Using Katazome in Contemporary practice? 型染～伝統的な技法を現代のアートに

I never considered the issue of tradition much whilst a textiles student in Australia but Japanese textiles are so steeped in history that it becomes impossible to avoid.

オーストラリア国立大学でテキスタイルを専攻した時は、「伝統」というものをめったに考えませんでした。アボリジニの植物繊維で作られている籠や羽を使った服などを含まなかったら、オーストラリアではテキスタイルの歴史が短いです。ここで発展した技法などがなくて、現在のテキスタイルはだいたいイギリスやヨーロッパから来た刺繍・編み物・織物の継続なのです。

しかし、日本で染織を勉強したら、伝統だって避けられない複雑なものになりました。

For many Japanese artists I saw around me in Kyoto and Japan, the technique of ｋatazome was just another technique at their disposal. 

In their eyes, it seemed to be a given that it could used to create dyed pictures or dyed artwork and they saw no disparity in utilising a traditional technique in a very contemporary context.
It may seem nothing special to you either but when you start to break it down, it's really quite an odd situation.

A contemporary artwork in katazome by fellow Kyoto Seika graduate Ohmura Yuri "Blue Evening" Katazome on Cotton, 2015  「青い夕方」　大村 優里　木綿／型染

日本、得に京都で出会ったテキスタイル作家さんにとっては、「型染」はただ表現のやり方の一つのようでした。伝統的なルーツがある型染を現代的な作品、または絵画みたいな作品に利用するとはなにも矛盾がなかったようです。

つまり、現代の作品を伝統的な技法で作るのは平気だったようです。

可笑しくないでもあるはずですが、この「現代の絵画アート」＋「伝統的な工芸技法」という概念はどこかが奇妙じゃないですか？

Let's think about this using the example of katazome - stenciled resist dyeing. Katazome was traditionally used as a way to put a pattern onto fabric, often one that repeated down the length of a bolt of fabric. It could be used to reproduce very fine detailed patterns over and over.
This explains why it was popular as a way of dyeing bolts of kimono fabric, which are 12 metres or more long; it's efficient and detailed enough to produce patterns that resemble more costly fabrics like woven or embroidered cloth.
In this context, katazome is a technical process, used to achieve a certain known result and applied by craftsmen or workers who are experts in the technique.

型染めを例にしてちょっと考慮しましょう。型染めは江戸時代には、布に模様を染めるやり方でした。繰り返しで使ったら、一つの型紙で長い布が染められる大生産向きの技法なのです。

着物用の一反に繊細な模様を素早く、それに丁寧に染めることができる技法として人気を得ました。この場合、型染で布を染めた人々は、熟練した職人さんですね。今頭に浮かぶ「美術」とは関係なく、工芸のようなものでした。

Since there's now less man-power reliant ways of getting a detailed pattern onto fabric, katazome is rarely used in this way anymore. Cotton yukata (summer kimono) that were once dyed with katazome are now often dyed using an industrial rubber resist that is screen-printed onto folded fabric before dye is poured on (a process called Chuusen - lit. pour-dyed) . It's still an impressive process *check it out HERE* but it is far removed from the accurate and detailed nature of katazome (read: dirty and industrial)
.

Divorced from it's heavy role in industry, katazome is now being used as an art medium. From the 1950's and 60's onwards in Japan you can see dyed-work starting to make an appearance in art galleries and shifting perceptions of 'Dyeing as Craft' to 'Dyeing as Visual Art'. My Professors working in katazome or roketsu (wax resist) use traditional dyeing techniques in a contemporary way thanks to the generation of pioneers that came before them.

現在、布に模様を付けるにはもっと早い方法が沢山あるので、型染は産業的な役割を殆ど失いました。普通の店で買う浴衣は大体プリントされたか注染で染められたわけです。しかし、日本で1960年代ぐらいから型染をアートの感覚で利用した作家が登場しました。「型染は工芸」より、「型染はアート」のように使われて、展覧会にも型染の作品が展示されました。私の先生も、その

Here are just a couple of examples of artworks by my teachers and others - who are using katazome in this new pictorial way; to create something akin to a painting but with qualities that are essentially textile. By the way, this is the way that katazome is now taught in universities too - from the first lesson it is presented as a pictorial dye technique, not a repetitive patterning tool.

