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Friday, Nov. 5, 2010

A journey inside the mind of Lafcadio Hearn

By LISA GAY and FINTAN MONAGHAN

Special to The Japan Times

One hundred and twenty years ago, Greek-Irish writer Lafcadio Hearn first arrived in Japan; in Matsue, a provincial backwater in Shimane Prefecture, he became Koizumi Yakumo — his adopted Japanese name. Enamored with the city's ancient and enduring culture, he married into a local samurai family: No wonder, then, that it was in Matsue that Hearn wrote his famous "Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan." This month, the city is celebrating its most famous (adopted) son with an art exhibition.

Japan hearts Hearn: Masaaki Noda's sculpture "The Open Mind of Lafcadio Hearn" on the shore of Lake Shinji in Matsue, Shimame Prefecture. "Relief Portrait of Koizumi Yakumo" (below) by Minoru Kurasawa.

Entitled "The Open Mind of Lafcadio Hearn," the show is Matsue's version of a 2009 exhibition at the American College of Greece, which was nearly 15 years in the making. The idea first came to Greek art dealer Takis Efstathiou and Japanese artist Masaaki Noda back in 1996 when the pair traveled from Paris to the small Greek island of Lefkada (Hearn's birthplace and namesake). After visiting Hearn's childhood home and talking with locals who remembered old stories about his family, they decided to ask the college to sponsor a statue to commemorate Hearn.

"At the time, there was no door for foreign artists to get into Greece," recalls Noda.

Years later, as Noda's profile in the art world strengthened, he finally got the greenlight to create the sculpture "Open Mind of Lafcadio Hearn." The finished piece is a tangle of metallic wings twisting toward the sky: One points Westward, the other East. In the middle is empty space — but viewed from the right angle, it forms a heart. "I came up with the name," jokes Efstathiou, "but Noda brought the heart."

While the original idea was a single sculpture, it blossomed into an entire exhibition of works celebrating Lafcadio Hearn's multicultural mindset. It was the success of the Greek show that laid the groundwork for the current exhibition in Matsue, complete with a sister statue, also by Noda, standing on the shores of Lake Shinji.

The main venue for the exhibition was, until Nov. 3, the striking Matsue Castle (from tomorrow til Nov. 14 the show will move to Karakoro Art Studio and the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum). Looming over Lake Shinji from its hilltop perch, the castle was evocatively described by Hearn as a "vast, iron-grey dragon." But trying to book the ancient keep for the show wasn't easy.

"Everyone was against it at the start," recalls Shoko Koizumi, head of the Koizumi Yakumo Society. "But eventually, with persistence and the right contacts, we were able to get permission."

A diversity of themes were at play among the thick, wooden beams of the castle: Hearn as man, traveller, storyteller, symbol of multiculturalism, and even figure of myth and legend. Masatoshi Izumi's abstract "Kokoro," for example, is a smooth, gently curving stonework that seemingly represents the source of all living things.

Others take a more direct approach: Debra Bowden and Christos P. Garoufalis base their portraits on famous images of Hearn, while Seiho Wada depicts Jozan Inari shrine, one of Hearn's favorite places. Ynez Johnston paints a delightful picture of Hearn the exotic traveler, while Zoe Savina draws inspiration from Greek myth. Her poem, "To the Plum Trees — The Other Odysseus Dedicated to Lafcadio Hearn," is written in Hearn's three tongues, Japanese, English and Greek, and displayed on a striking azure wall-hanging of clouds and butterflies.

Other artists look to Hearn's stories. "I read 'Kwaidan,' which I couldn't put down," reveals Irish artist Stacia Blake, "and I especially loved 'The Dead Secret.' " The story concludes with a monk discovering a letter containing "O-Sono's secret," a mystery not revealed to the reader. Blake's abstract piece depicts what she imagines the secret to be.

