2013 Artists

Inspired by the writings of Japanese designers Oka Hideyuki and Ekuan Kenji, Karl Burkheimer intends to utilize his time in Japan delving into the source of his artistic inspiration and exploring the causative substance behind his work. In the words of Ekuan, Japanese artists/artisans reduce the many to one and perfects the essence of existing objects, likewise Karl strives for the objects he makes to speak with the voice of all made objects. Karl plans to spend time in Nara viewing the magnificent temples and gardens before embarking to the countryside to view garden sheds, fishermen shacks and other ordinary structures, exploring the nuance of their construction and purpose.

Veteran playwright and theater artist John Jesurun is motivated to travel to Japan to deepen his connection to its deep cultural aesthetics. His residency in Japan will focus on the expansion of his project, “Stopped Bridge of Dreams,” a play heavily inspired by the stories of Ihara Saikaku, a writer with whom he feels a deep affinity. In order to explore Saikaku’s world in Japan, John will spend time in Osaka and Kyoto, visit relevant sites and explore cultural references to his work. Investigating kabuki will also play an important role in his research. The results of his efforts here in Japan will provide a closer view of Saikaku and his writings for Americans.

• https://sites.google.com/site/johnjesurun/

Marie’s Japanese family lives in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture. Although they suffered little damage from the Mar. 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, they were greatly affected by the man-made disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Marie wrote an Op-Ed piece about them for the New York Times, and now she plans to spend time in the stricken area to write a more detailed book and publish a memoir of her family. Her goal is to “explore the religious and cultural frames within which people in Japan cope with death and disaster.” During her residency she will visit important cultural events and locations associated with Japan’s dealing with death and disaster.

• http://www.mariemockett.com

Bruce is drawn to both the high and lowbrow aspects of Japanese aesthetics, and his proposal for his residency in Japan is in three projects. The first is a plan to spend three months researching and writing a collection of 55 stories that will yield a deeper understanding of how Japanese literary traditions find expression in his own writing. Another project will use Bruce’s observations of Kyoto as the basis of 55 brief essays about the nature of beauty. The third project involves experimental collaboration with one or more Japanese writers to write short narratives composed by alternating sentences.

• http://www.shortshortshort.com

William is a composer who puts together familiar sounds in unlikely combinations, for example duets for such diverse instruments as the tuba and shamisen. While in Japan, William proposes to work on a number of new compositions, collaborate and perform with Japanese musicians and artists and travel to cultural centers and spend time in the countryside. The residency will be centered around two primary activities in three locales (rural Hokkaido, Tokyo and Kyoto): setting the poetry of Harumi Makino and Leza Lowitz to music and creating stage pieces in collaboration with Ryotaro Sudo.

• http://www.roperarts.com/