| White, Black, Gray, Plants and Me |
| Artworks |
| Written by Satoshi KOGANEZAWA |
| Published: November 29 2008 |
|
 A flower is a sexual organ. Pollens produced by stamens are pollinated on an ovule that is part of a pistil, and seeds are born. Flowers do not have exactly the same mechanism as animals including humans, however, it is no wonder some of us feel the sexuality in flowers/plants and express this in artworks. This is the place where life is generated, so for example, Nobuyoshi Araki, photographer, tries to shoot not only the beauty but also the vividness of flowers. Azuma exhibited four photos taken by Shunsuke Shiinoki, his friend and co-worker. In the photos, black-and-white flowers/plants are placed in the middle of a barely white background. Azuma hangs a CD player next to the photos and tries to play the sound (breath, he says) of each flower/plant. The shapes of colorless flowers/plants are emphasized, which gives us every chance to interpret them however we want. Sloppy grains inside peeled round fruits seem erotic, but on the other hand, geometric forms are also beautiful. A real banana in a black cube is unexpected as well as interesting. "Stop bugging me/ Feel as you like." The sentence in the concept sheet conveys his intention. Data Artist: Makoto Azuma Year: 2007 Genre: Installation Owner: AMPG Material: banana, acryl, photo Size: H1,400 x W400 x D400 ("White, Black, Gray, Plants and Me") H1,500 x W4,000 (photo panel) H900 x W2,000 (photo panel) H1,000 x W1,000 (photo panel) x 2 pieces Note: AMPG 3rd Exhibition (June 1st - 20th, 2007) Exhibition style: three-dimensional work ("White, Black, Gray, Plants and Me"), still/moving images (interview of Makoto Azuma), photo (Photographer: Shunsuke Shiinoki) |
| Last Updated on November 01 2015 |
Related Articles
Makoto AZUMA
updated: Aug 3,2015
Born on July 24
1976 in Fukuma
Fukuoka. Flower shop owner.He came to Tokyo in 1997 to make his debut in a rock band with four members. While engaged in the band activities
he started to work as a trader in Ota Market
one of the biggest markets of flowers and ornamental plants in Japan.
Flowers for Praying - Base Point of Makoto Azuma
author: Satoshi KOGANEZAWA
published: May 28,2009
On March 9
2009
I visited AMKK (Makoto Azuma
Kaki Kenkyujo) and JARDINS des FLEURS
which had moved to Minami-Aoyama on January 11
2009. My aim was to interview Makoto Azuma
who had held exhibitions at AMPG twenty-four times and had just finished his photographic exhibition entitled ""AMPG vol.24+1"".
Makoto AZUMA: AMPG vol.25
author: Satoshi KOGANEZAWA
published: Mar 26,2009
18/MAR/2009-24/MAY/2009
Mitsubishi-Jisho ARTIUM
This is a comprehensive exhibition of Azuma’s private gallery activities of twenty-four exhibitions up to the present exhibition of artworks using plants. The gallery was operated by Azuma himself for two years from April 2007 to March 2009 in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa.
TOTAL
author: Satoshi KOGANEZAWA
published: Apr 21,2009
03/APR/2009-09/APR/2009
ELMO LEWIS Gallery
""TOTAL"" is a kind of project exhibition
which is also organized as a presentation party of Elmo Lewis Inc
a company which has started to import and sell planters made by VesseL USA Inc. Works created by Makoto Azuma using planters and paintings by Kensuke Sasaki are displayed together in this exhibition space
Makoto AZUMA: AMPG vol.25, The 4th Stage (08-24/May/2009)
author: Satoshi KOGANEZAWA
published: Jun 29,2009
18/MAR/2009-24/MAY/2009
Mitsubishi-Jisho ARTIUM
Makoto Azuma dislikes nostalgia intensely. When AMPG
which he had been operating for two years
closed in March 2009
he said
""…this means neither a starting point nor an ending of something""
which means that Azuma is looking towards the ""present"" or the ""future"" in creating his works.
