Two Groups in Two Ways

Goat Willow (Salix caprea), Eustoma, Spirea.
Kabuwake freestyle.

Did you ever notice that branches of Goat Willow can have a quite strong colour? I was so surprised by the shiny yellow and red branches coming up from the base of an old tree, that had been taken down. The shape of these young branches varies from straight to slightly bent and elegantly curved.

I used these branches together with some other spring materials to illustrate the difference between the basic style Variation no. 5 and Free style kabuwake. The word kabuwake, meaning 'separated groups', is used for Variation no. 5 as well. In both styles the materials are divided into to distinct groups. These kind of arrangements build on the traditions from very old Rikka arrangements, that were splitt in the middle with two shin (main) lines, or just two groups allowing water two flow in between them as a fish path.

Variation no. 5 moribana kabuwake is a basic style with fixed rules for the lengths and placements of the branches. The two groups represents an arrangement that have been taken apart and divided into two parts, that are incomplete without each other. The open water surface between the two groups is the most important feature of this arrangement. The kabuwake freestyle is a freestyle arrangement that has been developed from Variation no. 5. The expression is freer and the arrangement more vertical. The open space on the water surface continues up between the branches, and creates a powerful open space full of energy.

Goat Willow (Salix caprea), Eustoma, Spirea.
Variation no. 5, moribana.

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Girl Power

Forsythia and Calla lily 'Flamingo'.
Without kenzan.

The typical flowers for Girl's day, or Hinamatsuri on March 3rd., are pink Peach blossoms and yellow Rape flowers (Brassica napus). Pretty and humble, they are symbolizing youthful beauty and fertility. This festival is also called Momo no sekku, the Peach festival. In less traditional arrangements any pink and yellow flowers are acceptable.

In this contemporary ikebana arrangement without kenzan, I wanted to move away from the expectation of being pretty and humble and rather focus on girl power. At the flower market I found a bunch of  unusual pink flamingo Calla lilies with powerful vertical lines - perfect for what I was aiming at.

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Curved Lines in Basic Styles

Alder branches, Tulips, pine.
Variation no. 2, slanting moribana.

It's fun to play with curved lines in freestyle arrangements, but the energetic curves of springtime can also be expressed in basic styles, meaning styles with rules for how to place the branches in relation to each other and the vase.

In these two examples I've used the same branches and flowers as in one of the freestyle arrangements in my last blog post. Alder branches have naturally strong curves and also a nice variation in the texture of the material.

Alder branches, Tulips, pine.
Variation no. 8, combination arrangement.

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Lines of Springtime

Curved lines.
Linden branches, Muscari grass, Hellebore.

In the Spring season it is still so much easier to see the  lines of tree branches, than when the leaves have sprung and the tree crowns turns into a mass of green. Emphasizing straight and curved lines is important in Sogetsu school freestyle arrangements. Curved lines in the Spring are showing the increasing energy in nature, starting with a discreet bend and erupting with full power as it is getting warmer. When straight and curved lines are combined they are arranged so that they accentuate each other.

Straight and curved lines.
Alder branches, Salix branches, Tulips, paper bag.

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The 49th Spring

Birch, Hydrangea, bamboo vases.

first spring morning
my 49th year
of blossoms

Haiku by Issa, 1811

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Holiday Cinema - Revealing the Full Potential of Flowers

I found a really nice ikebana video that I want to share with you. If you can spare 30 minutes of your time, it well spent in my holiday cinema.

This video takes us to Kyoto, the old capital of Japan where traditions are handed down from generation to generation. You'll meet a nice mixture of people, all related to ikebana. At the Ikenobo school of ikebana you're welcomed by Yuki Ikenobo, headmaster designate, get a glimpse of the Ikenobo Research Institute and the remake of a huge Rikka arrangement made after a 400 years old description. You'll also meet a Kyoto pottery specializing in ikebana vases, an experienced  florist visiting a client to create ikebana at a tea house, a blacksmith making ikebana scissors, and finally Ryuho Sasaoka, the young third generation headmaster of Misho-Ryu Sasaoka.

Enjoy!

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Happy Easter

Linden branches, Daffodil, Hellebore, Thuja.
Variation no.3 (fan style) slanting moribana.

Easter gives hope for tomorrow, as after the winter comes spring.

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Guests for Easter

Japanese Fantail Willow, mini Gerbera, Blue Thuja.
Ukibana, floating arrangement.

