BRUSH MIND <i> By Kazuaki Tanahashi (Parallax Press: $15, illustrated) </i> : ZEN AND THE ART OF CALLIGRAPHY; The Essence of Sho <i> By Omori Sogen and Terayama Katsujo translated by John Stevens (Arkana: $12.95, illustrated) </i>

The Japanese concept of calligraphy is very different from the Western one: Its aim is not to produce pretty letters (some of the finest calligraphy borders on illegibility) but to imbue each brush stroke with the self-conscious artlessness that characterizes Japanese aesthetics. “The Essence of Sho” surveys the themes of the Zen school of calligraphic art, one tenant of which states: “For a work to be truly alive, each of the thousand hairs of the brush must be energized”; Omori Sogen and Terayama Katsujo use electron photomicrographs to reveal how in the best work, the individual particles of ink form recognizable patterns, even when magnified 50,000 times!

“Brush Mind” comprises 60 one-stroke paintings done by the noted modern calligrapher, Kazuaki Tanahashi. These minimal, intriguing pictures reveal the extraordinary flexibility of the brush in the hands of a master, and range from fragile-looking wisps that suggest waves on a distant sea to broad, black swipes relieved only by a few tiny streaks of white. Accompanying the pictures is a collection of Tanaha-shi’s often paradoxical reflections on various subjects: “To be thoroughly lazy is a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Industrious people build industry. Lazy people build civilization.”