Photographic Proof: Contemporary Art Exhibit at Kahogekijyo
The Kahogekijyo Theater, Iizuka, Fukuoka • 嘉穂劇場、飯塚市、福岡県
It's always a strange feeling, to wrap up a show. There's a sense of accomplishment, a sense of exhaustion, a sense of ennui. There's the need to settle on the next project, series, or exhibition. The need to fight off the layer of dull torpor that settles on one like a too-comfy blanket on a cold winter morning. The hope that people enjoyed the exhibition enough to come to the website, the blog, the next exhibition, slamming up against the hope to escape into the studio and take shelter from the outside world.
Fortunately, I've got a couple exciting things lined up, projects in full swing, and percolating ideas aplenty. That, plus a new miniature family member make it tough to retreat into a shell for a couple months.
The Contemporary Art Exhibit • 現代アート展 at the Kahogekijyo theater in Iizuka closed down alongside the month of November. I met some truly incredible people - both guests and artists - and I hope that there's a 2017 version so I have the chance to visit this extraordinary theater again.
And what a theater it is. Although built in 1920, it was created in the traditional Edo style. I'm told that, back in its heyday, the most famous Kabuki and Noh actors would travel to Iizuka to entertain the people of Kyushu. The building is in remarkably beautiful shape, both inside and out. The stage is huge - that's where we displayed the art - and complete with trap doors and a turntable. By which I mean, the stage is a turntable. Ten guys would huddle in the cramped darkness under the stage and spin the whole thing to display the next scene. If you visit, you can crawl down there and marvel at the engineering on display.
The art itself spanned the gamut from traditional painting to all kinds of paper art, pastels to pottery. Check out the gallery below.
