Big in Japan!

おはよう!

The competition continues, by the way, to win a Twelvemo Figure if  you comment on the previous posting or like the Twelvemo Facebook page!

Now, for a short while, there will be an interlude from creative stuff on this blog to explore some of the wonders of the Far East and I am in Japan with a a friend and an interesting two weeks lined up!

A couple of years ago I made an animation for a major exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts (in Norwich). The exhibition was call unearthed (it's meant to be spelt with no capital first letter) and it brought together ancient ceramic figurines made in two different cultures in different parts of the world; the Balkans and Japan. In both cultures these extraordinary works were deliberately broken and the pieces kept, preserved, and shared between houses and villages. No-one knows what the purpose of them was, why they were made, so we can only speculate. In Japan the Dogu figurines were made by the ancient Jomon  culture of Japan thousands of years ago. The Jomon made amazing and beautiful ceramics with rope and flame motifs figuring prominently. 

Anyway, the short animation that I made for the exhibition was well received. Children seem to be entranced by the soundtrack and Japanese archeologists rather like it too, so I am hoping to be big in Japan! (At 5 foot 9 inches I actually am big in Japan already!)

Our trip is partly funded by the Great Britain Sasakaw Foundation ( http://www.gbsf.org.uk/ ) and has been supported by the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Culture ( http://www.sainsbury-institute.org/ )

More info coming soon, but for now here is the little film that I made. Hope you enjoy it!
If it doesn't load right (it may be too big)  you can see the film on the this page of my website; http://www.sarahbeare.com/page4.htm