軸ゑと音ゑ ~ Scroll Paintings & Sound Paintings – From April 16th to the 29th
My friend Matsuo Takuya has an exhibition starting tomorrow (Saturday April 16th) at 太陽・事務 (Taiyo Jimu). This is his first exhibition in three years. The 軸 (jiku) of the exhibition title refers to 掛け軸 (kakejiku) or hanging scrolls that are displayed in the tokonoma alcove of a traditional Japanese house. Such scrolls of Japanese paper would normally be decorated with ink paintings or calligraphy and be the main decoration in the tokonoma, along with a smaller okimono ornament or flower arrangement. The tokonoma was originally created for the 茶室 (chashitsu) tea room and is considered a sacred space so it is strictly forbidden to step within it. However, in recent years houses and apartments are being designed without this sacred tokonoma and so there is nowhere suitable to hang such scrolls. Many end up in second hand stores or are simply thrown away.
Though when unrolled they come in various sizes, rolled up and tied with a cord they are very compact and can be easily stored. The artist, Matsuo Takuya, wants to reuse, reimagine and regenerate the role of these hanging scrolls, in a freer way beyond the confines of the traditional tokonoma or decorative style. This reimagined “scroll painting” he calls 軸ゑ, ゑbeing the old calligraphic way of writing 絵 (e) or painting. Matsuo-san’s intention is to revive these materials and uncover the extraordinary in the ordinary by decorating these scroll paintings in new ways unrelated to traditional calligraphic or ink painting styles.
Similarly he has made 音ゑ or “sound paintings” on old vinyl records that have become redundant in this age of CDs and mp3 type data.The records are cut into a squares and then over them Matsuo-san has made a collage of European and American photography from the 1920s to the 1950s… the Golden Age of vinyl! The theme is communication.
The exhibition at Taiyo Jimu starts on Saturday April 16th and continues until Friday the 29th (a national holiday).
Taiyo Jimu is on the south-east corner of Takoyakushi and Nishinotoin.
Weekday opening hours: 3:00 – 21:00
Saturdays and holidays are from 12:00 to 19:00
Closed on Mondays & Tuesdays.
Here is a map.
Tel: 075-255-3688
Update: Mewby and I visited the exhibition on Saturday evening so here are the obligatory pictures!
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