Why can't you touch Art? 作品を触っちゃダメって何？

The lady in her lurid yellow fitted jacket raced over to me and told me not to touch the artwork.

I told her, "But I'm the one who made it; this is my artwork!"

She frowned and did that Japanese suck-air-through-your-teeth thing and said that if I touched it, other people would think it's okay to touch it too.
In the moment, I couldn't gather my thoughts well enough to give a level-headed response so I just sort of nodded. What I really wanted to say was "So what?! What if I actually don't mind people reaching out and touching my work? Its fabric, it's washable, it's FINE!"

Pretty sure it's not just me that sees something like this fabric and hears a little voice scream "touch me!!!!" こういうのを見て、触りたくなるのが私だけじゃないでしょう？！

派手な黄色スーツ姿のおばさんが走ってきた。「すみません、作品にはさわらないでください。」

「あっ、でも、私の作品です」と返事したら、黄色のおばさんが困ったように歯の間から息を吸って、「すみませんが、他のお客様が触っているのを見るなら、触ってもいいと思ってしまうので」と言った。
その場で上手く返事ができなかったけれども、言いたかったのは「それで！？別に触ってもいいんだよ。生地だし、洗えるし、逆に触って欲しいかも」

This was just another glimpse of conservative Kyoto that I got when I exhibited at the Kyoto Museum last month.まあ、京都のミュージアムでも、世界のミュージアムでもそういう態度ですね。

The work I recently exhibited at the Kyoto Museum: "floriferous - 咲き乱れる"　

京都文化博物館で展示した作品です。

Perhaps a MUSEUM is not the place for textiles.
ミュージアムという場所は、もしかしたら染色の作品を展示するには合ってないのではないか？

As a kind of pipe dream, I would love to make textile installations. Wait! Don't roll your eyes at the word "installation", often used by arty-farty types as a blanket term to legitimise anything from a room full of bits of garbage to an empty room with a soundtrack on loop.
いつか将来に作りたいの一つは「染色インスタレーション」なのです。「インスタレーション」という言葉がこの頃使われすぎで、意味なくなるぐらいように色んなものがインスタレーションと呼ばれています。(何も置いていない暗い部屋がインスタハレーションだとか、古い工場の床に散らされたゴミがインスタレーションだとか)

Fly free my pretties! "Freshly" dyed and washed pieces of fabric hanging out in this wicked autumn wind as if trying to get free. It was a beautiful sight and I stopped there and thought: "THIS! this is what a textile is supposed to be like"　水洗いしたあと、乾かしている生地の動きが本当に綺麗で感動した！その瞬間に「テキスタイルってこれや！！」と思った。

What I mean is, a room or even better a semi-outdoor space full of hanging dyed fabric, that you walk through, look at, which moves as you walk by and shows off the best of Australia's brilliantly coloured scenery or birds. And it would be something you are free to touch.

そういうわけわからないインスタレーションではなく、私が作ってみたいのが自然光がたっぷり入る一部屋(または半野外の場所)に染めた生地をいっぱい吊り下げたインスタレーションです。生地にオーストラリアの鳥や色や言葉を。人が通ると生地が動く。森へ覗きこんでいるように感じる。何よりも、触ってもOKの物を作りたいと思っています。

This time there was no gallery minders and no alarms to set off!
卒展で自分の作品をよく触ったよ！

You can't do this kind of installation in your average museum or city gallery-type space. For one thing, they often don't allow you to hang anything from the ceiling (another sticking point I'm still annoyed about with the Kyoto-city Municipal Museum of Art), which reduces you to hanging against a wall or to creating some kind of nifty wall-fittings. And then there's those sneaky Gallery Minders (as in the ones in yellow suit jackets) who are going to tell you off for touching, photographing, getting too close, using your phone, reaching for a pen... This kind of stuffy, rigid atmosphere somehow doesn't allow the artwork to be what I intended.

