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Cloth & Culture NOW
the artists - Masaaki Tate, Japan
The influence of Japanese Culture and my work
My connection with dyeing and weaving
comes my childhood; my parents had a kimono laundering business
and as a child seeing and touching kimono was perfectly normal
in our shop which doubled as the family home. It was a natural
progression for me to learn dyeing and weaving in university
and continue to dye. I feel very proud of my parents’ work,
not only as I am grateful to them for bringing me up, but apart
from that, I believe that the serious attitude I bring to my work
and my perfectionism come from being around my parents. In essence,
I absorbed the character of a craftsman from my parents, and I
feel that this forms an important interface between myself and
Japanese culture.
The creation of exquisite things is an
important aspect of Japanese culture and this has been is made
possible by the many highly skilled craftsmen. These craftsmen
use experience, intuition and feelings, which are all important
aspects of Japanese culture, accumulated over the years as they
work. I’d like to think a little about “adaptation
and invention”. In their desire to make the best possible
artefacts, craftsmen adapt and improve materials, techniques and
tools in many ways. This also comes across in my own works and
it has been a source of influence for me.
I’d like to explain a little
about my approach to my own works.
I work using cloth, wax and dye. These
materials each have their unique qualities; the cloth has a
structure, wax doesn’t
melt in water but melts when heated, the dye dissolves in water
and colours the textile. I make my works with the intention of
bringing out the special qualities of these materials. I try
to predict the outcome and then carry out the process. As I am
working, I wonder whether or not my prediction was right; as
the interaction of the materials reveals itself to me I have
a mixture of fear and happiness. There are moments when I rejoice
in my works, not because I have created something “good” but
in happiness that my hunch was right This may sound like I simply
leave the work to external forces and in a sense that is not
far from the truth.
I create my works by
exploiting the special qualities of the materials.
This is because I have considered how the weaving and dyeing ought
to be. I believe that the essential ingredients for success are
the creator, the materials and the technique. Many works are created
using the materials and techniques in order to express the ideas
of the creator, and I suppose that the creator takes priority.
But, in my ideal creation, these three elements are working in
the same dimension and are equally important. As I have written
above, even works that are apparently left to external forces,
there is dialogue sometimes even an argument at times between the
creator, the materials and the techniques resulting in the best
creation. In order to get the best results, I work drawing on utilising
experience, intuition, and feeling as well as thinking about adaptation
of tools and processes.
About influence of other cultures
In my current lifestyle it would be impossible
for me to exist without the influence of other cultures. Not
because I can’t
live without the stimulation that I gain from other cultures, but
in this are of information we are unavoidably exposed to huge amounts
of information, and without realizing it this becomes part of our
lives However, I don’t believe that this situation is either
good or bad; you could even say that I am uninterested in this
situation. But as well as unconsciously absorbing information there
are moments where my attention is caught, as if there is a string
pulling me towards other cultures. That may be something from another
country or even just another field of work, on the whole it may
not be a great discovery but for that moment I can sense a strong
influence from other spheres. I am interested in modern art or
post-1950s art; I go to exhibitions and read publications about
the many techniques and styles and I have a deep admiration for
them, I assume that ideas unconsciously absorbed will not
have such a strong influence as things discovered.
Benefits and drawbacks of influence
from abroad
Regarding the influence from other cultures,
and the benefits or drawbacks of it, I believe that if the person
concerned has deliberately taken than influence and can
fully understand it then it is a good thing. However,
if that is not so, then it is not a good thing. In
the present era, because we are bombarded with information and images
both real and imaginary, it is not possible to completely understand
everything. We should be careful of merely adopting the appearance
other cultures without full understanding of it. Even though it may
not be possible, I personally want to fully understand. And it is
with this thought in mind that I make my works in the field of dyeing.
It is a wonderful thing to be able to make something with my own
hands that I understand completely.
JAPAN
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