Glen Kaufman
2008: Too Much Stuff
December 2008
Big Canoe, GA
Fog shrouds and filters the forest of barren trees. Water droplets hang from twigs. Crows caw raucously. A December day in the Georgia Mountains.
Snow falls gently on open fields and forest in the post-Thanksgiving of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. My sister Karol, nieces Kari, Kris, and grandniece Maya (“Oh my God.”) and I all bundle up for a romp in white fluff leaving our footprints behind.
Sleet, ice and then deep snow cascades in Southern Wisconsin when I visit cousin Mick for a few days back in my hometown of Fort Atkinson. Clear roads, however, for the return trip to the Milwaukee airport. Winter arrives in the Midwest.
The first few months of retirement have been a time of travel, reflecting the freedom I now enjoy. Following is a roll-back of those times that have seen me roam from East to West: All of October and most of November were spent in dear-to-my-heart Kyoto where I was, mostly, without any schedule, able to relax in unusually mild weather. Museums, galleries, enjoyable times with friends, good food, daily routine at the gym, several trips to Osaka, and long walks along the river filled my days.
October 3, 2008
Takano River Walk
Crisp early morning temperatures.
Bright red-orange September lilies delicate, exotic sprouting in random clumps.
Dense, trefoil, lush, green kudzu filling the space between embankments and gurgling water.
Abundant cosmos blooms in tints and shades of red-violet plus white.
Interspersed with the yellow and orange of coreopsis.
Fall grasses, the tallest with delicate pink plumes dusted with morning dew.
Grey heron motionless. White egret reflected in still water. Mallards circling about.
“Ohayo gozaimasu.” “Ohayo gozaimasu.” “Good morning.” “Good morning.”
Hiei-zan rises lofty above it all seen through a crenellated screen of apartment blocks, Police Headquarters and Qanat shopping center.
Ornamented with utility poles and a spaghetti tangle of wires.
Urban landscape.
Much of my time in Kyoto was spent packing up 25 years of accumulated possessions in the old house I have occupied for the last 12 years for the move to a newer, but still traditional house, a short distance away. It took four of us and three trips in a two-ton truck (4-3-2) to make the transition. Then three weeks solo to unpack and find a place for everything in smaller quarters. My life is forever a story of too much stuff in all of my three houses! But I am happy with my new digs and its location … 2 minutes from a great supermarket (supa) and just a bit further to other favorite shopping venues. I need to recruit a housemate when I return at the end of March 2009 for a two-month spring visit. It will be my first cherry blossom experience in Kyoto!
In September I spent a few delightful days with my friend Stephen, who teaches at Harvard, exploring that campus, Cambridge with a long walk along the Charles, MIT (with its topsy-turvy Frank Gerry edifice) plus the museums in the Boston area. Our dialog … is always stimulating. Then on to Martha’s Vineyard and a bachelor fling with godson Andrew Palmer and his buddies. We toured the island from end-to-end enjoying every beach, cove, quaint village, and spotting watercraft of all sorts. Next, by car to NYC and Andrew and Larissa’s wedding with the good fortune to stay with their friends in Weehawken, NJ. There I enjoyed a magnificent view of Manhattan from the George Washington Bridge to Battery Park. Museums (MoMA, MET, New Museum, Neue Gallery, Whitney), Chelsea galleries, SoHo shopping and all the wedding festivities filled my days and nights. All the Palmer family members were there with a chance to renew our bonds beginning in Michigan 45+ years ago. Totally memorable … dancing the night away.
End of summer was spent at Big Canoe relaxing at home, frequent hikes and at our intimate man-made beach where I enjoy swimming in the lake. This followed a week in Athens helping my former student, friend, colleague and now area chair of fabric design, Clay, settle into the new art building. The studios are grand and filled with light (a bamboo forest outside the weaving studio). The program is in the best hands that I could imagine and is thriving. No regrets, whatsoever.
In July I returned to the Czech Republic and Bohemia (my ancestral and cultural roots) to be swept up by friends there again and with even greater enthusiasm. Klara and Honza met me at the airport in Prague. Andrea arrived later that day and toured me around that fabulous city meeting artists, museum staff and her creative friends, visiting museums and galleries for a whirlwind three days. Klara and Honza returned to drive us back to Tabor, stopping along the way to see historic churches and villages in the Bohemian countryside. One of the highlights was a stop in the village of Vinice where my great grandfather Josef Jensik once lived on farm #3. The current owner was not a relative, but we were convinced the buildings were the same ones from the mid-1800’s. In addition to the owner, we met his two dogs, various chickens, rabbits, and a pig. I spent 2 weeks in Tabor exploring the town on my own and the countryside, by car with Klara, with its impressive vast golden wheat fields and green forests, tracking down any spot where a Jensik might be or had been. We met a few but cannot count them as relatives. Klara and Honza took me to many wonderful locations all over Bohemia and I was able to meet with the genealogists that have been researching the family … Jensiks were yeomen and landowners. The trip ended with a final night’s stay with Klara’s mother and an early morning ride to the Prague airport, bringing me full circle. What a devoted group of friends I have there! What a delightful country.
Early May I was back in Kyoto with the maximum number of students in my last Study Abroad Japan Program. The group was mostly from UGA with a few from other spots in the US. Enthusiasm, dedication, and intensity marked the 4-week session. Clay joined us for part of the program and the two of us sped via Shikansen to Tokyo for an extended weekend concentrating on the modern aspects of the city … Roppongi Hills, Ginza, and the new Midtown area with Tadao Ando’s museum. We were totally saturated with the megalopolis and its special delights. Upon completion of the study program and departure of the students, I concentrated on completing work for my solo show at GalleryGallery that opened at the end of June. This installation was an expanded version of the work I had shown in Poland in 2007 … “Kaunakes: The Ghosts of Mesopotamia”. Kaunakes is a fleecy garment inspired by sheepskin that were shown in sculptures of the Early Dynastic period of Mesopotamia (ca. 2650-2550 BCE). My “kaunakes” garments are made of layered blood red polyethylene newspaper delivery bags that are a material of our contemporary times. The 15 garments are in various sizes, both adults’ and children’s, floating in space creating a ghost-like appearance. The present-day Mesopotamia … Iraq. These red ghosts are symbolic of the tens of thousands of civilian deaths resulting from the present conflict in that country. This exhibition is a memorial to these innocent victims of the Iraq War. My friend, Ima Tenko a butoh dancer, performed in the space, as she had done for another installation several years ago, perfectly conveying the emotions embodied in the work. (See card enclosed.)
Spring Semester was spent in Athens for my final term on campus with frequent trips to Big Canoe for both a little winter snow and the April “greening” of the mountains. Each week in that month nudged growth of the leafy cover in a magical way. What sheer joy in the wonder of nature. I did make a short 10-day trip to Kyoto in mid-March to finalize plans for the summer program. BUT, no more short trips to Japan!
Page’s online book business is thriving with sales ahead of last year at this time. He now stocks 20,000 books in his house with additional storage for pallets of books not yet entered. He and Jeanne devote many hours each week to this effort and have part time help to get the orders out on time. Lee, now a sophomore, was active in cross-country again this year with his St Pius X team garnering 4th Place in state competition and earning him his 2nd letter and a special recognition award. I was able to join Lee and Page for 2 of his early events shouting, “Go Pius! Go Lee!”
Best wishes for a Healthy and Happy New Year of the OX in these difficult times. We all need to have faith that life will be better in 2009.