Another engaging work is Aris Stoidis' "Death Giving Life, Rebirth." Taking a cue from "The Story of Kogi the Priest," Stoidis presents a giant, transparent paper fish. When illuminated, an outline of a human skeleton becomes visible, representing Hearn's rebirth in Japan.

But the most stirring works explore Hearn the orphan looking for a home. From Mitsumasa Anno, we have a portrait of Hearn's mother, based on recollections by Lefkada residents. This is particularly poignant as Hearn is said to have wanted a portrait of his mother so badly that he'd have given a fortune to have it. Along similar lines is a work by Vassiliki Koskiniotou suggestive of Hearn's search for a mother-figure and ultimately finding it in his wife Setsu.

A number of contributors to the original Greek show have returned for the Matsue exhibition, including Alexandros Maganiotis. "It's a digital collage," Maganiotis said of his piece. "Even though it's new in technique, it's old in the way it looks." Resembling a yellowing parchment, the piece depicts a double image of Hearn. One is dressed in western garb, its mirror image in kimono. "I think he was looking for a place that felt like home because he was dislocated to start with. . . . I think he found a home in Japan."

The end of Hearn's romance with Japan is a well-kept secret only obliquely referred to in this show. Hearn arrived in a time of great turmoil. Japan had just won the Sino-Japanese war and was rapidly Westernizing. Old traditions were under threat. Writing to his friend Basil Chamberlain in 1893, Hearn lamented that the "the world of electricity, steam, mathematics, is blank and cold and void." The exhibition chooses to touch on the diversity and contradiction within Hearn's thoughts with this quote: "To the child, the world is blue and green; to the old man, grey — both are right."

"The Open Mind of Lafcadio Hearn" takes place in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture. The show runs at Karakoro Art Studio and the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum Nov. 6-14th. For more information, visityakumokai.org/2349

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Friday, Oct. 29, 2010

Modern serving of traditional tea

By ROBERT YELLIN

Special to The Japan Times

If you've ever been fortunate enough to attend a tea ceremony, then you know that within the simplicity of movements, the quiet beauty of the room and the refined elegance of the utensils, there is a deep world where the moment becomes living art.

Casting new design: "Water Container `Eight Sides' Bronze Casting" by Koji Hatakeyama. COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MODERN ART

A tea master — chajin — pays attention with concentrated focus to all aspects of the ceremony, such as what type of scroll to hang, the season, the nature of the guests and possibly a theme for the event. To choose and match all the needed utensils for a Tea ceremony — and there are many — the host must be as creative as the makers of the utensils to deliver a performance that allows everything and everyone to harmonize. This is no easy task and takes years of study and practice.

If you happened to be a tea master for a day, what combination of utensils would you use? There's now a splendid opportunity to test your own sensibilities at the National Museum of Modern Art, Crafts Gallery's current exhibition "About the Tea Ceremony — A Viewpoint on Contemporary Kogei-Studio Crafts," which shows until Nov. 23.

The exhibition showcases piees by 26 artists working in a variety of mediums that include glass, lacquer, metal, textiles, porcelain and stoneware. As you enter the first room, the curators have been thoughtful enough to arrange two settings of utensils so that guests can see how arranged utensils should appear in a tea room.

The first setting displays ancient works that include a 16th-century Bizen waremizusashi (fresh-water) jar — the 16th century being the time that the tea ceremony developed into its present form — along with a nanban (southern barbarian) waste-water jar. Inside this glass case are also works in bamboo, metal and a fine scroll by the late Morikazu Kumagai (1880-1977).

Across the room is another case showing works of some of the greatest 20th-century giants that include a 1952 Shino incense case by Toyozo Arakawa (Living National Treasure, 1894-1985) and a stunning lacquer tea caddy by Tatsuaki Kuroda (Living National Treasure, 1904-1982), among others. Now that you now have the criteria for mixing and matching the needed tea utensils, you're on your own to explore the individual works in the adjoining rooms.

