March 19: Last day in Tokyo

Posted on March 20, 2013 by ruthek

My last day in Tokyo and a beautiful day it is: sunshine, temps in the 70’s, cool in the shade, not much wind. I bought a large apple the night before and that, with a cup of green tea, was my breakfast. Then on to the train to Rikugien, one of my favorite gardens from my previous visit. Situated in a relatively quiet neighborhood, it is an oasis of calm behind high brick walls. It is also designed in a way that makes it comprehensible from almost every point of view. The name comes from the six parts of Waka poetry (a traditional Japanese poetic form, which I know nothing about). There are supposed to be 88 spots in the garden named for famous places in Japan and China and incidents from Chinese history. as well as references to waka.

Outside of the garden were banners announcing the cherry blossom festival I was grateful would not start until later this week. As you enter a huge, fifty year old weeping cherry in full bloom stuns you. Because I was early there weren’t too many people. I read somewhere that these festivals involve lots of drinking, but from what I have seen they are an orgy of picture taking. I duly took the required photos then walked around the park for the next two hours.

The famous Sakura

Referring back to the pictures I took previously I find everything looks much the same except for some bare branches and no colorful leaves.

City as borrowed scenery

Lots of children visiting

I found a place for lunch in the area then got back on the train to another distant part of Tokyo, this time to see an art exhibit. This was where all my research broke down. On their webpage it said the Suntory Museum was only closed on Tuesday when they were preparing another exhibit. This was Tuesday and the exhibit had been up for some time, but they weren’t open. Back on the train I went to another museum closer to my hotel. I had been to the Edo-Tokyo museum before but didn’t realize it until I got inside. Then I was told the exhibit I wanted to see was all in Japanese and had lots of explanation. However, they had Hokusai’s entire set of the 36 views of Mt. Fuji on display, so it was a satisfactory day, after all.

March 17: Two flea markets and a garden

Posted on March 17, 2013 by ruthek

My first two trips to Japan, back in the 80’s were largely mindless. Most of the time I didn’t know where I was or where I was going. Let’s not even talk about meaning. I bought the cat, above, because I liked it. I didn’t know anything about Japanese art or folk art. I did know about western art, and I liked the cat. It’s been my favorite possession ever since. It bothered me that I did not know where the flea market was where I bought the cat. Each time I’ve been here since I’ve looked for it. I had a vivid memory of the physical space but no knowledge of it. Today I finally found it: the flea market at Yasukuni shrine. When I bought the cat the market was held on the paved driveway leading up to the shrine. Today the market is off to one side and cars are parked in the driveway. I went with the vague hope I might find another cat, but, of course, there wasn’t any. There was some interesting stuff including lots of guitars and taiko drums but I didn’t find anything interesting enough to buy.

As I entered the shrine area I saw people photographing a tree. At first I thought it might be a tree that survived the bombing of Tokyo, which was possible from the look of the tree. Then I found out it was the cherry tree used to determine the dates when Tokyo celebrates the cherry blossom season.

Cherry blossom master

Lanterns and shaped Ginko trees line the driveway.

Often things are not what they seem. I found out about another of those mysteries later in the day.

I was looking for breakfast from the time I left the hotel. I walked all around the Tokyo train station and didn’t find anything I wanted to eat. I walked around Yasukuni looking for something to eat. I didn’t visit the actual shrine or the museum, which I have mixed feelings about, because I was looking for something to eat. I found several interesting looking places outside of the shrine but they didn’t open until 11 am and I didn’t feel like waiting. I got back on the subway and went to the Tokyo International Forum for another flea market.

International Forum antique show

This time I bought an obi I’ll cut up for a book cover. The price was marked 1000 Yen.. I didn’t argue; just gave the vendor a 1000 Yen note. She packaged the obi for me and after she handed it to me she gave me a 100 Yen coin. We both laughed. I guess I should have bargained, but this was more fun. Only in Japan.

Cows dressed up for St. Patrick’s Day in front of the JNTO Information Office.

