On Kawara

The dates listed in this edition of One Million Years, Past and Future are separated into two books. Past bears a dedication to ‘all those who have lived and died’ and covers the years from 998,031 BC to 1969 AD. Future is dedicated to ‘the last one’ and begins with 1993 AD, ending with1,001,992 AD. This work builds on Kawara’s Today Series, which he began in the mid-1960s. These daily date paintings are small and simple monochromes that feature the dates they were painted, in the language and according to the conventionsof the place in which he finds himself at that particular time. Kawara’s paintings and books give a material quality to time and trigger an awareness of one’s position in history.