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I had someone take this photo a week ago without having any plan like blogging. But I’m glad I did. It’s always something. While surfing Facebook a few days ago, I saw a photo of Andy Warhol and Pat Montandon on her wall. It reminded me of my photo with Lo Shih-Tung. Pat is a writer, and we’ve been bloggers on Redroom.com. I liked her photo, and I thought Lo Shih-Tung could be next Andy Warhol!
On March 16th, I was invited to the opening party of Lo Shih-Tung’s contemporary, installation-type of arts by a friend of mine, Mrs. D. Mrs. D is very important in this story as well as the artist or Andy Warhol. I would get to Mrs. D later on, but as a volunteer, she was helping to prepare for the party. That party was free of charge and refreshments included foods and Taiwanese beer and tea which I didn’t know. So, I had a dinner right before I headed out to the BankArt Studio NYK building at the Yokohama Harbor. The water and the main entrance of the building was probably 100 feet or less. Yes, it was a neat location. It used to be a warehouse owned by Nihon Yusen.
After the party, I browsed the lobby, paged through their many beautifully designed fliers and pamphlets, sat down at the largest table, and waited for Mrs. D. It was 9:30 pm. She came out saying she was starved. She ordered a dish of Thai Curry from the lobby café and a cup of coffee for me.
“Why didn’t you eat the refreshment?” I said, “They had plenty of foods.”
“We were told not to.”
“That’s not good. They should feed the helpers first before they start working.” I imagined how humiliating to be hungry while serving foods. How could we help in empty stomach? I wouldn’t recommend it. The volunteers had probably been working since the lunchtime. I felt sorry for Mrs. D.
At the table, she ate her curry while I sipped my coffee. More volunteers gathered at the table.
“Am I relieved to find out “Don Quixote” wasn’t what I thought it to be.” I referred to the title of the exhibition, “Who is Don Quixote?” The title meant one of discount grocery chains in Japan, not the famous character from the classical French novel.
“I’m glad you made it.” Mrs. D kept saying it.
The leader of the exhibition and the artist also came to the table. Before I knew it, I was in the middle of their meeting. I felt I belonged to this group. I love arts and artists anywhere. Because I felt comfortable, and everyone seemed friendly, I raised my hand at the end of the meeting.
“What kind of project would you like to work on next?” I said to the artist.
“I want to make a Kurosawa-Akira-like movie based on the Don Quixote shop at Hinode-cho.” Hinode-cho is quite crowded, hustle-bustle kind of town in Yokohama.
“If “Don Quixote” allows him to do it,” the leader next to the artist replied with a smile. He must be Mrs. D’s boss.
I smiled back. A few people said something here and there looking at Mrs. D and me.
“Did you understand what he said?” Mrs. D whispered to me. “He meant the artist might not be able to pursue his project because of me.”
“Why? What have you done?”
“I was asked to get some Don Quixote’s uniforms just for the opening night. One of my children became ill, so I couldn’t travel to Hinode-cho. I went to a local Don Quixote shop instead and explained our needs. The manager there looked at the flier of the exhibit which I handed out to him. He spotted the logo of their shop all over on a page of the flier. One thing led another, and he reported it to the corporate office. As the result, my boss had to make his apology trip to the corporate office in Tokyo.”
“Good Grief!” I fumed. “It’s a non-profit art project. If it becomes commercially successful, that’s different matter, but still the businesses will only benefit from the exposure. Do you think Campbell Soup sued Andy Warhol? I don’t think so. It can be a win-win situation. Why should your boss go apologize? If I were him, I would have charged the ads money instead! The artist could have chosen other store like ‘Matsumoto Kiyoshi’ or something. There are plenty of innovative stores to choose from.”
Here is an excerpt from Lo Shih-Tung’s essay on the flier. “My curiosity was kindled by the shop’s somewhat exaggerated name, while its crude layout and silly appearances fascinated me deeply.”
That’s honest. I like it. Then, he continues:
“Ultimately, it comes down to just laughing the whole matter off, or to viewing it as a modern fable…..”
In his essay, I see direct and straight assessment of the ultimate consumerism. Then, yesterday, I was in Sakuragi-cho and needed to walk to the Hinode-cho station as often I do to clear my mind and eyes. I usually walk past Don Quixote because the thought of entering the store gives me headache. I like peace and quiet.