Still looking for something to eat I walked a short distance to a JNTO Information office. I had two questions, neither of which got good answers. First I wanted to know why seemingly all the young women in Tokyo were lined up outside of the Forum, occasionally moving in great bunches. No good answer to that one. Second, I wanted to know if I could access a wi fi service on the train for one or two months. No answer but a referral to a service that might help. I find I can’t get along without the phone, even though I have no one to call. It’s all that information it gives me. Standing there and talking I got an answer to something I thought about but hadn’t asked because I thought I knew the answer. About one in four or five people here are wearing those white face masks and an equal number sound like they ought to be wearing them. I thought they were all sick with colds or flu and I would probably be next. I started compulsively washing my hands. Well, they are not all sick; they are allergic to cedar pollen and this is the time of year. I am relieved, but who would have thought.

After the info center I finally found a place to eat. Fortified, I got back on the train and went to the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. Again lots of that light green ground cover, but a great variety of trees and some very nice views. I also found out it may be normal for everything to look dry at this time of year. The rains don’t come for another couple of months. That bit is still bothering me.

All three of them enjoying the fine weather

Full grown tree looking like a bonsai

Blossoms lit up as the sun gets lower

Beginning to blossom

The best laid plans

Posted on January 9, 2013 by ruthek

Abbot’s Garden at Nanzen-ji

Detailed planning will be important for Kyushu, Kyoto and getting out of Tokyo. I want to go to Hakone and Atami, just outside of Tokyo, near each other and probably good for one and a half days. As I mentioned last time, I couldn’t decide about making day trips from Tokyo or going on. Tonight I did it. I booked a hotel in Atami for 2 nights. When I arrive I plan to go to MOA, Atami’s famous museum of art, then spend the second day in Hakone, where I want to see the open air museum, take the train ride and hope for views of Mt. Fuji. I’ve never been to either place so I can’t show pictures now.

From my previous trip:

Then Fuji appeared, gloriously, on the left. A ring of gray clouds partially encircled it just below the snow level, in an otherwise blue sky. This time other people in the car reacted, taking pictures, moving to better viewing positions. I was content just to look. No photograph will ever do it for me.

Next stop: Okayama or Hiroshima

Amazing what can be found on the Internet

Posted on October 8, 2012 by ruthek

My writing class finished with me writing only two stories in the five weeks. The first was a revised version of my 9/11 story. The second needs lots of revisions. If I ever go back to it, I’ll post it. One of the suggestions from the class was to create a timeline, which I have started. Simultaneously I began going through two of the boxes I never finished unpacking. One of them contains calendars from as far back as 40 years ago. I have almost thrown them out several times, but can’t seem to do it. Now I am using them to fill out my timeline and then throwing them out. Enough already.

I’m happy to have some of the information. Unfortunately, I never thought I would refer to them and so used lots of abbreviations and cryptic numbers. In 1990 I frequently noted something called Iflp, or maybe Lflp. I suspect it was an exercise facility, but who knows. Another abbreviation I used frequently, OCWW, appears online: Off-campus writer’s workshop. So I’ve been attempting to write for a long time.

Another wonderful thing I found on the net, thanks to a member of the Pittsburgh Book Arts Collective, is this great video using an altered book.

There are more great videos on their website: http://www.mysteriesofvernacular.com/ All of the videos are short, perfect for my attention span. Some of them are interesting enough to make me want to see the entire piece. I don’t find much in video form that makes me feel that way.

School again

Posted on September 22, 2012 by ruthek

My Osher classes began immediately after I returned from Chicago. Actually the Monday classes, Conversational Spanish, beginning class again, and something about Hamlet on film, began the week before to make up for Labor Day. As I went through the week I realized I had signed up for too many classes. I didn’t have time to do the reading or other homework. On Tuesday afternoon I audit another Japanese Art History seminar. This time it is about architecture. I’m not finding it so interesting, but I’ll hang in there. I’m bound to get something out of it.

I dropped my Wednesday class. It was supposed to be about three books of the Bible: Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. I sat through two weeks of Job and realized he was not giving me any new insight or new thoughts. Instead, I’ve been reading JB, the Archibald MacLeish take on Job. Much more interesting.

