Pat's Blog

Takamatsu has been given two great and exciting events in the last week. The St. Patrick Day parade now looks like becoming an annual event, adding fun & color to the city’s busy
shopping arcade areas.



Started only two years ago through the initiatives and huge input of two local members of the Irish community, Messrs. Michael Bedlow & Shane Martin Coughlan. Both have been the talents and the driving force to get this event started and working well, and they’ve really done a wonderful job. Michael with his Celtic music groups, tireless efforts with dance instruction and Shane with his entrepreneurial skills.



The support group even made green St. Pat’s udon for the occasion. How creative ! Even though my name is Pat, there were no free samples unfortunately. So this is something to remember if you’re from out of town and here in Takamatsu on St. Pat’s day in March next year.



The other event of course was the opening ceremony for the
Setouchi Triennale Art Festival which started on the 20th of March
http://setouchi-artfest.jp/en/
This was a big opening event in the roofed outdoor auditorium area in Takamatsu’s Sunport.



Many dignitaries both local, Japanese government and foreign officials attended and all were asked to hold then wave small white flags at the appointed time. So when the band struck up I could hear the gentle rustle of hundreds of white flags. There was something very Japanese about this.



The ceremony culminated with the oddest-looking wind-blown instrument I’ve ever seen? Some bloke dressed in black with a dapper top-hat was riding on the back of this thing then huffed and puffed and finally blew it to officially open the event. He looked spiffy but very tired after the effort.



This thing made a sound like something coming out from the bowels of the earth and was a grand start to what promises to be a truly wonderful festival with many foreign artists and guests scheduled to arrive in the coming weeks, months.

I’ll be back next month with more news on art events in Takamastu.

“Spring is sprung, the grass is ris.
I wonders where them birdies is.”

So Ogden Nash’s poem humorously reminds us, so please do make an effort to come here and enjoy this wonderful art festival in Takamatsu.

              http://wikitravel.org/en/Takamatsu

http://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/english/

  

At the Takamatsu City Museum of Art there’s a very interesting show running until March 24th titled, ‘Welcome to the Small World’.
This is a wonderful encounter with 5 contemporary Japanese artists using ‘small’ as the thematic introduction to their art.



Small everyday articles, for example jewelry, cellphone accessory doo-dads, miniature furniture with candy decorations all worked in a way to take us visually, in to the artists’ worlds. The artists have incorporated & collaborated their art with the collection already in the gallery. I didn’t really get this, but that’s what they’ve said on the brochure.



Zon Ito: (male) has about 100 objects on display with the titles named. So rather than describe the works, I’d like anyone reading this and in town to go see for themselves as it’s an interesting piece.



Yoshiaki Kaihatsu: has tearooms, something traditionally associated with ‘small’ in Japanese culture. He’s made these from styrene blocks and the effect is great. Impermanence, the lowering of the head to enter the confined space, reflection in silence, all aspects of ego subjugation & part of the way-of-tea culture. And here we see it but in the form of styrofoam making things even more impermanent. But wait a minute? Styrofoam lasts for centuries I heard so maybe not so impermanent after all?



Yoshihiro Tsuda: Has placed flowers all over the gallery. Some are carved in wood, others located out of the line of sight.



Yuken Teruya: (male) has created works made with or from daily goods such as paper bags from fast-food shops. The artist is concerned with the economy, the environment and wants to turn people’s attention to the same.



Osamu Watanabe: These sculptures remind me of Jeff Koons an American artist famous for making objects that either reflect the banal, or are of themselves just banal. Depending on your feelings towards Koons. Colorful, and the media are food, sweets and fruit.



Please drop in and see this show as it’s a good ‘un and a precursor to the big Setouchi Triennale starting at the end of this month.

I’ll be back then with lots & lots of art news again soon so until then ..

‘Welcome to the World of Small’ Takamatsu City Museum of Art
http://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/english/sightseeing/sees/takamatsu-city-museum-of-art.html
Runs until March 24th.
Schedule: 3/16 The Concert 13:30~14:00/ entrance hall/ admission free
Sundays & public holidays.
Gallery Talks and explanations about the exhibits by volunteers in the gallery.
Starts. 11:00 and 14:00
3/23 ‘Lets Play with Art’ art appreciation for kids
9:00~11:00 at the lecture room on the 3rd floor.
First 15 free (ages from elementary school grades 3 to 6)
Application by phone: 087-823-1711
Coming attractions: Cheburushka and the animations in Rosia picture books
4/6~5/19
15 minutes on foot from Takamatsu JR Central Station.
Underground parking


              http://wikitravel.org/en/Takamatsu

http://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/english/