|
Indepth Arts News:
"Structure and Surface: Contemporary"
1999-12-11 until 2000-02-20
Akron Art Museum
Akron, OH,
USA United States of America
Structure and Surface: Contemporary Japanese
Textiles is an exhibition of subtle and spectacular
beauty. It surveys the ingenious fusion of ancient
aesthetics and modern technologies that have made
Japan the recognized leader in avant-garde fashion
and textile design.
Structure and Surface brings together over 100
exotic works by Japans greatest artists and
designers, focusing especially on fabrics that use
creative post-industrial technology and chemistry. The exhibition is
organized into six groups or themes according to the textiles
predominant characteristics: Transparent, Dyed, Reflective, Printed,
Sculpted and Layered.
Some works, such as those by Junichi
Arai, speak eloquently to multiple
themes. Arai has developed complex
weaving and finishing processes that give
his textiles unexpected sculptural effects.
One of his revolutionary fabrics, Yuragi
(Fluctuation), is woven from stainless
steel filaments that become supple and richly colored through treatment
with chemical and heat processes.
Reiko Sudo is equally inventive. She employs a wide range of
cutting-edge technologies to produce innovative tactile and surface
effects. The beautifully abstract patterns of Scattered Rubber Bands, for
instance, are created by coating rubber bands with acrylic and silicone
and then bonding them to linen.
Structure and Surface is supplemented by special displays to enhance
the understanding of Japanese textiles. These include garments by Issey
Miyake, an elegant catalogue and two extraordinary documentary films.
Throughout the exhibition, touch samples allow visitors to experience the
tactile as well as visual qualities of these stunning textiles. Structure and
Surface demonstrates how textile artists in Japan are combining
traditional craft and futuristic technology to create dazzling works of art.
Only a handful of photographers at the
turn of the century recognized the
modern city as a worthy subject for art
photography; Coburn was one of them.
Around 1912, he began to make
modernist, rather than pictorialist, images
of the city, exchanging soft focus for
sharp, clear images and experimenting with abstract compositional
geometry. Photographing the Grand Canyon in 1911 led Coburn to
investigate the view from above, which he then applied to New Yorks
manmade canyons. His aerial views were made at least six years before
the German and Russian photographers usually credited with this
innovation.
This exhibition was organized by The Museum of Modern Art, New
York, in collaboration with the Saint Louis Art Museum, and is
made possible by AT&T and the Contemporary Exhibition Fund of
The Museum of Modern Art. Additional support has been provided
by Toray Industries, Inc., Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman, Toyota
Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., the Pola Art Foundation, Asahi Glass
Co., Ltd., S.G.F. Associates Inc. and Urase Company, Ltd. The
accompanying publication is made possible by the Japan
Foundation. The web site was made possible by Emily Rauh Pulitzer
and IIJ America, Inc. Presentation in Akron is made possible by
Ohio Arts Council, OMNOVA Solutions, Madeline and Jim Berlin,
Rory and Dedee ONeil and The Mirapaul Foundation. Media
Sponsorship provided by PBS 45/49.
Related Links:
| | 
|
