"Forget about all things digital, and treasure the analog way of creating art and connecting with each other," states Mariyo Yagi. "No skills required—just bring your heart and your hands!”
The open call for hands and hearts is for a collaborative art event taking place on Saturday, May 31, 2014 at LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton, NY. Together, participants will create the New York installment of the Yagi's NAWA Axis for Peace Project 2014.
The LongHouse site marks the first United States installation of the Yagi's public art collaborative peace project. It is being held in partnership with the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn, NY.
More than 100 hands are expected to work together on Saturday, twisting the monumental NAWA rope column and raising it into place in one of the gardens at LongHouse Reserve. It will remain on view through 2017.
The twisting rope workshop takes place from around 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with the sculpture being raised and installed immediately afterwards. An Opening Reception will take place from 5 to 7 p.m.
NAWA Axis for Peace is based on the collaborative creation and installation of a monumental rope sculpture, with the strands of the rope fashioned from different pieces of brightly colored printed fabric.
“Called the NAWA Vital Link Projects,” these artistic undertakings occur as collaborative ritual events that actively unite people and community in the spirit of peace,” Yagi stated in describing the process for the LongHouse Reserve.
“Together, our monumental creation – the NAWA Column – symbolically binds a wide range of persons, transcending all boundaries, ages and differences in backgrounds," she continued. "These works contribute to the revitalization of communities, awakening relations between nature, culture, and individuals, nurturing harmony in our common quest for world peace.”
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NAWA Column in the amphitheater. Courtesy LongHouse Reserve
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Yagi’s intention is to create works of artistic beauty through the process of inspiring, collaborative public events. The twisted rope—called NAWA—is a metaphor for all realms of life. Its spiral form symbolizes interconnectedness. In ancient Japanese, NA means “you” and WA means “I”, signifying the binding together of diverse people in a spirit of strength and world peace, explained the artist.
“I have pursued innovative approaches in the fields of environmental art with an enduring commitment to creative interaction, spiritual enrichment, and the building of a social community,” explained Yagi in a statement for LongHouse. “My work is especially informed by Japanese ritual aesthetics, which have long emphasized that human beings and the forces of nature are active collaborators in the making and remaking of our dynamic, alive universe.”
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"The Nest of Cosmic Time 1&2" by Mariyo Yagi, 2009.
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Mariyo Yagi is an internationally acclaimed Japanese environmental artist who works in a variety of media and at different scales. Since the 1970s (when Yagi worked as assistant to Isamu Noguchi) Ms. Yagi’s rope-form sculptures have been exhibited around the world.
Yagi's awards include the 21st Kyoto Prefecture Culture Prize (Artistic Merit), an Urban Design Award (Toyonaka City, Japan), an Urban Art Award (Mauberge, France), Copper Prize Award (San Francisco Museum of Art) and an honorary doctorate. Her work is included in such collections as the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, the Brasilia National Art Museum, the Fondation Toms Pauli, and many others.
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Artist Mariyo Yagi with her sculpture "Bamboo Hollowness."
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Images of her sculptures have been published in books and magazines including The Art Fabric: Mainstream, Interlacing: the Elemental Fabric, Beyond Craft: the Art Fabric, Art in America, Sculpture and in numerous other publications.
Participation for the LongHouse installment of NAWA Axis for Peace Project 2014 is open to all. No prior experience is required. To participate, email [email protected].
BASIC FACTS: NAWA Axis for Peace—Project 2014, a collaborative art event and installation by artist Mariyo Yagi takes place on Saturday, May 31, 2014 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. An Opening Reception takes place from 5 to 7 p.m. It is being held in partnership with the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn, NY. To track the event: www.facebook.com/nawalink. Mariyou Yogi: www.mariyoyagi.net.
LongHouse Reserve is located at 133 Hands Creek Road, East Hampton, NY 11937. www.longhouse.org.
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