SEEKING WAYS OF EXPRESSION
A Thesis
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the degree Master of Fine Arts in the
Graduate School of the Ohio State University
by
Ryuji Noda, B.A.
*****
The Ohio State University
1995
Master's Examination Committee: Approved By
Richard Harned
Ruth King
Todd Slaughter
Department of Art Copyright by RyujiNoda 1995 To My Parents Shizu and Hideo Noda To My Late Grandmother Katsu Yakuwa To My Sister MikaNoda and To My Late Sister Rie Noda
ii VITA
March 31, 1964 Born - Tokyo, Japan
Spring 1987 B.A., Japanese Culture, Musahi University, Tokyo, Japan
Spring 1987 National Qualification of Museum Administration, Musashi University, Tokyo, Japan
Spring 1991. Completion of Post-graduate Course, Tokyo Glass Art Institute, Kanagawa-ken, Japan
Summer 1994 Scholarship student, The Pilchuck Glass Center, Stanwood, Washington
1993 - Present.. Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Art, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
PUBLICAnONS
None
FIELDS OF STUDY
Major Field: Art
iii TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION ii VITA iii LIST OF PLATES v CHAPTER I Exploring My Limitations 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 First Work 1 II A Sense of Value and of Inscrutability 4 -2.1 Fusion of a Spirit and Things as Materials 4 2.2 Collection of Materials 6 2.3 Fusion 7 2.3.1 To the Field - Earth Work and Feedback From It.. 7 2.3.2 Experiment of Fusion 8 III On the Thesis Show 11 3.1 Introduction of the Thesis Show 11 3.2 To Present Vagueness 11 3.2.1 No. 1 (Plates XXIV - XXVI) 11 3.2.2 No. 2 (Plate XXVII) 13 3.2.3 No. 3 (Plates XXVIII & XXIX) 14 3.2.4 A Property of Visual Arts - to Present Vagueness 16 3.3 Power of Association 17 3.3.1 No.4- (Plates XXXV - XXXVII) 17 3.4 Conclusion 23 LIST OF REFERENCES 25 PLATES 26
iv LIST OF PLATES
I. Balance 27 II. Balance (from different angle) 28 III. Untitled 29 IV. Into Nature 1 30 V. Into Nature 1 (from different angle) 31 VI. Balance (Image of fungi 1) 32 VII. Untitled (Image of ant's nest) 33 VIII. Untitled (Image of ant's nest, detail) 34 IX. Untitled (Image of bird's nest 1) 35 X. Untitled (Image of bird's nest 2) 36 XI. Untitled (Image of fungi 2) 37 XII. Study of Vines 38 XIII. Study of Vines (detail) 39 XIV. Improvisation Works in Nature 1 40 XV. Improvisation Works in Nature 2 41 XVI. Improvisation Works in Nature 2 (from different angle) 42 XVII. Improvisation Works in Nature 3 43 XVIII. Improvisation Works in Nature 4 44 XIX. Improvisation Works in Nature 4 (detail) 45 XX. Improvisation Works in Nature 5 46 XXI. Improvisation Works in Nature 5 (detail) 47 XXII. Improvisation Works in Nature 6 48 XXIII. Improvisation Works in Nature 6 (detail) 49 XXIV. In Thesis Show No.1 50 XXV. In Thesis Show No. 1 (detail 1) 51 XXVI. In Thesis Show No. 1 (detail 2) 52 XXVII. In Thesis Show No.2 53 XXVIII. In Thesis Show No.3 54 XXIX. In Thesis Show No.3 (from different angle) 55 XXX. Different Styles of Japanese Hearses 56 XXXI. Shinto Style Funeral 57 XXXII. Buddhist Style Funeral 58 XXXIII. Forms of Shinto Celebrations 59 XXXIV. Wake at Japanese Funeral 60 XXXV. In Thesis Show No.4 61 XXXVI. In Thesis Show No.4 (from different angle) 62 XXXVII. In Thesis Show No. 4 (detail) 63
v CHAPTER I
EXPLORING MY LIMITATIONS
1.1 Introduction
When I started making my art here, I was eager to recognize my physical limitations of creative activity. I thought it was necessary to know the amount of work I could do without any assistance in planning and executing an art work. Of course a big motivation was that I was curious in how large I could expand myself in art. In particular, I had been feeling limitations of scale while using glass as an artistic material. I wanted to free myself from these limitations of scale.
1.2 First work
However simple it may have been, I used my body and soul plus my expertise to complete the work (Plates I & IT). I completed this first work. With the completion of this first art work, I had conflicting feelings. I could feel a sort of power which was created only from a certain large scale work. Moreover, I felt my art work affected its environment due to its scale. I also felt that I had explored my physical limitations. At the same time, I also felt I lost something essential to express my art. Therefore I began to feel that my work was separated from my mental state and spirit. Furthermore, I was currently in the worst depression in my life, mainly because of my lack of English comprehension and my confusion and doubt due to cultural differences.