A visionary in pictorial katazome - Nishijima Takeshi. b1929-2003. katazome on tsumugi silk
西嶋武司の作品。現代風の作品に型染を使った先駆者の一人。

Toba Mika's dyed scenery take traditional katazome to a new scale. 'Early Morning - Seiryutei in February'　2009. Toba-sensei is a student of Nishijima (above). 鳥羽美花先生の作品。「払暁　清流亭 － 二月より」2009年

Naito Hideharu - "Tree" Indigo and plant dye (black) on cotton.
]「樹」 内藤英冶  木綿布、植物染料（黒）、藍／型染 2009

Though a Contemporary artwork made with Katazome might appear visually similar to a Painting (and some artist's strive to make it appear so) there are fundamental characteristics of a Katazome work - legacy of it's traditional process.
The two most obvious differences that characterize a contemporary piece executed in Katazome are
* the necessity of a stencil, & * the use of dyes.

Since the technique requires the use of a stencil (traditionally made from smoked, persimmon juice steeped Washi paper but now often made from thin plastic) there are certain limitations visually of what can be achieved. A design that is to be made into a stencil needs to have all its areas connected in some way so that when you cut it out, it remains as one unified piece. Therefore you have to make choices about how you incorporate this factor into your artwork. Different katazome artists find their own ways of doing this, congruent to their own style - some choose to include 'bridges' within the stencil design that are later erased during the printing stage, whilst others include sneaky 'bridges' as part of their design that you don't necessarily notice. Many will use both these approaches. It's certainly not something you have to think about when painting!  

Another factor, fundamentally different from a painting is the use of Dyes rather than pigments or paints. Unlike painting, where the pigment rests on top of the substrate and can be layered and can potentially completely cover previous layers, dyes soak into the fibres of the fabric and can't be reversed. This requires you to decide at the outset of dyeing what colours will go where and it what order/shade/brilliancy to achieve the desired outcome. Dyes can be bled into each other, faded out, applied in layers that maintain transparency, and watered down or concentrated. The liquid-y state of dyes also gives an interesting depth to colours - it's very hard to achieve a flat solid colour when brush applying dye by hand but this is one of katazome's advantages and can be a feature.

型染で作った現代の作品は見た目で似ていても、大きな違いが少なくとも二つあります。（わざと絵画にみえるように作る作家もいますけど）
この二つの違いは
*型紙の必要性
*染料の使用

というのは、絵画と違ってイメージを布・紙に染めるには型紙が必要です。型紙は渋紙（現代はプラスチック製の紙も多く使われている）を彫ったものです。デザインの彫らない部分が繋がっていないと、彫る時にバラバラになってしまいます。だから、デザインのあっちこっちが接しているように、線か三角形などの「ツリ」を含みます。作家によってやり方が異なるですが（例えばツリを入れるけど糊置きの時に糊で消すので最終的に作品には見えないとか、賢く気づかないようにデザインに残るツリを入れるとか、その両方とか。。。）
型紙が必要のため、上述の工夫によって型染の作品の雰囲気はなんとなく独特です。

そして、もう一つは染料の使用ですね。染料は生地の繊維まで染み込むものなので、うえから別の色で隠せないし、どの順番に、どの濃度で付けるかを最初から考えないといけないですね。でも染料の長所もあります。暈しができる、透明感がある、染めた色には深みがあって、混ぜ合わせると無限な色が作れます。

So okay, the technique of Katazome is different from say, Painting, on a technical and visual level. It is being used for Contemporary Art - in a way that is removed from it's traditional usage, but it is still undeniably connected to that history and tradition.
Are there any implications of this seemingly opposed pairing?
I think it can lead to some confusion over how it fits into our visual art world - but in my mind the best thing about using katazome in a contemporary context is that it opens doors to innovation and evolving traditions.

tradition and change. 

