The ‘Date series’ of paintings by On Kawara, a Japanese conceptual artist, comprise nearly 3000 paintings in total. Each painting is created using the same methodology. The date on which the painting is made is painted in white lettering onto a dark background. The typeface is always the same, is in the centre of the canvas and is painted meticulously by hand. The size of the canvases are not uniform and the lettering is expanded or contracted in relevant proportion. The date is always documented in the language and grammatical conventions of the country in which the painting was made. If a painting is made in a country that doesn’t use the Roman alphabet then Esperanto is used. Where Paintings not completed on the day they are destroyed. Each year between 64 and 241 paintings were completed. Four examples of the paintings can be seen below along with a cutting of a newspaper of the day in question. This is also consistent across all the paintings.

On Kawara was an enigmatic and dedicated artist whose projects seemed to be as much about devotion as they were about art. In some respects the ‘Date series’ of work defines the artist and documents his lifetime, where he was and when. However it tells us nothing about what he was doing, why he was where he was, what he was thinking. They paintings themselves are stark images, regimented in there uniformity. They are undeniably factual but say nothing more about themselves other than where and when they were created. This in itself is more than most paintings tell us. The inclusion of cuttings from a newspaper of the day does give a clue to the circumstances in which the work was created. By the very nature of newspapers they are reporting on events in the days before the date in question and being only cuttings do not give a context to the painting. We are left to contemplate the passing of time in different places.

• Part 5 - Working with words