ON KAWARA: 1966 - 1979
This is an attempt at a 'contents page'.
I want to give the reader an idea of what to expect from this suite of essays that take On Kawara from 1966 to 1979.
I suspect the best way to do it is to show you how a diagram evolved in my notebook. This was the first stage:
The ideas marked are On Kawara's.
You might think: 'Great, lots of ideas, presumably fantastic ones.' But then you might think: 'No new ideas after 1970? In which case I'll just be reading the chapters from 1966 to 1970. And even then only if said ideas are really, really good'.
But that would be jumping the gun. For here is the next stage of the diagram:
The years from 1971 to 1977 are just as engrossing as the earlier ones because by then On Kawara's ideas had momentum. On the one hand, they saw him accepted by the art world; giving him residencies, exhibitions and sales. On the other hand, the ideas made On Kawara's engagment with the world incredibly intense. Professional success was complemented by personal fulfilment.
Although for most of the period, On Kawara was based in New York. His art career and his love of travel took him to many places. 
But I've got to be honest with you, dear reader. When the project got going I couldn't resist adding a quasi-fictional layer. Thus collectors and a museum directors engagement with On Kawara is filtered through, for example, a Joseph Beuys lens in 1972 and 1974. As the art world was obsessed with Beuys in this period, I hope I get away with it.
As for the ending, those last two years 1978 and 1979, you'll be wondering what happens as I am not giving much away in these versions of the diagram. You will have to read those chapters as well in order to get the full arc of this story: On Kawara, artist, traveller, Date Painter.
On Kawara from 1966 to 1979; timebound organism, timeless visionary.