伝統そのものを守りすぎ傾向もあると思います。もちろん、昔のステキな技術を尊敬するべき、記録べきだと思います。しかし、考えれば、伝統だって、何百年、何千年の間に改良が加えられて、少しずつ変わってきた物ですね。

友禅染は偶然登場したわけではない。最初は布に墨などで描くやり方だけで、だんだん複雑な段階が発達された（染料を使う、防染糊を使う、染料に糊剤を入れる、乾いた糊の破片を撒くなどなど）。現在、本物の友禅ト呼ぶ「京友禅」や「加賀友禅」は沢山の変化や年月を経たものなのです。

でも今使われている「本友禅」は30年前、80年前行われた工程とあんまり変わらないです。つまり、「これは伝統的なものだ」と決めると、変化があんまり起こらないです。守りたいから。

でも、守れないんです。伝統が実はいつも少しずつ変わっていっているものなので無理な対処法なのです。

I think we can be too precious about 'tradition' sometimes. Of course it is important to value, respect and record ingenious traditional methods of creating things (whether it be dyeing or making pigments or carving stone or glazing ceramics). The very nature of a traditional skill is that it has been developed and honed over many generations, each perpetuating it and maintaining it. That is something to honour and appreciate.

But on the flip-side of that, weren't those very traditions borne of innovation and shifts it society's needs and tastes? Yuzen dyeing, for example, didn't just appear, it was a shift sideways from painting on fabric; a revolutionary idea that we have chosen to kryogenically freeze in about the 1800s and keep in perpetuation as "true yuzen". I think there is a danger in this idolisation of particular traditional practices - without allowing innovation to happen. I think it's important to acknowledge that traditions are fluid - they are borne of change and will continue to do so. And that is a good thing - not some betrayal of those who have gone before.

Try these on for size: 

“Those who feel guilty contemplating "betraying" the tradition they love by acknowledging their disapproval of elements within it should reflect on the fact that the very tradition to which they are so loyal—the "eternal" tradition introduced to them in their youth—is in fact the evolved product of many adjustments firmly but delicately made by earlier lovers of the same tradition.”
― Daniel C. Dennett

"The word traditional has often been misleading and confusing. It connotes a static and fossilised art form, unchanged and unaffected, come what may, over the years. This is not true for what may be traditional today, may not necessarily be tomorrow. Societies change, and so must their arts, if they are to be meaningful, functional and express the sentiment inherent in that society. This is not a radical and complete break from the past, but rather a compatible and gradual modification to suit the new values, identities and concerns of that society."
- Vilsoni Tausie Art in the New Pacific. Fiji: Institute of Pacific Studies, 1979

 「『伝統』という言葉は紛らわしい。無変化、無転移、時代に影響されないような物という意味合いがある。そうでもない。今伝統であるものは明日そうでもないかもしれない。社会が変化する。芸術は社会の意見や好みを表すものだから、同時に変化しないといけない。変化によって過去との関係を断絶するわけではない。代わりに、少しずつ、社会にかかわるアイディアや需要と合うものになるように変化する。」　（注*私の適当な翻訳）

The same issue about freezing time and perpetuating something traditional often comes up with regard to Kimono. Some people may want to keep Kimono "pure" and "untainted", so to speak, but the very thing we call a kimono today has been changing and morphing for hundreds of years. From something worn loosely and tied at the hip during the Muromachi period to something with short fixed sleeves and no extra length during Edo, to something that gets folded and tucked and wrapped and tied tightly around the body today. Why then is it blasphemous to introduce kimono that are made in two pieces? Or to suggest that the Kimono fabric could be thick denim? Sticklers for tradition are eventually left behind if no space is allowed for gradual modification. Even worse, when there's no room for change, the traditions they were so desperate to see continue into the future are not carried forth in any form at all.

着物も「伝統」のままであってほしい声もありますね。でも、着物も様々な時代を経てスタイルが変わってきたものですね。室町時代のゆるいものから、江戸時代の短い袖の小袖へ、現在のギュッと着るものまで。これからも「着物」というものが変わっていくのが当然じゃないですか？

So to wrap up this meandering post, I think what I want to state is that yes, Katazome comes from a place of history and years of development. Yes, it is a complex and ingenious technique and the craftsmen and traditional practice deserve to be celebrated and appreciated. But there is also space for contemporary interpretations; katazome as contemporary visual art. In fact, by using katazome in contemporary work, isn't that the ultimate compliment? It honours the "tradition", keeps many of the tools and materials in demand (which supports those specialised businesses that boomed with the kimono industry but now struggle) and it keeps katazome relevant and meaningful to Today.