I began to notice an existence of a basic sense of value which leans toward something explainable than toward something unexplainable. I often felt that people in America feel uncomfortable about something unexplainable; therefore, they tend to ignore it or value it 1 2 less than in my Japanese culture. I feel it is no problem or even has higher value sometimes. Verbal expression is the most important and common way of expressing things in American culture. Many art works here also seem to be accompanied by verbal presentations such as an artist's statement and critiques. I feel it is uncomfortable and shallow sometimes.
There were several matters about myself I couldn't elucidate not only because of my poor English comprehension but also other reasons. One thing I couldn't explain was my creative desire. Strangely, when I was in a bad spiritual condition, I didn't want to quit making art, rather I sought an expression appropriate for the bad situation.
Strong curiosity, which is almost uncontrollable sometimes, and the spirit of inquiry are the core of my creative desire. I have no idea why I have such curiosity and an inquisitive nature. Itis not because of some special reason but just my nature. I cannot go deeper into the reasons of my creative desire other than to state what mainly drives me, and
I feel it is not necessary to do so.
Frustrations and stresses caused by incomplete communication and cultural differences were accumulating. A feeling of powerlessness began to amplify so that I was becoming conscious about the smallness of my existence. Because of that, I suspected I lacked something essential to complete this fIrst work. I felt the work might make a negative contrast of my smallness against the large scale work.
I vaguely recognized this first art work did not reflect the expressor's mental state and spirit. I obscurely felt there was an uncertain direction or way of expressing my work. I wanted to express my art work by considering the opposite of the way I felt about this first work. Thinking opposite, if I could make the relationship of those two agreeable - the art work and the expressor's mental state - without incompatibility, then that was the way I wanted to express my art. I also felt there is a way of art expression along my context, which I feel comfortable with. In my context, I felt comfortable in withholding verbal 3 presentations and also felt comfortable with vagueness, even though I had not fully recognized this comfortableness yet. CHAPTER II
A SENSE OF VALUE AND OF INSCRUTABILITY
2.1 Fusion of a Spirit and Things as Materials
While I was under the feeling of powerlessness and smallness I experienced a very strange situation, like a regression that I have never experienced before. I was like an elementary school child then an infant then not like a human being but like an animal and an insect. My mind was beginning to consider and become comfortable with nature's creations such as marks and trails of animals and insects, remnants of leaves after being eaten by insects, insect tracks, forms of nests and cocoons, natural forms like canyons .r shaped by the erosion of water, wind and heat from sunlight, rocks become round in the flow of a river, and the shapes of clouds. They were evidences of time, which was creating certain forms by the process of simple accumulation, from continuity of gradual actions and/or motions, and without processes which are called skill and not under the control of consciousness. I can feel eternity, mystery, and sublimity, which are really strong not from surfaces and appearances but from nucleuses. I felt a depth which cannot be felt using a brain but can be felt using a body. These "unconscious actions" remind me of strange and inscrutability feelings and why they are so comfortable, interesting, and magnificent to me.
A part of me is strange and inscrutable. For instance, I cannot elucidate with certainty as to why I have certain tastes. My volition on making art has a chaotic and ambiguous attribute also. I have something uncontrollable in myself ... nature, I have nature in myself. That is why I am attracted to nature.
4 5 I tried to make several pieces in which I wished to fuse myself into nature because of a misty, hazy consciousness to pursue my comfortable expression. How can I approach nature? How is that human being's hands take an essence of nature in an art work?
Although I didn't have a convincing idea, I experimented on making a process and a skill simple in the manner of nature showing the following:
Simple and Primitive Processes - Stuffing cotton into glass pipes (plates IV, V, & VI), stuffing moss into glass pieces (plate IX, X & XI), and lumps of broken cork into glass pieces (Plates VII & VIID.
Breaking cork boards broken by hands without any tools (plates VII & VIID, wooden chips made without a saw (plates N & V).
Picking up and using wooden chips which were made as by-products at random (plates N & V).
Using gravity, a force in nature, to make glass parts (plates IV, V, VI, VII & VIII).
Using gravity to support glass pipes on a tilted base (plate VD.
Putting on (Plates IV & V), inserting in (plates N, V, VII, & VIIn, and piling up (Plates IX & X), all without adhesives.
Natural materials - Two kinds of moss (Plates IV, V, VI, IX, X, XI).
Wooden chips and a wooden lump (plates IV, V & VD.
Cotton dyed by tea (plates N, V & VD.
Natural forms - Image of ant's nest (Plates VII & VIID.
