cities is the source of this information.) Before returning to New York by the end of the month.
AUG.2, 2008…AUG.9, 2008…AUG.16, 2008…
On Kawara would never leave New York again.
AUG.8, 2009… AUG.14, 2009…AUG.21, 2009…
New York, New York, New York.
AUG.11, 2010… AUG.14, 2010…
New York, New York,
AUG.6, 2011…AUG.13, 2011…AUG.20, 2011…AUG.21, 2011…
And that's it as far as the available records are concerned. Though On Kawara probably made August Dates in 2012 and 2013.
The annual numbers of August Dates are as follows:
16, 5, 3, 5, 7, 7, 2, 5, 5, 16, 7, 2, 1, 3, 3, 4, 2, 1, 2, 3, 1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 2, 4, 3, 2, 7, 3, 2, 7, 12, 2, 4, 7, 4, 2, 7, 3, 5, 3, 3, 2, 4.
That's 46 years in total. Total number of August Dates is 196. Say four more in 2112 and 2113. If August was a typical month, then that would give a total number of Date Paintings of 12 x 200 = 2400. Which is a bit less than the estimate of 2700 that I have already given at the top of this essay as the total number of Dates. Those 13 summers spent in Tokyo bring the August numbers down, as they would the July numbers.
Why I think this would be such a great show is that the totality of On Kawara's Date Painting could be understood by every visitor. The Dates would all be from August. So the mind has only to imagine the other eleven months. Fine, that's the sort of mental exercise we can all do. Roughly ten percent of the totality.
The source of the exhibition would largely be One Million Years Foundation. But some Dates would have to be borrowed for the show. There are sixteen August Dates illustrated in Candida Hofer's book, On Kawara: Date Paintings in Private Collections. Then the Dia (3), Frankfurt (4) and Glenstone (5) collections, making another fourteen. Then there would be a number in smaller public collections which have one August Date, which is at least three. And further August Dates in private hands not covered by Hofer, which is at least three but might be quite a lot more. Perhaps 50 or 60 altogether. It wouldn't matter if some couldn't be borrowed for the show. The curators could produce and present a complete list.
Are you visualising it? Not in a UK gallery, as there still isn't a sufficient groundswell of interest in On Kawara. The Tate owns precisely one, sourced from Nicholas Logsdail who has long given up on representing the artist. It would have to be in America, since that's where the many Date Paintings of One Million Years Foundation are stored. Maybe the Guggenheim in New York would be the best place for 'On Kawara: Eternal August'. Such a show would be a sister to On 'Kawara: Silence' from 2014.
It would be accompanied by diagram rather like On Kawara's 100-year calendar. Though this calendar would cover the single month of August along the x axis and 46 years along the y axis.
What stands out from such an overview is the dearth of Dates painted in the Tokyo phase. That's the middle third of the period, 1982 to 1995. In the first third, Dates are made in both New York and elsewhere; and there are 11 days in a row painted in August 1975. In the final third, from 1996, onwards, there are hardly any Dates painted apart from in New York. Just those French and Andorran Dates from 2006 and 2007.
Perhaps 'Eternal August' could be done another way. A much smaller gallery could be used. The exhibition would run from August 1 to August 31 and the paintings on display would change each day. If you went on the 1st of August you would see those Dates that On Kawara had painted on the 1st of August from 1966 to 2011. If you went on the 14th, you would see all the Dates from August 14 from 1966 to 2011. And so on.
The number of Dates on the wall each day of the show would be the numbers running along the bottom row of the above table. In other words, each day there would be between three and 11 Dates on display… Hmm… Not sure that would work after all. One sample day out of 365 days in a year leaves too much to the imagination (and arithmetical prowess) of the visitor.
How about the other way around? I mean the show would be open for 46 days and each day on display would be the Dates painted in a particular year. Meaning that the visitor on any day would see the numbers of Dates painted in a particular year. As many as 16 on a couple of occasions. As few as one on three occasions… Actually, I don't think that works either. Though visitors on the tenth day of the show would get to see the 11 Dates in a row painted from August 11 to August 21 of 1975.
So it's back to 'Eternal August' consisting of the 196 Dates. What a relief! Also present would have to be either (or both) Million Years Past and Million Years Future. These would contain all the Augusts for the last/next million years. Drawing attention to the importance of the Augusts actually experienced and for which Date Paintings exist. Otherwise known as consciousness. Those precious, lived years between the last million years (of which we are largely oblivious) and the next (oblivion awaited).
TWO
I think it's time I included a few Date Paintings:
Reproduced thanks to the understanding of the One Million Years Foundation
I also think it's time I used a quote from Shakespeare in this Kawara context. It'a a sonnet, number 18, from the collection published in 1609. That's a long time ago, but the language still hits its mark except in a couple of places where a little tweaking of spelling is required (and which I'll leave to the reader). Shakespeare was thinking of another gentleman he admired, a lover presumably, when he wrote these verses. But I'm thinking of On Kawara's August Date Paintings.
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;
Reproduced thanks to the understanding of the One Million Years Foundation
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd;
Reproduced thanks to the understanding of the One Million Years Foundation
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
Reproduced thanks to the understanding of the One Million Years Foundation
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
That leaves me with an image of On Kawara walking around his loft in New York on a cloudy day in August, late in the Twentieth Century. In fact, I can be more specific, it's the evening of the last day of the month. I hear Death boasting that On Kawara, the impudent artist, is walking in his (Death's) shadow. On Kawara says nothing but simply points casually to AUG. 31, 1999, the Date Painting that shines quietly, unobtrusively from an otherwise white wall. He's too modest to translate his gesture into words, so I pipe up on On's behalf. Death opens his mouth to scoff, but, on second thoughts, closes it again without troubling the airwaves.
