Celebrating future of mankind through 'Visionaries: Making Another Perspective'

In Japan, in the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, the exhibition titled Visionaries: Making Another Perspective ended on a note of promise. Ace design journalist, thinker, and the erudite Noriko Kawakami yet again proved her mettle as a art curator of exhibitions that push against the boundaries of not just design and art but also creative thought processes that form a conduit between the past and the future to construct the times to come. The focal point of the art exhibition was the idea of tapping into human creativity in an effort to study how innovative ideas can influence individual practices in art and design to craft a future that responds to the needs of mankind. It revolved around the word Anthropocene. 

The exhibition was a radical investigation that mapped the trajectory of growing awareness of environmental changes and technological advancements and how man as the cause, benefactor and stakeholder of the transformative processes of time, can play a major role during these 'very active' times that are packed with changes. The exhibition was an opportunity for artists to explore their creative energies, to re-evaluate and redefine their relationship with nature. One of the most important turning points of the exhibition is the succinct manner in which it dissolved the limitations of the word medium whilst accentuating the role of material through artworks that span a variety of genres and still manage to converge into and embrace the theme.  

The show was inclusive in nature in that it dissolved the lines between art, design and the different genres of expression. When asked as to what could be expected out of the collaboration of different creative expressions, Kawakami said that though she has been a specialist in design and actively involved in the curation of design, it was in response to an inner call and her deepest concerns for the earth, our environment and human life that the theme of the exhibition took birth. She said, “It is very important for us to think of our environment and our resources with a greater intimacy and commitment than ever before. This is the issue that I wished to explore through the medium of art and design created by brilliant artists whom I see as visionaries for their vision has the ability to shape the times to come for the entire mankind."  

She added, “I invited about 20 different creators from different genres. Of course, their art belonged to different genres but there was something uniquely common to all of them and that was exactly what I wished to explore in the exhibition. It is this relationship they share with the materials they use in their creative journey, for example, it could be wood or perhaps glass, or something totally hybrid in nature. What I found interesting as a curator is that regardless of the material or genre of art, they are all creators who focus deeply on their relationship with the materials of their choice, and they carry deep respect and consideration towards the earth." It has long been known through experience that the relationship between the material and the artist is sacred and an installation artist is someone who is conversant with the emotions and features of the material to be able to tame it. What was also explored here is this relationship which is important to any form of art. 

Perhaps the highest point in the exhibition lay in the coming together of a variety of genres, mediums and materials through artworks from artists who belong to different domains, are involved in different processes yet their vision towards a future of shared sensitivity and purpose unites them.  

An excerpt from Kawakami’s curatorial message read thus, “We feel more strongly than ever the importance of taking time to pause in the midst of change and take a fresh look at our surroundings, as well as to consider the relationship between people and nature from new perspectives."  Evidently, as most creative individuals would agree, the ‘pause’ is quintessentially sacrosanct to the process of creation. It manifests as a stimulus to creativity and Kawakami goes on to express that beyond the consecrated pause, it is important to have dialogues, to share the same consciousness and to expand new thoughts together regardless of the dimensions of time and space. Talking about the relationship with the earth and our environment, Kawakami quotes Bijoy Jain who explains how we are all corresponding with the earth through a symbiotic relationship. 

The exhibition was divided into different sections such as Dialogue in Strata, Germination from Insight, Laboratories connecting 100 years past and 100 years ahead and Researches and Messages: visionariesʼ logs. The last segment showcased Japanese designers introducing several brilliant artists from the younger generation. Genta Ishizuka’s lacquerware that makes use of linen and resin that flow together to create abstract forms and are then polished to obtain the mirror finish that captivates viewers and Hidenori Tsumori’s works that combine soil and glass representing the ideology of decay and the changes of the earth, through a unique technique that involves mixed-firing glass and clay in pursuit of expression and forms that emerge through heating are all beautiful works that showcase the eloquence of material.

