Concept: In my efforts to help Japan in a time of need, I could not help but frame my response to the March earthquake artistically rather than philanthropically. I was seized by a profound mental image : A fault line drawn with cherry blossom petals. The poetry of the image had truth, because as the earthquake and tsunami struck, and as the nuclear hazard increased daily, the Sakura Blossoms flourished and fell here in Philly. I saw nature creating this amazing and poignant statement about the passing quality of all things, good and bad. I felt hope for healing.
TRUTH OF THE BLOSSOM is a site-specific installation work at "Shofuso Japanese House and Garden." This piece was a commission sponsored by the Heritage Philadelphia Program (PEW). It functions as an ephemeral memorial for the March 11th earthquake. I created a mark that was derived from the major fault lines of Japan, but rendered specifically to the berms of shofuso's viewing garden. The jagged mark, which suggests fractures (in the landscape, in time, in the normal function of things) breaks boundaries and extends beyond Shofuso's fence.
MATERIAL: The color pink, representing cherry blossoms, was made from a mixture of Pulverized Limestone and Pulverized Washable Chalk. Limestone is a restorative material and is beneficial to soil PH levels. Therefore I was able to use a healing material in an artwork meant to representing healing. Form fitting function!
TRUTH OF THE BLOSSOM was displayed on Father's Day. Shofuso organized a full day of Tea Ceremonies to generate a relief fund for Miyagi Prefecture, particularly the city of Sendai (we raised $7,000!!). The tea ceremonies shared a kindred relationship to the TRUTH OF THE BLOSSOM. Both my artwork and Sadou (the way of tea) uses a material that is pulverized and beaten into a powder (Leaves for tea, stone for my installation). The tea master (Taeko Sensei) and I used those different powders to create fleeting life-giving experiences. Creation rises from destruction!
