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More soon, i'm transcribing
as fast as i can.
--KODO concert August 13, 2002. --
The show was fantastic of course. KODO never disappoints. I'd have to say my favorite piece was Monochrome, mostly because I can appreciate
the high level of technical difficulty in the piece. The dynamics of the piece were awesome.
Yes, I'd also have to say Hana Hachijo was a close
second. I just like watching Chieko play the odaiko cause she's so smooth and fluid in her motions. Cool
piece.
Also, although there was no taiko in the
piece, I really liked Hogi-No-Shirabe. Listening to it was almost like a story and matched the subject of the piece
perfectly (about the loneliness of the pack-horse riders on the mountain roads). I tend to
like pieces that include fue...
---leigh momii / kaze daiko, seattle.
The 2/3 of HANAYUI dropped
in for a weekend of fab workshops for the public and the taiko groups here... if you ever get the chance to take a workshop
either the movement or the voice, get to it. WOW is all i can say...it was spiritually a magical 2 days!
When Chieko (hanayui) saw this photo
of Akio's otherselves...she points at it and says
" STAN ? " ---the others in the gallery snicker..I
wish i had THAT on video, as it was a funny moment.
Self and Others: Akio Takamori
@ Grover Thurston Gallery, Seattle. when i see akio takamori's ceramic self portrait heads on other body-forms (the
sphinx, griffins embracing, baby crawling, daibutsu, doggies) you can imagine what this artist is daydreaming
about. at the opening i asked him if the heads are attached to the bodies, and he goes over and pulls the head off and
shows me that they are separate vessels. when he camly puts the head back, its so funny to see him do it so gently
and nonchalantly, while everyone else is treating them so delicately. they are far from delicate, they are a GAS
to see when walking thru Occidental Square on the way to a Mariners game-- i watched the teeming hordes walk and gawk.
Too Funny.
at other times when i visit the gallery and stand really
close to the heads and look from each side, i can see how the 'Self and Others' interact with each other,
their gaze is deliberate and smirky. There's even a few that wink! ---ihk.
Margaret Cho...no interview but,
she's soooKoooool
The Notorious C.H.O.- dropped into Seattle November
11, 2001 for the filming of her 2 shows at the Paramount Theater. The Undisputed Diva of Comedy was absolutely amazing, her
comical renditions of people, body language, funny faces and eyeball gymnastics, the only asian american female performer
i know of that's not afraid of saying the word F*CK..Loudly & Proudly..( well, there's one more..Christine Choy ).hey
i'd type it here, but i know that someone out there will report me to the tripod decency webpolice and my site will be gone
in a blink of an eyelid!
"yeah, baby!", "u go girl!"..was a commonly spewed kiai at the performance.
Not only
did i anxiously await the arrival of The Notorious, but for a long time, it has been one of my new year's resolutions and
ultimate dream... to photograph the most vibrant, inyour face comedy diva in the world!
Yes, the Fabulous Margaret Cho!!!!
I was the "Behind the Scenes Photographer" for the film, there was so much going on my brain was all over the place!
The coolest part of the experience, being a gear in the well oiled machine of the production team of this concert film. The
absolute best part was the moment that i got to photograph MC in the dressing room. The room with the expansive mirror with
bulb lights sectioning off each part of the mirror from end to end. In the middle section of the mirrored side was the chair,
with none other than the Fab Ms Cho sitting there with tousled hair waiting for the makeup specialist to do her thang.
I
entered, Karen MC's mgr was sitting on the counter to my left, MC dead ahead with makeup chick, infront of me- the camera
chick with the smooth moves, the smoothest body pan around, shooting my style, with both eyes open. It was so quiet that my
camera shutter seemed thunderous. A few shots into it, and i had to step outside to grab my camera bag, to rotate the lenses
and make sure i got enuff shots. MC is had great face to shoot, smooth with great shape.
Many of my friends joke about
their large asian gourds ( head size ) and gave me the assignment to figure out if MC's head was as big as she once joked
about. Visualizing SY's head next to mine, i was constantly trying to superimpose the hologram in my head over that of the
Fab MC's--all while i was shooting, and trying not to smirk. I don't really know what my face was doing since i was still
in awe of my situation.
It reminded me of the time i was in the dressing room of the Grand Kabuki Theater's star onnagata's
getting into his 'zone' for the application of the white makeup--that was really stressfull because i couldn't get eye contact..forbidden.
