2008 Woodie Awards
Resident artists give nature voice
Christy Mullins
Issue date: 10/11/06 Section: Arts
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Rikuo Ueda moistened his finger and held it in the wind. Tom Stanley did the same. It was their way of saying hello, but mostly of feeling the wind.
Ueda, a contemporary Japanese artist, is residing at Winthrop through Oct. 15 as part of the Force of Nature program. Joining him is Yumiko Yamazaki, who teaches art in Osaka, Japan. Their wind drawings and plant projects will be on exhibit Oct. 13 through Nov. 16 in the Rutledge and Patrick Galleries.
"Force of Nature can be seen as an opportunity to interact with people of other cultures," Tom Stanley, director of Winthrop University Galleries, said. "For myself, I'm learning new ideas of communication."
In September, translated presentations were held in Rutledge Auditorium to present Ueda and Yamazaki's previous art.
For his project, Ueda constructed a complex instrument to record the wind, a seemingly invisible force of nature. From a third floor window of McLaurin, the mechanical arm of the instrument transfers the outside wind's movement onto a canvas inside Ueda's office.
When the wind blows, a wooden harness moves in all directions, allowing the medium on the opposite end to create an image.
"The wind drawings happened coincidentally," Ueda said. "I wanted to try something new."
The theme of this particular wind drawing is "Southern Comfort," to reflect Ueda's relaxation in South Carolina.
Yumiko Yamazaki's similar plants project is intended to show the passage of time, another hidden force of nature. With help from art students and volunteers at Winthrop, Yamazaki buried nine copper plates in various locations on campus last month. After three weeks, the new plant growth, insects and other variables created patterns on the copper squares.
Senior art major Latasha Hollins helped Yamazaki polish the copper plates. It was tedious, she said, but she enjoyed the process.
"It's interesting how [the artists] use things that we take for granted and combine it with art," Hollins said. "It's inventive."
Ueda, a contemporary Japanese artist, is residing at Winthrop through Oct. 15 as part of the Force of Nature program. Joining him is Yumiko Yamazaki, who teaches art in Osaka, Japan. Their wind drawings and plant projects will be on exhibit Oct. 13 through Nov. 16 in the Rutledge and Patrick Galleries.
"Force of Nature can be seen as an opportunity to interact with people of other cultures," Tom Stanley, director of Winthrop University Galleries, said. "For myself, I'm learning new ideas of communication."
In September, translated presentations were held in Rutledge Auditorium to present Ueda and Yamazaki's previous art.
For his project, Ueda constructed a complex instrument to record the wind, a seemingly invisible force of nature. From a third floor window of McLaurin, the mechanical arm of the instrument transfers the outside wind's movement onto a canvas inside Ueda's office.
When the wind blows, a wooden harness moves in all directions, allowing the medium on the opposite end to create an image.
"The wind drawings happened coincidentally," Ueda said. "I wanted to try something new."
The theme of this particular wind drawing is "Southern Comfort," to reflect Ueda's relaxation in South Carolina.
Yumiko Yamazaki's similar plants project is intended to show the passage of time, another hidden force of nature. With help from art students and volunteers at Winthrop, Yamazaki buried nine copper plates in various locations on campus last month. After three weeks, the new plant growth, insects and other variables created patterns on the copper squares.
Senior art major Latasha Hollins helped Yamazaki polish the copper plates. It was tedious, she said, but she enjoyed the process.
"It's interesting how [the artists] use things that we take for granted and combine it with art," Hollins said. "It's inventive."
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