Ben Wuest
Interviewed October 5, 2015 | Written and photographed by Marcos Juarez-Gosselin
Chaos: unified madness or complex order? Ben and I meet at the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center next to Lake Calhoun, a space that offers workshops, lectures, retreats, and a place for meditation, all based around Zen Buddhist practices. Here, we hold a discussion based around the topic of interconnection, Ben’s catalyst for his work, and experience it together.
Ben started working at the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center shortly after he returned home from Japan in hopes of retaining the sense of grounding he received while studying overseas. Ben initially set out to Japan to actively engage his interest in chaos theory and Zen sumi-e ink painting. Chaos theory holds that if a butterfly were to flap its wings on the other side of the world, its effects can be measured elsewhere. Sumi-e ink painting is a deeply rooted art style that stemmed from Zen Buddhism based upon the lessons of patience and practice. The preparation of materials for sumi-e is just as important as the painting and art itself. There is a certain order of operations the Zen monks went through just to get to the point of releasing the brush on the paper. This is why I say our discussion is based around interconnection; for if our everyday practice of focusing our attention based upon our patience ripples throughout the collective consciousness, those actions have physical effects on our reality. It was those teachings, or the concept of interconnection, that mixed with Ben’s unique state of mind, catalyzing into his latest endeavor of origami.
Early on in Ben’s history of creation, he stuck to more pure forms of art and focused less on utilizing advanced technology. For years Ben has put in countless hours handcrafting and sculpting origami pieces of all shapes and sizes. His forte, I would have to say, are his mushrooms. He is able to produce copious amounts while still paying attention to the detail in every single one. This shows Ben cares about the process and is not solely fixated on the end product. One characteristic very present in Ben is his capability to understand and see the whole, and yet interact with each component as if it were the big picture itself.
Near the beginning of our conversation, Ben quotes a line from the Genjōkōan, an essay written by Dōgen, a Japanese Buddhist priest, discussing wholehearted practice and its relation to self and realization. I feel that this line sets the tone and mindset for our interaction: “Although its light is wide and great, the moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide. The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in dewdrops on the grass, or even in one drop of water.” What this quote allows for is the understanding that our discussion moving forward isn’t fixed; as in reality, it represents the notion of the micro or macrocosm.
To tie this back to the idea of chaos theory and the design that all things are related, Ben strongly feels that his art is not one of his own anymore. “It’s a combination of the art and the artist, being and non-being, form and the formless,” he says. His art isn’t something he ponders over and forces into existence. Instead, prior to any physical creation, he meditates on it. Utilizing the fluidity of creative intelligence, his art becomes a constant meditation — less of a reaction and more of a constant action. This action may be based off of a previous reaction, but the creation is the action.
As beings we are creators, and it’s a beautiful thing when we can allow our bodies to be a vessel for creative thought. This is what I feel Ben means when he states his art is not solely his own, but a cause based off effects. It’s allowing self (form) to receive information (formless) in efforts to manifest whatever the self may wish.
In more recent years, Ben has been experimenting with the more advanced technologies, rather than solely handcrafts, and bringing his ideas and forms into 3D printing. “A 3D printer is a project, not a product. It’s a constantly changing technology. There will always be tinkering to be done,” Ben says. To me, this statement shows that his art really is a practice and not so much labor. It’s a continual refinement of his skill, allowing room for growth and expansion. 3D printing allows for the incorporation of science into his spiritual art-based practice. It’s truly a sacred union between the analytical masculine and expressive feminine sides of creation.
Ben believes that “creation reveals the nature of the creator.” This is very apparent in his work, in that the viewer gets to see inside the realm of which he brings his pieces to life. The dynamic incorporation of mathematics and machine allows for a precision not easily attained by the human hand. Many of these patterns and equations utilized in 3D printing can also be observed in or derived from nature, which opens room for the presence of natural form in man-made structures. With these new tools, one has the capabilities to play with form and its structural makeup.
When Ben describes his art as if it’s “moving through” him, it brings up ideas relating to matter and intelligence. All seeds possess the inherent knowledge of form and fruit. Ben’s seed was planted at inception, and now he uses his form and the intelligence inherent within himself to bear fruit. Ben has only scratched the surface of the possibilities with 3D printing. With time Ben will receive the order to the complexity of this unified field of madness.
