"Folding Cosmos" Japanese Tea Ceremony in NYC Commemorates 9/11/01 and 3/11/11

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Manhattan, New York, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) August 22, 2011 -- To commemorate the events of September 11, 2001 in New York City and March 11, 2011 in Japan, International Arts Movement and Japanese Designer Miwako Kurashima present “Folding Cosmos,” a traditional Japanese tea ceremony held in IAM’s Space 38|39 September 3-11. Artists from Japan, New York, and Washington DC will collaborate on this project, which is by appointment only. There will also be two special lectures on September 10 and 11.

It is common knowledge for anyone who has journeyed with International Arts Movement at any point during the last decade that the events of September 11, 2001 had a tremendous impact on the movement, which had begun nearly a decade before. Founder Makoto Fujimura, world-renown artist and writer, lived just a few blocks from Ground Zero. The school his children attended were among those evacuated that day under a cloud of ash and debris. His studio was also in the neighborhood. This tragedy hit Fujimura, literally, close to home.

The first, and most immediate, reaction to the 9/11/01 tragedies that Fujimura and International Arts Movement participated in was TriBeCa Temporary, a small conceptual space. Dubbed a "Ground Zero" tea house, then-studio-mates Hiroshi Senju and Makoto Fujimura developed the project at the corner of Greenwich and Vestry Streets in TriBeCa. Dedicated as an "oasis of collaboration by Ground Zero artists," the exhibit ran between November 2001 to April 2002 and, like the IAM community at large, was comprised of artists, musicians, spoken word poets, and creatives of all kinds.

Now, ten years later, International Arts Movement is once again inviting people to experience the Japanese art of tea.

In addition to the tea ceremony, this project will include two special lectures. On September 10, Columbia University’s Dr. Henry Smith II, professor of Japanese History and author of Taizanso and the One-Mat Room, will give a special address, with Makoto Fujimura, on “The One-Mat Room.” On September 11, Fujimura will speak on his essay “Fallen Towers and the Art of Tea,” which has been published in two books: Refractions: A Journey of Faith, Art, and Culture and Bearing the Mystery: Twenty Years of IMAGE (Gregory Wolfe, Editor).

About “Folding Cosmos”

To imply the idea of a miniature universe, Miwako Kurashima named this project “Folding Cosmos,” saying, “Together, we will travel around the universe in the ‘ark,’ in this case, expressed in the most minimal space found in a Japanese tea house: the alcove.” Takeshiro Matsuura, an explorer who lived in the closing days of the Tokugawa shogunate, used “The One-Mat Room,” a single tatami mat in an alcove in his final residence. This serves as the motif for this project’s concept.

The idea of appreciating the contemporary expressions of our artists over a cup of tea stems from the traditional tea ceremony in Japan, which treasures every meeting as a “once in a lifetime” experience. By doing this, we would like to share not only the contemporary and traditional part of Japanese culture but also its view of the world and even its hidden miniature universes.

Originally, this was meant to remember the events of September 11, 2001. However, with the massive earthquake that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, and in light of the ongoing rehabilitation efforts there, this exhibit is now both a commemoration and symbol of hope for the rebuilding of those communities devastated by tragedy.

Due to space limitations, participation is by appointment only. Information may be obtained by emailing info@internationalartsmovement.org.

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More information can be found online at http://www.internationalartsmovement.org

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