In June 1954, an article published in House & Home magazine read, The Japanese had some of our best ideas300 years ago. The piece highlighted three main attributes of Kyotos Katsura Imperial Villa, built in the 1620s: the open post-and-beam plan, the use of verandas for climate control, and its modularity based on tatami mats and shoji screens. The article coincided with the opening of the Japanese Exhibition House at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. On the recommendation of architect Antonin Raymond, the artist Isamu Noguchi, and others, the museums architecture and design curator, Arthur Drexler, commissioned Japanese architect Junz Yoshimura to design the house as part of the museums House in the Garden series. Yoshimura was inspired by a 17th-century temple home near Kyoto named Kojo-in. He designed and built the house in Nagoya and then shipped it in 636 crates, to be installed in the museums garden, where it received thousands of visitors daily over a period of ten months. Shofuso (Pine Breeze Villa), as Yoshimura named it, was subsequently moved in 1958 to West Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, where it remains today.
Sixty-two years later, and after several months of lockdown, Shofuso has reopened with an exhibition that revisits the historical-cultural exchange between Western modernism and Japanese traditional craft and architecture. Shofuso and Modernism: The Architecture and Design of George Nakashima, Antonin and Nomi Raymond, and Junz Yoshimura honors the close friendship and community-based collaboration between Yoshimura, architect and woodworker George Nakashima, architect Antonin Raymond, and interior designer and graphic artist Nomi Pernessin Raymond.
The exhibition was co-curated by William Whitaker and Yuka Yokoyama. Whitaker is the curator and manager of the architectural archives at the University of Pennsylvania and has worked with the Raymonds and the Nakashima family for many decades. Whitakers 2006 book and exhibition Crafting a Modern World: the Architecture and Design of Antonin and Nomi Raymond highlighted the designers longtime connection with Japan and Japanese architects and craftspeople from 1917 through 1966. Yokoyama boosted her knowledge of the history of ancient and contemporary Japanese craft by working for hands-on industrial designer Sori Yanagi, a pioneer in modernist Japanese design and the son of Setsu Yanagi, founder of the Mingei movement in Japan.
Shofuso is considered an Utsushi, which Yokoyama described as an homage to spirited inspiration. In Shofuso and Modernism, Utsushis are present everywhere, from the building itself to an ikebana arrangement resembling one at the 1954 MoMA installation to the newly commissioned photography by Elizabeth Felicella. Felicellas photographs, presented through a retro slide projector alongside archival photography by Ezra Stoller, show the current working life of the Raymond Farm and the Nakashima Studio.
Shofuso was always intended to be an exhibition house and not inhabited. Nonetheless, this show has enlivened it with a careful selection of furniture, art, and textiles. Bringing these pieces into Shofusos 15-mat room seemed a natural extension of the shared experiences of the Raymonds, Yoshimura, and Nakashima, Whitaker said. A 1933 Nomi-designed chair with grass rattan covering made for the Akeboshi Tetsuma House in Tokyo is placed next to a standing lamp from the 1950s with a handmade mulberry paper shade, along with a rug bearing a graphic abstraction of a lotus field circa 1935, also by Nomi. Alongside the houses shoin (a built-in desk) by Yoshimura hangs Nomis award-winning textile Strips, Trunks, Trees, Dots from the late 1930s. It was originally exhibited with two of her other fabrics at the 1941 MoMA show Organic Design in Home Furnishings, albeit under her husbands name.
The connection between the Raymonds and their protgs Nakashima and Yoshimura goes back almost 100 years. In 1934, a young George Nakashima from Spokane, Washington, having trained as an architect at the University of Washington, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Fontainebleau, joined the architecture office of Antonin Raymond, who, together with Nomi, had established a practice in Tokyo in 1921 after working with Frank Lloyd Wright on the Imperial Hotel. Nakashima would soon learn through the Raymonds work and writings how vernacular and modern elements could sensibly be joined. The Raymonds evolved an approach over 18 years of working in Japan that addressed the complexity of the cultural context, connected with Japans deep craft and making traditionsall the while maintaining a connection to modernisms interest in universal solutions, Whitaker said. An exceptional example is their summer studio in Karuizawa, Japan, built in 1933. Its design drew inspiration from Le Corbusiers Maison Errzuriz in Chile, an unbuilt project from 1930, but merged details particular to Japanese traditional cottages, such as awnings and organic fiber blinds, with modern concrete constructions, such as cantilevered platforms.