Image of bird's nest (Plates IX & X).
Image of fungi (plate VI & XD.
I recognized these works (plates IV - XI) were not complete because there still exists a distance between my work and nature. I only borrowed shapes and an essence of nature, 6 but I truly felt that the distance between my mind and works were getting much closer than the former work.
2.2 Collection of Materials
Ever since those days, I started to collect several natural and raw materials as a motivation tool. I used these materials to get a sense of touch of them as an approach to nature outside of me. In order to be familiar with sensing the properties of materials using the senses of the body, I have been keeping materials by my side.
_ I play with them like a child; to fumble with one for the sense of touch, to sniff one for the sense of smell, to look at one from different angles and distances for the sense of sight, to, tap one material against another for the sense of hearing. The more I knew a strength, depth, and variety of expressive power emitted by a material, the stronger I believed in my mind that I, a being of small existence, cannot exceed or even catch up with the material's expression.
The feeling and simplifying process and technique was mixing together, then it developed into trials to minimize my work in art work. That is, I tried to minimize the essence of my art work and still be able to recognize it as my art work. A study of vines
(plates XII & XIll) was an example of such a trial; I only cut the vines once or twice lengthwise using a band saw. In this work, the art work that I took part in was choice of vines, transportation, cutting and opening vines, and setting them up on the wall. The making process in this work was cutting and opening the vines. The action in creating this work was so simple but I discovered that it is my original presentation and I was purely surprised by it. This work played a role in the fact that I began to feel positive mentally, because I now felt I could do something original with a simple process. 7 2.3 Fusion
2.3.1 To the Field - Earth Work and Feedback From It
While I was looking for a way of presentation which I could feel at ease while working in a studio space, I began to feel a certain resonance which was created from the natural essence of materials and nature in myself. I wondered how the fusion of my spirit and materials would change if I switched from working in a studio space (which is an artificial space) to working in a field in nature. I needed to know whether it would develop more or differently and if I could approach a more comfortable expression. Maybe I would hit upon a new dimension, which was why I tried to go out a studio at that time. > Places to work were chosen according to following criteria:
• There needed to be several kinds of huge spaces around.
• I wanted a place I was unfamiliar with in order to use instinct rather than preconception.
• The location needed to be suitably warm because it was during winter.
I decided to work around Arizona and New Mexico. The trip was bustling, and the time period I had to work was only a week including moving. The short time available to finish the work affected my style of work positively eventually. Every location I worked in had strong properties, even though I only have slides of the Grand Canyon and locations around Sedon, Tucson, and White Sands. I sensed a greatness of natural scale and power, profundity, intenseness, a depth of broad-mindedness, and permeative power; though these words were not enough to describe what I felt. Some opposing elements existed in some places naturally, like intensity and gentleness, severeness and mildness, rejection and beckoning; like a picture it said nothing but expressed a lot ("a picture is worth a thousand words"). I definitely held feelings of awe and respect, which was from my conviction that 8 nature is never under human beings' control. My honest impression was that it seems
almost impossible for a tiny existence to do some art work in the greatness of nature.
There were some artists who tried to make art works in nature in the late 60's and
early 70's such as Michael Heizer, Robert Smithson, Robert Morris, Walter de Maria, Carl
Andre, Dennis Oppenhein etc. Now I can say, how arrogant to nature they were! I think
they only used nature as a tool recklessly and as a space much larger than a gallery to do
their showy works. Their works didn't mesh well in nature and they used machines like
power shovels, bulldozers, and trucks forcefully. They didn't care about how violent that
was to nature. It is very obvious that their thinking were based on human supremacy. I
.don't feel like that. There is a different approach for me. What I am seeking for, vague as
the concept may be, is to harmonize myself into nature.
2.3.2 Experiment of Fusion
Several works were done according to the following criteria:
• Place - choice using intuition,
• Materials - things available around the location,
• Technique - should be primitive and done without tools,
• Time - as short as possible.
All works here (plates XIV - XXIII) had something in common with each other at the
core, which was like a harmonious way of work and based on an inspiration created by
being susceptible to an atmosphere around the location. It is probably the same as the
improvisation of Blues and Jazz music. I feel and sympathize with the atmosphere of a
situation, such as flowing band music, and create a new and appropriate unobtrusive self
expression in a moment and at the best timing depending on an essence which is inferred 9 reflexively from an accumulation of my experiences. Here elements under conscious and
controllable things (artificial elements) and ones under unconscious and uncontrollable
things (natural elements) are harmonized properly, sustaining an ideal condition like a
fusion. In this situation, my spirit and work are fused together with materials and
circumstances, and are balanced well.
