ART II
Art comes in many forms too.
Making my own food art.
Continuing my journey through art museums - Kumamoto Prefectural Art Museum.
A brutalist building. I had not encountered a brutalist up front and personal in a while. I found myself inside this cavernous interior quite comfortable, warm, and inviting. Maybe it was the piano legs that softened things up? Over the years I have grown a bit fond of brutalists. Surprisingly, brutalism is what attracted me to UCSD (see older post).
Some more brutalists in Kurashiki.
Different day, different location - similar brutalists.
You simply cannot escape the brutalists. They rise from the night and impose their will upon the landscape.
Though there’s a certain bit of class from contemporary university hall architecture (see last post), I love when buildings take on the form of the product they represent or sell. This building (Shiro Amakusa Museum) is reminiscent of a crown, though I’m not sure if that’s what it entails.
The museum chronicles the introduction of Christianity on this tiny island and faith adherents’ subsequent persecution by the Shogun. These actions directly led to the closing of the entire island nation of Japan to the outside world. Professing Japanese Christians would be executed for their faith and those who did not verbally claim to be Christian would hence survive and disguise their faith by blending the Cross into local art and fashion, in this instance swastikas on the hands of Buddhist statues would be replaced with the shape of a cross. In other instances, the cross motif would be incorporated into the ring hilt of a traditional sword.
But not every building has to be a monstrosity of a story or beast.
Meet Kumamon. Beloved mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture.
These gundams have given up their fighting sticks for fiddlesticks and drum sticks. They’re lovers, not fighters. Make love, not war!
Watching the art of love making. Rest in peace and sleep well my friends to the sounds of smooth jazz and ocean waves lapping your feet.
Thanks for reading Three Guaguas and a Moto. Got a question? Leave a comment!
Til next time!