Movement: 2024 Laboratory of Forest Art

 

Please follow the direction the eyes point,
by INO Ryoko.

This is the time of an annual art exhibition in the forest under the care of the GROUP the Creation and Voice of the Woods. It opens its door today, September 29, 2024. After nail-biting months for funding last year, they received the 11th Yokohama Hito Machi Design Award (“Yokohama People-Town Design Award”) for their contributions connecting city forest and locals, especially kids, through sharing art-creation process (; my post on September 8, 2024). It seems to me the prize has reassured their mission in the forest, which is “sharing joy of art in forest with lots of people.” I think we can find such atmosphere of the GROUP in this year’s installations. Without much ado, let me show you the works artists provide for this year’s show. The comments after the photos are provided by the author and shown in the forest.

Map for this year’s show

Weekend Marche provide us small objects
created by the artists.

Magnolia Garden
KANAI Toshikazu

“Four years ago, I created a work called "Garden of Fallen Trees" where a magnolia tree has grown considerably. I wondered if I could create another garden with this tree as the center, overlapping it with the previous garden. The fallen tree I used in the previous work has decayed considerably, but still retains traces. I dream of the dense forest air and time flowing through a transparent vessel, filling it like a fountain.”


Recycling - Plastic

CHIKADA Haruna

“BB bullets that came from outside the forests are now buried here and there as if they were part of the forest from the beginning. Apparently, some types decompose, but it still takes more than 10 years. Some of the ones I picked up were a little smaller. I don't know how many years ago they were buried, but perhaps they are in the process of decomposing. There are cycles in the forest that the people who brought them there cannot see.”


Recycling - Forest
CHIKADA Haruna

“The seasons change. The forest also changes. A year from now the forest will not be exactly the same. Are the changes in the forest this year big? Or small? How much of an impact climate change having? What is the probability of a mutation? Regardless of human evaluation, the forest will continue to change.”

Snake Garden
KANAI Toshikazu

“Last year, I found a large Yamakagashi snake right next to the "Ruined Boat" that I made three years ago. I had been feeling their presence for some time, so perhaps I had been building a boat on their dwelling. I traced my unexpected encounter with clay on the ruins of the boat.”

* Yamakagashi snake = Rhabdophis tigrinus, also known commonly as the tiger keelback.


Bust of a Tower Man
ISHIKURO Kazuo

“A bust of a tower man made from clay. Inside is a container for water, which can be used as a flower vase.”

And this year Ishikuro shows us
another tower man climbing up high.

... In the Forest
ASADA

“What is this thing that lives in the forest? It came? It went back? It went away? It was left there? What is it? Is it scary? Is it real? Is it fake? Does it move? What does it eat? Can it be eaten? Have fun, freely, and as you like please feel free to use your imagination!”

And near ASADA’s installation,
there are 3 objects by KIGA.

Walking companion
YOSHIKAWA Youichiro

“When I walk around town with "keyaki no SANPO" in my hands, the subtle vibrations and various sounds are transmitted from my hands and ears directly to my brain. It's like I've regained a little bit of my childhood before I learned to speak. The "Dragon's Beard" growing in the forest will be replanted to create a winding path and a large round garden. But after a year, the alley and round garden are buried undergrowth.”


Basic shape of life forms
HARADA Akatsuki

“If you look at the growth of grass and trees, their branches and leaves, from the root, you will see that they grow in a spiral. The nerves in the bodies of animals, including humans, also run in a spiral. Blood vessels and DNA are also connected in a twisted manner.
When I saw the way new shoots grow from a stump and grow, and the way ivy wraps around the trunk of a tree, I was reminded a never-ending fractal (self-similarity) shape. So I created this spiral shape in my workshop and installed it on a stump. The material I used was 2*4 lumber, a common building material.”


Study for bling-bling
KIGA Youko

“Why is it called imitation if it does not have the natural sparkle?
The techniques used to create imitation gemstones are amazing, and they appear to be as shiny as natural ones.
Shining things sometimes give the meaning of good luck or good luck charms, but does the imitation shine have the same effect?”