Easter is a big holiday here in Scandinavia. It marks the beginning of spring after the long winter and is a very happy occasion. Traditionally, since it is also the end of a religious fasting period, Easter is associated with an abundance of food and a cheerfully decorated table. Yellow Daffodils and Birch branches with fresh spring leaves spreads joy and new energy.

Although Easter has nothing to do with ikebana, making Easter ikebana makes sense in this special context. I've made two Sogetsu style table top arrangements designed to welcome guests to the house. In this season anything yellow will be recognized as bearers of Happy Easter greetings.

Japanese Fantail Willow, mini Gerbera, Taxus.
Shikibana, spreading arrangement.

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Camille Henrot - ‘Is it possible to be revolutionary and like flowers?’

Have you also heard the statement "Ikebana is art!", and wondered what it really means?

From the advent of contemporary ikebana, and especially after World war 2, the discussion on ikebana has been influenced by a western understanding of art. From being a contemplative and highly regulated art form, ruled by tradition, it is now often understood as a means of self expression and individual creativity.

Recently this discussion has taken a new turn in western art, as ikebana works have been incorporated in concept art installations. Camille Henrot, a French artist based in New York, is maybe the most profiled exponent for this phenomenon. In the two year span of 2011-2013 she worked on the project "Is it possible to be a revolutionary and like flowers?", that was first exhibited in Paris. Last summer her work were on display at the New Museum in New York.

Following the idea that ikebana and books are related as bearers of language but also in their function to “console the soul”, Henrot created more than 100 arrangements in tribute to the books that make up her personal library. Some of the ikebana creations were then exhibited and photographed. In this process the books are subjected to "becoming flowers".

Henrot is a trained ikebana practitioner and have studied with the Sogetsu school of ikebana. Each of her ikebana is created to represent a literary work, following a principle of reinventing the coded language that decides the shape of the arrangement and the use of flowers in traditional ikebana. Reassigning traditional ikebana codes Henrot uses the Latin and common names of the flowers, the names designed for their commercial exploitation, their pharmacological power and sometimes even the history of their travels. For example, in the ikebana piece that pays homage to the book Caractère fétiche de la merchandise (The fetishistic nature of consumer goods) she uses a rose named “freedom” and three carnations.

The coded language in Henrot's work reminds me of the allegoric messages in old European paintings, where objects and flowers are added to the composition to tell a coded story. Even though flowers are used as message bearers in ikebana, this language in my experience is often more concerned with what is understood as the inner character of the plants, than of a direct representation of an idea that can be associated with a specific flower.

Seen separately, the ikebana works have clear references to contemporary ikebana and to iconic works by Sofu Teshigahara, founder of the Sogetsu school. Put together as an exhibition or a "library", the works must also be seen in relation to installation art and assemblages of natural materials and found objects.

So what happens to ikebana when it is no longer an artform in it self, but is incorporated in an installation? There are similarities between ikebana and installation art. For example, ikebana is always site-specific, or at least site-sensitive. But there are also differences. Concept art is preoccupied with an idea, a concept, whereas ikebana is much more starting with the materials themselves, working towards a conceptual expression.

Henrot's installations have been categorized as "ikebana inspired sculptures". Discussing them herself, she calls them "heterodox ikebana", deliberately based on certain naiveties and even misinterpretations of the fundamentals of ikebana: "I like to remove segments of culture in partial and unfinished manners in order to grow them in the fertilizer of my work".

The ikebana works by Camille Henrot are being recognized as art. But are they also still ikebana? If so, with their reassigned language code and close dependence on the concept of litteratur and libraries, they certainly offer a different answer to the question what ikebana can be today.

PS: If you wonder about the title "Is it possible to be revolutionary and like flowers?", it is borrowed from Leninism under Lenin, written by Marcel Liebman in 1973, and refers to flowers as being seductive: “You start by loving flowers and soon you want to live like a landowner, who, stretched out lazily in a hammock, in the midst of his magnificent garden, reads French novels and is waited on by obsequious footmen.”

Photo courtesy: © Camille Henrot / Photo. Fabrice Seixas Courtesy the artist and kamel mennour, Paris

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Contrasting Branches

Apple branches, Macedonian pine, Forsythia.
Using branches only.

Sometimes things becomes clearer when you see them in relation to their opposite. The differences helps define what I'm not and who I am.

Putting together branches with different appearance and opposite characters helps making a stronger impression. Each of the branches stick out when contrasted with each other. They are not all the same. At this time of the year some are bare, some are evergreen and some are richly blossoming.

colorful birds

set free in the trees...

blossoms

Issa, 1788

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