New Forms Taschen 164

Although Kawamata vigorously rejects any relationship between his use of wood and the animist traditions of Japan, it is a fact that much Japanese art and architec-ture is fashioned from wood. Another important artist who works principalty with bamboo is Hiroshi Teshigahara. Director of the famous Sogetsu ikebana school in Tokyo, he is the son of Sof u Teshigahara, who was responsible, together with Kenzo Tange, for a return to interest in Japanese cultural traditions after the rejection that followed World War II. Hiroshi Teshigahara creates environments out of bamboo, which resemble a kind of traditionally inspired installation art. In 1992 and 1993, he created an installation for the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, at Numazu, a former residence of the Emperor 100 km to the Southwest of Tokyo. Pavilions for the tea ceremony were designed here by Tadao Ando, Arata Isozaki and Kiyonori Kikutake. A slightly different version of his installation was seen in 1993 at Unesco, in Paris. Like the great master of the tea ceremony Sen no Rikyo (1521-91), the ambition of Teshigahara here would appear to be the creation of a total work of art, in which installation, garden and architecture participate in a unified expression.

For certain figures, it seems obvious that a blending of different types of artistic expression is inevitable. The great Japanese couturier Issey Miyake is one of these creators. His work has frequently been shown in museums of art, and it is no coinci-dence that he is a close friend of architects like Isozaki and Ando. In his global ap-proach to fashion, there is an undeniable architectural element, which can already be seen in his development of unusual textiles.

The analysis of space and volume implicit in architecture can clearly be influ-enced in certain instances by the new vision brought to these subjects by artists. Contrary to a widely held opinion, Japan has counted a number of highly important

Isamu Noguchi Noguchi Atelier Murę. Awajishima, Japan Photographed in 1994

Noguchi'? magmficent atelier in Murę is unfortunately not open to the public. but it contains many of his late works. which are carefully sclccted piec cs of stone that he has only slightly retouched. drilling a hole through them or scoring a dcep linę along one surface. Admired by architects like Arata Isozaki. Tadao Ando and l.M. Pei. Noguchi had a very pronounced awareness of architectural space.