Artistic Evolution at the Confluence of Cultures
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Dochaku: Artistic Evolution at the Confluence of Cultures Toshiko Oiyama A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Art, College of Fine Arts University of New South Wales 2011 Acknowledgements Had I known the extent of work required for a PhD research, I would have had a second, and probably a third, thought before starting. My appreciation goes to everyone who made it possible for me to complete the project, which amounts to almost all with whom I came in contact while undertaking the project. Specifically, I would like to thank my supervisors Dr David McNeill, Nicole Ellis, Dr Paula Dawson, Mike Esson and Dr Diane Losche, for their inspiration, challenge, and encouragement. Andrew Christofides was kind to provide me with astute critiques of my practical work, while Dr Vaughan Rees and my fellow PhD students were ever ready with moral support. Special thanks goes to Dr Janet Chan for giving me the first glimpse of the world of academic research, and for her insightful comments on my draft. Ms Hitomi Uchikura and Ms Kazuko Hj were the kind and knowledgeable guides to the contemporary art world in Japan, where I was a stranger. Margaret Blackmore and Mitsuhiro Obora came to my rescue with their friendship and technical expertise in producing this thesis. My sister Setsuko Sprague and my mother Nobuko Oiyama had faith in my ability to complete the task, which kept me afloat. Lastly, a huge thanks goes to my husband Derry Habir. I hold him partly responsible for the very existence of this project – he knew before I ever did that I wanted to do a PhD, and knew when and how to give me a supporting hand in navigating its long process. Table of Contents List of illustrations iii Introduction 1 1. Cultural interaction in a globalising world 8 I. Global cultural interactions theorised in the social sciences 9 II. Global cultural interactions represented in visual art 17 III. Predicament of hybridity 26 IV. Dochaku: a perspective 30 2. Frank Lloyd Wright and the spectre of Japan 46 I. The channels 46 II. The aspects of Japanese aesthetics in Wright buildings: three cases 53 III. Wright and the dochaku process in his art 59 3. Pierre Alechinsky: In pursuit of his monsters 69 I. CO-penhagen, BR-ussels, A-msterdam 69 II. Japanese calligraphy and the art of Alechinsky 73 III. Central Park: A breakthrough 80 IV. Calligraphy and its dochaku process in context 82 4. The making of Issey Miyake 94 I. The first period, leading to the book East Meets West 95 II. The second period, leading to the exhibition A-UN 98 III. The third period, leading to the exhibition Making Things 101 IV. Miyake and dochaku process in his art 104 ii 5. Hiroshi Sugito: Moves and countermoves 115 I. The world of nihonga 116 II. The worlds of Hiroshi Sugito 122 III. The way to dochaku-ka: moves and countermoves 130 6. The nature of dochaku 139 I. The artist, and her fluid worlds 140 II. The attractor, and its home culture 142 III. The process of interaction, and the acts of dochaku-ka 146 IV. The products of interaction, and their states 156 V. Dochaku in perspective 162 7. At the confluence of theory and practice 167 I. The component one: the artist 168 II. The component two: the attractor 169 III. The component three: the interaction 170 IV. The component four: the product 174 V. Art practice at the confluence of cultures 176 Conclusion 179 Appendix. Works in the exhibition Dochaku: Of the Land 183 Bibliography 191 CD. Works in the exhibition Dochaku: Of the land Inside back cover iii List of Illustrations 1. Cultural interaction in globalising world 1-1 Recycled tin can toys 45 1-2 The Swing (after Fragonard) 45 2. Frank Lloyd Wright and the spectre of Japan 2-1 The Hardy House rendering 63 2-2 Kameyama, Clearing Weather after the Snow 63 2-3 Yasumi Bridge and Maple Trees at Mama 63 2-4 The Winslow House rendering 64 2-5 The Robie House 64 2-6 The Great Hall of Higashi Honganji 64 2-7 The Japanese domestic interior, from Japanese Homes 64 2-8 The Robie House living room 64 2-9 Fallingwater 65 2-10 The Gale House 66 2-11 Fallingwater living area 66 2-12 Steps leading to the balcony, Fallingwater 66 2-13 The Guggenheim Museum 66 2-14 The central well, the Guggenheim Museum 67 2-15 Ribbon of galleries, the Guggenheim Museum 67 2-16A Higashi Honganji 68 2-16B The Robie House 68 2-16C The Gale House 68 2-16D Fallingwater 68 2-17A Head-height frieze, Japanese domestic interior 68 2-17B The Robie House frieze 68 iv 2-17C The Little House clerestory 68 2-17D The Guggenheim Museum ‘luminous cornice’ 68 3. Pierre