wtb ēgo

After putzing around a bit in the morning, I went to my school studio for painting and study. Often I need to wait for the paper to dry before moving onto something else, so I used the extra time to study for a Japanese language test I was expecting that afternoon. It felt good to review, and while I am weak on vocabulary, I surprised myself on how well I recalled sentence structure.

But it was all for naught, as we did not have a test in my Japanese language class. Instead, we continued in our book and free-ranging discussions. The most important tidbit I learned was the word for 'area', ちほう. By area, I mean a region, like the Kansai region of Japan, or the New England in the US. Up until now, I couldn't really explain New England, only having words for state, city, or prefecture.

After class, returned to my studio for a little while before then going to an artist talk. This was not a normal event, but a special presentation by 12 German artists on an exchange program. I had seen and met some of the artists around the school, as anyone not Japanese is hard to miss, but I was curious to see their work and how it was presented. Also I was hoping there might be English involved and I'd actually be able to understand what was going on!

Alas, it was not to be. The artists were at tables in the front of the room, and there were images shown of their work here in Japan, but most of the artists talked in German (two in English), which was then repeated in Japanese by the translator. There were two translators, neither professionals, one a native German/English speaker also fluent in Japanese, the second a native Japanese/English speaker. So, anything hard to translate was discussed in English between the translators and I could eavesdrop, but mostly I sat there, watching the slides, and not being able to understand yet another language. I thought it was pretty funny actually!

The artists themselves came from a range of specialties. Painters, print makers, sculptors, graphic design, photography, and most interesting to me was trying to see any connection the art had with Japan. Some things were obvious, one sculptor created a large, organic form using bamboo and had nothing but praise for being able to use the material. There were drawings related to manga, drawings reacting to the environment and the constant sight of electrical lines everywhere, prints about the weather (super hot) or Japanese landscape. Other images, I could find no obvious connection, like a crude and rough painting of a nude, or abstract textures, or a pair of drawings showing strong, muscular men in motion.

I did not connect with everything, some of the work just did not interest me, and that's fine, but it was the images without clear connection to Japan that I was most curious about. Being here has, among other things, highlighted for me the link between art and surroundings. Even the artist who works only from imagination and abstraction is themselves a product of their environment. I would have liked to hear more of their thought process and if/how their work in Japan is different from anything else they may have done. That is a question for any artist traveling abroad, and one that I will soon have to answer for myself.