One important aspect of this exhibition is to find how younger artists are approaching the tea ceremony, and there are a few artists still in their 30s who are valiantly producing works that speak to the present day. One such artist is Bizen potter Koichiro Isezaki (b. 1974), whose boldly faceted Black Bizen mizusashi container was chosen to grace the exhibition's main poster. I was able to talk with Isezaki about how he viewed this exhibition, and about his own work and the tea ceremony.

New looks, old techniques: "Bizen Chawan" by Koichiro Isezaki. ISEZAKI KOICHIRO PHOTO

"As an artist, I don't think that much about the rules of a tea ceremony. My role is to make works that I enjoy and then let a tea master decide how they will integrate into a tea ceremony," he told me when asked about his mindset when making chawan(tea bowls). He added, "I'll fire about 40 chawan in my kiln, and out of those 40, only about 20 will be successful. And then out of that 20, only 10 or so will be works I will exhibit."

In the exhibition, Isezaki is showing three chawan that are strong expressions in clay with a fine sense of balance, texture and temperament. He remarked, "I want to tell a story within my chawan that builds upon the process of forming, the beauty of the clay combined with the unpredictable firing. I also like my chawan to have a little sensuality as well."

He concluded that he feels it is a great honor to be showing in such a prestigious show. And he offered hope for the tea ceremony when he commented, "In my generation there's a growing interest in things Japanese and this naturally leads people to the tea ceremony and tea culture. I'm certainly one of those who are looking toward Japan again, and I just happen to make chawan. In the end, these days it seems we're all searching for something."

What is to be discovered in the cosmos of a tea room is certainly worth searching for:an inner world of silence and contentment matched with an outer world of beauty within the seasons and time. What could be more enlightening?

"About the Tea Ceremony — A Viewpoint on Contemporary Kogei-Studio Crafts" at The National Museum of Modern Art, Crafts Gallery (1-1 Kitanomaru-koen, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0091) runs till Nov. 23. Admission ¥500 (free entry on Nov. 3); open 10 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Mon. For more information, visit www.momat.go.jp/english. Robert Yellin is a longtime resident of Japan who runs www.japanesepottery.com. He's available to give lectures and/or guided tours to the great potting towns of Japan.

Invitación al curso de voz verano 2011

Friday, Nov. 5, 2010

Floor filler: DJ Kentaro performs at the Ninja Tune XX anniversary bash in Paris last month.

DJ Kentaro spins the wheels of solid steel for Ninja Tune XX

By MARK JARNES

Staff writer

"It's astonishing to think that I was in elementary school when they started up as a label," remarks DJ Kentaro, in the runup to this weekend's Ninja Tune XX, an event celebrating the 20th anniversary of the famed Ninja Tune label.

Two decades down the line, Kentaro Okamoto, who goes by his first name, has also become a valuable member of the Ninja Tune family. The Japanese turntablist signed to the London-based label started by Coldcut DJs Jonathan More and Matt Black in April 2006 and has seen his profile rise ever since. "Simply put, it has been an honor," he says.

More and Black created the imprint in 1990, and although they are renowned for their mixes and contributions to '90s hip-hop and jazz, the label is home to an expansive spectrum of DJs and producers. Kentaro's own brand of hip-hop found its place without any hitches.

"What makes the label different from others is its high level of music sense," he says. "Ninja Tune has a unique range of sounds, it's not just about having a lot of genres bunched together."

Although the Ninja operation is based in South London, the roots of the label can be traced back to Japan. During a tour of the country, More and Black came across a book incorporating the ninja motif, which started the conceptual ball rolling. At a phase in their career when the two were experiencing fundamental problems with their label and the commercial-music machine as a whole, the imagery of the ninja was liberating.

"We found a book about cut-out-and- keep ninjas," write the pair on the Ninja Tune website. "They build these amazing houses where they have special traps so they can disappear and reappear somewhere else. They were all about artifice and hidden identity."

