Scholar’s Stones

 

The scholar’s stone/rock (Gongshi or "rare stone" in China; Suikeki or "water-stone" in Japan) is a nature-made silicon-based “artwork” commonly displayed on a stand called dai/daiza (custom-made wooden pedestal) or "suiban" (shallow trays filled with sand, fine gravel or water). The appreciation and ritual of stone art (with little or no intervention by humans) began in China over 1,000 years ago.  In this art form, a stone becomes an artwork when it has been found and perceived with the artistic inspiration of an individual. This ancient China’s art concept was simply “expanded” by Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968, French) and introduced to Western art history, and was named “ready-made art”. In America, art movements called "neo-dada" and "pop art" further expanded the idea and applications into the consumer culture and commodities. The conceptual art and simulationism art ("neo geo art") refined its presentations in recent decades.


With my investigation into the rising temperature of the planet Mars and other planets in our solar system (including the planet Earth) which became an issue in the early 21st century (not the one called “Global Ice Age Crises” being trumpeted by fanatics in the United States in the 1970s), my recent series of artworks was born. Specifically speaking, my objet d'art (art object) simulates the non-electric life-enhancing devices widely used in the North American Union in the early 22nd century. I have been using my home-made “Objective Art” (term used by Leonardo da Vinci) such as non-electric air conditioner, non-electric refrigerator, and non-electric hot water maker, etc. for decades. These are ecologically sound, environmentally safe and nature-friendly “functional” artworks. I consider the human environment built around them as “Monuments” (a term used by General Motors) to be more energy-efficient and bio-organic to follow the laws of nature to live more harmoniously with nature and its environment. My site-specific, interactive bio-organic ecological and environmental artwork entitled “Suiseki: Kuro Gohon” (scholar’s stone: black five units) is the embodiment of my life style and things to come to our world and people.


It is my hope that my artworks are the vehicles to please the eyes, uplift the spirit, stir the imagination and express conviction. I want to lead my audience to enjoy this world more with me and my artworks. It is my desire to promote a greater understanding and appreciation of the importance of the global nature of the world, its people and the bonds that mutually bind them. It is my sincere wish that my creativity and its products contribute to the advancement of the glorious culture based on the sanctity of life and true humanism.

Takeshi Yamada

Chinese Vampire Monkey

 

Other Common Name(s): Vampire Monkey

Latin Name: Demosndulus rotundidus

Description of the specimen: The Chinese Vampire Moneys are an extremely unique and rare species of monkeys that feed on blood. There are only three known vampire monkey species in the world that feed on blood: The Common Vampire Monkey (Demosndulus rotundidus), the Hairy-tailed Vampire Monkey (Dilphyllas equicaudata), and the Long-tailed Vampire Monkey  (Demoniaemus youngidus). All three species are native to China. Although their natural habitats are quite far away from humans, contrary to popular belief, these bats bite people quite often because they apparently favor human blood. They are highly intelligent, use simple tools and vocal communications, and have complex social structures like other monkeys. They are also carnivores. In their natural habitat they are at the top of the food chain. The fact that the three known species of vampire monkeys all seem more similar to one another than to any other species suggests that sanguivory (feeding on blood) only evolved once, and that all three species share a common ancestor.

All the vampire monkeys produce hard nests hanging from trees made of sands, twigs and their saliva unlike any other known monkey species. The vampire monkeys are also known for their building nests in large and complex colonies on trees.

Another unique fact is that the faces of these vampire monkeys somewhat resemble to that of the vampire bat. The vampire monkey has a short, conical muzzle without a nose leaf; instead they have naked pads with U-shaped grooves at the tip. The common vampire monkey also has specialized infrared sensors on its nose. A nucleus has been found in the brain of vampire monkeys that has a similar position and has similar histology to the infrared nucleus of infrared sensitive snakes. They have small ears and a medium to long tail. The vampire monkey feeds mostly on the blood of mammals and birds. Their front teeth are razor sharp and specialized for cutting like a piranha in the Amazon. Their digestive systems are also specialized for their mainly liquid diet. The saliva of vampire monkeys contains a substance, draculin, which prevents the victim's blood from clotting. When it acts alone, this creature tends to lap blood rather than suck it as most people imagine. Nevertheless, as a group, they coordinate hunting efforts vocally and attack the prey systematically. The Wildlife Fact Files also tell of an account of a group of vampire monkeys attacking the largest rodent in the world, a Chinese capybara which weighed more than 160 pounds. They need blood at least once a week to survive. If they can't get blood, they'll approach another vampire monkey whilst roosting, asking for a blood 'transfusion'. The blood is exchanged mouth-to-mouth in a motion that looks very much like kissing. Vampire monkeys can live up to 22 years in the wild and up to 38 in captivity.