Almost two years ago we visited The Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture just outside of Hanford, California. To our great fortune, we met Willard G. “Bill” Clark, who gave us a tour of his museum and and home. This was way and above the call of duty, because he was suffering from a bad cold. The Clark Center is one of the great secrets of the Central Valley, so if ever you have the chance, by all means, go there. I tell you this because the image above was inspired by our visit there. The Ends of the World Are Coming (image above) is reminiscent of the screens and expressive Noh masks we enjoyed that day.
I will also tell you that this is where a kernel-of-an-idea formed that eventually led a twisting path to Philippe the Cinemaesthesiatron. The idea was to develop a bull semen (how Bill made is fortune) “milking” robot, constructed, at least in part, from sturdy farm equipment. More later.
