james Lee Byars specialized in Sculpture, and performance art. He was highly influenced by japanese art, culture and the practice of Zen Meditation, after studying in Kyoto Japan between 1957 and 1967. One of his most notable works is the Death of james Lee Byars. (pictured above) The influence of Zen mediation contributed to his fascination with presence and living in the immediate moment, as well as death "as a realm of the eternal." In his piece "the death of James lee Byars", he incorporates these concepts, and invites the audience to participate in contemplating an "other worldly" state of mind, and the transcendence of death, in a different way than it is usually thought of. In this piece, Byars decorates the room in gold leaf, and leaves crystals on the floor symbolizing his death, and what is left behind of him. In this shimmering space, instructions to the audience read: "Quietly lie down and quietly get up." Byars uses the idea of art as an extension of the body in an very different way then most. rather than designing something that is physically attached to him he creates what he believes will be the essence of himself, after he has died.
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