The works I have done are also different from "mild" type of Earth Work Artists'
works such as those of Richard Long and Andy Goldsworthy. I think their works are
based on certain images and concepts in their minds. The appearances of their works are
much less violent to nature but I still feel a hint of human supremacy in their roots. Their
( works express a preconceived scenery of a part or all of their mind, so their works rarely
present the fusion seen in my works.
The cue of my earth works were inspirations from locations. I then added some little
work to the situation. Nature was first and I was second - thus I was under the control of
nature. The deed I did was so tiny compared with that of great nature; even so it worked.
This earth work trip was extremely beneficial to me, especially with regards to the
following two points. The first was that I, a being of small existence, was a small part of
my works, yet I could still say they were my original way of expression. Hence I gained
confidence in myself. The second was that I became convinced that what I was seeking for
was the fusion of my spirit and work with materials and circumstance.
I noticed I needed to recognize the difference of the fusion in wild fields (nature) and
the fusion in an empty and insipid space when switching spaces to work in. It is obvious
that the creation process used for nature works would have to be reversed; first a fusion of
my spirit and materials, then it affects the circumstance - because I cannot count on
inspiration from an insipid space. When working in a gallery space, the relation of spirit
and materials should be focused on more than in nature. 10 As a next step, on the thesis show, I was going to experiment. I wanted to know whether the fusion of spirit, materials, and circumstance (which is born from a connection of expressor and things as materials) was possible or not in an artificial space. CHAPTER III ON THE THESIS SHOW
3.1 Introduction of the Thesis Show
In this show, the space (Hopkins Hall Gallery) was used and divided into two spaces to exhibit four works including one small room installation. There were no titles for any works nor for the whole show. The reason, to be explained more later, was because any written information would be an obstruction to me and audiences in my concept. It was a way of expression not to use any help to show my four works purely, so the audience can look at them more freely and severely.
The relation of each work and myself, backgrounds concepts, meanings and trials follow.
3.2 To Present Vagueness 3.2.1 No. 1 (Plates XXIV - XXVI)
I am convinced that a significant source of my creativity is an accumulation of tiny discoveries which I often experience while playing with some materials. Playing like a child often gives me fresh surprises and joys. These pleasures amplify my curiosity more and more. When using my hands to feel and/or make something, I feel something comfortable. I believe stimulation of the sense of touch is essential to me.
The idea of the shapes created by using only two materials, mesh and twines, was one
I found when I played like a child. This work might be on the border between an art work and a child's play.
11 12 I knitted twelve mesh cubes by hand. This handicraft showed an accumulation of process and time. I think handicraft is one of the balanced relationships of humans and materials. Although I tried to make the cubes identical, they were a little bit different individually. This created a sort of warmth even though I used mesh, an artificial material, and made an artificial figure. This warmth has something in common with the natural warmth of twines.
Twine parts were a metaphor of the positive aspect of the sense of touch. I dyed them into two colors, orange-red and black, using natural pigment Sumi ink. I felt both colors were basic colors among human beings because both were used to draw cave paintings in many areas including Japan in ancient times [1,2]. This work, a step beyond child's play, perhaps represents a beginning of art work as exemplified by cavemen's paintings.
Even though twine is a natural material at first, it is a product through the twisting process. In this work I made it a natural material again by the untwining process.
Although the twines appeared to break the neatness of the cubes, they were actually controlled by my consciousness. I used orange-red twines placed in vertical directions and black twines placed in horizontal directions. But they were also under the control of the natural force gravity.
This complicated and subtle connection of humans and nature is very much like our situation in modem life. It is very difficult to find "pure" nature and artificiality near us except for weather. For example, every product (even plastic, one of the most artificial products) is made from natural raw materials. A park in which there are trees, flowers, and grasses looks like nature but is actually under humans' control.
I made a variety of arrangements with twines and cubes. I made as many as I thought would present my belief that simple expressions are still limitless. As few as two materials 13 were able to contain many elements: ideas, concepts, associations, and visual interests.
Each material synergistically encouraged the other. In addition, I could be fused into them.
What great potential they have!
3.2.2 No. 2 (Plate XXVII)
In the nature trip, I could find things which contained opposing elements. We usually contrast these elements, but they are well balanced and make a sort of unique fusion. I noticed that even in my life there exists a similar situation. Consciousness and unconsciousness is a good example. We are all made from opposing elements, though the balance may be appropriate or not. So how can I present the connection and balance of opposing elements in an art work?
