LACQUERWARE

HANA ROBERTS ‘24

I incorporate kimono designs throughout the entirety of the piece through gold accents and orange leaves. I created this work, among a series of others, to bring attention to the traditional crafts of Japan and how many are becoming endangered in an era of modernization and mass production. This work, in particular, is about Japanese lacquerware. Lacquerware is a careful, long process in which there is a separate specialized craftsman behind every step. With the rise of mass produced lacquerwares and the lessening relevance for traditional items, such as Shrine Votive Plaques (bottom left), such craftsmen struggle to continue their trade. Themes of autumn and winter, through oranging leaves and tsubaki flowers, give note to the end of a life cycle. This is because of the rapidly aging population that carries the knowledge and skill and the fact that many of the Japanese youth are not willing to take up these traditional crafts.

I chose unprimed, unstretched canvas to create the blurry, soft appearance commonly found in Japanese artworks, and cut it into the shape of a kimono.