Meet bamboo master Jiro Yonezawa
Jiro Yonezawa in his studio in Kyushu, Oita prefecture, Japan.
Following our series of live Ikebana performances during Paris Design Week in collaboration with Galerie Mingei and Ikebana artist Makiko Morange, we had the privilege to interview Jiro Yonezawa (b. 1956), one of the most important Japanese bamboo weaving artists, who has been practicing his craft for over 35 years.
He is the only artist in his field to have sejourned in the United States, where he lived and worked for eighteen years. Influenced by and influencing the American fiber art movement, his work became bolder, making way for sculptural works. Since 2008 he has established his studio in his native village in Oita prefecture, Japan.
The regenerative quality of bamboo inspired his fascination for this hollow grass. The images, sounds, and sensual and emotional experiences of daily life find a new expression through his hands, from which woven sculptures and vessels spring forth. For him, the "process of preparing strips to weave and then weaving forms from those strips is inherently meditative. The cacophony of life dissipates; the sculpture emerges vigorous and vibrant. Form, contrast, balance, and the interplay of space, color, and texture" are constitutive elements of his work.
After your apprenticeship in Japan you have spent almost two decades in the US - what motivated you to move to the country where bamboo has no direct tradition? And what did you learn from the western fiber art movement?
We moved to the US because my wife is American and we wanted to raise our children there.
I first was interested in Native American baskets and started to incorporate materials that Native Americans use in their work, such as pine needles, cedar bark, sea grass, cedar root and willow branches in my work in both as structural elements and as accents. Later I met other fiber art artists and I saw what shapes and forms are possible with other materials. I visited museums, met other artists and was influenced to explore ways to see what was possible with bamboo.
How do you see your relationship with nature as a bamboo craft artist?
I grew up in a farming family and I’ve always lived in places surrounded by nature. I think it is just part of my being. I first became interested in using bamboo and learning bamboo craft because it was everywhere around me and experienced it used as a material in daily life- utensils, farming baskets, fishing baskets, tools and even building structures. As a creator I feel most comfortable and inspired in a natural environment. As an artist I need to be aware of the seasons for harvesting materials and also for material storage.
I love visiting cities, but don’t think I am suited to living in an urban environment.
Yonezawa's “Red Fossil” was one of the 11 bamboo artworks selected for the MINGEI BAMBOO PRIZE 2020 in collaboration with Musée Guimet in Paris and won the prestigious “Prix du Public Guimet-Mingei”.
Bamboo ("take” 竹 in Japanese), is known for being a strong and durable wood, despite being hollow and bending with the wind. It is incredibly versatile. What characteristics attract you most in this plant?
The most important thing is that bamboo is readily available as a material. It is a sustainable resource that I don’t have to be concerned about using too much. When it is cut, it grows back and can be used as soon as two years of growth. It isn’t in danger of disappearing. That being said it is important to live in a way that is mindful of our fragile environment. I want to be sure that bamboo can continue to thrive.
There are many types of bamboo in Japan with different characteristics- surface colorations, diameter, hardness that I have used for different effect.
I can apply urushi lacquer to give it sheen. When splitting a bamboo pole I can judge its flexibility and hardness and determine how to best use it. I choose the type and size of bamboo depending on the form I want to make.
This “Orbit” bamboo container shows the contrast of disciplined formality in technique and natural freedom in form which is characteristic of Yonezawa’s work.
Your bamboo works evolved over time from traditional and functional pieces to more experimental, abstract creations. Is the functional aspect still important for you? Do you draw a line between functionality and art?
When I first started bamboo craft I wanted to live a life half farming and half making functional bamboo objects used in daily life. As I progressed and became aware of bamboo artists and then later in the US I was drawn to making artistic pieces.
When making a piece I need to distinguish between function and art- if a piece has a function, I need to keep in mind how it will be used, have a plan and create accordingly. If a piece doesn’t have a particular function, I am not constrained and can imagine form and balance and shape. Also, I can adjust as I build and let the process have some spontaneity. Of course, functionality is important to me, but at this time the only functional pieces I make are flower baskets.
When I make pieces to be used for flower arranging, I have to keep in mind how it will look with an arrangement and where it may be displayed. Of course, the line between art and function is a blurry one and determined ultimately by the person who uses the piece, not the creator.
Japanese artist Makiko Morange creating a contemporary ikebana arrangement using Yonezawa’s “Meteorit” bamboo basket at GuRu Craft & Design fair in Paris, France (September 2021). Photo by Michel Gurfinkel. Courtesy of Galerie Mingei.
Since centuries bamboo craft have been linked to the art of ikebana, formalising it through bamboo baskets for 'chabana' arrangements for the tea ceremony. What do you think of Ikebana in relationship to your artworks? Do you see opportunities for collaboration between the two?
There are many schools of ikebana and I don’t have much knowledge. As part of my training I learned the techniques to make traditional flower baskets.
I use my own imagination for how I think a piece might work as a vessel for flowers. I see some pieces as containers for a full arrangement and others for a simple arrangement. I think the person making the arrangement makes decisions about how a piece can be used.
In the tea ceremony, the flower arrangements are very simple. I think the balance between the flowers and the vessel needs to be carefully considered and the vessel shouldn’t be too showy.
These past two years, I have been collaborating with a flower artist to execute pieces that he has designed. Part of the process is consulting about the limits and potential of bamboo as a material. It’s been interesting exploring forms that I hadn’t considered. It’s exciting and challenging to build pieces that I never could have imagined.
I think it would be interesting to work with an ikebana artist to create pieces.
