Five Netsuke from The British Museum

I've just received a reply from The British Museum. They only allow five objects to be shown in one viewing so I've chosen The Foxes, The Rat, The Goldfish, The Dog and The Okimono of Turtles.

I am fascinated by the Goldfish. Orange and bulbous with gigantic scowling forehead.

"This ugly, yet adorable, goldfish is known as the lion-head goldfish or ranchū, and is highly regarded in Japan. Keeping goldfish as pets became popular from the 1800s onwards. By Masanao I of Ise (1815–90), Japan. Made of boxwood, inlaid with light and dark horn eyes (F.1074)" Dressed to impress: netsuke and Japanese men’s fashion Noriko Tsuchiya, curator, British Museum.

A Riot of Goldfish

One of my books recommended by Lucinda at Mr B's Emporium was 'A Riot of Goldfish' by Kanoko Okamoto. Mataichi, the main character of the story is obsessed with breeding the perfect goldfish to impress the woman he has quietly loved since their childhood. This netsuke takes me to a moment in the book which where Mataichi opens the lid of one of the jars in his laboratory to view his goldfish.

"Awakening to the light of the electric lamp, the pair that had been lying together began to swim at a leisurely pace, now in tandem and now apart. Their tail fins were three or four times larger than their bodies were wide or long. So when they unfurled their delicate silk fins and gowns spangled with black stars, their bodies and heads were momentarily obscured. But soon there bobbed into view, like a Corpulent French beauty or a graceful and majestic woman of the Tempyo era, a round body, eyes, and a mouth with eyebrows, that made you want to paint them." A Riot of Goldfish' by Kanoko Okamoto

Perfection vs Passion

Mataichi's obsession to create perfection through controlled conditions is greatly contrasted with Shiko Munakata's impulsive expressive nature but both are driven and passionate and dedicated to their creative explorations.

Munakata himself has said "the mind goes and the tool walks alone", but actually his extraordinary speed springs from intense concentration, a capacity for passionate absorption. The idea must not be twisted around, badgered and revised, doubted and restudied. It must come out in one creative surge" Soetsu Yanagi on Shiko Munakata - The Woodblock and the Artist - Southbank Centre London 1991

As I look over my netsuke prints I am aware of their imperfections. I have so much to learn if I want my carvings to be perfect but when I look at the work of Shiko Munakata I see the life force exploding from his prints and it makes me consider my own practice. Do I want to spend my time seeking perfection and obsessing over every line I carve or do I want to passionately dance to the nature of the wood?

Netsuke - British Museum Asia

ery pleased this morning to receive an email back from the Asia department at the British Museum. They have asked me to choose from their online gallery which netsuke I would like view. I have sent an email requesting to view the following netsuke:

The Foxes

The Rat & Kirin

The Goldfish

The Kirin

The Dog

The Shishi or 'lion dog

The Okimono of Turtles

Netsuke explored so far

Edmund De Waal's netsuke collection

The Hare with the Amber Eyes

Pie Bald Rat Gnawing on its Tail

Ape Clutching a Gourd

Galloping Horse

An Ama Suckling an Octopus

Recumbent Goat - Small and Large

Amelie and Melanie Japanese Antiques

Japanese Man with a Fan

V & A collection

Tiger signed Tomatada

Tiger signed Okatori

Ox by Tomotada

BABE Arnolfini Art Gallery Bristol

It is late Sunday morning. The sun is shining. The air is cool. It's April and we are wearing scarves. People are steadily pouring into the Arnolfini art gallery. Inside crowds are gathering and huddling to fit in the spaces. We start at the bottom of the building. There are three floors, over 80 artists, bookmakers, and printers. Scarves are removed and layers are shed. Strange and familiar encounters. Observing and being observed. A quick scan across a table of books and a swift move before engaging eye contact or a gentle hello, the delicate hold of an object, the turn of a page, the making sense of... followed by a question. Responses vary. Some like tour guides jumping in with detailed descriptions of the process, the history, the essay, while others hide with heads down in a book or in conversation with their neighbour. And another stumbling upon the unexpected - complete resonance with a word or a line, a shape and then a meeting of souls, a gentle smile and understanding. A realisation. A moment of seeing.

I was moved by artist Gemma Lacey's work. Particularly her series of drawings and poetic text of a walk she made with her sister along the coast of Norfolk 'From Cromer to Hunstanton' in honour of her grandma who now suffers from dementia. "In this work prints, drawings and text are collected into a book form that reflects the coastline" Gemma Lacey's - blog

Gemma's response to her grandma's dementia resonates with my own experience of printing 'Venus' after my grandma died last year. I drew Venus in my grandma's home in between visits to the hospital. It helped to move through the feelings of sadness and loss through the process of drawing, carving and then finally printing.

“How does the artist breathe life into his work? By summoning the spirit of art that lives inside him. This is the same with all kinds of art. Power comes from the artist’s spirit, warmth from his tenderness, serenity from his prayers.”

— Shiko Munakata The Woodblock and the Artist - Edited by Souri Yanagi - Southbank Centre London 1991

I have taken home a small collection of business cards, leaflets, posters and books to remind me of some other inspiring and joyful exchanges throughout the day.

Bristol Arts Book Event - Arnolifini Gallery Bristol

Folded Gifts

There’s something very special about receiving post through the letterbox when so much communication takes place on the web these days.

Darwin Stamps

This morning I heard the flap of the letterbox springing into action. I usually find either a bank statement or pile of junk mail ready to line the compost bin. This morning I found a little brown envelope addressed to Ms. Mog Fry with a 1st class Darwin postage stamp in the corner. Three queens also stamped in 2p bottle green, 20p grass green and 10p rusty orange lined up next to Darwin. When the cost of postage had risen a fair bit, I can see why people are less enthusiastic about sending a small letter which almost amounts to one pound. It costs nothing to send an email (if you don’t include your broadband, electricity bill and possibly a few more pounds spent on trips to the optician or the osteopath). But how many emails can you tear open along the edge to find tangible gifts? (unless you have a 3D computer but then you have to wait at least 8 hours for the object to print before you can pick it up.) In the little brown envelope are two miniature paper objects - recycled magazines folded into delicate forms and a miniature book shaped eraser.

I am curious about the folded gift in the shape of a winged jacket. I open it up to reveal a dynamic world within. Black expressive marks within their own canvases. I’m curious to know who made these as only the name of the gallery is written by the side of the images and they feel so familiar. The Sabine Knust gallery doesn’t lead me to the artist so I enter the string of words printed in Italian next to the images. I type into google images - incisioni puntasecca e acquatinta firmate datate e numerate su Rives - which reveals lithographs and etchings by artist Emilio Vedova.

Emilio Vedova

Finding Emilio’s work in paper form and then discovering more about him on the web is where the wonderful dance between the physical and ethereal world meet. As I continue my exploration in cyberspace I find a film of Emilio’s work being installed by robotic shuttles at the Emilio e Annabianca Vedova Foundation, Venice.

“The main aim of Fondazione Emilio e Annabianca Vedova, created by the artist and his wife, is to promote the art and work of Vedova and to highlight his importance in the history of 20th century art through a series of initiatives, such as studies, research pro- jects, analyses, exhibitions, itineraries and teaching spaces, conferences, scholarships and prizes.”

— Fondazione Emilio e Annabianca Vedova

Thank you Lilla for your precision folded treasures which has opened the doors into chiaroscuroctic corridors of the 1900s.

See more of Lilla Duignan's explorations at www.seeingthings.me.uk/blog