Experimenting and playing with something new. Here is a close-up of a squarish section about 4 cm wide. Some people have been surprised at how much detail goes on in my drawings. Maybe I will have to consider doing a drawing of these sections that I have zoomed in on. What do you think?
Sorry! I could not resist a title that connected Reina Eto‘s love of dogs and her recent rise as a new star on the Tokyo art scene. She would deny this, but both the director of the Face to Face gallery and I agree that she has a bright future. We both met her at the 2014 Tokyo Art Fair and were struck by her unique style in a genre filled with many paintings that look similar to each other. She might be using a traditional method of painting called nihonga, but her work is fresh and contemporary.
For what it is worth, I purposefully took photos that were not exactly straight and cropped them slightly. I did not want to infringe upon her copyright. Anybody who is trying to determine what is a copy will certainly notice that her photos of her artwork will not be trimmed like the ones I am using. I also did not record the titles because I want people to investigate more by themselves. I also did not want to presume how she wanted to present her Japanese titles in the English alphabet or even how she wants them translated. I have simply added phrases to describe what each painting reminds me of.
This is one of my personal favourites. I love the composition and how the friendly nature of the dog is expressed despite our X-ray vision of the dog’s organs.
I want to call this one, “Truffle Dog”, because the dog’s face reminds me of a pig! This one and all of the paintings are quite small. This one is about 12 inches tall if I recall correctly.
This is a slightly closer look at the one of the two dogs racing. You can get a sense of its size in contrast with her face. Marsha Whiddon from Winnipeg once used dogs to represent the darker, animal nature of humans; Reina Eto paints dogs because she loves them and is familiar with their motion.She shows their inner organs to illustrate their inner mechanics and is not interested in trendy zombies. She tried painting horses, but their beauty is still too unfamiliar to her. Maybe in the future?
Reina Eto has also started painting humans in motion. Their bodies are healthy and powerful; they do not like zombies although we can see inside them. No body parts are falling off. They are in the pink of good health!
This one reminds me of shaman paintings down by artists from the First Nations in Canada, such as those of Inuit or Ojibway descent. One of the interesting things about this painting is that the black-and-white fur is made from iron filings. Eto graduated from art school but did not formally study nihonga painting. Perhaps because of that she is freer to break the rules. I have seen this happen before when painters enter a printmaking studio. Because it is not their major field of study, they are less concerned with process and more concerned with the final image. This might drive some technicians crazy, but the results are beautiful! This one has been growing on me.
Reina Eto is currently showing at the Face to Face gallery with two other young nihonga painters. Their paintings are also small but a bit more traditional than Eto’s work.
Doesn’t this one by Kyoko Enokidani remind you of Monet’s water lilies? This one is the most abstract. Her other paintings combine urban landscapes at night in similar blue shades.
Kansui Abe’s paintings seem traditional at first glance and remind you of landscapes that you might see in collections in Kyoto, but then you realize that fish are swimming between those mountains. That is a nice surprise!
Thank you to Kiyoshi Yamamoto and Reina Eto for an enjoyable Saturday afternoon filled with interesting and informative conversation. For those who want to take a look, I am afraid that Sunday, June 1, 2014 is your last chance to see this group show at the Face to Face gallery in Kichijoji, Tokyo. Don’t worry! Reina Eto plans to have a solo show here in the near future. If you plan to start a Japanese art collection, her prices are a bargain!
Do you remember Hitoko Fujisaki? She uses mineral-rich mud from various places to dye her textile work and uses unusual things, such as cardboard or coffee filters. The wall hanging in the photo on her card for direct mailing is made from coffee filters! She has another show coming up next week at the Art & Craft gallery in Ginza, Tokyo. Anybody want to go with me?
Surprise, surprise! If this was on your wall in Tokyo, the police might show up on your doorstep after neighbourhood busybodies called in complaints about indecency. A friend in Tokyo had this happen to him this week. This incident was after a previous one when the police “randomly” stopped him on the street last week and asked to see his papers. (I question the randomness, because I wonder if he is being targeted by one of his neighbours.) This time they said somebody complained about the artwork and nude figure studies on his walls that could be seen through the windows. Yes, inside his house on his walls where they were not affecting the daily lives of anybody except him if he wanted to add a few more lines or change the display.
