From Mino Washi Museum’s website:

Please follow the link to the Museums webpage: http://www.city.mino.gifu.jp/minogami/ 美濃・紙の芸術村作品展

平成21年12月4日（金）から平成22年1月11日（月） 国内外のアーティストたちが、美濃市に2カ月間滞在し、紙漉き体験やあかりアート作品づくり、小中学生などとの交流をしつつ、美濃和紙をテーマに創作活動を続けてきました。 アーティストの感性によって引き出された、独創性にあふれた作品の数々と、新たな美濃和紙の魅力をご覧ください。

Jeanne Jaffe (USA)

私は私の魂に言った、静かにして 今はもう30歳（もう化粧の必要はない） さまざまな髪型　－　符号化された形 人物1 人物2 3人 私の作品は、私たちの世界を組織したり、理解したり、符 号化したりすることに人間の隠喩を使って描きます。私の作品の多くは、私たちの内面的経験と外界がいかにお互いに反映しあっているか、私たちがなじみのな いものをいかにしてなじんでいるものから理解するかを探究します。人の神経組織のドローイングは、枝分かれしている木や川のつくりをまねたものです。日本 女性の髪形、特に江戸時代のそれは、構造的に美しく社会的に有益であるだけでなく、花や昆虫、人体に見られる形の美しさを写し取っています。人間として、 私たちは文化的な世界と内面の世界の両方を創り、他の人と分かち合うその経験を具現化する方法を見つけるために外界で見る形を写し取ります。 美濃で、私は提灯職人の幅さんの工房で、枝分かれした提灯を創るために丁寧に教えていただき、仕事をさせてもらいました。 彼らのやさしさ、親切さには本当に感謝しています。 I said to my soul , be still Now that I am nearly 30 （I no longer need to wear white make up.） Variations on hairstyles –encoded forms Personnage 1 Personnage 2 Trinity My work maps the  human use of metaphor in organizing, understanding, and encoding our world. Much of my work explores how our inner experience and the outer world reflect each other and how we understand the unfamiliar from that which is familiar. The drawing of the nervous system of a man echoes the appearance of branching trees or   river systems. The hairstyles of Japanese women, particularly from the Edo period, are not only sculpturally beautiful and socially informative, but they also echo the beauty of the forms found in flowers, insects, and the human body. As humans we echo the forms we see in the outer world to create both our cultural world and our internal world and find methods of mapping these experiences to share with others. In Mino I was graciously taught and permitted to work in the studio of master lantern makers, the Habasan family, to create a branching lantern. I am immensely thankful and appreciative of their generosity and kindness.

Anja Marais (South Africa)

地下への扉 アメリカの暖かい南国の島から来て、美濃の山や川の眺めは、私が慣れ親しんできたものとはど こかちがいました。毎朝、私は自然の美しさを楽しんだり、瞑想したりするのに長い時間散歩をします。私は、いつも山の方を見上げていたのですが、ある日ふ と下を見ると、通りにさまざまな美しさがあるのに気づきました。それが、美濃市のマンホールのユニークなデザインだったのです。マンホールは、トンネル迷 路の暗い地下世界への入り口です。それは、過去の隠された記憶をあらわにするために、扉のように開けられる私自身の潜在的な心を思い起こさせます。それを ずっと記憶にとどめておきたいと思いました。 Cellar Door Coming from a warm tropical island in the United States, the view of the mountains and river was something different from what I am used to. Every morning I will go for long walks to enjoy the beauty of nature and to contemplate. I was always looking upwards towards the mountains but one day instead I looked down and found a different beauty in the streets, which is the unique design of Mino city’s metal manholes. The manhole is an entryway to a whole dark underground world of a labyrinth of tunnels. It reminds me of my own subconscious mind that can be opened like a door to reveal hidden memories from the past…. I wanted to remember.

Mari Doigawa (Japan)

循環・ギフト 暑い夏に美濃に来て、やがて山が色づき葉が落ちて冬になるという まさに季節に沿うようにして制作した3ヶ月間でした。 めいっぱいに茂った葉をバサバサと落とす木々。 あんなに沢山いたのに身を隠してしまった生き物たち。 確実に変化してゆく雲のかたち。空気の質。 日々遅くなる朝焼けと、どんどん足早になる夕日。 冬へと向かう時間の流れに身を置くことは、とても感傷的でもあり、 同時に「天に沿い生き延びるための生命の知恵」を目の当たりにするようでもあって、 それらを作品のテーマとして置いたことは、 「表現したかった」というより、「無視できなかった」という言い方が正しいように思います。

Malis Killermann (Germany)