普通の美術館または博物館では、こういったインスタレーション作品は無理ですね。できない理由の一つは、ほとんどの場合、天井から作品を吊り下げるのは不可。それと、触ろうと・携帯を使おうと・ペンを出そうと・近すぎに行こうとしたら、最初に書いた厳しい当番の人に言われますね。このかたい雰囲気で作品が楽しめますか？？

Sneaking a photo amongst my own work at Some-seiryukan Gallery in Kyoto, November 2014. 自分の作品に入って写真を取っちゃった。去年の11月、京都の染・清流館で。

I liked the way the author of this article “PLEASE DON’T TOUCH THE (TOUCHABLE) ART” described this gap between museums and the art shown in them: 

"...more and more contemporary art is created by artists who intend you to play with it. The full meaning and experience of the work requires you to interact...
Unfortunately, for...contemporary artwork that gets its primary meaning, emotion and significance from interacting with it, keeping it locked behind glass isn't good enough. Most museums and galleries have not caught up to this idea...All objects, regardless of the artist’s intent, are treated the same."

＊私の適当な訳＊「作品と遊んで欲しい作家さんが増えています。その作品を理解・経験するには、作品と接する必要があると。しかし、ミュージアムでのガラス張りの所に展示したりすると、そういった作品の意味がなくなる。殆どのミュージアムやギャラリーはこのギャップを気付いていない。つまり、作家（が触ってほしいなど）の意志にかかわらず、ミュージアムで展示するすべての物は同じく扱われる。」＊

So it doesn't really matter how eccentric or open an artist might be about displaying their work, when you go it stick it in the museum mould, you're stuck playing by their rules.
つまり、作家さんが作った物に対していくらでも自由に考えていても、ミュージアムで展示してしまうと、ミュージアムでのルールに従わないといけないですね。

Weee--ooooo---Weeee-ooooo! Can you hear the alarms going off?

It's an unfortunate catch 22 (which is probably changing for the better but still remains, especially in the considerably conservative art scene of Kyoto) that artists feel they have to exhibit in museums or art galleries to feel validated as a "real", "made-it-and-can-afford-to-stop-eating-cereal-as-dinner" artists when those are the very places curbing the unique creative streaks which make them artists in the first place.
作家たちが、いわゆる「プロの作家」になりたかったらギャラリーやミュージアムで展示しなきゃと思ってしまうですね。でも、そういった場所はルールがいっぱいあるから、作家になるには必要な「創造性」こそが抑えられます。ジレンマですね。。。

Another part of this is the way we've managed to make art so precious and segregated; raising it to un-touchable status (literally) in galleries and museums. The art world manages to segregate itself with it's words too.
この問題に含んでいるのが、Ａｒｔが手が届けないもの（文字通りの意味でも！）にする概念です。ミュージアムやギャラリーで展示することによって偉いものにしてしまうし、ＡＲＴについて話す時に使う言葉によっても、別の世界にしてしまうことがあります。

An old favourite, http://www.artybollocks.com/ which generates random artist statements and shows you just how meaningless they really are

and you can refresh and refresh the page into increasing obscurity...

I was reading this really great article by Steve Lambert about artists using vague speech and losing the chance to engage ordinary people because of their wordiness. Here's a quote,

"artists are already too cloistered off from the rest of our culture; isolated in elite institutions, appreciated by small numbers, and/or segregating ourselves in confusing social difference alone as some kind of admirable attribute. Around 45 years ago John Berger disparagingly called this phenomena the needless “mystification” of art. If we want to change this, and we should, we need to speak clearly in a language people can understand – not by adopting academic language for institutional appeal or trying to cover over our insecurity with pompous nonsense"

＊適当な訳＊
作家さんはもう一般社から離れすぎている。偉い学校に閉じ混んでいたり、少人数にしか認められていない。あれは尊敬する資質のように思っているのか？45年前にジョン・バージャーさんが、この行為を「アートの秘訣化」と呼びました。この事情を変えたたかったら （変える必要がある）、使っている言葉を変えるべき。学的な言葉や、自分自身不足を隠すようなわけわからない言葉じゃなくて、皆が分かるような言葉ではっきり表現しないといけない。

The way we show and speak about art has the potential to scare people away. The kinds of airy-fairy words as in the randomly generated statements like the ones above can make people uncomfortable. Hey, even just the word ART can make some people feel out of place.