In this work, I try to find opposing pairs:
1. soft - cotton sheet
hard - glass
2. soft line - made by a cotton sheet
hard line - made by an edge of glass
3. heavy - wooden lumps in a cotton sheet
light - cotton sheet
4. strong material - glass which is not broken underneath heavy thing
weak material - cotton sheet which can be tom by hands easily
5. transparent - glass
opaque - cotton sheet
6. shiny - surface of glass
not shiny - surface of cotton sheet
7. warm - cotton sheet
cold - glass 14 8. natural - wooden lumps
artificial - glass
9. flat - glass sheet
solid - wooden lumps wrapped in a cotton sheet
10. bright - spot where is spotlight is aimed
dark - shadow
11. systematic - the position of glass sheets
random - the shapes of wrapped wooden lumps
It is strange that even though the opposing elements exist in a work, the harmony and fusion of them (without a bit of incompatibility) makes a unique atmosphere.
3.2.3 No.3 (Plates XXVIII & XXIX)
In the past, I often wondered ifI was a part of nature or of artificiality. After I realized
I can think of them as a similitude of unconsciousness and consciousness, I gradually began to understand I have both in myself naturally. However, I am still vague about the balance and/or relation of them. So I have no way to elucidate it well by verbal communication, though it surely exists in mind. Perhaps in an artwork, I can present this kind of vague situation in my mind as though it were a visual presentation.
Glass as an art material is originally made from natural raw materials. After several industrial processes, it can be used as an artistic material. In this work, this artificial material is added through an additional process and shows a delicate relation and/or fusion of nature and artificiality. While blowing glass I shaped the molten glass roughly, then I left the fmal shape of the glass be decided by the natural force of gravity when rotating it through a blowing pipe. 15 I used a natural force in myself when improvising the set up of the works in the gallery. This at random setup was made mainly by my unconscious mind. Ever since I started art work several years ago, I began to notice I have a natural ability which is too strange to explain. Maybe it can be called an associative ability. In the beginning, when I was a child, I could often see some concrete figures associated with uncertain patterns such as marks of grain on walls, cracks in concrete floors, etc., which is a quite normal psychological reaction. After I started making art, I recall looking at a page of my sketchbook which contained only a small mark that had been accidentally made, and I suddenly imagined an abstract figure which suited the small mark on the empty space. This probably meant my "associative ability" was improving. The smaller the base of my inspiration is, the bigger my imagination is. Now I can naturally imagine either concrete or abstract images and two dimensional or three dimensional things from tiny unrecognizable marks on paper.
The actual installation process of this work was as follows. After setting up one piece of glass, I looked at the walls from a distance to feel an image to decide the position of the next glass piece. Strangely enough, the best position came into my mind clearly. This random placement was one I felt comfortable and at ease with. So I could place them at random naturally using unconsciousness, the nature in myself.
Sumi ink dyed water in glasses gradually goes from being thin and less dense at the top to being thick and more dense at the bottom. The surface levels of the water are made by the natural force of gravity. These surface levels create a connection among the random glass shapes and positions. 16 3.2.4 A Property of Visual Arts . to Present Vagueness
I think visual art is a type of communication because it cannot exist without audiences.
Nevertheless, I believe it is different from expressions which are based on languages and verbal communications such as writing, reading and talking.
Language is a highly sophisticated type of communication, and is the most convenient skill to communicate something quickly and accurately. The process is basically like this:
A communicator understands something such as situation, want, feeling, and will etc. via the brain at first, then communicates it to a communicatee. The communicatee receives it by words and translates it based on his/her background using the brain to feel it in mind.
Casual communications are processed almost instantaneously.
Still, I feel we lose or put aside something important while communicating verbally.
This is because I noticed there are some things verbal communication cannot adequately communicate, one of which is vagueness. Verbal communication does not seem to be an appropriate medium to present something vague; for instance, expressing a vague atmosphere.
There are three main methods of expressing something vague using verbal communication. The first is to use similes and metaphors, comparing the vague object/idea to something more concrete. The second is to translate or change the atmosphere into a communicator's feeling from it. The third is not to say much and to rely on the communicatee's imaginative power. Each way is a detour and not accurate. Probably everybody has experienced this limitation of verbal communication when in front of a spectacular sight in nature; we feel words are not nearly enough to express the atmosphere.
There is a difference in the communication process from mind to mind when using the brain to communicate and when using the body to communicate. I believe direct mind to mind communication is the best and the most comfortable, if possible. Communication 17 using the body as the medium is second best, while communication using the brain as the medium is least comfortable.
Although now we usually count on the brain as a communication medium (especially verbal communication), there still exists communication with the body as medium; communication such as body language, dance, mime, music, etc., which can present and/or communicate a vague atmosphere much better than verbal communication. Visual arts is also one of them, because of the aspect that art work is a extension of the body; it even mediates things such as art work. Therefore art work can afford to deal with a vague atmosphere naturally.
In those three works (No.1, 2, and 3), there is a point of sameness. They were my trials in experimenting with different kinds of vague situations. The comfort and joy we feel when communicating a vague atmosphere with the body as the medium reminds us of the our latent ability for direct mind to mind communication.