Yoshimura, classically trained in Japanese culture and traditions in Tokyo, had joined the Raymonds as a student in 1928 and later as a full-time architectural designer in 1931. Nakashima learned from Yoshimura the sophisticated nature of Japanese architecture as they traveled together through Nara, Hakone, and Ine. Nakashima reminisced in his 1981 autobiography Soul of a Tree, [Yoshimura] knew so well the elegance and power of simplicity, the beauty of proper materials in building, where the error of a fraction of an inch can make the design fail absolutely. He knew these things well in both the time-honored Japanese design and in the free, modern concepts, and he passed them on to me.
Nakashima was exposed to the craftwork of rural families in one of his first projects with the Raymonds, St. Pauls Church, finished in Karuizawa in 1935. Traditional Japanese carpenters (or daiku) made use of as much of a tree as possible, Whitaker explained. Larger sections [were used] for structural elements, secondary structural elements [were made] from midsize elements, and narrow diameters were used for the legs of furnitureall from the same tree. Even bark had a place in certain projects.
In 1938, Nakashima volunteered to work on the first reinforced concrete building in India, a dormitory for the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry that had been commissioned to the Raymond office. Nomi maintained strong and deep interests in the spiritual basis of work, Whitaker said. Her connections to theosophy and other perspectives that explored the universality of human experience led her to an early interest in Aurobindo in the mid-1920s. Nakashima was also driven toward this mystical approach and embedded it in his life and work. To my mind, this is where Georges work as a woodworker beginsbeginning out of the wellspring of spiritual devotion, Whitaker asserted.
The Raymonds eventually moved their practice to the United States and in 1939 settled on an 18th-century farm of Quaker origin in New Hope, Pennsylvania (currently run by their granddaughter Charlotte). Yoshimura joined them for a year until war hostilities steered him back to Japan. Ironically, this was when Nakashima made the reverse move and decided to settle back in Seattle, where he began his woodworking practice. Shortly after, Nakashima and his family faced dehumanizing hatred of their Japanese ancestry and were forced to undergo imprisonment at the Minidoka concentration camp in Idaho. Guards were ordered to shoot whoever got close to the fence, Mira Nakashima, Georges daughter, recalled. Georges learning from skilled carpenters in Karuizawa and his karma yoga, hands-on work in the ashram at Pondicherry would prove fortuitous for this time. At Minidoka, Nakashima met Gentaro Hikogawa, a daiku from whom he learned woodworking. Such an opportunity would have been unthinkable within the stratified society in Japan.
In the exhibit at Shofuso, a contorted bitterbrush sculpture by Nakashima mounted on a cedar base sits atop a low table. Nakashimas use of bitterbrush has always fascinated me, Whitaker said. Something so humble as gathering wood in the midst of the Idaho desert, at a time of great personal distress and the inhumanity of war, cleaning it up to reveal the beauty and complexity of its growth over timeand to find a way to allow people to touch that, in an everyday wayseems magical to me.
Thanks to Nomis persistent requests, Nakashima was released from the camp with his wife, Marion, and his daughter Mira (leaving his parents and siblings behind) to the Raymonds New Hope farm in May 1943 on the condition that he not practice architecture. The Milk House table that supports the bitterbrush sculpture in the exhibition is a prototype Nakashima built in a small building on the farm that he adapted as his workshop. Some of his earliest 1940s pieces in the show, like the Straight Chair prototype, the Windsor-like Arm Chair, and the Grass-Seated Chair he designed for MoMA director Ren dHarnoncourt, have a heaviness and an earthbound quality that a lot of furniture did not have in the 1940s, design historian Derek Ostergard said in a recently premiered documentary directed by John Terry Nakashima.
The legacy of the Raymonds, the Nakashimas, and Yoshimura is genuine and palpable through this insightful showa coming together of friends and longtime art and design enthusiasts. An original film accompanying the show produced by Greenhouse Media and directed by Philadelphia-based artists Nadia Hironaka and Matthew Suib debuted on October 9 and gives even more information about the shows participants.
Natalia Torija Nieto is an architecture and design writer trained in modern art, design, and material culture at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. She is currently working on a book on the architectural work of George Nakashima.