Bond (Wood connect)
HARADA Akatsuki

“It is not easy to transport dead forest tree once they have been cut down. Even if a tree has tattered bark, if you cut it into pieces to make it easier to transport, the center will still be solid. I tried connecting the logs with reinforcing iron bar. When I connected each piece with rebar stakes, I realized that it resembled the shape of a ‘Clamp.’
By using these wooden clamps to connect the logs in a circle, we can create a sturdy structure ... just what we need right now.”

Appearing Disappearing, by ISHIYAMA Katsuyuki

The pergola is now decorated
by objects made by kids in September.

And now WATABE Hisako invites visitors
to make “walls” of pergola by
knitting with whatever material you think
 it can be braided with Trachycarpus harvested in the forest.

Don’t you think all the installations this year has a feel of … movement? Anyway, maybe their activities are getting more notice this year. Near the venue, I passed by several groups of college kids (maybe) wondering which way to go for the exhibition. 😊

A Shaft of Light in Parallel World, by ENDOH Norio.

Life and Work in Satoyama, by David Winer

Summer Greetings from the Universe, ZAMA Kimihito

2024 the Laboratory of Forest Art will be held during September 29 – October 20 in the same forest of the previous years. Since there is no parking, a recommended access to the Forest is by bus. The most convenient transportation is a bus ride to Yokohama Zoorasia, from JR Nakayama 中山 Station, Sotetsu Tsurugamine 鶴ヶ峰 Station, or Sotetsu Mitsukyo 三ツ境 Station. (Timetables are here.) Get off the bus at the North Gate of Zoorasia that is the closest to the art exhibition entrance. When you leave the terminal stop of Zoorasia North Gate, go back a bit along the bus road, and on your left is the sign for the GROUP. From there enter the forest. The road is a relatively wide walking promenade. Soon you can see a big banner over there saying “the Creation and Voice of the Woods 創造と森の声.”

When 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.

https://morilab.amebaownd.com/
e-mail: morinokoe7@yahoo.co.jp

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

Thinking the real meaning of Perpetual Summer: Summer 2024 in Kanagawa, Japan

 

In terms of earth’s revolution, tomorrow is autumnal equinox. Fall is supposed to conclude its run-up and our closet would be ready for jackets. Not this year. Yup. According to Japan Meteorological Agency, the final week of September in Japan could finally see the end of SUMMER, with temperature typical for the end of August until just a couple of years ago … Has the earth at last reached the tipping point of warming? I don’t know. One thing is for sure. Now the bugs in the forest are in full swing.

When I started posting this blog, activities in summer could not be done without insect-repellent. If that’s in the forests of Yokohama, I sprayed Icardin from head to toe. If it was for somewhere in and around of Tanzawa Mountains, applying leech repellent in lower limbs was the “Must.” We’re doing it now as before, but the power of the chemicals has been too powerful to be true this year. During high summer 2024, I had impression we did not have much problem with bugs. Instead, we’re welcoming bugs’ bites now in the equinox week. I guess bugs and leeches were baked in the hottest summer. They could not be active.

Normally uber-aggressive Black hornet. 
It was busy devouring nectar from Quercus acutissima
 in September.

Not only annoying mosquitos, but also birds were very subdued during high summer this year. Once in a month, normally in the first weekend morning, we’re recording fixed point observations of wild birds in Niiharu Citizen Forest. We had only a limited result this summer. Yeah, birds are descendent of cold blood dinos. They cannot control their own body against fluctuations of outer temperature. If it is too hot, their entire body is boiling. In such days, they stay somewhere in shade quietly. I imagine birds’ hot summer days would be like sick days of flu for us … Poor creatures. Our September observations this year only recorded crows and Chinese hwameis. It must have been a harsh and very LONG summer for birds. Are they OK?

Too strong sunshine …

Ditto for vampire leeches. Basically, they do not like dry environments. The way Tanzawa area received rain showers during summer 2024 may have affected the condition the bugs lived. Dry spells for several days, then, suddenly flood-level pouring came. The leeches must have confused. When we carelessly stomped in the bushes of Yadorii Water Source Forest this summer, we could often escape the attack of vampires. The shrubs were dry, and so was the soil. Not kind for leeches. i.e. All small creatures in the forests of Kanagawa Prefecture had difficult times this summer. They may find a respite now when the nights become longer than days. And, look! There comes prey (= we) for blood sucking!