私の紙の間(ま)へようこそ 美濃 － 紙への旅 私の食卓へようこそ 遊びの紙と竹 私の庭へようこそ 月に照らされた妖精の靴下 美濃に来る前に、ずっと私は日本に関わる多くのものを身近に感じていました。細部装飾や自然素材が好きでした。また、ひとつの大きな皿を使うのではなく、1人ずついろいろ盛りつける小さな器が使われる和食が好きでした。 だから、この展覧会の私の作品は、和食に少し似ています。私が発見したいろいろ違った見方を持たせました。 紙の白さ、光と影、透き通った感じを作品に持たせているので、楮というのは、私にとって驚くべき繊維です。シルクのようにソフトで光沢があり、でもすごく丈夫であるという… paper room MINO – A journey into paper Welcome to my dinner table Paper and bamboo at play Welcome to my paper garden Fairy socks in moonlight Long before I came to Mino I felt closely related to many things Japanese. Being it the love of detail and natural materials, or Japanese meals – little bowls with many different small portions instead of one big plate. So my work for this exhibition is a little bit like a Japanese meal – a variety of different views to discover. Working with the whiteness of paper, shadow + light or transparency, Kozo is a miraculous fiber for me, soft and shimmering like silk, but very very strong.

Yoshiro Igarashi (Japan)

有無の波打ち際で、 展示されているオブジェクト、映像等は、それぞれが人の身体を成立させている所与の条件を象徴しています。 あ やつられ人形A-2,B,Cは、笛や太鼓などの発する音とともに数人の手によって動かすものです。この仕掛けは“人形が動くことによってそれを操る人も動 かされる”という逆の関係性を同時に持っています。これは身体が環境なしでは成立し得ず、その動きは相互に干渉しあって成立するという性質を象徴していま す。また、人形A-2の頭部の目にはカメラアイが取り付けられており、正面に投影されるのは過去にA-2のカメラによって記録された映像です。これはA- 2の記憶を象徴しています。もうひとつの壁面に映されるのは現在彼の目が見ている像です。 和紙によって型取りされた身体は、人形が示唆するものが“躍動性”であるのに対して、肉体の“静寂”を象徴しています。これは古来から神聖視されてきた麻紙によって型取られています。 さ らにこれらのオブジェクトたちには言葉と写真によって、フィクションの物語が与えられています。人形とのセッションに参加、あるいは展示された人形の目に 記憶された人々は、現実と認識している行為の中で、同時にフィクションの物語にも参加することになります。これらそれぞれの要素が持つ象徴の意味は、けっ してその明確な意図のもと制作されたわけではなく、アイディアを形にしていく中で浮かんできたものです。本来そこには何らかの“構造をもった状況”がある だけで正誤などはけっしてありません。したがって訪れる方一人一人がそれぞれの中で勝手気ままに意味を与えていただくことによって血が通い、熱を生じ、新 しい物語が動き出すことを願っています。

連絡先

所属:美濃和紙の里会館 TEL:0575-34-8111 内線:－

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Welcome to Mino, Japan.

Udatsu architecture in Mino City

We arrived in Mino Japan in the beginning of September and we were immediately

swooped up in a flurry of customs, formalities and cultural exchange.

Our group included artists from Germany, South Africa, United States and Japan.

The Mino Washi Paper residency is supported by the City of Mino and

we had the honor of meeting the Mayor and members of the City Council. The hospitality

of the Japanese exceed all other, we were greeted with smiles and courtesy where

ever we go.

Our first day was orientation where we were introduced to the program members and volunteers.  We were also given a

tour of Mino city, it’s beautiful Udatsu Architecture, historical Merchant houses and local temples.

Here is a short video of one of the Cultural programs  we where participating in. We were learning more about

Japanese Culture at a 19th Century farmhouse were they still practice ancient Japanese crafts like handmade paper,

Umbrella making, basketry and more.

This was a great opportunity to get more knowledge regarding papermaking and to immerse yourself in the

culture of Japan.

Artist Jeanne Jaffe

One of the best experiences on this residency is that I have made really good friends. Jeanne is an artist from Philadelphia and a Professor of Sculpture at The University of the Arts of Philadelphia that was also selected for the Mino Paper Art Residency.

Japan is toned by neutral colors and soft spoken people and Jeanne become the dash of bright and provided the comfortable loudness that was sometimes so needed. Our constant coffee breaks provided us time to discuss the woes and joys of the art world and she has taught me a lot. In a sense Jeanne has become a mentor to me. One of the most important things that she has taught me is to never stop learning, and that you have to built and improve your character through making your art and you do that by constantly questioning society and yourself.

Her sculptures are organic growths that ebbs and swells into pinks and flesh color. Her work has a naivete or innocence that is pleasant but at the same time you are confronted with a dark unease. Throbbing veins and nerves creep their way into the object. This a similar theme I have been touching on in my own work – a fun macabre. See more of her sculptures on her website here.