Did i have eye contact with the Fab MC? i can't recall, i was trying to fully concentrate on the moment to capture.
**Paparrazi
Moment: When the Fab MC, was lead out of Make-up and herded into the elevator to get to the stage, THAT was the defining "paparrazi
moment" -- why? becuz of all the media equip'd peeps that followed her into the elevator all the cameras pointing in her direction..a
little intimidating..all the peeps in black with boom mikes, lenses, things in her face..like moth to a flame. I stood as
far back as i could to get all the gear in the shot, media frenzy!
[when the elevator door opened, i was right next
to the Fab MC, and her head was near mine...it didn't seem too gargantuan, it was normal in relation to her bodysize, which
was the typical Kgirl structure of sturdy.]
So, SY..i think that your cranium is way biggah! TEAM CHO rock on!
\shoyu2001\
O9-26-96 : SANKAI JUKU
Amagatsu
Ushio, Sankai Juku's founder and artistic director tells us that Butoh expresses the language of the body rather than a theoretical
meaning of movement.
This time Sankai Juku gives us " YURAGI In A Space of Perpetual Motion " with a soundscape of
music by Yaz-Kaz and Yoichiro Yoshikawa.
Direction and Choreography by Amagatsu Ushio
Dancers: Amagatsu Ushio, Semimaru,
Ogata Atsushi, Iwashita Toru, Takeuchi Sho.
YURAGI
One act in 7 sections.
To me, it seemed like a
recurring dream, reruns of portions of all the other Sankai Juku works that I have experienced before. Jomon Sho, Kinkan Shonen,
and Unetsu all spliced together and shaken up, there were no smooth transitions from one slice to the next. Group and solo
alternating was the schematic pattern. Amagatsu stands out clearly as their leader.
The last section was the most
intriguing for me, it contained many visual elements that kept my attention. The other stuff was so bland that I can describe
it as one phrase of blissful state of wondering. In other words I paid thirty bucks for an aural and visual LULLABY??? I like
to say LULLaBYE cuz I was getting soooooo sleepy ( I yawned 24 times) ! The set was interesting tho I often drifted to the
state of wondering if the Animal Rights people were going to storm the joint for cruetly of slowly roasting a rabbit in a
public performance! The set has these "torchiere" halogen-style lamp housing that they had placed the live rabbits inif they
were recalled for unsafe in the homes, then geex what the hell was gonna happen here?? Were the rabbits sedated? They didn't
move around much, if that were me, I'd be trying to jump over the side. I couldn't concentrate on the dance part anymore,
my only brain energy was going to thinkin' about the rabbits..Jump, Jump- was what I was sending via mental telepathy..maybe
these were special rabbits, bred to sit on scientific hotplates? Or maybe they were given lobotomies? Maybe the UW animal
testing dept gave them the experimental rabbits to use??
I WAS NOT IMPRESSED ONE BIT. Sankai Juku has evolved all
that it can, maybe devolve is the next plateau. Why can't we ever get to see Shijima?? Is it because it involves hanging from
ropes?
New rules for american born japanese: Amagatsu said to me " No Interviews with Photos and " No Interviews to
Non Japanese" but the mainstream papers were allowed to take all the photos and get the interviews, white people.
He considered
me as non japanese. They'r starting to cater to Japan-o-philes!
U dont diss your people.
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The day after the WLAM Auction i couldnt get up... i was
soooo congested and had to resort to the inhaling cayenne pepper dust via my nostrils to clear my nose..lotsa vitaC trying
to less congested in time to brave the snow flurries, and enjoy my free ticket to Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble with
thanks to JN and Stan Shikuma for thinking of me. My sinuses clearout..i'm thinkin' early allergy season.. Sunday there
is a gathering to chill out with SYTE at Masaye's house i'm fine but my postnasal drip is getting out of hand.. whar is all
this coming from? i get there early and my reward for being on time.. is
a feisty old Chow dog nearly rips my pinkie offa my right hand.. i was just sitting there and the dog lunged at me.
IT felt like i got my finger stapled at the knuckle..( that happend before..so that is how it feels ) it was really stinging
so i went to rinse it off, and blood is gushing from the gash..there is a skin flap hanging off my finger . so i neatly flap
it back and rinse it out & twist it into the right direction and pop it back-like the way it was. its still bleeding
so Masaye told me to put some aloe vera on it and put a bandaid on as it "would be as good as new in a week! " . My finger
was throbbing all nite and i couldnt really think of good questions to ask the awesome visiting taiko group!
