1990: Insadong

December 1990
Hilo, Hawaii

My only fall outing was a long walk along the small river behind my house my last week in Japan. The air was crisp and clear, and signs of fall were all around. The rice fields had been harvested in October and the fresh green growth from the stubble gave a deceptive feeling of spring although the green of young June plants is quite different. The fall gardens are healthy and vigorous with daikon, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, onions and broccoli each adding a distinctive green to the foreground while the dusky mountains with their subtle browns, oranges and greens of bamboo and cedar gave a definite flavor of a fall palette.

A special feature of the autumn landscape is the kaki (persimmon) trees laden with bright orange fruit but completely barren of leaves. The trees occur singly and in groups and are dramatic accents. sometimes seen against the bamboo groves or pine trees. White plumes of dry grass and white wading herons in and along the river provided additional contrasts. This natural fall beauty was too often marred by the scattering of trash along the riverbank. This disturbing pollution of the Japanese landscape is a constant frustration and irritation. None the less, the hour and a hall walk was a perfect quiet time to reflect on the six months spent in Kyoto this year and to inhale the essence of the landscape and the feeling of fall.

I had anticipated, as I always do, that I would have enough free time to really enjoy the fall color as I did last year, but work in the studio kept me very busy until the last week which was spent packing and attending the many pre-departure details. I estimate I spent more hours on studio work this year than any previous year and I have a good body or work completed for major exhibitions scheduled for next year.

The work completed lor the September 1 exhibition deadline was the largest (2′ x 18′) and was well shown in the 2nd Itami Craft Competition. The subsequent works were 2 or 3 panels (2′ x 2′ each), horizontal or vertical in format, some joined, others as multiple panel works. Themes were primarily architectural from photos taken in Japan and Korea with an emphasis on traditional tile roofs in each country. Only one work incorporated an American theme, the marinas at Marina del Rey, CA photographed while visiting Page and Jeanne in June. It was especially challenging and exciting to build vertical landscapes from various photos of a particular location while keeping a foreground and a horizon. The works are in golds and silvers, on antique white damask obi with mid – night blue grids. The scale of the work this year gives a true feeling of viewing my world through a window, helped by the 6″ x 6″ grid. It is a l so the first year I have completed a major body of work to be exhibited a following year.

In the latter half of July. I spent a week in Korea, partly with Japanese friends who were there for an exhibition of contemporary ceramics, partly with Korean fiber artists and additionally, discovering new aspects of Korean architecture and culture. I stayed with the Japanese group in an old and interesting section of Seoul, Insadong, filled with galleries, calligraphy, antique and a variety of other shops and restaurants. It has, for the most part escaped urban renewal, but one is never sure for how long. Our hotel looked down upon a complex of single story traditional houses, built around a courtyard and roofed with the traditional clay tile which have long fascinated me in Japan. The configurations of the roofs in Korea around a courtyard are very different and I photographed the scene extensively then utilized the photos in later works. I was invited to give two lectures on my work and American fiber art while in Seoul. The lectures were well attended, and I had the chance to meet a number of Korean artists.

Alter my Japanese friends left I went on a weekend trip with Jeanne’ s cousin, Kiwan, by car to the southeastern city of Kyong-Ju which was the capital of the Silla Kingdom and an important historic and cultural center with many burial mounds and other royal architectural remains plus the most famous Buddhist temple in Korea, Pulguk-Sa . It was an all-day drive getting there due to the heavy traffic and major road construction. The government has developed a lake area near Kyong-Ju as a tourist center with several hotels and other entertainments in a beautiful natural setting. We stayed at a reasonably priced new hotel that was very comfortable and convenient. Saturday, we spent the whole day exploring and photographing, not only the famous sights, but less-visited temples and historic villages as well. Material gathered in Korea provided new images lor my work in the fall.

I had just over a week in Kyoto finishing the ltami work and a few other tasks before it was time to go to Tokyo lor my show at the Wacoal Art Space in Ginza. I stayed in Tokyo with my friend Gaku and his sister Madoka who are both university students and have a small house in Shimokitazawa which is conveniently located for Tokyo transportation. I attended Takeshi Asai’s live concert experienced Japanese horse racing, brunched at l’Orangerie, followed by the Sunday musical performances at Harajuku, saw a number of exhibitions including Issey Miyake’ s “Pleats Please” and acquired more itajime dyed under-kimono at the fall antique fair.

Of course, my solo show of last year’s “November Tale” was the highlight of the 10-day trip. The space at Wacoal was perfectly suited to an uninterrupted reading” of the six panels, beginning at the entrance and concluding at the end of the exhibition space. A number of Tokyo friends came to the opening and throughout the week. The reactions were interesting, mostly favorable, with many questions about the ideas and processes. I got good feedback as well from friends at home to the detail showing the giant “Maneki Neko ” (the welcoming cat of Japanese shops) on the announcement card.

I had invitations to give lectures at Osaka University of Art, where Shigeki Fukumoto is now teaching, and at Kawashima Textile School in Kyoto in September and at Musashino and Tama Art Universities in Tokyo and Kyoto Seika University in November. Most of my time was spent in the studio where I frequently put in 12-hour working days and the projects progressed smoothly. I changed to a new “dry ” system of photo screen making that saved me time and was more convenient. A copy machine positive plus special plastic-coated fabric and a strong strobe-type exposure unit gave me instant stencils. The screens were small and light weight. After the printing was completed, I did all the mounting on wooden panels with the occasional help of a student assistant.

I have been invited by the Itami Craft Center to have an exhibition of my Japan work 1985 – 90 next summer. Arrangements are nearly completed lor the same show to travel to Tokyo and Kyoto in the fall. It will be an opportunity to show the small works of the mid – 1980s together with the large I.T.F. panels of 1987, “November Tale” from 1989, and the new 1990 work.

In addition to my invitations for the museum shows next year I had the news in September that had been awarded an NEA Visual Artist’s Fellowship. This was especially rewarding to me as the slides submitted with the application were of my Japan work of 1988 which were shown in the UGA Faculty Show in the winter and at my Allrich Gallery solo show in Sa n Francisco last spring.

The final week in Japan was more hectic than usual, including packing and moving my things t o a new location for next year. Fortunately, I found a house in Fushimi (SE Kyoto) with a large studio space, three gardens and a prefect six-mat traditional room with tatami, a wall of shoji screens and a large tokonoma (the traditional space for a scroll and flowers). My friends in Japan were more helpful and supportive than ever and the half year rewarding beyond my expectations.

I’m completing this letter on the Island of Hawaii where I am staying with my friend and UGA grad, Masa Honda, for a week of sun, surf and volcanos. I’ll stop briefly in Wisconsin to see my mother and bring her back to Athens where Moriyo, my student-in-charge, awaits us. Page, Jeanne and Babak will join us for the holidays, and I look forward to seeing our Athens friends alter December 18. As the Christmas season (previewed in Japan and reinforced here in Hilo) settles around us, I wish all my friends the merriest and also a healthful and prosperous New Year of the Ram.