Similarly, Shuji Nakagawa, a woodworker artist whose works appear permanently in several collections across the world uses Yoshino Cedar which is nearly three hundred years old in his work Born Planets. Through a technique called Masa-awase in which grains of timber pieces are aligned angularly after a process of careful selection through study of the annual rings of wood which is essentially a time-study activity.  

Another noted artist Takahiro Iwasaki kindled memories of the shocking bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki using mundane objects like cleaning materials to create art that demonstrates how man, on one hand strives to beautify his environment, yet on the other hand, manifests environmental damage as well. The two clouds in his works were representative of the twin tragedies at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  

The second section of the exhibition titled Germination from Insight was essentially an exploration of the practices of artists whose deep social commitment led them to create forms that are beautiful and unique. Takao Inoue’s Tulip flowers with complex and variegated patterns, encased in acrylic cube were a beautiful sight to behold. The patterns that one finds on the tulip petals launched an economy at one time in history, however, when it was discovered later that it was essentially caused by a virus, man’s attitude towards it underwent a total change. It is a sharp narrative on the ephemerality of nature as well as man’s biased thoughts born in his momentary observations. 

Kengo Takahashi’s flowers casted in aluminium and then decorated on skeletons was a piece of art that showcased his ingenuity as a creator of art that is detailed and simply immaculate, but when decorated on skeleton moulds, the meticulously crafted flowers transformed into an intense and powerful creation that talks about the beauty of decay.      

Takahiro Yagi’s Kaikado’s tea caddies that formed part of the third section of works titled Laboratories connecting 100 years past and 100 years ahead, turned out to be more than simply an artwork that was meant to captivate the senses and beyond the sensory perception, it was truly a cerebral engagement that was anchored in and about thoughts of the future, encased in an imaginative internal dialogue that asked questions like what would it be like to have tea in a space of no gravity. In a demonstration of this thought, with the help of an engineering team, he created a contraption called Newton’s Lid in which the canisters that can hold tea leaves and coffee beans are clamped onto a stand and when the caddy is rotated, the lid would slide down creating the feeling of artificial gravity. In the space travel age, we will miss this gravity of our beloved Earth. The rotating movement of the caddy and lid may be conceived as a ‘souvenir of gravity.’ Interesting to note that he is actually the scion of the family that runs Kaikado, a company that manufactures copper tea canisters.  

Bridging time and casting visions of the future, the works under the remarkable TAKT PROJECT spearheaded by the brilliant Satoshi Yoshiizumi formed part of the final section of the show titled Researches and Messages: visionariesʼ logs, showcases designers. The art installation black blank was essentially like a circular pond with magnetic liquid in it intercepted within by a solid white pillar. The magnetised liquid would often climb up the pillar rather playfully, creating impressions of an organism.

While most other creations in this exhibition were complete works resulting from intense processes that involved thoughts and activity, glow ⇄ grow,another work under TAKT PROJECT, was an example where the process itself became the art. Solidifying light hardened resin with light emitted by the programmed LED, the LED itself changed its appearance while glowing continuously. The glowing resin gave out impressions of an ice block, a limestone cave or simply a contemporary piece of art that looks towards the future. As a functionality of time, the process of change and manifestation of the form was both natural and artificial from different perspectives. While it dared not to imitate nature, the process of growth was natural to the material albeit through methods artificially incorporated. Talking about human sensitivity and design, Yoshiizumi said, “Modern technology enables us to find out about the weather on a small handheld device. Because of this, our ability to sense our surroundings employs our five senses. We believe that design can have a role in making people question and think about our surroundings.”

As one reaches the end of the show, one is greeted by a spectacular light installation by Nao Tamura. Light fixtures reminiscent of the splendor of Venetian canals perhaps, was an opportunity to soak in the beauty of the pause that helps one contemplate the journey this far and look towards the future. It was a subtle reminder of the philosophy that at the end of it all there is light and hope.

‘Visionaries: Making Another Perspective' was on view at Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art until June 4, 2023.