Abstract
This work presents the integration of contemplative practice engaging western and eastern philosophies about apperception, consciousness, presence with an art practice that uses diagrammatic contemplation as a basis for developing and presenting art. The aim is not just an optical effect, but to engage the viewer in experiencing non-dual consciousness.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Nguyen, Khang
(2026)
"Diagrammatic Contemplation,"
The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal:
Vol. 6:
Iss.
1, Article 12.
Available at:
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/steam/vol6/iss1/12
Included in
Art Practice Commons, Other Philosophy Commons, Painting Commons, Philosophy of Mind Commons, Sculpture Commons
Author/Artist Bio
Khang Nguyen is a scholar of philosophy and religion whose paintings emerge from sustained engagement with contemplative traditions, weaving together Eastern nondual frameworks, such as Dzogchen and Kashmir Shaivism, with Western dialectical and postmodern thought. His paintings and sculptures operate as complex diagrams, probing Being as such, dualistic perception, nondual consciousness, temporality, trans-conceptuality, and self-recognition. Nguyen translates philosophical insight into visual language through geometric and translucent structures, inviting the viewer to apprehend the essence and underlying processes of perception and consciousness. Ultimately, he holds that contemplating these diagrams can guide one toward the release of thought-constructions and subject-object perception, thereby enabling a direct recognition of one's fundamental nature.