Thursday is another writing class: writing elements of your life story. I was off to a good start with the first assignment, but failed this week. I spent too much time listening to all the political stuff. It’s been a fascinating week, politically.

The Friday class is the most entertaining. Before I tell about it, I have to tell you I dropped the second Monday class, the one about Hamlet. I sat through half of the second class and found I couldn’t understand the Shakespearean speech and the British accents. It would be good if the instructor used the subtitles that are probably on the DVD, but I had too many classes anyway, so it was a good excuse to just walk out.

Back to Friday: Jewish Art in Paris (nineteenth and early twentieth century). Today was the third of four classes. I will be sorry when the series is finished. The lecturer is very knowledgeable in both the art and in Judaism, and tells her stories almost as if she had been there. She has been talking about Chagall, Modigliani, Soutine, Chana Orloff, Max Jacob, Pissaro, Lipchitz and several others. She has stories about all of their lives, their loves, their paintings (and sculpture), where the paintings are today, and in many instances, how much they sold for. Each lecture is filled with snippets of gossip, insights about the paintings, and photographs and some paintings I had never seen before. In addition, the lecturer is a picture herself. I can only guess her age; one side or the other of 70. She is beautiful; white carefully styled hair, flashy but fashionable clothing, (first week, white leather, second week, a kind of gold beige suit, today a sweater with a portrait of one of the artist’s subjects), amazing jewelry. She stands in high heels for an hour and a half, talking mostly from well integrated memory, but with notes available used only to verify dollar (franc) amounts and occasional dates. The high heels make me ache, but mostly she keeps me so involved I don’t think about it. A lovely way to spend a Friday morning.

Conversations

Posted on August 30, 2012 by ruthek

We are supposed to be making art. That’s always the plan. We worked hard on Monday, a little bit on Tuesday and Wednesday. Today we’re still sitting and talking. We know each other for thirty years or more. Somehow we never run out of things to talk about. Tuesday evening we went to a play on the other side of the peninsula, which faces west over Green Bay and gave us a wonderful sunset.

Yesterday, after working in the morning, we visited two galleries and a wonderful master gardener’s garden.

Wisconsin

Posted on August 28, 2012 by ruthek

The sky was overcast with a slight drizzle all the way up here. That’s ideal for a long drive; no sun in the eyes, no huge downpour to cope with. We stopped at the Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan and saw three interesting shows. The drawing show and Carol Prusa show were both wonderful, but I particularly loved Emery Blagdon. He made what is frequently termed “outsider” or “”visionary” art: creations which come from the soul made by someone with no training who probably never terms them art or thinks of himself or herself as an artist. I would love to go around the world looking at this kind of art.

After another stop for ice cream we arrived in Sturgeon Bay where Anita and Kathy were waiting for us and we will spend the week. I am sitting and writing and looking out at Lake Michigan and listening to the waves coming ashore. Lake Michigan could be an ocean; there are no other shorelines in sight. I saw it when I drove into Chicago and followed it several hundred miles to get up here.

Yesterday we actually did some work. Sandy taught us about image transfer. Most of her techniques involved laser prints. I want to do it with inkjet prints and still haven’t found a satisfactory method. We have one more technique to try today.

I have taken lots of photos and can’t properly sort and handle them until I return to Pittsburgh. Here is one I took in the botanic garden just outside of Chicago.

More New York

Posted on February 4, 2012 by ruthek

In addition to the last two doctor’s appointments we spent time doing some fun things. Steve is a big Dickens fan. Before he returned to Pittsburgh, we went to the Morgan Library to see their Dickens exhibit: a really great show. The last time I visited the Morgan was just after their famous architect enclosed their buildings in a glass shell. It was mobbed with all the other people who wanted to see what the FA had done, and it was unbearably noisy. I hesitated to return, but this visit was quiet and very pleasant. We also viewed a show of Persian art and enjoyed J.P.’s original office and library. I would like to own all those books and have my own librarian.

