#01:Seven Colors
The theme is Japanese traditional colors: Shiro (while), Shu (vermilion), Kin (gold), Moe (green), Kuro (black), Kon (dark blue), and Murasaki (violet). In Japan, there is a color culture that enjoys the slight difference of color shading and light/dark by combining different colors. It is a unique and sophisticated culture with distinctive aesthetic values. Many traditional colors are dull and somber because most of them are the reproduction of the colors that exist in nature. These 7 colors were often used as accents and had special meanings in daily life. This time, in addition to the visual presentation of the Art project #1, the artists who are active in the field of calligraphy, flower arrangement, and tea ceremony performed using the 7 colors as keywords.
SEVEN SEASONS
Japans is renowned for the beauty of its seasons. People have lived along with the changes of the seasons from distant antiquity, an aesthetic developed from out of a love for the delicate shades and fading colors of the turn of the seasons. The enjoyment obtained from subtle changes is an undercurrent running through various aspects of culture in Japan: clothing, cuisine, housing, entertainment, and the overall lifestyle of the Japanese people.
Moreover, Japan had been blessed since ancient times with the influx of culture from the Asian mainland, and took in the most advanced learning that came out of China. One such form of learning is a natural philosophy known as the Wu Xing or “Five Movements,”by which everything is divided into five element. Following the Five Movements, or reflecting the
impressions of the seasons, each season and sub-season:early spring, spring, early summer, fall, lateral, and winter, is expressed in a different color.
The Japanese sensibility has been honed by such delicate changes, and by an upbringing of attunement to these seasonal transitions. The Japanese concept of the “simple” therefore inevitably includes a sense of the “delicate.” We wish to express the delicacy of today in these seven seasons and hues.
Created by
Kenji Takenaka: Artist
Kei Hirano: Assistant
Takaya Nagase: Music
Kimiyo Takeyama: Photographed
Mayuko Hari: Video
Sho Momma: Editing
Hitoshi Sagaseki: Creative Direction
RAINBOW BLACK
“Bokushoku – Shichisai” meaning “seven black colors,” is an important term in Japanese Calligraphy and Suiboku-ga (ink painting). The idea behind this term is that “black” is not simply a flat, single pigment, but rather, a subtle and dynamic blend of tones. It has been said that all colors are present in black and that the subtle light and dark shades of Japanese ink in combination with the artist’s calligraphic style reveals and mimics the spectrum of human emotion and nature’s unique palette. The story expressed in this exhibition is composed in haiku and portrayed thru pure white, lacquer black (kizairo), gold, vermillion, ultramarine bull pigment, and light purple.
Created byKotaro Hachinohe: ArtistYuichi Uchida: VideoTakaya Nagase: MusicKazuomi Iwai: VideoMayuko Hari: PhotographSho Momma: EditingHitoshi Sagaseki: Creative Direction
EXHIBITION
This exhibition highlights the colors in Japanese art as an expression of character, feeling and emotion. The idea is explored through various traditional mediums and culturally significant themes focused on seven traditional colors of Japan:white, vermillion, gold, green, black, blue, and violet. Building on the idea of JAPAN BRAND, Fellisimo’s show in 2009, “Colors” demonstrates contemporary Japanese artists’ unique blend of cultural and commercial styles with outstanding technical proficiency and craftsmanship.
Created by
Hitoshi Sagaseki: Creative Direction
Kotaro Hachinohe: Photograph
Kimiyo Takeyama: Photograph
TEA CUPS: Created by Mako Nishimori and Lisa Nishimori from New York Togei Kyoshitsu