Alechinsky: In pursuit of his monsters 3-1 Cobra exhibition, Amsterdam 1949 89 3-2 Daruma 89 3-3 Materials and tools of calligraphy 89 3-4 Floral Quest 89 3-5 Poems of Tsurayuki 90 3-6 Shooting the film, Japanese Calligraphy 90 3-7 Sumi (Ink) 90 3-8 Alice Grows up (ink on paper) 90 3-9 Gazing Landscape 91 3-10 Alice Grows up (oil on canvas) 91 3-11 Central Park 91 3-12 Facture Honoree 92 3-13 Alechinsky at work 92 3-14 Au Pays de L’encre 92 3-15 La Cantatrice 92 3-16 Le Bleu Horizon 93 4. The making of Issey Miyake 4-1 Woman’s kimono 110 4-2 Coat, top and pants in Pewlon 110 4-3 A Piece of Cloth 110 4-4 Issey Miyake Spectacle: Bodyworks exhibition 111 4-5 Cover of Artforum, February 1982 111 4-6 Issey Miyake: A-UN exhibition 111 4-7 Oniyoryu 111 4-8 Pleats Please, Spring-Summer Collection, 1994 112 4-9 A-POC 112 4-10 A-POC, Berlin Homage 112 4-11 Issey Miyake: Making Things exhibition 113 v 4-12 Inakajima 113 4-13 Energies exhibition, Amsterdam 113 4-14 Morimura’s Doll 114 5. Hiroshi Sugito: Moves and countermoves 5-1 Flood 134 5-2 Yodo no Suisha (Water Mill) 134 5-3 Tori 04-1 (Bird 04-1) 134 5-4 Shorinzu Byobu (Pine Woods Screen) 134 5-5 Kohakubaizu Byobu (Red and White Plum Blossoms Screen) 135 5-6A Fire 135 5-6B The Pyramid Tower 135 5-6C Shark Man 135 5-6D Rainbow Mountain, 2003 135 5-7 Rescue 136 5-8 The Big Tree 136 5-9 The Pink Floor 136 5-10 Water Man 137 5-11 Spider Song 138 5-12 Lobster Man 138 5-13 Butterfly 138 7. At the confluence of theory and practice 7-1 All along the Stream 178 7-2 Spring in Black 178 7-3 To Receive (detail) 178 7-4 Long White Cloud 178 Appendix. Works in the exhibition Dochaku: Of the Land Over the Ridge 183 In the Sand 183 To Depart 184 To Engage 184 vi To Traverse 184 Spring in Black 185 Long White Cloud 186 Long White Cloud (detail) 186 Cloud, Cloud 187 Cloud, Cloud (detail) 187 On the Beach 188 Into the Valley 189 To Receive 189 From the Other Side 189 Before the Rain 190 After the Frost 190 To Elsewhere 190 1 Introduction This research project investigates artistic evolution through the process of ‘dochaku.’1 Originally an agricultural principle, the Japanese term dochaku, meaning ‘of the land,’ implies a fresh idea from outside being adopted and adapted to suit the local conditions, so much so that it is eventually considered ‘indigenous’ to the locality. Employing this concept of dochaku as a perspective, the research investigates how some artists develop their art practice by internalising and individualising certain elements of foreign cultures. Specifically, the research centres on four cases of internationally recognized artists whose art evolved, among many other means, through ‘indigenising’ elements of traditional Japanese aesthetics into their ‘base’ Euro-American aesthetics. The primary aims of this research are to uncover the individual negotiations in cultural interaction in these cases, and from these discoveries, to formulate a model of artistic evolution by dochaku process that allows the agency of the individual to manifest while not typecasting her as a romantic creative genius. It is hoped that the findings of this research will reveal new facets in the nature of cultural interaction, and will help artists and theorists alike, facilitating their investigation and understanding of transformative transcultural experiences. Unlike many researches on cultural interaction in art, which tend to concentrate on the socio-political context of the finished artwork,2 this research emphasizes experiencing art. The stress of the investigation is on the ‘how’ of the negotiation in cultural 1 Roland Robertson, "Globalization: Time-Space and Homogeneity-Heterogeneity," in Global Modernities, ed. Mike Featherstone, Roland Robertson, and Scott Lash (London; Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage, 1995), 28-29. According to Robertson, the Japanese term dochaku became a marketing buzzword in the nineties. In business sense it is related to ‘micro-marketing: the tailoring of goods and services on a global basis to increasingly differentiated local and particular markets’ 2 Jean Fisher, "The Syncretic Turn: Cross-Cultural Practices in the Age of Multiculturalism," in Theory in Contemporary Art since 1985, ed. Zoya Kocur and Simon Leung (Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2005), 234. 2 interaction, that is to say, the process of ‘becoming’ something different through encounters with the other. In this approach, the ‘what’ of the negotiation – the end-product, artwork – will be observed as the trace of the cultural interaction, rather than as the proof of the interaction that is purported to have taken place.