I won’t be surprised if a vampire is in this photo, but …

So, in September the topic of conversations among forest volunteers finally becomes insects’ bites. It’s still damned hot, but (we hope) it’s milder now than in August. We notice bugs flying or crawling around us. Now’s the time for insect repellent to be useful. “I’m trying this new shirt made of high-tech material.” “What?” “It’s sold with a jingle the fabric itself had insect repelling function.” “Is it effective?” “I don’t know. And the fabric is too thick to wear during August. I have not tried it until now.” “Oh …” “ You know, I’ve also tried your kind of shirt before.” “Oh, then …?” “I was bitten by a black fly, and had a swollen arm. The fabric was too thin. The bug could insert his needle without directly landing on my skin.” “Heck” … It went like this. An earnestly important topic now! But just a couple of years ago didn’t we engage in such chat a bit earlier, during August, perhaps?

Parapodisma tenryuensis

Munch, munch … striped flea beetle

Meanwhile, the demanding mowing continues for months by now. In the weekend of equinox, we still made a heap of cut grass in Niiharu. I recalled my question to Lu Xun and really wanted to ask him how they mowed wild grass in China, if Chinese grass was “trampled upon and mown down, until it dies and decays as long as it lived it.” (My post on June 23, 2004) In fortnight, we will definitely feel the night is longer. Yet the wild grass is growing. Strange temperature …

Oh, so vigorous wild grass …

The Red Spider Lily is almost buried
in the other wild grass this weekend.
This is supposed to be the season of their one-man show …
 (; my post on September 29, 2023).

Summer Darter this weekend.
Yup, they fly around till the very late autumn for sure.
But they can be observed more commonly during summer.

A scene during a short break of mowing.

Even Japanese walnuts are still green.
They are supposed to be in harvest time!

There is also fun. Lots of beautiful butterflies are busy now recovering the lost opportunity. They stop wherever they find nectar and stay there longer. We can admire them with plenty of time, thinking if they are all right in these hotter September days. Summer is ending. We’re also exhausted …

Hestina assimilis is busy drinking from a sweat-drenched shirt
 from one of the seniors of Niiharu Lovers.
It needed salt, we guessed.
By the way, this butterfly is registered as
 an Invasive Alien Species in Japan.
 Basically, it is common in Southeast Asia and Continental East Asia.
 It suddenly appeared in Saitama Prefecture in 1995.
 In 2015 there is a record it was flying at the summit of Mt. Fuji.
 Experts are suspecting somebody
intentionally released the original brought from overseas.
Warming climate of Japanese megalopolis encouraged it to prosper.
This year, it was SOOOOOOOO ubiquitous in Yokohama.
Its lifestyle is like endemic Hestina persimilis japonica.
People are worrying it could compete ecologically
 and win over the natives.

A Straight swift on flowers of garlic chives

Beautiful Japanese oakblue

Nordstromia japonica is sleeping in the shade.

If you find a problem in the greenery of north-half of Yokohama, please make a contact with

Office for the Park Greeneries in the North
北部公園緑地事務所
Yokohama Municipal Government Green Environment Bureau
横浜市みどり環境局

Phone：045-353-1166
FAX：045-352-3086
mk-hokubukoen@city.yokohama.jp

Balancing Toy of Forest: joining a workshop by Forest Lab

 

Actually, this year, the workshop series by the Laboratory of Forest Art started in August. I joined the first workshop, instructed by Harada Akatsuki. It was a fun. This week, I tell you my adventure of making a balancing toy with help of Harada-san. Harada Akatsuki is an artist who love to construct installations out of logs harvested in the forest. Inevitably, his workshop is to create a thing out of logs. So, the first thing to do for us was using two-men saw.

Bond (Wood Connect) :
Last year’s installation by Harada Akatsuki.

Harada-san is showing his balancing toy.

