Byron Kim’s Proposition, A Cosmology of Doubt, is related, tangentially, to his current series of large paintings inspired by the sky at night in New York City. For this presentation he has attempted to better acquaint himself with our universe, at least the version that we have received from twentieth-century science. The great physical theories of the last century showed us that complexity and abstraction are growing, while intelligibility is decreasing. Kim’s work has often concerned itself with relating a part to the whole. Originally, he learned about the relationship of small to big through nineteenth-century poetry, but in recent years, he has been reading the Taoist text Chuang Tzu: The Inner Chapters. David Hinton’s lively and poetic translation of this ancient Chinese writing has made these ideas freshly intelligible to an English-speaking public.

For this Proposition, Byron invited the writer and poet David Hinton.

Propositions is a public forum that explores ideas in development. Each two-day seminar introduces a topic of current investigation in an invited speaker’s own artistic or intellectual practice. Over the course of a seminar session, these developing ideas are responded to, researched, and discussed to propel them forward in unique ways. 
The structure of Propositions is as follows:
Friday, 7:00 PM - Initial proposition and lecture
Saturday, 2:00 PM - Guest speaker responds, followed by discussion with audience