On our last day Robin and I went to Chelsea Market and walked on the High line. This was Robin’s first visit to both places and she loved it. We walked the entire park on this beautiful, amazingly warm day. Before our walk we fortified ourselves with a salad and sandwich from Amy’s Bread. Also bought some to take home; not nearly enough. Maybe it was the bread that set off the alarms when I went through security.

I’m back to my usual Pittsburgh routine, taking Osher classes and looking for another place to live. Robin is continuing to make great progress.

Recovering

Posted on August 13, 2011 by ruthek

At least I haven't been spending so much time in restaurants. Thursday morning Mary and I went out to the botanic garden in the Bronx. The well-advertised exhibit wasn't so spectacular, but the Poet's Walk and the lily pond were spectacular. Here is a photo of someone doing a tricky bit of photography. Just imagine if the camera dropped into the water.

I don't know if the other photographer found it as amusing as I did.

We had lunch at the garden, but most of our visiting was done walking around–my doctor would approve.

Dinner was a long visit with Jean at another restaurant, but I've been sticking to salads.

Friday was a real walking day. Phyllis and I went up on the High Line. This is a real winner. The city converted an old railroad track into a long, skinny park. It's a great place: you can see into back yards, roof gardens and other usually hidden places.

Here the tracks remain, but the ties are covered with something that makes for easy walking.

The path rose above the tracks, visible below, and everything is landscaped beautifully.

This time we had a large, late lunch. After I got back to the apartment, worn out, I had a very small dinner alone.

No dates today so I went down to Union Square by myself. I was going to go out to Brooklyn to a Saturday event called a Smorgasburg–more food–but opted instead for a street fair in the village. Bought more earrings, and a Mozzarepa for lunch; wandered through the green market in Union Square then over to Lincoln Center, hoping to get a ticket for War Horse. No luck. Looked at quilts at the folk art museum, walked over to Lee's Art Supply to check for more paper; finally got a bus and I'm vegging out at the apartment.

I'm worried: if I can't get through three weeks in NY, how will I do six weeks in Japan next year. Maybe it's the heat.

Movable Feasts

Posted on August 11, 2011 by ruthek

You have to look at this picture very carefully to see why it stopped me. Look near the black shoes.

Maintaining friendships involves sitting at a table and talking and eating. The last two days have been an intense round of visits with old friends, usually sitting over coffee or something else I shouldn't have. Tuesday morning I met J in the art books at the Strand, which is so large we had to specify a section. From there, talking all the time, we went to a small Israeli restaurant where we sipped fresh squeezed orange juice until the lunchtime crowd came in and needed our seats. We went across the street to the less crowded Au Bon Pain and sat for another hour or two over coffee and soup. I usually eat, but wasn't hungry then. Finally J walked back to the Strand with me so I could continue looking at books and we said goodby.

I managed to get out with only one book and went up to meet another J, Julia, at the Whole Foods at Columbus Circle, starving by this time. Julia got a table while I bought food. We kept that one from four until six thirty, buying a little more as the spirit moved us. Finally I couldn't sit anymore and we walked over to Lincoln Center where we hung out again, until it was time for our eight o'clock concert. It was interesting to see the musicians so casually dressed for the rehearsal now looking very formal and dignified. This was an all Mozart program with the Jupiter Symphony and two choral pieces. Very nice.

Wednesday I met Sybille back at the Film Forum for another documentary; this time about Anselm Kiefer. Many years ago I was awestruck by a large Kiefer painting, Ordnung das Engels, at the Art Institute of Chicago. (It doesn't seem to be there any more.) Since then I have sought out his work wherever I could find it, but nothing had the power of that first experience. The film didn't either. Exhausted by the over long film, and hungry, we went looking for something decadent for lunch. We found Rocco's cheesecake first, but decided it was too decadent for starters so we walked across the street to Amy's Bread, where we had soup and some amazing seeded rolls. Then we went back to Rocco's for the Italian cheesecake, which is not as decadent (read cream cheese) as their American version. Of course, more talk and more coffee.

I returned to the apartment just in time to sit down for 10 minutes, then off to another restaurant to meet C and her niece: lots more talk, salad, no coffee. Two great days.

100 Books Before I Die

Ruthe Karlin

Category Archives: Art