The members of SYTE have interesting backgrounds in performance and art that make it really more
visually cohesive than that of the taiko groups here in the Pacific Northwest. The percussion guy, Jimi Nakagawa was
really funny-- he told some great stories and acted them out too..great barking dog impersonation! On tuesday
following, i was flat out sick with a fever, cough from hell, congestion, burning eyes, and not hungry..until march 15,
Then i ate dinner at Ichiban on Mar 17th, and that nite
i drank 16oz of Sake before i went to bed. . and the next day i was 100% well...
Just in time to follow the Peace Rallies and Anti-WAR demonstrations..for
the next 6 days. the worst was the mar 23rd sunday the police were OUT of line messing with old asian women out shopping
and a black family held in the middle of a street for too long..there were at least 300 cops in the pioneer square area. for
NOTHING NO ONE WAS VIOLENT. dont believe the mainstream media, TV coverage is not telling the TRUTH, people are getting killed,
this is NOT a clean war.. the USA is clearly the enemy.. our President doesnt listen to the PEOPLE.. we are against this war
on humanity. History is repeating itself again.
>> racist hysteria
in the name of war<<
Talkin' bout racist hysteria --Did U see the poster that
the Seattle Central Community College had up all over town?? the racist " J*P / Ch*nK " face on yellow paper?
the director says its justified imagery.. but did they have a Japanese American Advisory
Committee on their production???NO!
so if we asians did a racist portrayal
of the Black Experience in America and used such racist imagery.. what would happen? it would be WW3 in a minute.. just after
all the Shaquille verbal attack on Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets, racist language at that on TV.. documented -- go figure.
its almost Asian Pacific Heritage Month.. this is WAR. -------
Aug 3rd, '02 : went to vancouver bc for
the annual Powell Street Festival, a very COOL Japanese Canadian cultural/arts
fest, which compared to Asian & JA stuff here, is very LEFT of center! Entertainment by locals include: Jay
Hirabayashi's Post Butoh in the park, taiko & piano duet of Kage and Nishihara, Xperimental video, Draggin'
Angels dragshow, buyo, martial arts, crafts, literary salons. Much more to offer than anything here, 'cept maybe
our Bon Odori.
**PSF fotos below**
writer-types cheesin' it up for the camera!
Butoh Dance Series --- Ohno Kazuo
In October of 1993, I requested a photo session with the "father of Butoh" , Ohno
Kazuo. The host of the show was On The Boards, the same which brought SankaiJuku to Seattle. Artistic director Mark Murphy
asked Ohno Sensei if i could photograph him in rehearsal.
I waited in the lobby with all my camera gear , ( its that whole Japanese ritual of waitingif you wait
long enough without showing irritation, they allow your presence)....waited at least 2 1/2 hours before the Masters presence
blew past me. He stopped in front of me and gave a partial bow and continued down the walkway to the stage.
I went into to the theater, was introduced to Ohno Sensei , his wife and son Yoshito ( also a dancer).
I was told that I could photograph after the first run-thru. It was at that time they turned down the
house lights and it was very dim. I was prepared for anything, especially the dark. I used Ilford 400 speed film pushed to
1600, Kodak Infrared and some Konica 3200 color film. the cameras I used were a combination of a Pentax ME/50mm lens, Nikon8008/Sigma35-135zoom.
Ohno continually spoke of the respect he has for his mother and how that " being in her womb and the
moment of birth" influences his daily life and existence within the Universe, as something very eternal. He also said he is
a devout Christian, and I remember hearing Ave Maria many times. His spirituality was infinite, as in a Japanese Shinto
sensibility, yet as religious as a devotee of Christ. An interesting combination, that only a Japanese could put into perspective,
and not Other anyone.
This is the first time i have printed these images, at the time they were too difficult to print, i
was afraid that i wouldnt do them justice... so here it is the year 2002 and i am
now able to present them the way i had envisioned them to be when i was shooting them.
I call this particular set of photos " INFINITY, from Heaven to Earth"
eventually I would like to print them big, maybe lifesize.
Copyright © i. h. kuniyuki, 2002.
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