Last
year during the period of Yokohama Triennale, BankArt 1929 had a show titled “LifeV – tourism: a mysterious world of a forest, plants, and the sea” which I
reported in my blog for October 13, 2017. Actually, the exhibition was
consisted of a couple of plastic palm trees and some silk flowers, poking from
the concreted floor. That may have been an artistic expression of the creators,
but … er … I think if we were accustomed to be in real forests or nature, we
could feel the “amount of data” (I cannot find a better word in this regard …)
from those installations was extremely poor, or even childish. If such reaction
was the intention of the artists for BankArt, that’s fine. Though, I didn’t
think they were aware of their insufficiency. Otherwise, how was it possible
for them in a straight face to title their other works as “Accumulation of
Knowledge”? (Oh, by the way, BankArt 1929 has closed their door on the canal
last March, and is now moving to smaller locations in the city, division by
division.) That may be a serious thing. Art is very human activity. Well, apes may
do it, but not in a so-complicated-way-as homo sapience, don’t they? When such
representative behavior of the 21st century humans has a feeble
grasp about nature, “achieving SDG by 2030” is really a pie in the sky … no, “a
forest in the sky.” And those artists for BankArt were Japanese who were
supposed to be educated in the tradition of “close and refined relationship
between human activity and the nature, such as tea ceremony or flower
arrangement.” “We Japanese have known the importance of nearby greenery called
Satoyama 里山 that sustained an idyllic country life for
millennia.” Heck. Since then, I am having a suspicion about the sorry
relationship between the contemporary artists, aka representative humans, and
the forest / mother-nature.
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| …
Could your imagination see a forest here? From “Life V – tourism: a mysterious world of a forest, plants, and the sea” |
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| This
is supposed to be a flower-bed. From “Life V – tourism: a mysterious world of a forest, plants, and the sea” |
Ancient
Japanese artists may not have been like this. Using materials harvested from
nature for artistic creation needs accumulation of knowledge (indeed) about
nature. The tenacity of our great artisans is really impressive in this regard;
pls. just stand in front of our national treasures displayed in Tokyo National Museum. Actually, such expertise is not lost (more to it, next week). Probably,
the matter is about the contemporary artists, not those who engage in
traditional crafts/arts. And so, we return to the 2018 exhibition by the GROUP the Creation and Voice of the Woods, I reported last seek. Their show, named Laboratory
of Forest Art, is for September 2-30, 2018
in in the forest next to the Yokohama Zoorasia.
Actually this is the 4th year in my blog to report their annual
event. I found a definite evolution this year, in their relationship with the
forest.
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| Artists for Laboratory of Forest Art |
For this
year’s exhibition, the
founders of the group, baby boomers, are handing over the programming to the
Millennials. The new secretariat presented the manifesto:
Some things don’t change however; like the fact that calling this place “FOREST” is the most important thing for us; or that we want to be a group who work together in protecting and nurturing it. We adopted this view and will open a new exhibition this summer. We will have fun trying and experimenting so that this “FOREST” can be felt as a paradise for all artists, art lovers, their family and friends. Please join us in this “Laboratory of forest art.”
Now, the
interesting part of this manifest is the meaning of “a group who work together in protecting and
nurturing it (i.e., the forest).” They discussed this point during the
symposium on the opening day. I found their approach is completely different
from typical forest lovers, forest instructors included, in Japan. And that’s
the most important, if we can think, at least for the forest, contemporary
artists are representative of city dwellers nowadays in Japan.
The
question the artists faced during the symposium was simple: why do you create
your work in a forest? The answer from all 9 of them was also straight forward,
and the same: the space is large in a forest. All of them said, normally they
work in an atelier which ultimately limits the size and material of their
installation. Then, their creation is transported to museum or gallery to be seen
by the audience who are often regulars for such events. In contrast, in the
forest the limit of space is practically non-existent for a single artist. They
can bring in materials from the atelier, or procure the ones from the forest on
the spot. The work in an atelier is lonely, but here in the forest fellow
artists come and even help “building” the installation. The work will be seen
by strollers who wonder in the forest without any intention to meet their artistic
expression. Such audience is definitely different from those “knowing” visitors
of atelier. So, in terms of space, material, and human resources, the control imposed
over artistic creation is far laxer for this annual exhibition in a forest. That’s
the thrills they found in the forest. And I suspect there is more.
