Living Flowers: Ikebana and contemporary art exhibition, Jun. 15-Sept. 7, 2008

 

Cultural News, June & July 2008

 

 

An Ikenobo style Ikebana (Courtesy of Japanese American National Museum)

 

 

A Sogetsu style Ikebana (Courtesy of Japanese American National Museum)

 

     The Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles will premiere its latest exhibition, Living Flowers: Ikebana and Contemporary Art, an innovative presentation that brings together representations of three traditional schools of ikebana  with the works of international contemporary artists such as Isamu Noguchi, Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe, Sherrie Levine and Judy Fiskin, beginning on Sunday, June 15, and continuing through September 7.

 

    The Southern California-based masters of the Ikenobo Ikebana Society of Los Angeles, Ohara School of Ikebana, and Sogetsu Los Angeles Branch will develop new flower arrangements on a weekly basis over the course of the exhibition.

 

    With over 20 contemporary artists’ works on display next to the arrangements, the exhibition intends to examine how two different forms of artistic expression from two different cultures can illuminate their respective materials, formal strategies, conceptual approaches and contexts of display.

 

    The exhibition is designed by Escher GuneWardena Architecture, a partnership between Frank Escher and Ravi GuneWardena. The firm is known for its designs that emphasize sustainability, affordability and the dialogue between form and construction. The firm has collaborated with contemporary artists and has worked on museum installations and the development of gallery spaces.

 

    Escher grew up and was trained in Switzerland, while GuneWardena, originally from Sri Lanka, studied both in the United States and Italy.

 

   The architectural element in Japanese shoin-style architecture known as a tokonoma—a deep alcove with vertical supports often made of slender tree trunks—is critical to the design of this exhibition.

 

   The design created by Escher GuneWardena will explore the tokonoma form as well as extend outside the formal gallery spaces and will transform the museum’s pavilion.

 

   The three ikebana schools will create new arrangements each week during the course of the exhibition. Each of the schools will also demonstrate their techniques and use of materials at public programs at the museum. Ikenobo will demonstrate on June 22, Sogetsu on July 20, and Ohara on August 24.

 

  The Japanese American National Museum is located at 369 East First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, (213) 625-0414. General admission is $8. Closed Mondays. www.janm.org