On the Japanese Aesthetic - 2

And then there's the language of course: the writing - first and foremost - but also the sound, and in this case also the content:

 

 

An even more striking example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3-rlolB94I&feature=related


And then a glimpse into another side of Japanese culture, in the artist Aida Makoto, who exposes the contradiction, the continuous friction between tradition and the modern-day, very much part of the Japanese psyche:

Makoto overview webpage

Makoto Google Images

Tokyo

An illustration of the Japanese aesthetic that inspires me (Yufuku Gallery, Tokyo):

"Ken Mihara (1958- ) is one of the most sought-after Japanese ceramists today. Hailing from Izumo, home to mystic landscapes that gave birth to the great majority of Japan's legends, Mihara's works call to mind the spiritual aesthetics of ceremonial vessels such as ancient bronzeware. Yet at the same time, his ceramics embody a deeply introspective and zen-like tranquillity that encapsulates Mihara's very own artistic state of mind.
The aesthetic qualities of serenity and the sublime coalesce within Mihara's work. In essence, these qualities are the scents of Japan, a culture which has traditionally searched for beauty within wabi-sabi austerity, spiritual simplicity, and the cherishing of patina. The natural landscapes of his high-fired stoneware facades were borne through multiple and extremely difficult kiln-firings, with each firing revealing a new element to a work's clay flavour. His new forms exhibit a stark, bulb-esque minimalism that are, in essence, a window into the mind of the artist. ...His deeply spiritual works poignantly strike at the heart, and his new works exhibit the artist leaning further towards minimalistic simplicity."

 

FUKAMI Sueharu (Porcelain with Celadon Glaze)

"Kyoto artist Sueharu Fukami (1947- ) wishes to reveal the 'space' that lies beyond the supple curves and sharp silhouettes of his abstract porcelain works, lusciously drenched in the delicate translucency of celadon's pale-blue glaze. The triumphant arches and totems borne from his starkly minimal forms represent what cannot be superficially seen: a perpetual circularity of life and the continuity of space itself. Fukami's conceptual and deeply contemplative ceramics have shed all preconceived dependencies on the notion of functionality, and as eloquent displays of art for art's sake, stand alone to remind the viewer that perfection in porcelain can be conveyed by soaring forms far removed from traditionalism. 

...The horizontal work, entitled Tenku (Heaven ), is a rare piece in that it was made through hand-formation, which Fukami attests to be 'two times more difficult than slip-casting.'" 

 

ICHINO Masahiko (Tamba Stoneware)

"Masahiko Ichino (1961- ), a ceramic artist who manifests the duality of romantic post-modernism borne from traditional reverie, is credited for reviving the medieval glories of Tamba, one of the famed Six Old Kilns of Japan.

Ichino's recent works appear round and organic, soft and plush. In fact, the voluptuous stoneware sculpture may strike a viewer as bulky. On the contrary, each separate ceramic part is hollow, and thus unbelievably light. The artist achieves this unique characteristic through an ingenious use of both hand-pinching and ventilation. ...Ichino further applies black slip or the traditional Akadobe red slip of Tamba, and fires again repeatedly, alternating between oxidation and reduction. The resulting work is a sculptural object that is imbued with Ichino's unique post-modern aesthetic."

 

NAGAE Shigekazu (Slip-Cast Porcelain)

"Shigekazu Nagae (1953- ) is unquestionably one of the leading pioneers of porcelain slip-casting and firing techniques in Japan. Casting is commonly associated with the mass production of functional porcelain wares, yet Nagae valiantly transcends this stereotype, ultimately elevating this technique to the avant-garde. In fact, the intensity of his kiln fires help mould, shape and curve his delicate white porcelain, thereby giving birth to sleek yet unpredictable silhouettes not found in works by other artists and previously unimaginable in the context of porcelain clay.

About the Works Nagae's latest works test the limits of his porcelain casting techniques, and are the culmination of his extensive experiments into the qualities of both clay and fire. After a work has been slip-cast with liquid porcelain, dried, and bisque-fired, the separate pieces are suspended mid-air within Nagae's kiln using a self-made stand, and are further attached together through the glazing of its joints. As the glaze melts and turns to glass through the kiln fires, the separate parts are conjoined as one. More surprising is the fact that seductive curvature is a result of natural kiln effects that serendipitously drape and tape the porcelain into organic sheets. The resulting work is a virtuosic symphony of differing parts that unite to form a unique and intriguing whole."



Nishikata Ryota (Metalwork)

 

And some more - photographs taken at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo: