Longevity Mountain 1932

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weaving, sculpture, wood

asian-art

weaving

japan

sculpture

wood

fiber-art

Dimensions 17 1/4 × 9 1/4 × 9 1/2 in. (43.82 × 23.5 × 24.13 cm)

Tanabe Chikuunsai made this basket sculpture, Longevity Mountain, sometime before 1937, by meticulously weaving together strips of bamboo. I love this piece! You know, sometimes when I’m painting, I get into this zone where the material takes over, almost like I’m not in control anymore. I wonder if Chikuunsai felt something similar as the basket began to take shape? It's like you're trying to solve a puzzle, but the puzzle keeps changing. There’s a real push and pull in the weaving, an energy that makes my eye dance all over the surface. It makes me wonder if Chikuunsai was thinking about how the object would be used, how someone might hold it or carry it? Or was he just lost in the process? Craft traditions like this one are an amazing reminder that artists everywhere are always responding to each other, riffing off ideas, and pushing the boundaries of what their materials can do.

Comments

minneapolisinstituteofart over 1 year ago

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Chikuunsai founded a family of bamboo artists still active today, and in 1915 became the first bamboo artist to have a solo exhibition. He made this flower basket when he was 55 and had already made bamboo baskets for 42 years. He considered himself aged, and the title he gave this work reflects his wish for a long life. In fact, some might see an allusion in the shape of this basket to Mount Hōrai on the legendary Chinese Isle of Eternal Youth. Chikuunsai died five years later.