Void Piece #1

Void Piece #1

(object)

Sterling silver, copper, cubic zirconia

2008

This piece is part of an experimental series of works concerning 'the void'. While this object serves as a prototype, my final honours portfolio will utilise similar design sensibilites in order to evoke phenomenological experiece via the void.

Review: The Poetics of Space, by Gaston Bachelard

"The exterior spectacle helps intimate gradeur unfold" (Bachelard 1994, p.192)

Gaston Bachelard’s Poetics of Space was first published in French in 1957, but translated into English in 1964. Essential to the understanding of Bachelard’s discussion of such poetics is the framework of Phenomenology. A branch of philosophy, phenomenology as defined by Edmund Husserl, is the ‘reflective study of the essence of consciousness as experienced from the first person point of view’ (Husserl in Wikipedia 2008). In short, phenomenology is the study of phenomena or experience – and how one perceives tangible and intangible subject matter. However, one might question why such a framework is needed to comprehend discussions pertaining to ‘space’. The answer lies in the fact that Bachelard’s notion of ‘space’ is considered in contexts other than tangible physicality. Rather, the concept of ‘space’ as it applies to his arguments, should be considered in oneiric terms; that is of or pertaining to dreams. Concerned with the ‘literary’ or ‘poetic’ image, Bachelard conducts a topoanalysis on the intimacy of nests, drawers, shells, corners, miniatures, forests, the house, and (my favourite) intimate immensity. However, while some chapters consider material objects, the beauty of Bachelard’s discussions is that they transcend the object, intimate the infinite, and confer phenomenological experience.

This is a must read to anyone interested in the metaphysical implications of 'space'. For an excellent in-depth review, visit the following:

http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/research/publications/hdm/back/6books_ockman.pdf

Bachelard, G 1994, The Poetics of Space, 1994 edn, Beacon Press, Boston.

Review: Karasawa Hitoshi

Left to right: Voyage, 1986-1990; Wood Engraving, 25.4 x 21.2cm. Ship, 1979; Collage, 41.8 x 60.7cm. Deluge A, 1986-1990; Wood Engraving, 25.4 x 20.4cm.

Karasawa Hitoshi is a Japanese printmaker who provides much inspiration within my practice. Although our aesthetic practices could be considered antipodal, his prints infer analagous conceptual interests such as phenomenology, transience, and intimating the infinite. Hitoshi is also a great example of how Gaston Bachelard's phenomenological discussions can be applied to visual artworks rather than just written texts. However, the most intriguing aspect of Karasawa's work is the similarity he shares with Bachelard in his concern for the 'literary image'...

Although having worked in many mediums, Karasawa is predominantly a woodblock artist, and began his career in the early 70s. He is fundamentally inspired by the challenge to create literary images. However, in the Japanese language the word ‘literary’ is a rather derogatory term, implying that a work is restricted by words and unable to depict a free image (Toshio 2006, p.216). Fuelled by this challenge, Karasawa has used literature and language as inspiration to create his mythological worlds. However the success of his images is not in their ability to be controlled by words, but rather what is manifested through the stimulation of language to generate the image. In doing so Karasawa’s worlds are also linked by certain aesthetic commonalities, as Yamanashi Toshio describes:

"There is a pitch-black darkness leading to infinity, which is like cosmic space, and a faint twinkle of the stars are scattered there. From time to time, a star becomes a meteor and seems as if it might fall. Some lonely people float in the infinite dark and others are given human form to reside in a mythological world (Toshio 2006, p.217)".

Thus, Karasawa’s works are a source of phenomenological inspiration, for they allude to otherness, infinity, and transience, especially through the suggestion of silence stimulated through his use of cosmic space. As Gaston Bachelard argues:

"There is nothing like silence to suggest a sense of unlimited space. Sounds lend colour to space, and confer a sort of sound body upon it. But absence of sound leaves it quite pure and, in the silence, we are seized with the sensation of something vast and deep and boundless (Bachelard 1994, p.43)".

In this context, transience is further evoked as his characters seem to only exist within this particular moment within Karasawa’s narrative. Most importantly, his work is an example of how the infinite can exist within the intimate.

Reference List:
Bachelard, G 1994, The Poetics of Space, 1994 edn, Beacon Press, Boston.

Toshio Y, Reiko K, Tsutomu M, Hitoshi K 2006, Karasawa Hitoshi : A Retrospective 1971-2006, Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama, Kamakura.

Craft Arts International No.73 - June/July 2008