これは長くなって分からなくなってきた！
とりあえず言いたいとは、
型染の歴史や伝統を尊敬する同時に、現代アートに使う余裕もあります。
しかも、型染を現代に利用するのは褒めることでしょう。

Whether katazome could grow beyond Japanese borders and truly become a global medium of expression is another question but who's to say it can't?

Enlightened - Creating Artwork for Projections プロジェクションマッピング

Although the Enlighten Festival for 2016 wrapped up in Canberra last month, I wanted to share some images of the works I created and give a bit of a summary of the experience.

What is Enlighten, you ask?

Enlighten Canberra is an annual outdoor art and cultural festival featuring light installations and projections, performances from local and interstate musicians, dining and film events. This year it ran for nine nights and included free late-night openings at many cultural institutions and the ever-popular Night Noodle Markets.

The festival is an Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government initiative held annually in early March, encouraging people to "See Canberra in a whole new light." The centrepiece of Enlighten Canberra is the illuminating of Canberra's cultural institutions after dark, including Old Parliament House, Parliament House, the National Gallery of Australia, the National Portrait Gallery and Questacon You can see a general rundown of the festival in this video:

I was involved in creating some digital artworks for projection this year. It was something totally outside of my skill set, and a great chance to see my own creations splashed across some of Canberra's National buildings. I was asked to create pieces for the National Portrait Gallery, Questacon (The National Science & Technology Centre) and Old Parliament House.

The Electric Canvas is a Sydney company who were responsible for the projections - both finalising the digital artworks and all the physical equipment and technology to actually project the imagery. The six of us artists selected were able to make our projection imagery in our own style, encouraged to tie themes to the buildings themselves if we wanted to but not necessarily. After approval by the national institutes themselves, we turned our concepts into digital templates, with assistance from the Electric Canvas.

I'd like to show you the end result on the three buildings I was assigned, along with the official "blurb" I wrote to be displayed on small signs nearby the buildings.

The National Portrait Gallery
A Swift Migration

"Despite their size, these Swift Parrots make an impressive migratory journey each year from Tasmania to Victoria and back again, following the seasons. After breeding in the cooler Tasmanian summer, they fly over Bass Strait to spend the winter in South-east mainland Australia, apparently without stopping. They follow the flowering of gumtrees – a favourite food source.

One of only three migratory parrot species in the world, Swift Parrots are now Endangered. They are affected by predation, loss of nesting trees and habitat degradation.

This artwork is an attempt to capture and celebrate the Swifties’ unique journey and colourful characteristics."

Questacon
Call of the Crimson Rosellas

"Crimson Rosellas are a common sight around Canberra, flashing their red and blue plumage as they fly over the suburbs and nature reserves. Seeing and hearing them outside is always a nice reminder that this really is the “Bush Capital”. In this work, Crimson Rosellas take flight, accompanied by visual representations of their calls.

The data taken from their flight-call is transcribed in the style of a sonogram, visualising the change in the sound signal over time. Though you cannot hear this birdsong tonight, perhaps you can imagine their noisy cries, rising into the air as they fly by."

Old Parliament House (The Museum of Australian Democracy)
Imagining the Grassland

"When the construction of Old Parliament House began in the 1920’s, much of Canberra was still native grassland. Based upon historical photographs, paintings and newspaper articles, I have tried to imagine what this location would have been like prior to construction.

You can see native flora and fauna species as well as maps and quotes from the time. Several of these demonstrate the controversy of early Canberra; whilst some dismissed the new Capital as dry wasteland, others had grand visions for a modern city. Thankfully we can enjoy that visionary city today, still surrounded by a rich natural environment."

I have to say, working digitally is definitely not my forte; give me a pen, paper and scissors over a mouse and screen any day! I had some basic competence in Photoshop before starting this project - thanks to mandatory classes back at Art School and dabbling since then, but this work with templates really stretched me - and was at times incredibly frustrating. It's hard to have a vision in mind of what you want to achieve but not have quite the level of skills necessary to pull it off.

I did what I could with my templates but with two of them, the final creative work of animating and refining the files was carried out by the Electric Canvas. What they did was amazing - I have no idea how they did it (which is a shame because I can't replicate anything like this in the future) but the final animated pieces were impressive. It's hard to relinquish creative control over something so personal as an artwork you made and of course, somethings will be lost in that process. However, a collaboration like this means that your work is brought to life in a way you could never have achieved by yourself.

