<DIV><B>Brilliant photographs of scholars' rocks, or Chinese ornamental stones, from a leading collection</B><BR><BR>Shaped by nature and selected by man, scholars' rocks, or <I>gongshi</I>, have been prized by Chinese intellectuals since the Tang dynasty, and are now sought after by Western collectors as well.<BR><BR>They are a natural subject for the photographer Jonathan Singer, most recently acclaimed for his images of those other remarkable hybrids of art and nature, Japanese bonsai.<BR><BR>Here Singer turns his lens on some 150 fine <I>gongshi</I>, ancient and modern, from the world-class collection of Kemin Hu, a recognized authority on this art form. In his photographs, Singer captures the spiritual qualities of these stones as never thought possible in two dimensions; he shows us that scholars' rocks truly are, in Hu's words, "condensations of the vital essence and energy of heaven and earth."<BR><BR>Hu contributes an introductory essay on the history and aesthetics of scholars' rocks, explaining the traditional terms of stone appreciation, such as <I>shou</I> (thin), <I>zhou</I> (wrinkled), <I>lou</I> (channels), and <I>tou</I> (holes). She also provides a narrative caption for each stone, describing its history and characteristics.<BR></DIV>