WW5: Ah, Motherland!

Willa Goldthwaite

Email: willa@willagoldthwaite.com

Personal Website: www.willagoldthwaite.com

Artist Statement

Ah, Motherland! A Wonder Women project at _gaia

When my grandmother left Japan to start her new family in the United States, her own family was upset and rejected her and her new American husband. I have always been interested in the choice she made and in the social stigmas my grandmother struggled with both in Japan and in America.

I am developing a series dedicated to my grandmother, Eiko Sato. I have always felt a connection to my grandmother although she died when I was still young. I am focusing on the specific objects that my grandmother cherished most. After her death, visiting her house told me so much about who she was. Her possessions were a mixture of American and Japanese culture. With the plastic Christmas tree and the collection of videos ranging from Mighty Mouse to Elvis, I saw my grandmother’s shrine for her ancestors, her lucky cat, and her antique sewing machine. Now that the house is gone as well, all I have is the memories. My goal is to evoke these memories through my watercolors.

In my watercolors, I attempt to highlight aspects of life that we take for granted. It is these small and often unnoticed characteristics that give culture significance. The formal concerns are produced using different viscosities of paint. Through consideration of density and scale, fluidity of paint application and layering, I use an unconventional method of application, pushing the paint. This allows the forms to expand, overlap and bleed into each other. The thin black outline surrounding the colored forms connects them as a whole.

The first watercolor in the series is an image of Meneki Neko. Maneki Neko is Japanese for “beckoning cat.” Also known as Lucky Cat, Fortune Cat, Welcoming Cat, and Money Cat, Maneki Neko is a beloved figure in Japan and adorns places of business, welcoming you to come in. Lucky Cats are a very popular collector items- typically a porcelain figure. My grandmother kept one in her home as well as in her place of business.

For this project, I am translating the images from the watercolors into a design for Noren (entrance curtains). A recent visit to the Serizawa exhibit at the Japan Society inspired me to make Noren. The entrance curtain, which hangs in a doorway, is a traditional Japanese sign of the merchant’s shop. My grandmother owned her own tailor shop in the United States. Because I am machine-sewing these pieces myself, I also feel connected to the seamstress side of my grandmother. I believe that creating Noren would be the perfect way for me to honor her and the story of her immigration.

Part 1.

In my work I combine elements from my contemporary American life with elements from my heritage. I find this to be one way that I am able to connect with my heritage that is otherwise becoming lost. The idea of what it means to be American or of mixed heritage is changing. It used to be that you had to categorize yourself as a single identity. There is more room for people of mixed heritage in today’s culture. Actually, I think that it is the true symbol of what it means to be American. In my work I am trying to reflect the dichotomy of east and west and most importantly the harmony of the two, so that it doesn’t appear that the two are clashing. I paint elements of Japanese culture but in a modern style, not using traditional Japanese methods. I also incorporate icons of my American life such as the George Washington Bridge, which may sit amidst cherry blossoms and koi fish and Japanese maple leaves. To some the combination of the individual elements may seem strange, but hopefully they find the painting in its entirety to be pleasant.

Part 2.

Wangechi Mutu

1972 Born in Nairobi, Kenya

2000 MFA, Yale University, School of Art Sculpture, New Haven.

1996 BFA, Cooper Union for the Advancement of the Arts and Science, New York.

1991 I.B. United World College of the Atlantic, Wales, UK
Lives and works in New York

How has studying anthropology affected your art work?

Studying anthropology has helped me to connect to colonial concepts and to explore the contradictions of cultural and female identity.

Why do you use pornographic materials in your collages?

The representation of women in pornography and the concepts of beauty in our current society are questionable. The women are ‘supposed’ to be beautiful, yet they are portrayed as vixens, as sex objects, never as mothers or sisters or daughters.

Using relational cultural theory, how can we discuss connection and communication?

The relational-cultural model encourages growth toward connection and relationship instead of independence and isolation. I think the experience of many people living in the US is that of rejection and isolation. Prejudices prevent many of us from developing true connections with others.  The sense of home comes from feeling a relationship or connection to those around you.

How do our multiple identities inform our work?