3.3 Power of Association
3.3.1 No.4 (Plates XXXV - XXXVII)
Grapevine twining round a trunk, whose metaphor here is intelligence network; though, for me it is a metaphor of an association network. At the moment I glanced at grapevines clinging to trunks at my friend's place they seemed like cords connecting the ground with the sky. I was instantly reminded of an event that happened when I was thirteen years old. My grandmother's death and its influences to me... I remembered the details of the event clearly.
The day was early spring, I went to junior high school as usual after talking to my maternal grandmother who was living with us. She loved me a lot, and was still working 18 for a high school. After studying in school for several hours, at the time I opened the gate in front of my house, I felt something strange.
It did not take long until I noticed her sudden death. I was so upset that I couldn't believe she was dead because she was speaking to me just several hours ago. Reality was cruel; before I understood her death, the funeral process had started. I got several shocks during the process. One in particular that I strongly remember is the change in her body.
Her dead body looked similar to her previous live one except for skin color and temperature
- even her eyes became hollow a little bit. One of the most shocking things was the cremation of the body. In only an hour, her body had been burned with only bones remaining in the shape of her skeleton. In Japan, a Buddhist cremation deliberately leaves the bones of the body in the shape of the body's skeleton. Then funeral attendants pair up and in tandem place bones in a ceramic pot. That forced me to recognize the facts. Human beings are partly made from things.
A few weeks later, I was watching my mother and her elder sister clean up grandmother's room to keep even tiny things she used as momentos. It was another shock to me that they found a small Japanese brocade bag containing her umbilical cord. An old
Japanese custom was to keep the umbilical cord after birth. I have felt the strong contrast between the symbol of death, bones, and the symbol of life, umbilical cord, since then through other things. I probably felt such an intense experience with her death that I never wanted to make art concerning the human figure. The human body, I still feel, is far from
the expression of a dead body and bones. After that, I eventually understood the meaning
of her death. I felt the world of the dead was much closer than before, because now I had
an intermediary, my grandmother.
Unfortunately, I have lost several close relatives and associates and have attended their funerals. An accumulation of these funerals piqued my curiosity. I wanted to know the 19 details of the ceremony. As a ceremony each case was a little different because of the difference of location, school of religion (there are several schools even Buddhism in Japan and each one has a special and strict conventional rule) and funeral director [3, 4, 5, 6].
Sometimes I felt something strange in the style of ceremony (plates XXX - XXXIV).
Mamori gatana (a wooden sword wrapped with Japanese brocade on a dead body), Osonae
(the specific number and form of round rice calces), Hocho Gust before going to a crematory several white pigeons are released from a cage; this is meant to express the eternal nature of spirits. Recently I found out this custom is not so old, having just started about 100 years ago), and Reikyusha (Japanese style hearse, Plate XXX) etc. Sometimes the props in funeral rites change, according to the gradual alterations of the funeral as a ceremony to accept modem life styles, though it still includes old Japanese conventions deeply. We need to reaffirm ourselves as Japanese when we attend a funeral. However it is difficult to feel that we are Japanese in everyday life since we are living in a flood of international information and foreign products. Moreover we have lost many things in these last few decades such as traditional life style, arts and crafts, tools, customs, dialects, and natural environment [7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12]. The younger generation needs to feel
Japanese in particular in special situations like ceremonies and festivals.
Ironically, I am now in a similar situation. I have been feeling that I need to be conscious that I am Japanese because I often have to explain something about my culture
and have chances to think about my identity to make art. From the scenery of grapevines here to my memory about my grandmother's death and to my attendance at funerals in
Japan, then to my situation here and now - this seemed like a circle of associations about place and time. I asked myself how I can deal with this circle of associations in my art. I felt it would bea different aspect from my other three works. 20 I had a preconception that a private matter like this would not be suitable for visual art presentation. I often feel the existence of an unseen wall which obstructs me from going deeper than a certain point when I see art work which is focused on very private matters of the artist. Furthermore I cannot understand why the artist is willing to show the work, and sometimes I feel that maybe the artist wants to choose a certain audience who can sympathize with his/her work. I used to feel uncomfortable about these kinds of works.
Nevertheless I felt I needed to try to deal with this type of work at least once to make sure whether or not it could be a way dealing with the circle of associations around grapevines.
I believed my direction in making this work was to feel comfortable. Recently I discovered the cause of my uncomfortableness. I have been feeling uncomfortable just after making my first work because of basic cultural differences; I have a high context cultural background and the culture here is a low context culture, according to [13]. I prefer a simple and suggestive type of art work rather expressing too much. In this work, it seemed impossible and inappropriate to show every detail of my experience because I wanted to avoid the explanative expression which would likely appear. This is the reason I chose a suggestive type of installation. But I also had some elements that I needed to show clearly. The core of the associations were the relations of death and birth and memory and actual life, so a ceremonial atmosphere was adequate.