Read the original post:
Shofuso and Modernism revisits a major mid-century East-West cultural exchange - The Architect's Newspaper
- This Midcentury-Modern Reno in San Diego Is a Time Capsule of Retro Features - Architectural Digest - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- What Makes a 'Sustainable' Material When It Comes to Interior Design? - TriplePundit - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Kai Williamson Is The Interior Designer You Need To Know - Forbes - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent's kitchen redesign is sophisticated and sleek these are the key tweaks they made to ... - Homes & Gardens - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- "I Straight-Up Tell Our Clients Not To Do It: People Are Revealing Which Current Interior Design Trends Will "Age ... - BuzzFeed - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Seann William Scott and Olivia Korenberg's Relationship Timeline - AOL - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- This Must-See Exhibit Explores Narratives Around Black Liberation - Interior Design - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Business of Home - Business of Home - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Shea McGee just revealed her brand new remodel | - Homes & Gardens - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- 3 Kitchen Island Trends That Interior Designers Love (and 2 to Skip) - Yahoo Life - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- The Chic Home: Interior designer's tropical penthouse in Bukit Timah - The Straits Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Shop the best deals from Wayfair's 72-hour flash sale, according to an interior designer save up to 70% - AOL - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Alicia Keys' living room teaches how to decorate with art | - Homes & Gardens - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Industrial Design in 2024: From Industrial Revolution to Timeless Evolution - Bored Panda - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- The restoration of a derelict 1500s English cottage turned into a family home | - Homes & Gardens - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- What the MatchesFashion men did next - Financial Times - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- What are the worst colors to paint a room? The shades experts say you should never use - Homes & Gardens - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- MapMyHouse app launched to connect interior designers, landscape artists and architects together - India TV News - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Designer of the Day: Jane Yang-DHaene - Surface Magazine - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Want to know more about the ins and outs of LEDs? This designer's new book lights the way - Home Accents Today - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Eight architecture and design vacancies based in Europe - Dezeen - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Architects are reviving the post-covid office space with hybrid workers in mind - Quartz - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- This 29-year-old's dorm room makeover went viral on TikTok. Now she's a full-time interior designer - CNBC - September 13th, 2022 [September 13th, 2022]
- Survey reveals two thirds of people shun design trends - BTR News - September 13th, 2022 [September 13th, 2022]
- Im an interior design fanatic Costco has the best bed sheets and products to help when my spray-on tan s... - The US Sun - September 13th, 2022 [September 13th, 2022]
- School of Architecture Announces Fall 2022 Visiting Critics - Syracuse University News - September 13th, 2022 [September 13th, 2022]
- Liberace's Townhouse in Famed West Hollywood Complex Bought by TV Exec DIRT - DIRT - September 13th, 2022 [September 13th, 2022]
- Im an interior designer only one of the Kardashians has a good taste in decor & it might surprise you... - The US Sun - September 13th, 2022 [September 13th, 2022]
- Spruce up your sanctuary - The New Indian Express - September 13th, 2022 [September 13th, 2022]
- 'The Janes' Posters Vandalized Ahead Of Bucktown Doc Screening On Women Who Helped Thousands Get Abortions - Block Club Chicago - September 13th, 2022 [September 13th, 2022]
- Ginny Marquardt - The Suffolk Times - Suffolk Times - September 13th, 2022 [September 13th, 2022]
- The worst home on the block became one of the best natural colors were the key - Homes & Gardens - September 13th, 2022 [September 13th, 2022]
- How to bring the outdoors in, according to Atlanta's top interior designers - The Atlanta Journal Constitution - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Im an interior designer there are seven mistakes that make homes look rubbish & Im sick of seeing them... - The US Sun - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Im an interior designer and you should NEVER have carpet in small rooms in your home what to do ins... - The US Sun - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Road to Perfection: Interior Designer Eilish Rickard tries out the new DS 4 - image.ie - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Im an interior designer & there are four styles that will NEVER go out of fashion perfect if you hate re... - The US Sun - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Jennifer Lopez And Ben Affleck Will Reportedly Exchange Vows This Weekend In Georgia - Scary Mommy - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- A place to find peace; walk the new labyrinth - Alpena News - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Interior Designer & Artist Vernica Ortuo Has Found a Way to Turn Her Side Hustle into a Creative Business - Remezcla - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Why this New Hampshire designer is turning her shop into a showroom - Business of Home - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- 5 kitchen renovation tips to end up with your dream cooking place - Courier Journal - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Jennifer Lopez Visits Hospital With Ben Affleck and His Mom Ahead of Wedding Weekend - E! NEWS - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Interior designers share 10 popular trends that never look as good in real life - Yahoo! Voices - July 18th, 2022 [July 18th, 2022]