Makoto AZUMA: Distortion×Flowers
author: Satoshi KOGANEZAWA
published: Jul 20,2009
15/MAY/2009-07/JUN/2009
EYE OF GYRE
Distortion X Flowers is the long-awaited exhibition for those of us who are familiar with the background of Azuma
now a florist
as an aspiring youth who left his hometown Fukuoka to come to Tokyo to start his musical career.
Naoshima Bath: “I♥湯”
author: Satoshi KOGANEZAWA
published: Sep 16,2009
26/JUL/2009-
Naoshima Bath “I♥湯”
What a greedy man I am to seek added value for Japanese-style public baths and hot springs
though it is pleasant enough just to sit in a large bathtub with my legs stretched out. I never go to bath houses since I have a bath at home....
TOKYO FIBER '09: SENSEWARE
author: Satoshi KOGANEZAWA
published: Oct 19,2009
18/SEP/2009-27/SEP/2009
21_21 DESIGN SIGHT
This show was held in Tokyo as part of the exhibition tour of the ""TOKYO FIBER ’09""
which was held first at Triennale Design Museum
Milano around the same term as La Triennale Di Milano in April
2009
under the direction of the designer
Kenya Hara.
Makoto AZUMA: adidas Plants Exhibition
author: Satoshi KOGANEZAWA
published: Oct 29,2009
10/OCT/2009-11/OCT/2009
adidas Plants House
The plastic greenhouse about which I would like to write here is located in a corner of Sakuragaoka
Setagaya Ward. We often see that vegetables and fruits are cultivated for foods in greenhouses which are owned by farmers. Nevertheless
this greenhouse is different to that of general in that there are some kinds of trees...
Makoto AZUMA: hand vase
author: Satoshi KOGANEZAWA
published: Nov 23,2009
30/OCT/2009-03/NOV/2009
CLEAR GALLERY
There is one anecdote. Hideyoshi Toyotomi heard that morning glories were blooming beautifully in Sen no Rikyu’s garden and he wished to visit there. However
as soon as reaching Rikyu’s garden...
Makoto AZUMA: Bridge of Plants
author: Satoshi KOGANEZAWA
published: Jan 11,2010
01/DEC/2009-05/MAY/2010
ARK HILLS ARK KARAJAN PLACE
Indeed
the title of the works
""Bridge of Plants"" (2009)
created by Makoto Azuma
and their concept of ""working as bridges between cities and nature"" would make you imagine in a relatively-easy way the figure of bridges created by using plants...
About the experience in AMPG
author: Satoshi KOGANEZAWA
published: Sep 23,2008
""AMPG""(AZUMA MAKOTO PRIVATE GALLERY)
the private gallery where Azuma Makoto established for presenting his artwork using flower/plant monthly for two years from April
2007 to March
2009.
LEAF MAN
updated: Aug 3,2015
In a white space
(s)he stood still in the distance to stare at Makoto Azuma. “LEAF MAN” is the existence Azuma saw in his dreams sometimes. Rezfan(F)
Monsutera (M)
Haran (F)
Kuwazuimo (M)
Yashi (F)
Asuparagasu - Pera (M)
Sanderina (F)
Erendarika (M)
Tamashida (F)
Sumairakkusu (M).
Rip a go go (for Yukio Nakagawa)
updated: Aug 3,2015
Do you know Yukio Nakagawa (born in 1918)? He learned Ikenobo-style Ikebana from his grandmother
and in 1950
joined Hakkuto-sha
the Ikebana research group presided over by Mirei Shigemori
landscape researcher and gardener. In 1951
he became disaffiliated from Ikenobo.
BOMBING OF A DAHLIA
updated: Aug 3,2015
When entering the gallery
it smelled slightly
but not because of rotten flowers/plants. As I walked in
I saw that something black was scattered on the floor. The smell was caused by firecrackers and the scattered material was pieces of dahlias that had been blown up by them.
Botanical Sculpture #2 holding
updated: Aug 3,2015
A slender green bud of an Easter lily is articulated on the tip of a silver hand clip stuck in the concrete. The theme of this second artwork
which was created after ""Botanical Sculpture #1 Assemblage"" (February 2008)
is ""holding (catching)"".
