“Fiber Futures: Japan’s Textile Pioneers” and “Postcards from Japan: Messages from Tohoku Artists” @Japan Society, NYC

09 Nov 2011 1 Comment

by madsilence in Art, Culture, Japan, Reviews, Uncategorized Tags: art shows, Fiber Futures, Japan Society, NYC, textiles

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the Japan Society in NYC.  Hidden behind an outwardly unassuming facade across the street from the United Nations, The Japan Society has been promoting Japanese-American relations since 1907.  Inside, the Society shows its true character as the indoor gardens, water features, and shoji-inspired walkways wow visitors as much as the broad range of classes, exhibitions, and lectures they hold each year.

Currently showing (until December 18th) is “Fiber Futures: Japan’s Textile Pioneers.”  It’s a collaboration between The Japan Society and Textile Network Japan along with Tama Art University Museum.  As you enter the exhibit, you walk through the first piece of art!  The doorway is covered with a noren, or traditional door curtain, made of space-age materials that look like watered silk and gold leaf.  It was one great example of how the 30 artists who contributed pieces combined traditional techniques and modern materials to show the versatility and beauty of textiles.

One piece that particularly struck me was a hanging sculpture by Shigeo Kubota that reminded me of a frozen sunset.  Kubota took natural hemp and wove it very simply together with nylon.  He then dyed the material into all the colors of sunset – shimmering crimsons, glowing oranges and strong yellows.  I especially liked how ambient light played differently over the different materials.  And the sculptures aren’t the only things that are pushing the envelope at the Japan Society.  They have designed an app to help guide you through the display, which has a lot of information, like artist statements and videos, that aren’t available in the actual gallery space.  It goes by the same name as the exhibit and can be downloaded for free for both iPhone and Android.

“Fiber Futures” is a great show to see, even with its $12 admission fee for adults.  However, if you’re not in the mood to pay to see very modernistic textile-based sculpture, try going down to the lower level of the building instead.  The hallway is often used as a gallery space and is currently exhibiting “Postcards from Japan: Messages from Tohoku Artists.”  The organizers, Hironori Katagiri and Kate Thompson, were inspired by the Japan Post.  The Post played an important part for people in Tohoku who had no electronic means to reach out and tell their families if they were ok – and they did it in masses, sending out postcards to their friends and family outside of the affected area.  Katagiri and Thompson asked Japanese artists to make a postcard-sized piece of art to express their feelings about what had happened.

"Eyes Welling Up" by Kamo Sachiko

Many of them incorporate the sea.  Many of the artists felt scared and saddened by the ocean – that a source of beauty, joy, food, and water could also be so inimical to human life.

"Building Up Hope" by Saito Yoshitomo

But many other artists showed their hope for a better future for Japan, as do we as we look at their art.

"Sprouts (MOEMOE)" by Motomura Kenta

Japan Society
333 East 47th Street
New York, NY 10017
Phone: (212) 832-1155

Gallery hours (during exhibition dates):
Tuesday through Thursday 11 am – 6 pm
Friday 11 am – 9 pm
Saturday & Sunday 11 am – 5 pm
Closed Mondays & 12/24, 12/25, 12/31, 1/1

~MS the Younger