- How a focus on wellness helped this Montana designer build her business - Business of Home - July 18th, 2022 [July 18th, 2022]
- A career as an interior designer - The Hans India - July 18th, 2022 [July 18th, 2022]
- How To Build A Sex Room: 9 Thoughts I Had While Watching The Netflix Design Show - CinemaBlend - July 18th, 2022 [July 18th, 2022]
- Im an interior designer the 10 expensive things that make your home look cheap... - The US Sun - July 18th, 2022 [July 18th, 2022]
- MADE: Card designer treasures her work - Greater Wilmington Business Journal - July 18th, 2022 [July 18th, 2022]
- Interior design firm Quirk Studio: Eclectic with a touch of the eccentric - indulgexpress - July 18th, 2022 [July 18th, 2022]
- Im an interior designer these are the best changes you can make to keep cool & why thin curtains are a m... - The US Sun - July 18th, 2022 [July 18th, 2022]
- 26 Years Ago Today, TWA Flight 800 Exploded Over the Atlantic, Killing 230 - Frequent Business Traveler - July 18th, 2022 [July 18th, 2022]
- Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello Just Listed Their Ultra-Private Beverly Hills Mansion for $19.6 Million - Robb Report - July 18th, 2022 [July 18th, 2022]
- Big Brother house experiences a surprise exit - The Boca Raton Tribune - July 18th, 2022 [July 18th, 2022]
- 5 colors to avoid in a kids' room the shades to steer clear of, according to color psychology - LivingEtc - July 18th, 2022 [July 18th, 2022]
- 'Big Brother 24' Spoilers: Who Are the Week 2 Nominations? - Showbiz Cheat Sheet - July 18th, 2022 [July 18th, 2022]
- What are the 6 types of kitchen layouts? The most popular designs to maximize space - Homes & Gardens - July 18th, 2022 [July 18th, 2022]
- 2022 Best of the East Bay: Home & Garden - Diablo Magazine - July 18th, 2022 [July 18th, 2022]
- Everything to know about Japandi and how to infuse it into your home - CNN - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- Ferguson & Shamamian and Bunny Williams Interior Design Collaborated on This Cloud-like City Loft - HouseBeautiful.com - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- This Is the Most Pinned Interior Design Style on Pinterest - BobVila.com - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- 'Your home should be a place that inspires': Lessons from the interior designer who has mastered the art of happy - Toronto Star - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- Black Makers Reflect on the Cultural Roots of Their Crafts - Interior Design - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- What are the home decor trends for 2021 - Atlanta Journal Constitution - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- 3 Ways to Style Your (Very Gay) Coffee Table - Out Magazine - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- Interior design expert reveals seven things that are losing YOU money on your home including fake grass and - The Sun - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- These Families Are Stuck at Home During Covid, but Have Plenty of Places to Go - The Wall Street Journal - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- This old-fashioned pattern is set to be one of the biggest interior trends this year - interior designers can't get enough of it - LivingEtc - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- How to Create a Chic and Functional Home Office, According to Interior Designers - Glamour - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- How the Boeing 747 Changed the Way Airplanes Are Designed - Architectural Digest - February 14th, 2021 [February 14th, 2021]
- Matthew Williamson on his new curated interior design platform - Evening Standard - February 14th, 2021 [February 14th, 2021]
- Interior designers share 5 bedroom trends that'll be huge this year, and 5 on their way out - Insider - Insider - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- The Mostand LeastSoothing Paint Colors, According to Interior Design Pros - Mansion Global - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- Interior Design Tips to Help Brighten Up Your Space and Mood - Architectural Digest - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- Interior designers reveal why brown is the color you need to bring into your home this year - LivingEtc - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- 13 of the Best Schools for an Interior Design Education - HouseBeautiful.com - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- Designer of the Day: Louise Liljencrantz - Surface Magazine - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- The Herd: New hires, promotions & departures for 2.9.21 - RichmondBizSense - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- Interior Design Society Opens Submissions for 2021 Designer of the Year Awards - Furniture Lighting & Decor - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- NYC Architect West Chin Says the Home Has Become the Nucleus of the Family - Mansion Global - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]