But because of Lo Shih-Tung’s art, I went in to check things out. Merchandises were packed in the small store from the floor to the ceiling. I held my backpack in my hand and close to my body and stepped through each aisle trying not to touch their products behind me. I wondered what Andy Warhol would say or create out of this experience. Maybe, he would make many Hello Kitty goods pictures instead of Campbell Soup cans. I also thought what would happen to such crowded store if a big earthquake erupted and a tsunami hit. The store must be heavily insured. It was an interesting cultural experience because in the U.S., I didn’t think the store could pass the fire department regulations. I bought a package of hot cocoa, and I was happy.
As for Mrs. D, she is an aspiring actress. I’ve been trying to persuade her for more than a few years that she learns the main role of my play originally titled “Yesterday.”
“That role has too many lines,” she said.
“Well, you could be missing a chance in life time. I’ve been rewriting it and plan to send out to Seinen Gekijo (Young People Theater). The deadline is the end of March. If they pick my play, you’ll be sorry.” I winked at her.
Her eye lids drooped. She looked exhausted after her long day.
I support arts and artists as my mother also had done all her life.
Congratulation to Lo Shih-Tung on his new art exhibit “Who is Don Quixote?” http://www.bankart1929.com/news/2012/03/2011lo-shihtung.html
Best Wishes to Mrs. D for her career.
Good luck to all of us including me.
4 comments:
Keiko, I like your photo. You look cute and happy.
Gee, I wonder why the manager got so upset. Humans are so unpredictable.
I raise my glass to luck for all.
Oh Keiko, Cervantes must be turning into his grave, hehehe.
I wonder why they named the stores Don Quixote.
You´re so right in supporting the arts! Without art, how could we reinvent ourselves?
:-)
Rebb,
Unfortunately, we have a large population of nit-pickers and wet-blankets in Japan. It must be cultural. If I have nothing to write in my life, I would collect and observe such persons and stories and pile them up in my file for posterity. But, I’m quite aware I’m also sometimes that way, but that, I would write it soon or later, and even if I try to hide it, I know it would show up through my writing. It’s probably much more obvious to you than to me. Smiles.
I read it in one of recent newspaper articles that in the happiness scale that was conducted by a legitimate global organization, Japanese’s life rank in 75th while South Americans’ top in the first five or so. You are not from the South America, but at least you have inherited close to the South American blood, so I’m sure you are on much higher percentile of happiness than I can naturally achieve. And for Luciana, she is definitely in the South America! Lucky, both you and Luciana!
Luciana,
Am I glad to see you here!
About the outrageous naming, this is my theory. When my kids were small, here and there, funny business names sprang up such as Tomato Auto or Suika (Watermelon) Preschool even in the Japanese community in Los Angeles after such trend from Japan. Once we had Sakura (Cherry Blossom) Bank, and during 60s and 70s, Taiyo (the Sun) Bank. The building I used to work at in Tokyo was occupied by Taiyo Bank for the first two levels. So, I’m somewhat immune to such name. I think people always try to gain attention, and that’s not only businesses. For example, “The Emperor of Ice-Cream” by Wallace Stevens comes to my mind. The title of the poem gives a great contrast in the scene the poet creates and captures the heart of the readers.
So, getting back to my theory, I think the people who came up with their company name “Don Quijote”—spelling j instead of x—are the kinds of people who grew up commuting to Watermelon Preschool or bought their first car from Tomato Auto or Lion Dealer, so to speak. Can you imagine if we grew up surrounded by all those names? Our sense of out-of-ordinary names, I’m sure, becomes numb.
Before I was born, many Japanese authors called Japan, 大日本帝国 which means Great Imperial Japan. I abhor the name. It gives me sick to my stomach whenever I see that as well as 大英帝国Great Imperial Britain or 中華思想 Sinocentrism. I better stop listing what makes me sick because I become sick. Anyway, it’s laughable today, but most Japanese during WWII did not laugh at the name. If they did, they probably went to jail or got killed.
In reinventing ourselves, how original our ideas are is an interesting subject, and what is good or bad taste is even better subject to argue. I’ve been reading “Basics of the Copyright Laws.” Come to think of it, laws are also arts in my opinion.
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