There was a lot of talk in the media and on social media following Enlighten when it was made clear that the artists (me and 5 others) were not paid for our work on the projections. I entered into this project knowing it would be unpaid in return for "exposure" and skills gained - whilst I can't say I got an awful lot of either of those, I'm resolved to the fact that sometimes that's just how the dice roll. Nonetheless, it would have been awfully nice to be financially compensated for the ridiculous number of hours I spent hacking away on Photoshop. When I heard that artists HAD been paid in previous years that made me feel pretty cheated and it's unfortunate because it reinforces the pattern of artistic work not being compensated in the same way as other professionals involved - I'm sure the security guards, noodle market workers, acrobats and projector/equipment operators were getting paid in money and not exposure...

If you are interested you can see articles here:  "The Dark Side of Enlighten", "Gov't Defends Unpaid Mentoring Program" and "Enlighten Artists Unpaid but Ecstatic" (to be taken with a grain of salt)

In any case, it's nice for Canberra to have an Autumn event as big as this which draws crowds out in the evenings and enjoying Art and Culture. It's events like these that help us celebrate our city and allow anybody to experience the arts without the pretension; without feeling like it's not for them. Hopefully with a little re-thinking of the budget for next year, this event can continue to be an engaging and exciting event for our city.

Katagami Stencil Collection - 古い型紙に感動されました！

Hello! It's been a while, so welcome to 2016!
I was hoping I might clock up my 100th blogpost in 2015 but didn't quite make it, so there is another goal for this year! For now, here comes post #94. I think this is finally the last of my better-late-than-never posts, wrapping up some textile-y experiences from early 2015. Anyway, enjoy!

お久しぶりです！２０１５年はにあんまり投稿しなかったから、今年はもっと頑張りたいと思っています！（気づいたらもう３月になっちゃってびっくり！）２０１６年、１００稿目に達しそうのでワクワクですが、とりあえず今回の９４稿目をどうぞ楽しんでください。

It was last April and my Textiles Professor had a pile of enormous boxes on her desk. She opened the first one to reveal a mountain of amazing hand-carved katagami stencils. Each frail sheet was made from the old-style katagami paper; a rich brown washi that had been coated in persimmon juice and then smoked. That very particular earthy smell had faded from these 100-year-old stencils but the incredible craftsmanship was still preserved.

When told to take our time and leaf through as many we liked, the look on our faces must have been akin to that of a child being told they are allowed to help themselves to the lolly jar!

去年の４月でした。私の先生が大きな箱を何個も準備してくれていました。一つ目を開けて、古い型紙が山ほど入っていました。昔の型紙に使った渋紙の独特な香りはもう無くなっていましたが、繊細は技術は明らかでした。ゆっくりと一箱ずつに型紙を見て、感動しました。

OMG. Awed by the details is↑fellow Katazome-ian Amy from moyou.com.au

I've written about katagami before and the different cutting methods (although if you translate the Japanese terms, it's called carving). The boxes we were leafing through were filled with all different kinds of katagami, each as impressive as the next.

These stencils are part of a collection of pieces that were gifted to Kyoto Seika University by the Tanaka Nao Dye supply company of Kyoto. They were carefully sorted and catalogued by the University and since 2008 they form a part of their strong 'Traditional Craft' resources collection. They even house some of these resources in a special dedicated room in the library with lacquer-ware and things on display too! Oh, how I miss that little room....

この型紙は京都で有名な染料店「田中直」が京都精華大学に寄贈されたコレクションです。私が勉強していた間、京都精華大学は伝統技術や京都の産業を大事にしていると感じました。図書館の中に「伝統工芸・産業資料室」という部屋でもあって、工芸について色んな貴重な資料や、漆の展示もありました。あんなに珍しい本や専門の資料があったのを今考えたら、もっともっと勉強しに行けばよかったなぁとよく思いますね！

前にも型紙の種類について投稿しました。この箱にも色んな道具や技術を使った型紙がはいっていました。
さて、箱に入っていた型紙のハイライトを見ましょう。

So let's take a look at some of the different styles and techniques we found in this collection.

