The Jomon Era is an Explosion: Experience the Beauty of the Primitive with Taro Okamoto
The Jomon Eruption: Taro Okamoto and Primitive Beauty
"What is this?"
- exclaimed Taro Okamoto when he encountered Jomon pottery at the Tokyo National Museum in 1951.
It was an explosion of the soul that reverberated throughout the quiet exhibition room.
The "Beauty of the Jomon Period" as seen by Taro Okamoto
Jomon pottery is not just ancient vessels.
It is the surge of life, the cry of form, and the origin of beauty.
Taro Okamoto saw "magical power," "wild beauty," and "the dynamism of asymmetry" in Jomon pottery.
As he said, it was an explosive beauty, the polar opposite of "wabi-sabi."
"Jomon pottery embodies the fundamental power of life. It is a beauty that is felt not by logic but by the soul."
The design of Jomon pottery: the aesthetics of discord
• Twisted, distorted, and asymmetric.
• The flame-shaped rim pierces the sky like a flame.
• The patterns undulate and bounce rather than repeat.
It is not neat beauty.
Order residing in chaos.
Harmony resonates within the dissonance.
Taro Okamoto saw the "essence of art" in these forms.
It was a primordial energy that was also present in his own work, Tower of the Sun.
WABISUKE Perspective: Dialogue between Seasonal Words and the Jomon Period
For example, the seasonal words "doyo" and "enhiru."
The passion contained in these words and the flame-shaped edges of the Jomon pottery somehow resonate with each other.
In terms of the color calendar, it is the color of earth and fire, such as "benihi" (crimson) or "kogecha" (burnt brown).
It is also the color of time that is burned into the Jomon pottery.
A question from Taro Okamoto
"Art doesn't have to be pretty. It has to move the soul."
WABISUKE aims to create a "poetic everyday life" that also touches the soul.
Like Jomon pottery, it is imperfect, powerful, and full of life.
Taro Okamoto's perspective calls into question the nature of such beauty today.