"Call and Response: Junko Kawashima"

"Without the coming of awareness, things cannot be seen. Whatever we see must be recognized
as existing on the verge of creativity."
Kishio Suga

Artist Junko Kawashima @ Empathinc. (2005) Charlotte, NC. USA

The Call: I’m working on a series called "Call and Response". It’s about dialogue. I would appreciate it if you would participate. Just send 2-4 pieces of evidence. It could be images of your work, work you like, things you find interesting.

The Response:
I'm sorry for being late、、、！！
my web site

http://junkokawashima.com/ (Ed. - Be sure to scroll down the blog entries. The photographs are a veritable Ann Frank's Diary of contemporary Japanese life)

i like this sites (Ed. - click on highlighted links to see what Junko likes)

http://www.yvoschaap.com/chainrxn/ (Caution: need nerves of steel or mild sedative!)

http://www.tomiokoyamagallery.com/ (Turn off your phone and put on a pot of tea!)

http://www.tokyoartbeat.com/ (Click here for more bubble fun!)

http://www.watarium.co.jp/ (Remember, language barriers are not electric fences!)

Artist Junko Kawashima has been a long time favorite of empathinc. As we have sorted through the links she has sent in her response, we find ourselves amazed at the level of informational engagement she is able to sustain and filter. Art and life and art and food and art and games and art and painting and art and communication: laughing, drawing, photographing, documenting!

RECENT WORK BOLDLY RIPPED FROM THE WWW!:

tomschulzartist responds: This work needs to be looked at. Seemingly delicate, the surety of the hand that has made the mark speaks to a fierce confidence. As do the demarcations of form and space. The evident rapid process of constant, in the moment, editing compares to a skilled athlete in a clinch. And the characters, while mostly portrayed as waifs or overly extended ingenues are clearly in control of any pictorial context. If commerce engulfs them in a hyper abundance of information and goods, they prove capable of ingesting all the input with aplomb. And then hunger for more. They are in familiar territory. As warriors they are shielded by a river of hair, clad in the armor of fashion.

And in the midst of a primarily black and white world is the abrupt gem of unexpected color. This color is a firefly scooting across the drawn world – beckoning the viewer to give chase. Go find mason jars and punch holes in the lids. There is life in this work.

For these are not just drawings. They are visual Haiku. Lyrics to some clip from the film Mothra. Proof of existence.

Read entire essay here.

Then, moving into the current again, I sailed like a leaf carried along by an effort not really my own. Whenever I had a morning like this,
I was cheerful for the rest of the day.”
The Tale of Murasaki, Liza Dalby 2001


While comprehending both the conveniences and pitfalls of a Cause and Effect existence, here at empathinc. we prefer to live in a Call and Response Universe. This series is an exploration of that space.

Thanks Junko, for Responding to the Call.
You will never be considered late for a response. Tom

Above: "Novena for Sendai # 1"© (detail), watercolor on paper, Tom Schulz, 2012.
From the Novena Paintings Series.

EXTRA BONUS MATERIAL!


“Taking Shape”
Click here: Information Inversion Project. Week 4.