My trip to Japan — part 1: the art islands
Yayoi Kusama
Some of you may know that I traveled to Japan in November. I have been intrigued with Japan from when I studied design at Parsons School of Design in the 90’s. It has been the top of my travel bucket list ever since. I had been searching for the right type of trip that would combine art and indigo dyeing and I finally found it with Twofold Handcrafted Travel - a phenomenal small-group travel company that specializes in impeccably organized textile, craft and design tours. Our trip was comprised of 10 travelers led by Jess Warner and her local partners on the island of Shikoku which is the center of indigo production in Japan. Each day was filled with studio visits to artisans, museums, natural beauty and delicious food.
Since there is so much to cover, I am going to write a few smaller posts, each one describing a different aspect of the journey. So this post will be about the art islands Naoshima and Teshima in the Seto Inland Sea. These islands are filled with contemporary art, architectural gems and surreal art installations.
Naoshima
Home to the Benesse Art Site. I was amazed at all of the world-reknown artists and architects whose work appears on this tiny island including: Yayoi Kusama, Lee Ulfan, Tadao Ando, Alberto Giacometti, Andy Warhol, Jennifer Bartlett, Claude Monet, Walter De Maria, James Turrell just to name a few. The highlight for me was to experience so many buildings designed by Tadao Ando known for working with concrete to create serene yet breathtaking spaces. I had only previously experienced in person his work at The Clark Institute in Williamstown, MA. So to see several as well as his his own museum was such a treat.
Walking around the island we saw many noren made by the artist Yoki Kano and several shinto shrines. Noren are curtains that hang at entrances to houses, restaurants and shops. Not only do I love their graphic nature, but also how they symbolically delineate between public and private spaces.
Teshima
On Teshima, we stayed at a charming traditional Japanese house. The next day we rode electric bikes to all of the art site on the island. The highlights being the Teshima Art Museum and Shinto temples.