The next matter was to create the atmosphere. The whole atmosphere is important, but
I didn't want to erase the intensity of any memory element. I felt that it is better not to process the materials too much to keep their properties clearly and strongly and to retain my previous style. Eventually I chose a presentation in which the materials speak naturally.
Each element can fully display its properties. If all of them mix together, they must create some unique air. 21 I chose several metaphors to indicate my specific memories simply:
Gapevines - Not processed, to present apure strength. It is the start of my association and
a symbol of life.
Coffin - Mesh is a metaphor of closeness between the world of the living and the world of
the dead, because of the see-through and go-through properties of mesh. The
coffm was made in Japanese style which means no decoration, a rectangular
parallelepiped shape because it is burned up completely (an actual coffm is
made of plain wood).
The wooden knife inside, called the Maroori gatana, is covered with a
Japanese brocade cloth and is to cross the River Styx and go to the other
world safely. It is used in both Buddhist and Shinto style funerals. I guess
this custom is from a more primitive religion.
Stuffed cotton indicates warmth which creates a slight spirits element, visage
of life which connects the coffin to the vines.
Structure under the coffin - My design which is based on Shinto style made of plain wood
and simple structure to present a ceremonial feeling.
Concave glasses reflects a spot light, that moves while the audience is
moving, through thinly spread grapevine ash (a symbol of death) on the
surface, which suggests an existence of something like a spirit. 22 Desk wrapped with mesh - Made of plain wood and for Shinto celebration. Used to make
a contrast of the celebration and the funeral. It also means a circulation of
life.
A meaning of mesh is presenting a close relation with the coffm (death and
funeral).
A glass cup with grapevine ash (a certification of death) inside instead of
water (a symbol of life) also to connect with the funeral atmosphere.
Everything about the associations was around my grandmother's death. But the work seems lack a central piece. I am familiar with this hidden theme, which is often used in both traditional and modem Japanese literature, drama, cornie story, and movie etc. expressions. This is the way we like it and it has gotten into our bones and suggestive expressions. It is more than sufficient in situations where we want to emphasize an important idea.
The power of the materials' expression contributed to the work so largely that significant feelings such as silence, deepness, mystery, width, sharpness, strength, eternity, and ritualness were created. Some contrasts are also presented, such as life and death, serenity and volubility, and emptiness and existence. These contrasts can make an atmosphere of circulation. Furthermore, this is like an outgrowth that is an openness that doesn't refuse anybody. It is not like artwork dealing with very specific and private matters because the power of materials' expression defuse my acrimonious privateness in this installation. 23 Moreover the work is not like an adulation to audiences. In other words, there is no consciousness about catching the audience's attention, which is extremely important to me to create visual art. I alluded that I take the position that audience is essential to bring art work into existence. Art work, before being shown to audiences, should be the pure artist's self-completion and self-maturity. I believe it is necessary to critique the work thoroughly through self-objective mind. An artist shouldn't take the view of an audience member, since it is possible that by taking this view that the artist will be tempted to make the art work more attractive to the audience. The moment an artist crosses the line between the artist's side and audience's side, the art work is not his/her pure expression, but an amusement or entertainment thing.
Honestly, I had a strong curiosity about reactions from people who have different and various backgrounds, rather than having to communicate my memory and associations though this work. With this work, what they felt depended on their background; this was the same as in my other three works. It was no problem that each element I mentioned above was not received by audiences as I received them. I am simply enjoying the variety of responses like the variety of ways people here pronounce my name. All the elements got together; my spirit, background, identity, concept, materials, and they created a unique atmosphere, which was a harmonious fusion too.
3.4 Conclusion
I was seeking my own comfortable way with my trials in these last two years. I am now almost completely convinced that my supposition of a balanced fusion of my spiritual part, materials and circumstance is just what I was seeking for in art work.
In the thesis show, I could try my aspect toward visual art expression. As a result, the expressions were simple, serene, strong, wide, deep and open; fortunately, I feel they fused together. The audience's reactions surprised and encouraged me. I could understand 24 the fact the ways of expression along my context caused sympathy and curiosity among people who have a different background from me, because of critiques such as "Each four works emit its individuality but they don't offset each other, rather than arise a harmony and a sense of the artist." I was simply pleased my comfortable presentation could overcome unseen lines between high context culture and low context culture, which meant I could communicate with them better than with verbal communication.
I am not a person who sticks to one material, idiom, and style of thinking, so that I will be able to change my ways to seek more appropriate manners. I believe these beneficial experiences can playa role of a steady step to the next stage. LIST OF REFERENCES
[l] Kimura,S., Seeking the Origins of Ethnic Art (Minzoku Bijutsu No Genryu Wo Motomete), NIT Publishers (NIT Shupan), Tokyo, Japan, 1994.
