Enjoy crafts and “mitate”

Even if you are not familiar with the tea ceremony, there are many works that will please crafts and art lovers at the ``Modern Crafts and Tea Ceremony Utsuwa - Seasonal Shitsurai'' exhibition at the National Crafts Museum in Kanazawa. Also interesting are the ``mitate'' tools, which find new elements and uses in tools that originally had a different purpose.

In particular, the vessels of Lucy Lee, a potter from Vienna who worked in London, are found in tea ceremony culture, and many of them are said to have made their way to Japan. This exhibition also focuses on tea bowls.9There is an exhibition of Dot's works.

Various"connection"Connecting and questioning modern beauty

In response to National Crafts Museum director Karasawa's desire to create a more free modern tea ceremony, Hidetoshi Nakata, honorary director, designed one of the tea room settings for this exhibition.

``I didn't have any deep experience in tea ceremony, and it was my first time, so I was more nervous than a soccer match,'' he says. However, the tea room space, which asks the question, ``What is modern beauty? What is modern crafts?'' is innovative.

Inside the ``Tea Room Gyoan'' designed by Shigeru Uchida, the utensils are assembled with ``connection'' in mind. What connects Ishikawa Prefecture and the whole country, modern and contemporary, Japan and overseas, crafts and art. Furthermore, nearby Kanazawa21This year at Century Museum of Art2The hanging scroll features an ink painting by Belgian artist Michael Borremans, whose exhibition was on display until the end of the month, creating a horizontal connection in Kanazawa.

``It's fine to have cushions in a tea room, and I also want to take photos,'' says Mr. Fukumi Shimura, who is not bound by the rules and has created a relaxing tea room that appeals to the younger generation, with cushions by Fukumi Shimura and utensils by Lucy Lee. It's finished.

The thoughts behind manufacturing. Then it was time for the tea ceremony.

Utensils are passed down from the maker to the user, worn alone, used in tea ceremonies and ceremonies, and are used to create once-in-a-lifetime experiences and moments. The tea ceremony, which is a highly sophisticated and stylized version of the universal elements of life where people gather, talk, eat (kaiseki cuisine, sweets), and drink (koicha, usukha), has also evolved in a way that has changed over time, just like its utensils. It changes to

Finally, we asked the two artists whose works will be on display at this exhibition about their approach to tea ceremonies and their thoughts on manufacturing.

——"Touch the sense of beauty in others"

Ceramist Akashi Niisato is exhibiting ceramic and white porcelain water fingers, tea bowls, and incense containers in this exhibition. “I have held tea ceremony several times in the tea ceremony room that I built myself.2009I went to a local monastery in Tajimi in 2007."Trial tea ceremony"is. This is while thinking about how to approach tea."Tea ceremony"It was an attempt to explore."Trial tea ceremony"So, we started by picking tea leaves and then turned them into matcha. The finished tea was not very tasty and had a strange color, but it had a very memorable taste."

``Tea parties may be new, but going to a tea ceremony is irrelevant to the daily lives of ordinary people in this day and age.However, at the tea ceremony itself, you can feel the thoughts and aesthetic sense of the host, that is, you can feel the sense of beauty of others. It's a great opportunity to experience it, and I'd like to plan my own tea ceremonies in various places and situations."

``The appearance of tea ceremony utensils changes greatly depending on the action of making and drinking tea, and this is a good stimulus for my own creations. I would like to create works that are conscious of movement and space." This intention is reflected in the clear yet refreshing work, which seems to be quietly speaking to the user.

——"Giving form to consideration for users"

The other is Naoki Sakai, a metalworker who is active both domestically and internationally, having built a tea room at the Asian Art Museum in Berlin, Germany, which won first place in a competition.

What is the ideal tea ceremony?

``Currently, I am teaching at a university in Yamagata, and being in Yamagata, which is rich in nature, I would like to enjoy a relaxing tea ceremony amidst the changing seasons created by nature.While looking at the frost-covered trees of Zao, One of the things that left an impression on me as a writer was when I was just starting out, I was invited to my house by someone who had purchased a tea kettle at an exhibition, and I was invited to a tea ceremony using that kettle. What I would like to see in modern tea ceremonies is to see more and more tea utensils made by young makers being used. I hope this becomes commonplace."

“Regardless of the production of tea ceremony utensils, the creation of things is only possible through interaction with various people.The value of a product cannot be created by one person alone, but it is created through the involvement of people, and mutual joy is created through the use of things. I strongly feel that this relationship is of great significance.When creating tools, we naturally consider the people who will use them, and consider the future from all angles. The spirit of always caring for others is the same in the tea ceremony."manufacturing" The"Make one"I continue to create while keeping this in mind."

Each tool embodies the creator's sincerity, originality, and ingenuity, inviting viewers and users to a state of joy.

“Modern Crafts and Tea Ceremony Utensils: The Seasons of the Four Seasons”

National Crafts Museum Kanazawa Dewa Town, Ishikawa Prefecture3 - 2
2021Years4Month29Day~7Month4Day　9 : 30 ~ 17 : 30
Advance reservations required online (specified date and time/capacity)