A CHANCE DISCOVERY

I was reading an old volume of Haiku, and stumbled upon one that resonates so concisely with the TRUTH OF THE BLOSSOM installation that I was startled.

ASHES MY BURNT HUT...
          BUT WONDERFUL
          THE CHERRY
BLOOMING ON MY HILL
                     -Hokushi

I feel as though this installation has now connected to a lineage of thought and living-metaphor ages old.

TRUTH OF THE BLOSSOM

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!

SAKURA GA SAKU

From stillness, blushing
A pink cloud snared in branches
Quick to the falling

Sounds of water poured
No, sounds of water falling.
No. The sound of both.

Sunwarmed Hinoki
Somewhere between breath and breeze
I am but dreaming

SHOFUS(obi) - **strictly conceptual.

This is the design for a functional sculptural piece for a series of proposed works titled under SHOFUSO COLORS. Shofus(obi) --Shofuso Obi-- entails the production of three to four long hand-knit garments hat can function as both an Obi and a Scarf! The object itself is inspired by both the traditional Japanese Obi as well as the Iconic scarf worn by actor Tom Baker in his role as Doctor Who on the long running (now revived) British series.

As are each piece in the working series SHOFUSO COLORS, Shofus(obi) is a meshing of eastern and western aspects; materials, methods, references.

The reference to Doctor Who, though unabashedly fun and unexpected, is not merely a novelty, nor is it even obscure considering its historical popularity, its increasing availability on DVD in the US, and its massive revival of the past 5 years. For the un-apprised, the concepts that Doctor Who brings forth; that of "travel through time and space," constant open cultural exchange, and the blending and growing of ideologies and attitudes, is a direct reference to what the experience Shofuso allows; a transposition in time and space to seventeenth century Japan via modern day Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. Therefore each scarf will contain a color scheme which derives from parts of Shofuso that I consider to have the most transporting qualities; the tea ceremony, the cherry blossoms, the Koi Pond, and the interiors.

Ideal for an autumnal exhibition, I imagine several possible exhibitions of the scarf/obi. They could be worn as part of a demonstration; something like a runway on the veranda, where some are worn as scarves and others as obi. Or they could be shown as a temporary exhibition on several standing dress-forms. These dress-form displays could also be "installed" respectively in the areas of Shofuso that inspired their color selections.

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Works in progress for a Haiku series dedicated to Shofuso Japanese House and Garden.


surrounding ourselves
in all the lovelier shades
a home in colors


slipping brightly through
a murkily rippling veil
the gold one stands out


bitter on my tongue
warming breath, it first was sweet
frothed as a lakeshore


from grains of gravel
the tatami mat is smooth
without my shoes on


pearl. scale. a contest.
muddled splashes faintly heard
above rush hour

These, among others, are to be included in a proposed free to the public poetry reading event in which artists of different media: poets, musicians, video, will be reinterpreting the Haiku form through their personal mediums and challenging its structure in new and exciting ways. This event is a combination of history, art, culture, and reinvention!

Nostalgia

My first pic with Impossible Project's SILVER SHADE UV+ ! ....the rest from the roll didnt turn out so good, but once I got the hang of how to adjust the exposure on my OneStep 600 Polaroid I got this pic. Its an experimental film so it produces unexpected results in focusing, exposure, etc. The tones in this photograph evoke that silvery luster that make Kenji Mizoguchi's films UGETSU and SANSHO DAIYU so eerily memorable. Something to explore.

The Beginning of Something

Attempted some very rudimentary color filters with marker scribbled on clear-ish plastic placed over the lens of my Polaroid spectra camera. My hope was to get a pink effect using a red filter against the white snow, but the sloppiness of my application of the filter (merely taped on the surface) and the murkiness of the plastic led to almost unintelligible imagery and far too substantial a tint. A lesson to be carried into the next attempt. Dont rush creativity!!!!

SHOFUSO; Winter Needles

Softtone Edgecut film. Taking advantage of a snowcover. Im hoping for many more!!!! Dimming the exposure produced an unexpected pinkish hue.