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| Installation 4 Kazuma Horie, “Connecting つなげる.” He said he’s a painter usually, and created the installation by recalling his childhood memory of playing in the forests. He expects from this exhibition to absorb something different that would be a part of his foundation as an artist in 10 years’ time. |
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| Installation
1 Noriaki Oka, “Nature and Un-nature 不自然と自然.” In the symposium he confessed he loves ambiguous constraint the forest imposes. This year he used bamboos that he did not imagine using in atelier but was offered from the other members of the GROUP. |
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| Installation 8 Ayumi Suzuki, “Ring 輪.” This is her first time to present the work in a forest. The idea of installation is hers, but her family visited the forest many times to “construct” it together. She said both the size and the collaborative nature of the work were very refreshing. |
The City
of Yokohama allows them to present their art work in the forest that will be a
botanical part of Yokohama Zoorasia. There is a reason for this generosity. The
GROUP the Creation and Voice of the Woods is registered as an organization of
forest volunteers. As such, they, the artists and the non-artists, engage in
forest management activities year-round. The basic maintenance of trekking roads
in the forest is a part of their “expected” activity. Thinning smaller trees to
prevent biodiversity from degradation is another. It seems to me, as the
artists join to such pursuits, they unconsciously digested the spirit of the
Satoyama forest. According to Harada who is a founding member of the GROUP
since 1997, in earlier days artists brought in the installations created in
their downtown atelier to the forest, just like they normally did for the shows
in galleries. However, after thinning and pruning for 20 years lots of logs and
branches have been piled up that can be a part of their artistic material. Why
not using them for their creative work? The installations made of materials
regularly found in the art galleries gradually become works from the offerings from the forest.
Larger works let them think more the relationship between their work and the
surrounding forest. ASADA said for some time she regarded the forest something
to tackle with, or to conquer for her installation. This year, No. She dug the
forest floor becoming a part of the forest, and found her art work stress-free.
Chikada said she realized whatever the freedom the forest offers, ultimately
the existence of the forest is far stronger than her or her work. It is the humble
conversation with the forest that lets her creative urge to go forward.
Yoshikawa mentioned now he’s certain about his artistic direction that can walk
naturally with the time of the forest. For him presenting his work in the
forest is really free without even the time constraint.
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| Installation 3 Kazuo Ishikuro, “Wind God, Thunder God ふうじんらいじん.” He found liberating using the thinned trees and pruned boughs of limitless supply. |
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| Installation
2 Yoko Kiga, “territory.” In the symposium, she pointed out physical challenges, such as rain, heat, insect bites, injuries, … during the activities in the forest. It made her resolve to create art. |
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| Installation 9 Akatsuki Harada, “The Imagination of the Giant Tree – 15 巨木のイメージ – 15.” |
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| Installation 6 ASADA, “Dive into the forest.” |
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| Installation 5Haruna Chikada, “There and Here むこうとこちら” |
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| Installation 7 Youichiro Yoshikawa, “Green circles and lines 2018 緑の丸と線 2018.” He said amblers in this forest may think the importance of artistic expression without coming to the museums. |
And so, here is the difference between the exhibition of Laboratory of Forest Art, and the silk flowers pasted on the concrete in BankArt. The artists for the GROUP the Creation and Voice of the Woods have dived in the forest in honest, and making the environment really a part of their creative process. This year’s installations definitely show their evolution in understanding of the environment. Certainly theirs are different from re-creation of organic farming, or traditional crafts from the forest materials. Yes, they hang heavy objects from the trees which could put pressure on the forest, albeit temporarily. The academic biologists or botanists would frown at their treatment of the nature. But, I think the artists’ approach could be a part of 21st century Satoyama management. They sincerely search for the establishment of relationship with the forest, for their own creative necessity. They are exploring a win-win route for the environment and the humans. That’s the necessary condition for the sustainable “development,” isn’t it?
If you find a problem in the site
introduced in this post, the best contact address will be GROUP the Creation
and Voice of the Woods.
In any case, the
city office which is in charge of this forest is
Office for the Park Greeneries in the
North 北部公園緑地事務所
Yokohama Municipal Government
Creative Environment Policy Bureau 横浜市環境創造局
Phone: 045-311-2016
FAX: 045-316-8420