This incident seems even more preposterous if you have ever met this guy. You can tell by looking at him that he is a nice guy. He is not a hooligan or a thug; he is too old to be a delinquent but too young to be an eccentric old man. The apricot toy poodle on the leash must be what makes him look threatening, right? He is a family fan as well as the owner of a local business and popular instructor. He is also active in the arts community in Tokyo and regularly organizes events frequented by a wide variety of people. He is always willing to make new friends regardless of their skin colour, appearance, or sexual inclination; he accepts people as they are. He is the kind of guy that opens doors for people and offers a helping hand should you need it. Does he seem like the kind of guy you would want to call the cops about?
A busybody who lives nearby seems to have developed an unhealthy interest in my friend and his business. Perhaps they watched too many TV shows or news programmes coloured to suggest that most crime in Japan is committed by foreigners such as the Chinese triads and Iranian gangs in Ueno park. Yakuza? Who are they? It is also safer to report on foreigners and kick them out of the country rather than local gangs who could seek revenge. Or maybe somebody took those posters at the train station a little too seriously — signs that say Japan is on high alert and that ask you to report suspicious activity to the proper authorities. Do they think he is running a terrorist cell in a residential area? Are those foreigners or young children with their backpacks bringing in art supplies or parts to make a bomb? People forget that terrorism in Japan is usually homegrown, such as the Nihon Sekigun (Japanese Red Army) or Aum Shinrikyo. This racial profiling instigated by the media and the insular attitudes prevalent here have resulted in my friend being persecuted by some snoop with too much spare time on their hands.
The image that the media shows of a Japan where everything is acceptable, especially the unusual, is very different from everyday life here. Most people are quite conservative, especially in anything that might affect others. Remember the saying of square pegs in round holes or the one about bamboo having to be flexible or it will break in the wind? These sayings stress conformity. People go to great lengths to avoid mei-waku. This can mean anything from a slight inconvenience to outright harassment. You do not want to do anything that might trouble those around you in any way regardless of how much you yourself might be inconvenienced. The extremes that people are willing to go to avoid mei-waku can be mind-boggling at times. Please remember that most people here have dark hair, brown eyes, and often other physical characteristics. Students and employees wear uniforms, and dress codes that include hair length, hair colour, earrings, and so on are strictly enforced — even if somebody was born with a different colour of hair. The country appears homogenous on the surface despite the actuality of its long history of blending with Korean, Chinese, and other cultures. If one tiny thing is different, it stands out. Local communities and now apartments are often run by formalized groups consisting of local residents. They manage garbage disposal, local clean-ups, and neighbourly disputes. Participation is not mandatory, but opting out is greatly frowned upon. This also explains why so many young people from small towns gather in Harajuku to show off their outlandish outfits and why tinkerers create weird contraptions; these are socially acceptable ways to deal with individualism that do not reflect the nation as a whole.
This desire for conformity seems to be increasing in strength recently with more right-wing policies, increased xenophobia, and paranoia about terrorism and other bad things coming to this island country. Numerous articles and blogs discuss racism and prejudice in Japan in detail, so I won’t even try. I will say, however, that in a city where nude statues of women are found in every park and lewd posters of almost naked women are plastered everywhere, including on magazine covers and in trains where small children can see them, it is preposterous that somebody be persecuted for having figure studies of the human body on the walls of his art studio and school. Somebody is using his art to attack him, because it is not yet a crime to come from another country or have skin of a different colour — or maybe that should have been written as “no longer a crime”. Who really was committing acts of indecency here?
Note: I used my own drawings to illustrate this because I wanted to write this while I was still upset. I did not want to wait for him to have the free time to choose one of his beautiful drawings. My apologies to him. If you want to show him your support by sending a message or taking classes at his art school, he can be contacted at Ebisu Atleier d’Art. That website also includes a link to the school’s blog with more photos and information about the fine work he does on his own and in the classroom.
People often ask me about the choices I make when I draw or work on a different kind of project. Some things are instinctive; some choices are planned. Some are creative challenges decided before starting; some are challenges created by limitations in the environment upon arrival.
“How do you know when it is finished?”
I just know. It tells me.
“How do you decide what colours to use? How do you decided where to use what colour?”