Before chainsaw became “must-have” for forestry, two-men saw was an important tool to cut large trees. Now makers of such saw can be regarded as “endangered species,” Harada-san said. The saw we used was the thing he procured from an old couple who was the last maker of such tool in a village of Niigata Prefecture 新潟県. Now they are gone, and “It’s uber difficult to find a saw-doctor who can set my two-handed saw.” Wow. It was my first experience to use two-men saw. Using it required good teamwork, of course. Also, it was good having a third person standing to evaluate the operation. Especially before the operation was on the “groove,” that person could inform sawyers if the blade is properly straight between the operators. Otherwise, saw could be stuck. “Er, Naomi, you should stand a touch more to the right…” “Yes, that’s right. Now you go.” Like that. Harada-san’s saw was well-maintained and could slice the log quite easily. Once the rhythm of sawing the log was established, it was like dancing together. A damned fun! I loved that.

Artists Ishikuro Kazuo and Yoshikawa Youichirou are
showing two-men saw.

Artist Chikada Haruna and supporters of the Lab are sawing.
In this Photo,
Yoshikawa-san is performing the third person role.

Harada-san’s design of balancing toy was to

1. First, procure a slice of log about 20cm in diameter by two-me saw.

2. Next, cut the slice in half. It became the base of the toy.

3. Third, cut a bough about 7cm in diameter for the length of your choice. It was to be a supporter of the center of the gravity of the toy.

They are boughs to be the supporter.

4. Fourth, slice the similar-sized bough and make 7 pieces of about 2cm or so thickness. Four of them became wheels attached to the base with bolts.

They are boughs to be wheels.
Compared with the boughs
for the main body of the toy,
they are slightly larger.

5. And the remaining 3 pieces were for the main body of balancing toy. Out of these 3, one was attached the fulcrum pin.

6. The rest were to be weights at the tip of arms. The arms were of piano cord. Unlike ordinary steel wires, piano cord is strong and very flexible. It could balance the toy when we play and peck the weight or the main body.

They are the boughs for weights and the centre.

The boughs are securely fastened to the workbench.
It helped us to cut the parts easily OK.

The parts Naomi acquired for the toy.

My supporter would be like this.

First, one end of the log to be a supporter is shaved by machete.

And we make a hole on the base.

The supporter is inserted into the base by a mallet.

Harada-san helped us to make a hole on a piece to be a wheel.
We secure the wheel with a bolt from this hole.

The wheels are attached to the base.

7. The position of the weights was decided by our preference. We could make the arm very long, or short. Asymmetric arm would be possible if two weights had very different heaviness. We decided the position of the weight and balanced the toy to secure the weights to the arm.

The weights and the center must have a hole
on its side for the wire to be inserted.

Like this.

And this is to make a hole for fulcrum pin.

Voila! Naomi’s Balancing Toy.

As a forest instructor, cutting pieces with saw was not difficult for me. The tricky part was to attach wires and bolts connecting the cut pieces together. Harada-san deftly helped us the process of assembly. He brought in his electric tools and told us like “For this part, a bit smaller hole is important,” or “Just a little bit of making a recess is enough. Too much of it makes the toy unstable.” Following his instructions, our balancing toy gradually obtained the “Character.” No piece is the same as the rest. Unlike artificially produced plastic poles, a bough or a log was a continuation of ever-changing parts, of surface, diameter, annual rings, etc. Each participant of the workshop created one and only balancing toy from the unique material from forest maintenance works.

This is another person’s toy.

I realized it was a unique way of having a conversation with the forest. As we proceeded to finishing up our balancing toy, the toy started to talk to us, letting us notice another dimension of a forest. This bough has such-a-such character, so we have to attach the fulcrum pin in this way. Or, is the position of the weights OK for the toy to stand stably? The weight is of Quercus myrsinifolia, but if we have cedars, will it be the same? The texture must be different … The imagination out of the forest flied around as we proceed. Making the toy was like re-realizing a friend‘s charm in a conversation. Come to think of it, it might be a process which artists in the Forest Lab experience every year when they create installation for the forest. Although I don’t have talent for being an artist, I can say this with conviction: it was fun!

We can paint it if we like.

If you have a chance to come to their workshops, the next one is on September 22 (my post last week), please try. I realized there are so many ways to talk with the forest. And it’s so thrilling.

When 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.

https://morilab.amebaownd.com/
e-mail: morinokoe7@yahoo.co.jp

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