The Groundhog has reported six more weeks of winter, yet the weather outside often suggests spring is just around the corner! When looking at the art in MAD’s Beauty in All Things show, I immediately sought out the pieces whose qualities reminded me of springtime, both in material and mood.
I had the opportunity to give a tour of Beauty in All Things to Regina Connell from a handful of salt. She said such nice things in her subsequent post, that we thought we would share them here!
Only in Japan would a cracked and slightly misshapen tea cup be seen as a symbol of the nation’s cultural and aesthetic legacy. These works are known commonly as Raku ware, due to the firing process and its traditional ties to the Japanese tea ceremony.
For this post, I will discuss the fabulous Rei Kuwabuko, the name behind the Commes des Garcons house for over 40 years!
Kuwabuko’s work is less about color and patterns (a consistent theme with these three designers is the prevalence of black), and more about the subversion of the garment: her work is often asymmetrical, unfinished and often startlingly malformed.
“Beauty in All Things” is an important concept for designers who create beauty that can be worn, such as fashion innovators Issey Miyake (b.1938), Yohji Yamamoto (b.1943) and Rei Kuwakubo (b.1942). These three designers all grew up in the immediate post-war landscape, where the transition from traditional artistry to technological manufacturing was keenly observed. As a result, their clothing challenges the limits of each method of production, creating a modernist hybridized form that simultaneously references and subverts these methods.
Yugen is broadly defined as a Japanese aesthetic of Mysterious Beauty, encompassing an emotional response to beauty that cannot be conventionally articulated.
Not all of the artists in “Beauty in All Things” are Japanese: some are Americans of Japanese heritage. We chose them to show the continuation of interest in Japanese aesthetics that go beyond geography. One of the most important and famous of these artists is Toshiko Takaezu.
Perhaps the most exciting area of Japanese design today is Fiber Arts, mixing traditional weaving techniques with skilled innovation and imagination. See the energy and vigor of the textile works on view in Beauty in All Things.
Remember that project in elementary school where you made paper out of gluey pulp and let it dry? For most of us, that’s the extent of seeing paper as anything near to art. This is not the case for Japanese artist Yoshio Ikezaki, who has made a career out of creating stunning pieces of paper using unusual materials and innovative techniques.
The title of MAD’s recently opened show ‘Beauty in All Things,’ is the core design philosophy that Japanese artists have carried around for centuries. Style and function should exist harmoniously within an object, constantly inspiring and invigorating the user. This is no less true for today’s Japanese designers, who have injected an aesthetic spirit into everyday objects. Continue Reading for some examples!
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