"Woman In The Dunes" (1964): An amateur entomologist leaves Tokyo to study an unclassified species of beetle that resides in a remote, vast desert and discovers something far more mysterious: a young woman living in a hut at the bottom of a sand dune that, without daily shoveling, constantly threatens to bury her. This highly original and surreal vision from Japanese flower arranger Hiroshi Teshigahara set Japan center stage in the intellectual discourse of a world seeking answers to questions about identity, human existence, and what this thing we call "society" is that we sacrifice ourselves for. Score by Manchurian composer Toru Takemitsu.
"Antoni Gaudi" (1984): Gaudi designed buildings
in Catalonia based on his close observations of growth and metamorphosis in
nature, especially plants, trees, grottoes, fountains, and the sea. His devotion
to translating the language of nature into architectural forms was shared by
Hiroshi Teshigahara, whose father Sofu was considered a master of the Japanese
art of ikebana flower arranging and avant-garde sculpture. After a string of
films that took cinema into stunning new aesthetic territory (including
"Woman In The Dunes"), Hiroshi abandoned filmmaking for almost two
decades to take over his father's school, but returned to make this visual poem
of Gaudi's architecture, the magic of which "worked beyond the borders of
various arts" and made him realize that "the lines between the arts
are insignificant."
The opening reception for this art show + zine release + video installation is Friday, June 6th, 2014 from 6-10pm, during the Downtown Fullerton Art Walk.