Sometimes it depends on what colours I have brought with me or how I limit myself. I can also see the bright colours that I am using in the subject. I can’t help it; I do see them.
One small choice can have a great impact. For example, colour, saturation, and other factors can change a photograph of the same subject in very subtle ways. I do not use PhotoShop and I do not manipulate my photos much at all. All I did here was use a filter to change the colouring. Which one do you like best?
This was the original photo taken in colour. All of the other photos have been altered by changing the colour.
For some reason unbeknownst to me, lights and shadows appear differently when a camera is set to colour vs black-and-white. When actual negatives were used to print on paper, printing black-and-white photos on paper made for colour copies often gave a pink tone to the finished prints. Subtle changes are seen in digital prints, too. The shadows are not as strong; the greys are more delicate. That could just be my imagination…
This was a colour photo but it looks more like a photo that I could have taken with the b&w setting only after I punched up the shadows with one quick click.
Next are two photos of the dead lotus plants in a pond in Ueno park. Both photos show the same subject from similar angles, but the colour is different. With that one small change, I knew that I wanted the reflection on the water in the black-and-white version and a focus on the lush green leaves in the colour. Almost the same but yet so different.
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I went to Jun Matsushima’s drawing group at a renovated elementary school that serves as a community centre in Shinagawa, Tokyo the other day. I was a little late, but the model was even later because he had lost his wallet. That might have caused his bad attitude but probably not. I almost got into verbal fisticuffs with him over the term, “gaijin“. To me them’s fighting words. Regardless of my personal feelings, he came dressed as a typical Japanese delinquent and brought the long stick that is often used in gang fights. His clothes hid his body and his movements. He was playing an uncouth character and used it to his advantage. Although his early poses were typical of a Japanese male with attitude (pretending to smoke or urinate in the street), his later poses were more dynamic. We are meant to learn from such challenges, aren’t we?
NOTE: Interesting how the paper shows up more blue after being uploaded here. The photos were not as blue or green in iPhoto. I guess something decided to compensate for the blue crayon and pencils that I used. MZ
Made some changes to this drawing. I should let it sit for a while so I can decide later if it is finished or not. If so, I can varnish it. Title? I have been thinking that Warm Fuzzies might be a good idea.
Bryan Ryosuke Sakashita’s show might have already ended but it is still worthy of note. He is a young ceramicist who graduated from and later worked as a teaching assistant at Musashino Art University also known as Musabi (website in English and Japanese), one of the top art schools in Japan. Art runs in his family, and he is leading the pack of the next generation who for some unknown reason are all working in 3D. His father is Japanese and a talented photographer; his mother is American and comes from a family interested in creative expression.
This cultural blend is also reflected in his work. Some of his pieces reflect designs and colours often seen in contemporary Japanese ceramics, but others show a willingness to try new things. Long, thin plates or trays might be unusual in other countries but they are often used for fish or other delights to please the eye in Japanese meals.
Dark-brown coffee mugs are relatively common, but these are manly mugs that fill your hand but are still light enough to be easily held in one hand. When the handle on a friend’s mug broke off, he kindly reattached it using a traditional Japanese method where gold is used to fill in the cracks. I do not know if does that for everybody or only for family friends, but that is very classy. The smaller espresso cups and even larger coffee mugs are in a dusky blue that is unusual in Japan. Those large mugs are too large for me, but somebody else said that they would be perfect on a cold day because you could wrap both hands around them to stay warm.
The small, handheld colanders are something unique that he makes. The design and blue glaze were based on a family heirloom that was associated with blueberry picking. He was asked to make several to prevent family members from fighting over it. These colanders have proven to be one of his most popular items and are now available in other colours.
Perhaps I was the only one who then associated the blue jug below the colanders as being the perfect creamer for pouring cream over fresh blueberries or strawberries washed in the colander. Wouldn’t the little white bowl be perfect for sugar to sprinkle over your dessert?
I have seen ceramic “filters” for making coffee in Vietnam but I have never seen them before in Japan. Sakashita can also tell you which paper filters fit best.
Sakashita’s pieces are reasonably priced from approximately 3000 yen for a mug and 6500 yen for a colander if I recall correctly. Each piece feels a bit differently when you hold it in your hand, and that is why one customer picked up each and every cup to find one that he liked best. Sakashita is very approachable if you want to discuss his work with him.