Doubling, resin, hair, metal, 2004-05

We became partners in crime that was dropped in middle of the country in Japan. Together we had to feel our way trough a new culture that is so different than America. -I would now like to take this time to apologize to all our new friends in Japan that we might have offended by being unaware of the correct customs! -It is at the end of our three month residency and we are getting ready for our exhibition. This residency in this beautiful country with its hospitable people, who I came to love, was such a positive experience  and I know Jeanne feels the same.

In Nagoya, Japan

Artist Mari Doigawa

In Japan I have met many interesting artists and one whose work I really appreciate is Mari Doigawa.

She is interested in the character of the fine line. Intricate drawings with fine lines and shapes woven and laced through each other. Mostly she uses images that are organic with fauna and flora textures.

She was born in the 70’s in Sapporo, Hokkaido which is the coldest part of Japan with severe winters. Spending a lot of time indoors she use these moments for drawing and since the sun rises early in this part of the world she usually starts her day around 5 am drawing.

The energy and patience that is poured into these drawings pulls the observer into the details. But the most fascinating part of her art is watching her work.  As an outsider the action of her drawing becomes like meditation.  Wrapped in a quite humble energy she can draw her lines for hours. She can cut out the whole world while engrossed in her drawings and you almost wish that you could be part of this world. She is like a lake full of life and the surface is silent with an occasional ripple when a breeze passes, while we are all left on the shore. In her artist presentation she speaks of her fascination with water and how she loves watching flowing water. A river for her is something that constantly moves and flows and yet at the same time a river is standing still. It is these subtle awareness that she successfully captures in her drawings.

It was so much fun working with an artist in an open studio that is the opposite than me. Where ever I am there is chaos and noise. There was one half wall that separated tranquility and turbulence.

Please visit her poetic blog (In Japanese) here.

Here is a short video of her working. When we have our Residency exhibition I would include more images of her work.

Mino art Residency 2009 exhibition :

Mino Washi Museum

Opening December 5th
from 1:30
Artists lecture at 2pm and 5pm

Artists:
Jeanne Jaffe
Anja Marais
Mari Doigawa
Marlis Killerman
Yoshiro Igarashi - Performance

Exhibitions in Miami over Art Basel week:

Ongoing exhibition “Money makes Art” over Art Basel at

ARTFORMZ Gallery

located in the Wynwood Arts District in Miami
171 NW 23rd Street
Miami, Florida 33127

Hours:
Tues-Fri: 11:00am - 6:00pm
 Sat: 12:00am - 5:00pm
and also by appointment

 2nd Saturdays Every Month, September - May
Gallery Opening Nites: Open 7:00pm - 10:00pm
 
phone/fax 305.572.0040

http://www.artformz.net

info@artformz.net
Koop se bek hang oop (Consumption is gluttony)
Hand sewn paper, jute and yarn

AQUA FAIR
over Art Basel
Artformz at booth #26
See website for directions

Underbelly
Minowashi(Japanese Paper) and graphite

Making paper (Washi) in Mino city Japan

Shoji Doors with Washi Paper.

Washi paper are handmade in Mino city in the Gifu Prefecture (about one and a half hour from Nagoya). The materials for the paper are 100% natural from a tree called “Naso Kouza” and “Tororoaoi”.

The Kozo is the bark from the Naso Kouza that is stripped from a one year old tree in the dead of winter. No deforestation is involved since the trees are cut a few inches from the base and just regrow for the next years harvest. Once the bark is stripped and tied in a certain way to keep is straight the black bark is peeled off until only the white flesh are left.

The bark is submerged in water for up to three days and all soluble material are washed away. This process used to be done in the Nagara river where the enzymes in the water and the sunlight will naturally bleach the fiber. Today these are done in special pools. The Mino area has very high quality water which is a the secret to superior paper.

After the bleaching the Kozo is boiled in pots filled with carbonate of soda for up to two hours to bleach the fiber even more.

After this process the impurities are taken in cold water by hand which is a tedious process.

The next step is beating the fiber into a pulp which used to be done by hand but these days it is done by a “beater machine”

Now you are ready to make your sheet of paper. The beaten Kozo pulp are placed in a large vat called a “Sukibune” and is mixed with sticky (snotty) liquid that is from the roots of a local plant.

You mixed this really well so that your fibers can intermingle to make a nice even paper. Here we are being taught by Master Washi maker Toshiko Ichihara. She has been a paper maker for 50 years.

After your paper is made and are stack into a pile it will be placed under a press to squeeze out all the water. This will take up to a day. Each sheet is taken of a pile and dried. In the old days this would have taken place naturally in the sun

today it is placed on a copper heater…

Making paper under the watchful eye of apprentice Paper maker to Toshiko Ichihara, Ayumi Mukaizawa.

This how it looks like when professionals are doing it:

Being part of a great community

Thanks to all the great people of Key West that attended and support my fundraiser so that I can participate in the Mino Japan art residency 2009! This little snippet by Mark Hedden