アートについて話す時に使う言葉を考える必要があると思います。ＡＲＴというだけで、避ける人もいるから、もっとリアルに作品やコンセプトを説明したりしないともったいないと思います。

There's a need for artists to be less exclusive and more relate-able. One way to do that could be to bring art out of the museums and galleries and put it into real life. I don't mean reproducing artworks onto cushions for the masses or in the sense of having beautiful things in our homes, I mean actually putting the real deal artwork into public places. Why not? What's the point of making art if you're going to show it to only some  people, or let it be touched only sometimes ?
美術の作品をもっと日常の物にすればいいじゃないか？作品をより日常生活にありそうな雑貨にするのではなく、美術作品自体を色々な場面に出すのはどうでしょうか？

Maybe it's fabric dyed with plants that hangs from a naturally lit ceiling in a shopping centre? Maybe it could be dyed birds and John Gould text across the walls of the cafe? Maybe it's a see-through hanging beside the rest area in a hospital? Maybe it's an artwork in an office space, as a giant room divider? Maybe it's in artwork hanging in a national park information centre?
例えば、モールの天上から草木染の生地の作品を吊り下げる？カフェの壁に鳥と鳥類者の文章が染めてある作品を展示する？大きな半透明の作品を事務室の間仕切りに使ってもらう？病院の接客室に掛ける？国立公園のビジターセンターに展示する？

I touched that thing endlessly to make it, but for some reason, you're not allowed to touch it once its done. 作る最中は触るばかりのに、出来上がった作品は触っちゃダメだ。不思議だなぁ。

I don't know but I'm getting the feeling that making artworks needs to involve an act of generosity, of adding value to peoples lives. Not the unconscious act of telling people they are not worthy because they are not "art people".
色々が分からないし、考え方は甘いかもしれないですが、最近はこういう人々にすこしでも何か貢献する作品は一番いいだろうと思ってきました。ちょっとでも日常生活にアートとの接する機会があると。

Because in the end, we are all born artists and you show me one person out there whose first natural instinct is to NOT touch the artwork.

だって、人間はみんな生まれながらのＡｒｔｉｓｔだもの。本能的に作品に触りたくない人間って世の中居ないはずのだ。

New Works and Revelations 新作と気づいたこと

I was bent over the outdoor wash trough wearing industrial rubber gloves and washing resist paste off my fabric in FREEZING cold water as it SNOWED on a SUNDAY and thinking, "how did it come to this?!"ある日曜日、雪が降っていて、教室の外で凍りそうな水に生地を洗っていたところに、「こうゆう作業状況って何なん〜！」と泣きたくて思った。

even the industrial rubber gloves were feeling a bit thin that day. 雪が降っている間、外での水洗い

Why do I always end up finishing things at the last minute? Sometimes it's even after the last minute, getting extensions, being a pain and asking for allowances. Why do I end up giving up every free day and every waking moment to go to School and work on these artworks? Why do I end up cancelling on friends and putting off social occasions to do this?
どうして、いつもギリギリまで仕上げているんだろう？ギリギリまでといっても、締め切りが終わった後にも制作が終わっていない時も最近多い。休みの日にも学校に行ったり、友達に迷惑をかけたり、イベントとかパーティーに全然行けなくなったりするとはなんだった？

Of all the days for it to snow on campus..wash day! 雪の京都精華大学キャンパス

Well, partly it's because I love what I'm doing. I'm excited to make new works, so I do it. But the pace of that making has been overwhelming this past year and I figured out that there's a few reasons for that. 

制作が好きで、新しい作品を作る時にワクワクするということもあるんですけど、2014年の制作ペースがあまりにも厳しかった。その理由は幾つかあると思っている。

One reason would be the university artwork deadlines, which were set arbitrarily and out of my control. 

Another is that I did too much yes-ing: agreeing to take on too many things outside of school; jobs, exhibitions, applications...

Combine that with taking a too-perfect approach to everything, whereby only the most time consuming effort is good enough...

Then add to that a decent dose of procrastination.

All in all it was a recipe for becoming a manic artwork-producing machine.

