(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Top Comments: Japanese Washi Paper Art at the Mingei Museum in San Diego [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-11-05 Here at Top Comments we strive to nourish community by rounding up some of the site's best, funniest, most mojo'd & most informative commentary, and we depend on your help!! If you see a comment by another Kossack that deserves wider recognition, please send it either to topcomments at gmail or to the Top Comments group mailbox by 9:30pm Eastern. Please please please include a few words about why you sent it in as well as your user name (even if you think we know it already :-)), so we can credit you with the find! Last Sunday, Hubby and I took his mother to San Diego’s Mingei International Museum specifically to see the exhibit entitled Washi Transformed. The word mingei is Japanese means “ordinary people’s craft,” reflecting the Japanese tradition of making everyday object beautiful and elegant. The Mingei Museum features the arts and crafts of culture from all around the world, but the current show takes us back to Japan. Washi is handmade decorative paper, and all of the objects in the exhibit were made from washi. From the Mingei website: For over 1,000 years, Japan has produced some of the world’s finest paper, using strong natural fibers and exceptional production techniques passed down through the generations. Japanese handmade paper, known as washi (和紙) is still made in some areas of Japan and used in painting, calligraphy, origami, and other traditional art forms. Recently, contemporary Japanese artists have been turning to this supple yet sturdy material, using it as a medium for creating highly textured two-dimensional works, complex sculptures, and dramatic installations. Employing techniques ranging from layering, weaving, and dying, to twisting, folding, and cutting, these artists demonstrate the endless contemporary applications of this ancient material. This exhibition, Washi Transformed, focuses on washi as a medium for contemporary art in Japan and spotlights the works of nine very different contemporary Japanese artists who are exploring the artistic potential of this traditional material. The artists – Hina Aoyama, Eriko Horiki, Kyoko Ibe, Yoshio Ikezaki, Kakuko Ishii, Yuko Kimura, Yuko Nishimura, Takaaki Tanaka, Ayomi Yoshida – all push the boundaries of Japanese washi art in terms of texture, dimension, and scale, creating works that challenge our assumptions about the nature of the material. Their abstract paper sculptures, lyrical folding screens, dramatic installations, and highly textured wall pieces all demonstrate the resilience and versatility of washi as a medium in the realm of international contemporary art. Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper was organized by Meher McArthur and is toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC. It is on view at Mingei International Museum from October 14, 2023 – January 7, 2024. Unfortunately, I was unable to take notes while at the exhibit, so I’m relying on what I’ve been able to find on the internet regarding the names of the works and the artists of the works I photographed. I’ve found everything except for the name of one of the works. I apologize for that. Also, I tended to I pay more attention to the sculptural works than the 2-D works, so please be aware of that bias also. I found the sculptural works to be more striking, but there were also drawings and other framed works. Eriko Horiki, Washi Light Object ISHI Eriko Horiki, (work name not recorded) Kakuko Ishii, Musubu W0 Kyoko Ibe, Morning Glory #2 (The works extends beyond the photo on both sides) Takaaki Tanaka, Boat Island This next work consisted of approximately 20 panels arranged to create a small alcove. The artist intended it as a meditation on the changing nature of rain during global climate change. Ayomi Yoshida, Blessed Rain. Kyoko Ibe, Hanging Sail Yuko Nishumura, Line Transformation 1, 2 and 3. Comments below the fold. Top Comments (November 5, 2023): From RosyFinch: I appreciated reading a gentle, even light-hearted comment on errors by bluewabash, in his response to Edward Song. This is what I like: If you make inadvertent errors or typos, please know that you are in the ring with the champ. That would be me. Uh . . . That would be I. Top Mojo (November 4, 2023): [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/5/2203272/-Top-Comments-Japanese-Washi-Paper-Art-at-the-Mingei-Museum-in-San-Diego?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/