By reconnecting with our roots, we can also begin to understand where we fit in. As Fairbairn states, “it is only in its relationship to these objects that its true nature is displayed.”

I feel that because the US is thought of as a country of immigrants, where your family is from has become important. Growing up without any strong traditions or solid roots in my heritage, I felt this sense of shame, that I didn’t know where I was from. My family came from so many different countries, that I didn’t have one to claim. Only now am I realizing that even when one does know where they are from, they can still feel as lost as I did.

How do you want the viewer to experience your work?

I especially liked the part of the reading that says, “a ‘boundary’ could be conceived as a place of meeting and exchange with the surrounding milieu rather than as a place of protection from it.” I would like viewers to experience my work as this type of boundary. Although the noren are particular to Japan, they can be interpreted as a universal sign of a boundary or a passage from one place to another.

Grammy's memorial tablet for the family house shrine with the ringing bowl & striker and pad to summon her spirit when leaving an offering or praying.

These are some of the objects that belonged to my Grammy. I will use some of these images to develop my designs.

One of her dolls, a Japanese country girl from the north wearing clothes made out of a traditional kasuri fabric and holding rice.

Kokeshi doll- this style is specific to Sendai, where my father was born. The Kokeshi Museum is in Narugo where my great-grandmother, Ayame Takahashi, was from.

Grammy's Buddha - She always had one in the house. This one she got from her friend Nolly Locke who ran an antique shop in Brattleboro, VT.

Shinto prayer rope that is usually seen at a shrine.

An e-ma (meaning horse picture) which is used at shrines to write a prayer on. People visit shrines and temples before or during big events in their lives and write their prayer or wish on the back of these then hang them on a board at the shrine.

The O-bon festival is an important tradition in Japan. During this Buddhist event people gather with family and pray for the souls of their ancestors. They believe that during this time their ancestors will return. The celebration consists of dancing, offering food to the ancestors, and guiding them on their journey with lanterns, both hung outside homes and floated in the water. I would like to incorporate lanterns in my installation to honor my grandmother through this Buddhist tradition. The lanterns will hang beside the noren to guide people through the passageway they create.

My proposed project speaks to the “Immigrant Experience” through my eyes as the descendant of an immigrant from Japan. Although my project focuses on the personal belongings of one person, these objects carry with them a story that I think many immigrants share. I am concentrating mainly on the idea of passage from one place to another and being welcomed (or not). The concept of “American Identity” is very important in my work. I think it is something that we all struggle in finding no matter where we were born. Because I was born in the US and I have such a mixed cultural background, I think of myself as American. Many people won’t accept this. They want to know “but where are you from??” It is not that I want to deny my heritage, but sometimes it is just easier to be American. And I was raised American. I have bits and pieces from other cultures, but I feel that they do not define who I am. My grandmother on the other hand, did at some points want to deny her heritage. She wanted so much to be an American, whatever that meant.

With this project I would like to focus on the specific objects that my grandmother cherished most. After her death, visiting her house told me so much about who she was. Her possessions were a

mixture of American and Japanese culture. With the plastic Christmas tree and the collection of videos ranging from Mighty Mouse to Elvis, I saw my grandmother’s shrine for her ancestors, her lucky cat, and her antique sewing machine. Now that the house is gone as well, all I have is the memories. My goal is to evoke these memories through my watercolors.

The first watercolor in the series is an image of a Meneki Neko. Maneki Neko is Japanese for “beckoning cat.” Also known as Lucky Cat, Fortune Cat, Welcoming Cat, and Money Cat, the Maneki Neko is a beloved figure in Japan and adorns places of business, welcoming you to come in. Lucky Cats are a very popular collector items- typically a porcelain figure. My grandmother kept one in her home as well as in her place of business.

Maneki Neko, watercolor and ink on paper 2010

Ultimately, I would like to use the images from the watercolors to develop a design for a Noren (entrance curtain). A recent visit to the Serizawa exhibit at the Japan Society inspired me to make Noren. I feel that creating a Noren would be the perfect way for me to honor my grandmother and the story of her immigration as a symbol of passage from one place to another.