As a part of the Ninja crew, 28-year-old Kentaro will be ripping up the decks as part of this weekend's Ninja Tune XX extravaganza in Tokyo and Osaka. The label is celebrating with a ton of goodies. They've released a limited-edition box set including CDs and 7-inch vinyls, a poster and a book on the history of the label. The team has also put together a world tour that has already taken in New York and London, and will hit Istanbul after this weekend's two-city blitz is done and dusted.

Just as Japanese artists such as DJ Krush and Towa Tei have made their mark on the global music scene, Kentaro is no stranger to international recognition. He has released four albums so far, the most recent being 2009's "Nama Live Mix," and he has performed shoulder to shoulder with scratch artist Qbert and hip-hop heavyweights Afrika Bambaataa, The Roots and Pharcyde. "The label gets lots of props," Kentaro says, "so I've been able to play at venues around the world."

For the Japan leg of the tour, Kentaro will be joined by eminent British rapper Roots Manuva, DJ Food, Kid Koala and, of course, Ninja Tune founders Coldcut.

"It's great to be able to represent Japan through such an extraordinary label," says Kentaro. "I hope they continue to make music for at least another 50, 60 years."

Ninja Tune XX takes place at Shibuya O-East in Tokyo on Nov. 5 (6 p.m. show, ¥4,500; 10:30 p.m. show ¥5,500); and at Triangle & Fanjtwice in Osaka on Nov. 6 (10 p.m., ¥5,500). All prices are for advanced tickets. For more information, visit www.beatink.com.

La mitad de los diabéticos españoles no está diagnosticado

Hay un 12% de población afectada, pero solo lo sabe el 6%

EL PAÍS - Madrid - 15/11/2010

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La llaman la epidemia silenciosa, porque hasta el final no se nota. Es la diabetes, y en España la sufren unos 5 millones de personas, de las que la mitad lo ignora, según un estudio del Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Diabéticas Asociadas (Ciberdem), del Instituto de Salud Carlos III de Madrid. "Estos datos nos dicen que la situación es muy preocupante", dice Manuel Serrano, de la real Academia de Medicina. "Si además incluimos otras categorías diferentes a la hiperglucemia clínica, que es la que define la diabetes mellitus, como son la intolerancia a la glucosa en ayunas o la sobrecarga de glucosa patológica, llegamos a unas cifras superiores al 20%. Cifras que sobre todo responden al tipo más común, la diabetes tipo 2, que tiene la característica de ir paralela al aumento de sobrepeso y obesidad". añade Serrano.

"En España estamos asistiendo, al igual que en otros países, a una pandemia de obesidad y diabetes tipo 2 en gente cada vez más joven, en niños y adolescentes. Y esto hay que tenerlo muy en cuenta para poner en marcha de manera inmediata estrategias de prevención a nivel nacional e involucrar con un esfuerzo conjunto, unitario, y bien programado a todas las comunidades", ha afirmado el académico con motivo del día mundial de la enfermedad, que se conmemoró el domingo. El diagnóstico precoz y el cambio de hábitos son claves para frenar su avance.

Pero aparte de niños y jóvenes, los mayores son los que más sufren esta dolencia. El 40% de los nuevos diagnosticados son personas mayores de 65 años, informa la Sociedad Española de Geriatría y Gerontología (SEGG). Se considera que su prevalencia aumenta con la edad y se estima que el número de mayores de 75 años con esta patología crecerá un 460% en los próximos años. En breve más de la mitad de los diabéticos del mundo occidental serán mayores de 75 años.

CIENCIA

¿Y si Plutón, después de todo, sí es un planeta?

lanetario podría haber decenas de otros objetos del mismo tamaño de Eris, o incluso mayores.

Sin embargo, las mediciones de este fin de semana podrían devolver las cosas a su estado anterior. Eris, en efecto, no tendría, según los nuevos datos, más de 1.100 km de diámetro. Es decir, sería algo más pequeño que Plutón. Y se da la circunstancia, además, de que gracias a la ocultación las mediciones del tamaño de Eris pueden ser mucho más precisas que las obtenidas hasta ahora.

