Dharma: Display and Viewpoint
The five stages differ between front and side views. The coverage design record identifies what photographs and display arrangements need to make visible.
Coverage differences concealed by a frontal view
Dharma’s design extends black from the face around the sides and back. Once much of the front is coated, the coverage on the remaining surfaces can still change. Two figures with similar frontal black areas therefore need not have the same whole-surface coverage.[1]
The August 2026 design record judges adopted option B to distinguish three stages from the front and five from the side. This is a judgement from the design comparison, not the result of an audience study with finished works.[2]
The sequence and individual figures
From a position facing the whole sequence, the order of the figures and increasing coverage can be compared. Closer to an individual figure, the boundary between wood and coating can be examined around its body. One photograph suited to the first task may not record the second.
When considering a display, a plan can identify positions for seeing the sequence and for examining a figure’s side. The following are review criteria, not fixed installation measurements or lighting instructions. Spacing and lighting require decisions based on the actual works and venue.
| Viewing position | What to examine |
|---|---|
| Facing the sequence | Order of the five figures and the overall sequence |
| Oblique and side views of a figure | Position of the coating boundary |
| Position for documentation | Whether overall and individual information are distinguished |
Photographs and design values
The coverage percentages specify portions of the figures’ total surfaces. Counting dark pixels in a photograph can include shadows on exposed wood or the background and need not recover those values. Photographs document appearance; the coverage table specifies the coating. Their roles should remain distinct.[2]
The order of viewing differs from the represented time
Moving to the side after looking along the five figures changes the information available from the same sequence. The represented order of past moments is fixed, but the order in which a viewer examines the figures is not. Starting with either the darkest or the least coated figure can still lead back to a comparison of the whole arrangement.
A display may therefore distinguish a prescribed route through five moments from one that permits return from several viewpoints. Frontal photographs document temporal order; side views document differences between individual figures. Combining them records different units of information within the same arrangement.
Sources
Documented works
Further articles
Why Dharma Uses 15, 25, 40, 62 and 95% Coverage
Three alternatives and a correction to the measurement method, recorded in August 2026. Distinguishable stages from different views took priority over equal numerical intervals.
Ultra-Black Coating, Shading and Contour
Suppressing reflected light need not remove an object’s contour. A research example provides a comparison for appearance in Dharma and Hekikan.