Shoso in a Magazine

Australian Flower Industry Magazine published an article about Shoso Shimbo in their March issue in 2013.
www.australianflowerindustry.com.au

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Display for a Stand at a Trade Show

Fresh flowers can make your stand so impressive at any trade show or expo!

Nice feedback from the client: 

Hi Shoso, thanks for your beautiful installation on the stand.  It's fabulous.  Once again, thanks for helping our stand look so amazing.

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Shoso at International Conferences

Shoso Shimbo has been invited to present papers based on his Masters exegesis. Both papers will be published and will be available at some stage.  

1. "Ikebana to Contemporary Art: Cross Cultural Transformation in Rosalie Gascoigne" (English presentation)
The Asian Conference on Cultural Studies by The International Academic Forum 
When: 24-26 May 2013
Where: Osaka, Japan
http://www.accs.iafor.org


2. 下記の通り京都大学で勅使河原宏と現代芸術についての研究発表を行います。
日本語での発表になります。御都合がつきましたら是非お越し下さい。
詳細は国際生花学会まで。http://ikebana-isis.org/

"Hiroshi Teshigahara in the Expanded Field of Ikebana" (Japanese presentation)
The International Society of Ikebana Studies (ISIS) 
When: 1 June 2013
Where: Kyoto University
http://ikebana-isis.org/

Abstract

The field of free style Ikebana today has expanded to incorporate many themes in common with contemporary Western art, in particular with installation and assemblage. 
From 1980 to 2001 Hiroshi Teshigahara explored the possibilities of installation through his bamboo works. Focusing on his unique attitudes toward the natural materials and his creative strategies of repetition and accumulation, this paper agues that his site specific installations fall within the context of the contemporary Western art, moving beyond the underlying Japanese cultural and spiritual traditions.

要旨

　明治維新以後、西洋芸術の強い影響下発展を続け、その領域を拡張してきた生花の中には、現代芸術、殊にインスタレーションとアセンブラージュとの共通の要素を持つものが出てきた。「生花における拡張領域」第１部ではインスタレーションとの関連で勅使河原宏を扱う。
　１９８０年以降、約２０年に渡って宏は竹を用いた生花作品を通じ、生花のインスタレーションとしての可能性を追求した。現代芸術史上のインスタレーション発生のモチーフは生花のひとつの重要な可能性を示すものとして宏にとって共感できるものであったろう。
　また、宏の自然観、自然素材に対する独特の態度、最後の作品群のグリッド構造（格子）は、いずれもモダニズムをはじめとする西洋芸術の影響を深い次元で受容した必然的な帰結だった。
　竹を割り、線と見なすということは、自然素材を分解し、その表層的属性から切断し、抽象的な単体にまで還元することであり、アセンブラージュ作成の初期段階における既存の関係性から素材を切断、抽出する作業に類似している。共に素材を浄化し、その本質に迫ることを可能にする。続く制作過程では反復と累積というミニマリズムにも共通するアプローチで生花的秩序を内包させた抽象的形態のインスタレーションを創造した。
　現代芸術におけるグリッドの重要性に関し、クラウスはその機能が構造主義が着目する神話の機能に類似していると指摘する。様々な二項対立の矛盾を解消することなく包摂し、精神性への可能性を示唆する。宏の最後の作品群についてはそのような可能性を認めることができよう。
　生花の領域をその極限まで拡大することで、表面上、過激で非生花的な作品でありながら、生花の伝統、精神性を保持し、同時に現代芸術の文脈にそれを位置づけることに成功した稀な例となった。
　「生花における拡張領域」第２部ではロザリー・ガスコインを扱う。現代芸術から生花に移行した宏に対し、生花から現代芸術に移行したガスコインは、宏と対照的な諸相を持ちながら、創造の核心ではある種の共通性を持つ。極端な形態ではあるが生花のアセンブラージュとしての可能性を追求した彫刻家と見なすことができよう。ほぼ同時期に活動した宏とガスコインを現代生花の拡張領域における対極として位置づけることで、新たな視野を得ることができる。

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Ikebana Today 10

The greatest Ikebana boom occurred after World War 2. Jiyu-bana, a free style Ikebana, contributed significantly to the boom. The Juyubana movement became popular between 1926 and 1934. It lead to the New Ikebana movement, avant-garde Ikebana movement, then on to the great Ikebana boom.

It was Suido Yamane who worked hard to establish Jiyubana. He was a very popular Ikebana artist at the time with many students. Because he insisted that there is no need to learn any rules in Ikebana forms, however, he was very unpopular among traditional Ikebana teachers. In one of his articles published after the war, he reported that he was “lynched” by other Ikebana teachers. Although we don’t know exactly what happened, we can assume he had a really hard time. Anyone trying to do something new inevitably has to have a difficult time in the traditional art world.

However, no one has ever been as unpopular as Sofu Teshigahara, who established the Sogetus School in 1927 at the age of 27. He had a traffic accident in 1936. When this news was passed on to some Ikebana teachers who were having a party, they drank a toast for his misfortune. His unpopularity seems to be related to the fact that he later became the most significant Ikebana artist in the 20th century (Kudo,1994). 

In coming issues, I’ll talk more about Jiyubana and its relationship to the Ikebana boom after the war.

This is one of the 12 works I exhibited at my solo exhibition at Monash University to complete my Master of Fine Art Degree. The show was a new beginning for me. Please visit my website to see a 3 min slide show of the show.

http://www.shoso.com.au

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News: Shoso at International Conferences
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Shoso has been invited to present his papers based on his Masters exegesis. 

"Ikebana to Contemporary Art: Cross Cultural Transformation in Rosalie Gascoigne" (English presentation)

The Asian Conference on Cultural Studies by The International Academic Forum 

When: 24-26 May 2013

Where: Osaka, Japan

http://www.accs.iafor.org

"Hiroshi Teshigahara in the Expanded Field of Ikebana" (Japanese presentation)

The International Society of Ikebana Studies (ISIS) 

When: 1 June 2013

Where: Kyoto University 

http://ikebana-isis.org/

Both papers will be published and will be available at some stage.  

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Wreath

Flower for consolation.
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