Meat and Flower
updated: Aug 3,2015
A vertically long acrylic case. A piece of beef was hanging down from the upper side. Vivid red paphiopedilum was pinned onto the beef that was hanging in the air and gradually changing its color to dark red.
Damned Ikebana
updated: Aug 3,2015
Photos of flowers/plants placed in cups are displayed on the walls. They are on a cup or just put beside a cup. The flowers/plants are waste materials
not for sale as products. The beauty and the interest of their figure are remarkable.
The Catcher in the Datura
updated: Aug 3,2015
The room light is turned off and scattered incandescent lamps illuminate a huge cage. It looks like one used to hold savage animals
but the lock is an unreliable padlock.
Bamboo Man of Power (dedicated to Sakutaro Hagiwara)
updated: Aug 3,2015
As the reply to ""Bamboo"" (published in ""Howling at the Moon"" in 1917) by Sakutaro Hagiwara
he created a bamboo grove consisting of one bamboo and twenty-five photo panels.
Concrete×Bulb
updated: Aug 3,2015
Green peeping through a brown lump almost vertically rises up against the concrete side
for a short distance. That thick bud and stem look like a male sexual organ
however
the pointed end will break into red colors and finally produce a big
beautiful flower.
Botanical Sculpture #1 Assemblage
updated: Aug 3,2015
Several flowers/plants are combined by using bands within a four meter stage. The first theme of ""Botanical Sculpture"" series is ""Assemblage"". It has massiveness
but the rhythmical arrangement is also fun.
The other side of Crazy RED
updated: Aug 3,2015
A red exhibition room created by red film pasted onto the windows and fluorescent lighting.
Burning Fir
updated: Aug 3,2015
In the middle of November
Christmas trees can be seen here and there. The colorfully decorated
glittery trees are welcomed by people. It is the busiest season for Azuma
a flower shop owner
and he often used to accept the job of providing trees.
Fish&Flower
updated: Aug 3,2015
In sharp contrast to the entirely red space of the last exhibition
a cool place was produced in the middle of a hot summer. The keyword for this exhibition is ""appreciation"".
Garden of Reversal 2 (walking garden)
updated: Aug 3,2015
Japanese cedar reaching a height of 2m and a weight of 200kg
Leucobryum juniperoideum. The planters used to carry each plant move around the exhibition room at a speed of 2km per hour
sometimes rotating or turning around by crashing into each other.
MOSSY HILL (What a fucking wonderful world)
updated: Sep 10,2015
I want to end by just describing the beauty of this. Frankly
I would like to keep silent without speaking any words.
Punk tank garden
updated: Aug 3,2015
What an extravagant title! The diagram written on the wall
""punk = tank = fuck = Punk tank garden"" against ""infinity = space = empty = Japanese garden""
is also brilliant.
TIME OF MOSS
updated: Aug 3,2015
The material Azuma used for the exhibition ""TOKYO FIBER ’09 SENSEWARE""
showcasing creativity using Japanese artificial fiber technology
was terramac (by Unitika
Ltd.).
Distortion×Flowers
updated: Aug 3,2015
This is a photographic work announced in his solo exhibition ""Distortion×Flowers"". Various vivid flowers and plants make up the whole like a collage centering on one effector.
Plants of remembrance_0-21 Fukuma
updated: Aug 3,2015
Two years after the exhibition in AMPG
this was a work announced in the fourth stage of ""AMPG vol. 25
The 4th Stage"" held in Mitsubishi-Jisho ARTIUM in Fukuoka
the artist’s hometown.
Kohei Nawa and Makoto Azuma designed the iida mobile
updated: Jul 28,2010
announced the works at iida's new model symposium
Stage art produced by Makoto Azuma for LAFORET HARAJUKU "LAFORET SOUND MUSEUM" on March 17
updated: Mar 8,2011
Azuma embodies the sense of beauty and the outlook on the world produced by the musicians.
Makoto Azuma, Kohei Nawa, and Yasuhiro Suzuki customize the Aeron Chair of Herman Miller
updated: Jul 4,2011
for the charity art project organized by Herman Miller and more Trees design.
