 The push and pull between East and West, tradition and novelty, nostalgia and the chaos of the present: these represent modes of the (re)cycling by which Ayako Aramaki is so intrigued and which serves as inspiration for her art. Longing for something that was or is with the knowledge that it must be relinquished in the end serves as the basis for a series of works that will touch down for a mere moment in some particular form on our campus before cycling back into the earth. The power of this art that lies somewhere between performance, earthwork, and sculpture lies in our ability to incorporate what will exist for these few weeks into our own collective memory as a community and as temporary residents in this place where we are still deciding if we are a part of or apart from nature. If nothing else, perhaps this art forces us to realize that the question will eventually be answered for us.
Working with a material as ephemeral as grass clippings, there is no time to become attached. The object-fetish of art making that epitomizes so much of the Western art tradition falls flat when speaking of Ayako Aramaki’s reworking of the typical suburban landscape. Instead of objects and form, Ayako speaks of cycles and circulation and the tenuous relationship between the artist or viewer and the inherently temporary artwork.
Her ephemeral art is invested in a cycle of its own, namely the movement from “longing for” to “giving up.” This approach is grounded in a Japanese art tradition that endures as an undercurrent, a sort of collective memory, amidst the buzz and whirl of the rapidly changing culture in Japan. Ayako notes the irony of Japan’s dueling identities but is unfazed by it. She believes that though the young, Japanese contemporary might be saturated with Western culture, there remains a specific awareness of and respect for the traditional culture which persists as a sort of collective memory from which Japanese artists might pull their inspiration and sometimes their method. |