In my efforts to construct a model of a primitive version of the instrument I am pushing to design I used the small laser cutter on site at LCC to get quick cuts made of 6mm plywood to make the pieces I needed for the original cavity. However, I felt a huge disconnect in interacting with the material and I have began to lean towards certain mindfulness in interacting with material, especially natural material. After reading the book White published by Kenya Hara, I was inspired to look towards Japanese woodcraft, including architecture and joinery in furniture making and home construction. There is an emphasis within traditional Japanese philosophy relating to design and construction and nature, the idea of harmony and oneness with the modern human condition and the natural world. This appeals to me, as my portfolio emphasizes the interaction and harmony of visual and sonic artworks when paired together. Apart from process, I have attempted to form and develop my perspective on not only perception and abstraction, but ideas surrounding interaction and harmony, reaction, texture, longevity, and structure. From what I have so far been exposed to, including instagram accounts such as Taku woodcraft, a Japanese carpenter who specializes in translating joinery techniques used in Japanese architecture to the world of furniture making, and smaller more accessible handcrafted wooden objects, the philosophy and technique associated to Japanese architecture and carpentry is what really appeals to my practice for this first portfolio piece. In an article from Makoto Fukada for the website Japanese Woodcraft Association, the link between natural world and woodcraft is emphasized in a sort of philosophical manner, highlighting beauty in the natural landscape and habitat.
‘ The Japanese houses of old are incredible achievements in construction and artistic virtuosity. Exuding a gentle, understated grace, they embody the idea of co-existing harmoniously with the outside world: trees, earth, and stone fuse into natural dwellings, creating habitats where people can savour the beauty of the surrounding land, forests, rivers, and wildlife.’ (Makoto Fukada, Japanese Carpenter Seyseysha Design and Build, Japan).
‘A traditional Japanese house has a specific form that defines both the structure itself and the spaces inside. Look around Japan, and you’ll find vestiges of those classical motifs still alive and well today. The techniques behind the form, which brings the power of nature into harmonious balance with human artistry, engender a unique brand of warmth and contentment-a universal, artistic harmony-by harnessing the vitality pervading the natural world. The form has continued to survive through the generations because it reflects the rich internal world of our predecessors, a vision with an enduring, irrepressible foundation, and resonates with the truth that human happiness depends on the respect for the natural world.’ (Makoto Fukada).
Something that was very inspiring to me was the defintion of the house as a human habitat, linking the sort of importance of the natural world in our own constructed lives. I believe that habitat as a term linking a natural space with a comfortable space can linked to the score of an image, creating depth in the emotive, sonic, and visual worlds within audio-visual works.
The final design approach is going to implement certain joinery techniques and aesthetics from Japanese design philosophy, with references from the ancient and modern world. This is to contribute to ideas I want to form around my personal relationship with interaction between material, sound, and the natural environment (excluding human destruction/development) because the film that will be scored with this instrument is going to be a single shot of an environment I am drawn to, on distorted super 8 film.
Images below from Japanese Woodcraft Association (japanesewoodcraftassociation.com).
(Quotes from japanesewoodcraftassociation.com)
‘In Japan, nature, religion and society are deeply intertwined. Nowhere is this more evident than in the mind of a woodworker, whose philosophical and spiritual beliefs are at the heart of their craft.’
‘Shinto – the indigenous faith of the Japanese people – places a spiritual essence in all things: animals, plants, rocks and of course, wood. It’s this belief in ‘animism‘ that pushes Japanese woodworkers to work with, rather than against, nature.’
‘From respecting the natural curvature and anomalies of wood to using wood that’s died of natural causes, these are just some ways Japanese woodworkers show their respect for nature.’
‘This animistic belief in the ‘spirit of wood’ extends to the handicraft, furniture or building made by crafts men and women. Similarly, a belief exists in the ‘spirit’ of a tool, often that of it’s late owner, passed down from generation to generation.’
The development of my own understanding of complex philosophies that reside in other artistic disciplines from around the world seems to be completely necessary in my own development of perspectives I am striving towards my own abstract practices in composition, audio-visual installation, and visual music.