一つの仕方が無い理由は大学側に指定される締め切り。

それで、いつもYESをすぐに言ってしまうタイプなので、参加する展覧会とかバイトが増えた。

それで、なんでも完璧にやりたい癖もあるから、なんでも時間をかける。時にはすごい時間をかけてしまう。

最後に、procrastination!! やらないといけないこと以外のぜーんぶをやって、やらなきゃとおもいながら、やらない。っていうのが上手！

2014 was an incredible year. This shot is from a show I was in with my 2 fellow Textiles Masters students in Kyoto in July. 2014年7月、ギャラリーマロニエでの展示

Don't get me wrong. Last year was incredibly rewarding and exciting and I grew a lot as an artist. That growth is something I could only have gained through all those different opportunities. But there is definitely a point where the benefits are outweighed by the physical and emotional stress brought on by such ridiculous, back-to-back deadlines.
こういうふうに分析しても、2014年は凄く豊な一年だった！色々な機会や経験があったからこそ、作家としても成長した気がする。

I have this quote hung in my kitchen from a young designer called Imai-san who works in the Chiso ｙuzen kimono company. He comes to speak at Kyoto Seika regularly as part of a course that introduces students to the many different traditional craft companies in Kyoto (kimono, bamboo, paper, lacquer etc). When I saw him speak in 2012 he gave out a great handout that included these words

"The essentials for creativity are seeing, experiencing, studying and enjoying as many different things as you can. All those things enrich your sensitivity...
Achieving your goal: It's important to have a strong belief in yourself and hold firm. You need toughness and gusto to accomplish what you want without being influenced by your surrounds..."

たまに京都精華においでも講演しているＣＨＩＳＯ（手描き友禅の着物会社）の今井さんの言葉が台所にはってある。

"クリエーションに必要なことは、できるだけ多くの物を見たり、体験したり、勉強したり、また遊んだり、そんないろんなことで自分自身の感性を豊かにしていく…目的を達成する：　自分自身の信念を強くもち、ブレないことが大切です。そして環境に左右されず、やり遂げるタフさやたくましさが必要です。"

It's so true. Notice that he emphasizes the importance of play and seeing many different things. When tight deadlines force out that time for play, we lose chances to think new things, to get more creative ideas and probably, paradoxically, to be more productive.
遊びの時間もつくらないとだめですね。締切のせいで、遊ぶ時間が無くなったら、もしかして創造的に考えるのも難しくなります。

perfecting swift parrots? Sketches upon sketches. オトメインコのクロッキー

Will I ever get that balance though? Probably not. Since perfectionism and procrastination are part of my personality, I don't think I'll ever be someone who finishes early.  I've found the idea of just doing "good enough" has been helpful in getting me over some perfectionist hurdles though: ask yourself, what would I do right now if this didn't need to be perfect? If I could just do "good enough" right now, what would that be? and then try and do that.
いつかそういうバランスを達成するのだろうか？性格的には無理かもしれない。ですけど、「完璧」を求めるよりも、「十分に良い」に目指したら、制作がもっと楽になる気がします。

Like I said, I'm not regretting any of the experiences I had in 2014 though. I am also glad I made it through it all because now I am part of this huge panel-selected exhibition starting Sat 24th January at the Kyoto Musem! Flyers are on the trains and in department stores and everywhere!　It's part of a string of events to take place throughout 2015 to mark the 400th anniversary of the Rinpa School of Japanese Painting and features about 40 young artists who base themselves in Kyoto. It's opening on the weekend and I'm super excited!

See more details here and here. Also come along to the artist's talk on the 7th of February to hear me stumble through 5 minutes in Japanese!

sneak peek at the work "Floriferous" I'm showing as part of the Kyoto Museum show.

2014年、色々頑張って良かったと思うのは、こういうステキな展覧会に選抜されたこと！京都文化博物館で「琳派400年記念　新鋭選抜展」は約40人の作家による展覧会。この週末から開催されていて、ワクワクしています！ちなみに、2月7日のアーティストトークで5分ぐらい喋るので、京都に居る方、ぜひ応援しに来てくださいね！詳しい情報はここから。

More to come soon too on my graduation artwork which is THIS CLOSE to being finished!　もうちょいだけで終わる修了作品についても近々にアップしますので楽しみにしてください！

Eeep! Graduation will be here before you know it!