1. Dohgu-bori　道具彫りの型紙
Stencils carved with shaped punches.

These stencils are all cut with tiny, sharp metal-tipped punches, pressed with force through several layers of washi at once, over and over and over, with incredible precision. Often these punches have simple circular tips, but they can also be petal shaped, oblongs, crescents, leaves, you name it!

The most impressive dohgu-bori stencil we came to would probably have to be this one. The stencil itself was pretty worn out, a bit shrunken and wrinkled from use, but the combinations of different patterns was amazing! Waves, autumn leaves, autumn flowers...

a detail of the stencil above　この一枚は凄くきれいでした。

Other impressive dohgu-bori stencils included this very fine design of bunches of grapes (i think?)

ブドウの模様なのかしら？

And below, this uber fine scalloped design! those "punched" circles are more like pin pricks in this one! Can you imagine sitting there and punching out each and every hole, one-by-one and still maintaining  symmetry? Not to mention your sanity?!

うわっ！この模様は超細くて、針で彫られたみたい！

2. Stencils that require silk thread mesh to keep them together.
紗張りされた型紙

In stencil cutting, you tend to avoid very long thin parts in a design because they are inherently weak. You also stay away from parts that jut out because they are likely to catch your spatula edge when it comes time to apply the resist paste over the top.

BUT! Never ones to shy away from difficult obstacles, the craftsmen of years gone by came up with a method of applying very fine silk threads to the stencil to reinforce it and keep all its parts aligned and secure. The threads are so fine that they do not affect the application of resist paste. This mesh method is still used today but the mesh is very uniform and machine made, often it is synthetic.

modern synthetic mesh applied to the front of one of my Katagami stencils from 2012

But the old mesh was more labour intensive. Sometimes it was strung up on a board by craftswomen, and sandwiched in between two sheets of the same stencil. At others, it was literally sewn in, to catch all the little edges.

"Ito-ire" the meticulous process of creating a grid of silk threads and then sandwiching it in between the two layers of cut stencil with lacquer. Eek!

An example of a sewn-in mesh!

Willows and the surface of a pond, so so so detailed!

Here's the detail. you can see the little skimmer insect as well as the silk mesh

detail of mesh that has been sandwiched to keep these open curvy areas and long thin lines under control.

3. A clever style where the thickness of vertical lines creates a pattern within a pattern.　縞彫りの種類。

How cool is this? Edo-period craftsmen knew all about optical illusions! Just by carving varying thicknesses of lines, they can make you see clouds, birds, patterns, plants...These definitely have silk threads running horizontally to keep all those pesky verticals in place.

This one below, like most of the stencils, repeats on its long side. in the image below you can see two lines that stick out just a tiny bit further than the others. These are the "registration marks", if you want to use screen-printing terms. They are the tiny guides, to show where to match up the repeat each time it is printed.

Swallows, clouds, those diagonal lines may be representing rain because the swallows are numerous in the rainy season in Japan.

4. Pairs of stencils - 二枚型 Nimai-gata (or sometimes 文久小紋 Bunkyu-komon)

This type is really mind blowing. So a stencil has some limitations right? It's got to have parts that connect to each other so that the whole thing doesn't just fall apart That means you can't have design elements that float; everything has to be touching. BUT!
If you create two stencils, that get pasted one after the other in the same spot, you can actually "erase" some of those connecting parts and achieve the look of separate, floating design parts.

This is pretty hard to explain. The first or base stencil is called the "Main stencil" (omo-gata) and the second stencil applied on top is the "Erasing Stencil"(keshi-gata).

This Japanese site has excellent visual explanations and here is one example below.

Stencil one, 

plus stencil 2...

equals this! 

It is truly Japanese ingenuity in practice. What a lot of trouble to go to, simply to get a particular 'look'. These days, a screen-print can quickly produce the effect that the elaborate 'nimaigata' were developed to produce. But a machine-printed design will never have the same touch as one printed from a hand-carved stencil.

Here is one of a pair. We couldn't find it's matching stencil.

4. 最後に、とっても遅いですが、新年の祝いとして、松竹梅の型紙も！
And lastly, some very belated New Year wishes with an auspicious "Sho-chiku-bai" pattern. This traditional motif combines pine needles (a long-lived and evergreen tree), bamboo (produces many shoots) and plum blossom (flowers even in the cold season).