[2] Yokoyama,Y., Seeking the Origins of Art (Gajutsu No Kigen Wo Saguru), Asahi Newspaper Company, Tokyo, Japan, 1992. [3] Takeda,S. [Ed.], Dictionary of Marriage and Funeral Ceremonies (Kankonsosai Jiten), Gakken, Tokyo, Japan, 1993. [4] Shinoda,Y., Dictionary of Marriage and Funeral Ceremonies (Kankonsosai Mana Jiten), Shufuno Torno Sha, Tokyo, Japan, 1994. [5] Shufuno Torno Sha [Editors], Dictionary of Funerals (Sogi. Hoyo Mana Jiten), Shufuno Torno Sha, Tokyo, Japan, 1994. [6] Himonya,H., How to Study Funerals (Ososhiki No Manabikata), Kodan Sha, Tokyo, Japan, 1994. [7] Sudo,I. [Ed.], Cultivate, No.1 (Tagayasu), Kobundo, Tokyo, Japan, 1994. [8] Sudo.I. [Ed.], Catch and Carry, No.2 (TOfU, Hakobu), Kobundo, Tokyo, Japan, 1994. [9] Sudo,I. [Ed.], Trade, No.3 (Akinau), Kobundo, Tokyo, Japan, 1994.
[10] Sudo,I. [Ed.], Live, No.4, (Sumau), Kobundo, Tokyo, Japan, 1994. [11] Sudo,I. [Ed.], Gather, No.5 (Tsudou), Kobundo, Tokyo, Japan, 1994.
[12] Koizumi,K., History as Described by Tools (Dougu Ga Kataru Seikatsu-shi), Asahi Newspaper Company, Tokyo, Japan, 1989. [13] Uba,A. [Translator], The Dance of Life: The Other Dimension of Time (Bunka Toshteno Jikan), TBS Britannica, Tokyo, Japan, 1983.
25 ri
PLATES
26 27
PLATE I Balance 28
PLATE IT Balance (from different angle) 29
PLATE ill Untitled 30
PLATE IV Into Nature 1 31
PLATE V Into Nature 1 (from different angle) 32
PLATE VI Balance (Image of fungi 1) 33
PLATE VII Untitled (Image of ant's nest) 34
PLATE VIII Untitled (Image of ant's nest, detail) 35
PLATE IX Untitled (Image of bird's nest 1) 36
PLATE X Untitled (Image of bird's nest 2) 37
PLATE XI Untitled (Image of fungi 2) 38
PLATE XII Study of Vines 39
PLATE Xlll Study of Vines (detail) 40
PLA TE XIV Improvisation Works in Nature 1 41
PLATE XV Improvisation Works in Nature 2 42
PLATE XVI Improvisation Works in Nature 2 (from different angle) 43
PLATE XVII Improvisation Works in Nature 3 44
PLATE xvm Improvisation Works in Nature 4 45
PLATE XIX Improvisation Works in Nature 4 (detail)
------d 46
PLATE XX Improvisation Works in Nature 5 47
PLATE XXI Improvisation Works in Nature 5 (detail) 48
PLATE XXII Improvisation Works in Nature 6 49
PLATE XXIII Improvisation Works in Nature 6 (detail) 50
PLATE XXIV In Thesis Show No. 1 51
PLATE XXV In Thesis Show No.1 (detail 1)
-~( - --- -~ 52
PLATE XXVI In Thesis Show No.1 (detail 2) 53
PLATE XXVII In Thesis Show No.2 54
PLATE XXVIII In Thesis Show No.3 55
PLATE XXIX In Thesis Show No.3 (from different angle) 56
PLATE XXX Different Styles of Japanese Hearses 1I .~ _.-!' _.of, . v" ;. ....:.~ ~ . ~. t.. .. ~"i; 57 , ,. . ~ . t .... f= I .~t .i -I ." :it ""''<::::'''1- l \ I 58 PLATE XXXII Buddhist Style Funeral A ~iHfi ~I* Q G !" "!" :oJ 0 ; " ~ t: l;t tr it .:, ~000"( ~ Urr, t: M 8JE.~ .c,. ;} ~ , Q - tr t n t: " it r.f 3Z: .:, 11 n.:,t.: 9EN* t<:. .:It l < .:, z T .:, 59 PLATE XXXIII Forms of Shinto Ce lebratio ns 60 PLATE XXXIV Wake at Japanese Funeral 61 PLATE XXXV In Thesis Show No.4 62 PLATE XXXVI In Thesis Show No.4 (from different angle) 63 PLATE XXXVII In Thesis Show No.4 (detail)