The show was not in Shibuya or Omotesando but in a small cafe/gallery called the Suido Cafe in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo. The gallery is small but has regular shows. In the afternoon, interesting choices of lunch or sweets are available. They are also very proud of their homemade rusk, which is toasted bread coated in sugar. They use special, mineral-rich brown sugar from Kagoshima in southern Japan. They, like Sakashita, also like to do things with a slight twist. How about a traditional Japanese snack called dorayaki that has lemon peel mixed with the red-bean paste as the filling between two pancake layers. Yum! The spoons, bowls, plates, and cups were probably by other artists who exhibited there. I am sure that the gallery/cafe staff will be more than willing to share information on Bryan Ryosuke Sakashita as well as other artists if you ask.
That is not the only twist! In the evening, the cafe turns into an exclusive sushi shop. Introductions and reservations are required; walk-in traffic will be turned away. Fresh fish is brought in directly by local fishermen. Thank goodness! Other sushi places in Tokyo often offer only maguro that was previously frozen or fish that is not as fresh as it is in other parts of Japan. Dinners are 5000 yen and up.
It was a dark and stormy night in the greater metropolitan area of Tokyo, perfect weather for making snowmen. It was the worst blizzard to hit the city in more than forty years. Who would’ve guessed that the low pressure system would so suddenly leave as soon as it came? I, the sole technician on the roster for what had been expected to be a slow weekend, was left to examine the chilly remains of somebody’s beloved at various locations on our now fine and sunny streets.
Large areas of carnage could be seen everywhere.
I slowly began my search in the concrete jungle. Snow people were gradually becoming increasingly hard to find as the heat sinks and asphaltum slowly spread.
Snowmen and their families usually congregate near dwellings inhabited by human children, but the grounds were barren around nearby highrises. All that could be found was one sad-looking snow bunny who was missing one ear. These li’l critters obviously did not multiply like rabbits under the heat of the midday sun.
Parasols and umbrellas were popular choices to prevent evaporation of delicate surfaces with high-moisture content exposed to the harsh reality of the day. Tucking an umbrella into the spokes of a bicycle was probably not a good idea considering that snow people usually do not have legs worthy of mobility. Escape was futile.
Some sought solace and support, drifting sadly into circles looking for comfort from others like them.
After searching in the distant hills, I found those who had dirtied their previously pristine reputations.
The photographs I was taking were the last remaining records of what were once some upstanding snow men and women. Additional forensics staff would have to be called in to determine more details by looking at the photos of the splattered snow.
Several victims had obviously realized the serious of their predicaments and tried heading for cooler pastures where the dark pavement would not absorb the sun’s harmful rays. Like Lot’s wife, they were immobile.
Some sought to console each other even though their relationship was dissolving before their eyes.
Some did not make it out of Skid Row; some sought sanctuary in local drinking establishments. I guess the Creator knew that those with bottle caps for noses might have a weakness for the brew.
Some poor sods never made it past the intersection where the nitty gritty of urban life ground them down to pulp.
Others only wanted cool shelter on an increasingly warm day. Entire families of snow people and snow animals fled for the hills and hunkered down in some kamakura, the local version of a snow hut or quinzee. Parents were willing to sully themselves if their children could remain untouched.
I stumbled upon the aftermath of what looked like the Great Snowpocalypse of 2014. I could picture it all: Snowman against snowman, snowballs piled high, and the thick, cold walls of the snow forts. These snow people were obviously great engineers and architects as well as masters of warfare.
Few wanted to step forth and give testimony about the horrors that they witnessed. The ducks and the rabbit refused to squeal. The dwarves were too happy about the whole thing for my liking.
Did anybody ever warn them that places with fuel trucks and palm trees might not be the best places for snow people?
Mountains of innocent victims piled high on every street corner? No sanctuary in refrigerated quarters or delivery service of items that must be kept cool was offered.
By the end of the day, all that was left was some sloppy, grey slush and a tin can that might have been a trendy snowman’s fashion statement in better times.
What can a snow man in Japan do but pray to the snow gods that they will be reincarnated as a snow drift or possibly a kamakura in Akita or Hokkaido to provide shelter to others in similar straits.
Remember these faces the next time you bear your shovel and think about who you might be hurting. Do not let their deaths be in vain.
