Glen Kaufman
2014: Skyfall
December 23, 2014
Big Canoe, GA
I returned from Japan in time for Thanksgiving at Jeanne and Page’s and to be swamped at Big Canoe with fall’s treasure, endless leaves. They were mostly on the ground by that time in November, but there is one juvenile maple out my kitchen window that always holds a few lingering bright red leaves to welcome me back. But in a few days of strong wind they, too, were whisked away. We had a few days of constant rain so my creek has seen a bit of life after months of yearning for a drop or two. Mostly, however, the days are filled with sunshine that floods the living space no longer shaded by the surrounding forest.
2014 has been a busy year but with several periods of forced entrapment due to snow storms in Georgia in both January and February. Those of us in the mountains have learned how to deal with these Acts of Nature: Stay home. The chaos in and around Atlanta made the national news while I, content by the fireplace, watched it all on television. I had my second cataract surgery in January with great success and could do very well with only reading glasses but am not keen on the on-and-off routine. In February I became the owner of a Barcelona Red Prius V station wagon and am still struggling with all of its electronic gadgetry. In all other ways, it’s quite the dream car. In early March I traveled to Savannah to join my WI cousin Mick Lueder at her daughter, Lisa, and son-in-law, John, for a few days and then brought Mick back to Big Canoe for a week.
In March I was honored with a Distinguished Educator Award from the James Renwick Alliance in Washington. The Renwick Museum is the national museum of crafts with an energetic and dedicated support group. The events around this occasion were impressive, enjoyable and enlightening. The four educators participated in a panel discussion of “Materialism” in the crafts as well as giving individual presentations at the awards brunch. My grandson, Lee a Midshipman at the nearby USNA, joined me for this occasion. In his uniform he was the star of the event with conversations with many of the guests.
In early April I left for Kyoto and was immediately plunged into the art milieu there with visits to galleries, museums in Kyoto and beyond, the monthly Flea Markets plus dinners with friends celebrating my spring return. I was lucky that the weather had been cool so there were still weeks to enjoy Ohanami (cherry blossom viewing) in all its glory. In May I enjoyed the performance of my friend and collaborator, Ima Tenko, with her Butoh group at Matsuo Taisha Shrine; attended the Christian wedding of Yuki-chan, the oldest daughter of my dear friend Kiyoji Tsuji; was invited to “Fashion Cantata from Kyoto” staged out-of-doors at the 16th C Daikaku-ji Temple (famous for its moon viewing pond) that blended the Western fashions of See by Chloe’ and Kyoto kimono designers.
I returned to GA the end of May to prepare for my installation “Skyfall” which was on view for most of the month of June. It was very well received. I then enjoyed the rest of the summer here in the Georgia Mountains with swimming, exercise and studio work. It was a relaxing several months. In August I flew North to WI to visit cousin Mick in Whitewater, nephew Kurk and family in Kohler and then on to the UP to my sister Karol and John’s at their log house where we were joined by niece Kris and her daughter Maya to “do” the UP State Fair. Then I followed Kris and Maya home to Boyne City, MI for an enjoyable time there and sailing on the SS Badger to Manitowoc, WI before flying back to GA.
SKYFALL ……………. A collaboration
Envision 25 narrow silk kimono fabric panels 20 feet in length, hung from the balcony above, that form a wall of color and pattern and in gentle motion. You enter the sun filled atrium exhibition space with the sound of harmonium and voice softly echoing throughout. The panels are raised in rapid succession. The space is now void of color, pattern and movement. After a short pause a man in black wearing a black felt hat now lowers the panels slowly in harmony with the music. The wall is now complete once again; the harmonium music concludes followed by gentle chimes. A dancer in black appears trailing a long length of kimono fabric, a second dancer appears and they interact with the fabric, wrapping, binding, and connecting with each other. A voice from above narrates with words associated with sky, fall, and fabric. Colors and processes of the panels are spoken in Japanese and English. The dancers change mode of expression moving in and out and through the fabric wall. The panels flutter.
The performance concludes, and a portion of the curtain wall is raised, the dancers take a bow, exchanging nods with the man in black above and sounds of the harmonium once again fill the space. I, the man in black, developed the concept, gathered the kimono fabrics in Kyoto, stitched and hung them in the entrance atrium of the Lamar Dodd School of Art, UGA . My collaborators were musician Gershone Hendelberg and dancers Andrea Trombetta, Tweed Morelock and Claire Molla.
I left for Kyoto the very end of August to prepare for my solo show at Gallery Gallery, “Lost & Found” on view for 2 weeks from mid-September. That was followed by over 2 months of ‘total Kyoto ART immersion’. Highlights included a Whistler show at the MoMA; Kyoto, Japonisme related art from the Boston Museum at the City Museum; Kimono Influenced by Literature at Osaka City Museum; Nuit Blanche a city-wide event of performance, exhibtions stretching late into the night; Kyoto Experiment, a performance series that offers weeks of performances by international groups; Flea Markets; the Fall Book Fair. I am totally in love with life there.
LOST & FOUND
I walk a lot in Kyoto, traveling the streets, by-ways, and riverbanks. As a visual artist I am constantly aware of my surroundings: sky, trees, people, animals and birds, buildings, rivers, ground, streets, sidewalks, river beds. I have seen many things on these travels and a few years ago I began to collect these ‘things’. Most of them have been lost, some have been discarded and Mother Nature has placed others in my path. This collecting became an obsession and it challenged me to share these objects with viewers in an installation exhibition format, Lost & Found. Many were framed and hung as a single item others in various combinations while some can be viewed as sculpture.
In many ways I see this collection of objects as a “Tale of Kyoto” — a record of things lost or discarded that provides a view of the ‘material culture’ of this city in the 21st Century. This, to me, is similar to what archeologists discover when they excavate ancient cultures. Some of the most frequently found items are ceramic fragments, keys, gloves, cute stuff and designer handkerchiefs. But the great variety of ‘things’ provided some surprises. The exhibition, in the smaller space at Gallery Gallery, was conceived as an installation — the whole more important than the individual works. There were approximately 120 framed works in various sizes, small 3-D works on a horizontal surface, collections of hats and handkerchiefs hanging from the ceiling, a completely dressed mannequin and a few sculptural works displayed on the floor.
Page and Jeanne, after 20 years, have sold their home in Atlanta and moved to 6.5 acres in Flowery Branch on Lake Lanier. They have designed a creative building that accommodates a grand living space and an equally grand space for their thriving e-commerce business, “Kudzu Jelly” (find it on Amazon). Page is forever busy taming the acreage and clearing new trails to the lake. They are now closer to me in Big Canoe than they were in Atlanta.
Grandson Lee is 1st Class Midshipman in his 4th and final year at the US Naval Academy excelling in academics and other areas. He has signed for Sub service, which he experienced in his 1st summer at the Academy. After graduation in May he’s slated for training: 6 months nuclear, 6 months practical reactor and 3 months as a sub officer. Some of these sessions will be in Charleston, not so far away from home base in GA.
Now, late in December, all the leaves have fallen creating an earthy auburn/toffee layer in high contrast with the dark charcoal trunks and branches softened by a misty fog that descends, with reflections of the white Christmas lights reflected in the windows framing this scene, as I finish these last lines with the voices of the Messiah filling the house.
Best wishes of happiness, good health and cheer to you in 2015, the Year of the Sheep.