Chapter Nine: New Dimensions in Design
“Nature is an infallible sphere of which the centre is
everywhere, and the circumference nowhere.”
– Pascal [11]
The next morning, Wednesday, June 29th, Sri Chinmoy turned again to his canvas drawings. One of his students, inspired by the canvasses of the previous week, had produced seven framed canvasses of varying shape and size. They included a large circle, two semi-circles, two hexagons and two non-equilateral octagons. He hoped that these classic geometric configurations would give new scope to Sri Chinmoy’s bird manifestation. And the resultant drawings are surely some of the most beautiful in Sri Chinmoy’s collection.
Using broad nib marker pens, the artist drew mosaics of birds to fit snugly inside each shape. As in his previous drawings, Sri Chinmoy observed what might be deemed an Eastern concept of pictorial space. The impression of a third dimension is created by means other than perspective views. In this case, it arises from a combination of factors: the contrast of the colours, variations in the thickness of the contour of the birds and in their size. Sri Chinmoy uses these techniques to expand the space of his canvasses and to lift them from the single plane they first present.
One further technique – though these are less studied techniques than inborn responses – is the use of speed to impart character to the birds. Lines that are drawn rapidly are alive with movement and energy. This speed of execution in itself is sufficient to convey the free and unencumbered nature of Sri Chinmoy’s vision. There is a finality, a sense of completion, about each of his birds, as though a fledgling soul really had come into existence.
By June 30th, Sri Chinmoy’s grand total had reached 824,075 birds. Scarcely 175,925 now remained. At an average daily pace of 11,700 birds, it was projected that he would complete his third million on July 15th – and this, in fact, was precisely what he did! From July 1st to 6th, he devoted himself to smaller drawings – flower-bordered hearts, 6” x 6” squares, the final pages of his horse book and several leaves of thicker parchment with gilded Florentine borders.
On Wednesday, July 6th, he passed the 900,000 mark and commented on the spiritual aspect of his goal of three million: “The number three is very significant. The Supreme has three aspects – Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva – the Creator, the Preserver and the Transformer.”