El hallazgo ha sido recibido con expectación por científicos de todo el mundo, que están ahora a la espera de confirmar los datos. Otras mediciones de Eris por parte de los telescopios espaciales Hubble y Spitzer también han arrojado, en los últimos años, valores que indicaban que ese objeto transneptuniano es mayor que Plutón.

Cuestión abierta

Sin embargo, los astrónomos se han dado cuenta que el eje de rotación de Eris está apuntando hacia el Sol, un aspecto que mantendría el hemisferio iluminado por el sol más caliente que el valor promedio y esto sesgaría cualquier medición infrarroja hacia valores más altos.

La cuestión, por lo tanto, sigue abiert

Nuevas observaciones pueden hacer que este mundo recupere su perdido título

JOSÉ MANUEL NIEVES / MADRID

Día 15/11/2010 - 11.12h

9 COMENTARIOS

A 9.000 millones de km de distancia, en la última frontera del Sistema Solar, la "guerra de los mundos" continúa. Por ahora son datos preliminares, pero las observaciones de tres equipos diferentes de astrónomos realizadas durante este fin de semana en Chile podrían suponer que Plutón recupere su perdido título de ser el mayor objeto delcinturón de Kuiper, el helado y aún casi desconocido anillo de objetos más allá de la órbita de Neptuno. Los científicos, en efecto, han aprovechado el paso del planeta enano Eris por delante de una pequeña estrella para determinar que, después de todo, ese objeto podría ser ligeramente más pequeño que el degradado Plutón. Fue precisamente el descubrimiento de Eris lo que, en 2005, supuso que el "noveno planeta" del Sistema Solar dejara de ser considerado como tal.

AFP

El Sistema Solar

La ocultación de la estrella por Eris (ver vídeo) era algo que se esperaba. Y se sabía también que el fenómeno sería visible precisamente desde las montañas del norte de Chile, un lugar en el que abundan los observatorios. Por eso había tantos científicos pendientes durante la noche del 6 de noviembre. En concreto, tres observatorios chilenos, que el pasado sábado apuntaron sus telescopios hacia una pequeña estrella de magnitud 17 en la región central de la constelación Cetus.

Se trataba de medir la ocultación de esa estrella al pasar Eris por delante de ella. Lo que nadie podía imaginar es que el resultado de esas observaciones traería aparejada una sorpresa semejante. La ocultación, en efecto, fue mucho más breve de lo que se esperaba. En lugar de los cerca de dos minutos previstos, la estrella apenas desapareciò la mitad de ese tiempo, lo que es un claro signo de que el objeto que pasaba por delante (Eris) es más pequeño de lo que se pensaba.

Eris es más pequeño

El diámetro estimado de Plutón es de 1.172 km, con un margen de error de diez Km. Y las mediciones de Eris realizadas en 2005 por Mike Brown, su descubridor, arrojaban para el nuevo objeto un diámetro de cerca de 2.400 km. Si Eris era mayor que Plutón, no era lógico que este último siguiera considerándose como un planeta. Además, en aquella remota región de nuestro sistema pa. Y un nuevo episodio de esta historia no ha hecho más que empezar. Un episodio que podría incluso terminar con la devolución a Plutón de su perdida condición de planeta.

Friday, Oct. 29, 2010

Controlled artistry: "Pine Trees in the Snow" (undated), National Treasure, by Maruyama Okyo MITSUI MEMORIAL MUSEUM

The depths of traditional Japanese painting

By C.B. LIDDELL

Special to The Japan Times

While China's long-running contribution to Japanese art is usually acknowledged, it is often assumed that Western models only started to have a significant impact in the Meiji period. Part of the reason for this is the sharp reaction to Western artistic influence that occurred in the late 19th century, which effectively split the art world in Japan into the competing camps of yoga(Western-style art) and nihonga (Japanese-style art).

While the former appears as a whole-hearted embrace of Western artistic innovation, the other seems like a stubborn, purist clinging to timeless traditions, driving home the point that the two forms were artistic chalk and cheese. However, what is often forgotten in this simplistic dichotomy is that the Japanese art of the Edo Period (1603-1868) already contained a considerable amount of Western artistic DNA.

Perhaps the best-known example is the famous ukiyo-e (woodblock print) artist Katsushika Hokusai. The Edo-Tokyo Museum's 2007 exhibition "Siebold & Hokusai and his Tradition" did much to highlight Hokusai's use of Western artistic devices, such as perspective and vanishing point, and presented evidence that pointed to a Dutch connection. Now, "Maruyama Okyo: Revealing Painting's Depths" at the Mitsui Memorial Museum adds to the catalog of evidence of pre-Meiji Western influence on Japanese art, with an attractive show focusing on the art of the famed 18th-century painter.

The exhibition makes its main point early on with a selection of megane-e(glasses paintings). These were paintings that were designed to be viewed through special apparatuses — either a stereoscope with two almost identical images, or an optique, a viewing device with a lens and mirror that was often used for larger images. Both devices, which were the Edo-Period equivalent of today's 3-D TVs, served to heighten the illusion of depth.

The works at this exhibition seem designed for the optique rather than the stereoscope. They were painted by Okyo after the toy shop where he worked painting faces on dolls started selling imported European optiques and needed additional viewing material. As the images required an understanding — or at least an effective handling — of Western perspective and shading, Okyo, early in his career, effectively had a crash course in Western art.

The images produced, such as "Toshiya Archery at Sanjusangendo Temple" and "Ishiyamadera Temple" (both 1760s), have an open, airy, rather technical feel. The details are accurate and precise, and the color spread evenly, thinly and widely; both points that would help the artworks function well with the viewing apparatus, but which, in the confines of an art museum, make them seem rather pallid and dull.

After his success in creating megane-e, Okyo decided to further his studies as an artist. This brought him under the influence of the Kano school, which then dominated the Japanese art world. Through Kano school painters such as Ishida Yutei, Okyo came into contact with the Chinese-influenced mainstream of Japanese art and his work became a blend of Oriental and Occidental art.

The exhibition's focus is on his larger screen paintings, including several impressive examples. "Cranes and Pine Trees" (1770), a pair of four-fold screens, and "Dragons and Clouds" (1773), a pair of six-fold screens, seem more like attempts to keep his head down and follow the prevailing artistic codes than a true example of his East-West fusion. But growing success allowed him to paint more as he wished. Compared with these rather muted earlier pieces, later works, such as "Plum Tree in the Snow" (1785), seem brimming with confidence. The sharp contrast between the white snow on the tree and the black, gnarled and twisted twigs, boughs and branches that support it is offset by the gray tones of the misty background, which gives this painting some of the stereoscopic depth of his earliest works but with much more artistic impact.

Also noticeable is his use of empty space, which allows the active elements in the painting to unfold without being crowded by superfluous decoration. This helps give the piece harmony and tonality without reducing its artistic power.

Equally skillful is "Pine Trees in the Snow" (undated), an official National Treasure belonging to the Mitsui, a painting that is normally displayed as part of the museum's New Year festivities. In contrast to "Plum Tree in the Snow," which benefits from stepping back, this pair of six-fold screens is best seen close up. Okyo's incredible control of the length of the brushstrokes depicting the pine needles creates the impressive illusion of clusters of pine needles covered in snow. He also uses gold powder to both suggest the snow-blinding glare of reflected sunlight as well as the texture of fresh snow.

The strange thing about this exhibition is that you occasionally feel that you are not only in the presence of an accomplished painter of Oriental art, but that of an Old Dutch Master as well.

"Maruyama Okyo: Revealing Painting's Depths" at The Mitsui Memorial Museum until Nov. 28; admission ¥1,000; open 10 a.m.- 5 p.m., closed Mon. For more information, visit www.mitsui-museum.jp/english