Forms of Japan


I. FORMS OF UNITY (Hatome No Katachi)

Forms of Continuation (tsuranari)
of continuation
of expansion
of openness
of dilation

Forms of Union (musubi)
of tying
of binding
of weaving
of joining
of bracing
of matching
of stopping

Forms of
Collection
(atsume)
of grouping
of gathering
of piling
of layering
of heaping
of bundling
of tightening
of grasping
of felting

Forms of Arrangement (kubari)
of pairing
of distribution
of complement
of surfeit
of discard
of scattering

Forms of
Enclosure
(kakoai)
of wrapping
of enclosing
which surround
of encirclement
which hide
which cover



II. FORMS OF FORCE (Chikara No Katachi)

Forms of Support (sasae)
which support
which hook
of tension
which suspend
which hang
which spread

Forms of Curve
(magari)
of circling
of curve
of curvature
which rise



III. FORMS OF ADAPTATION (Yudane No Katchi) Forms of Fluidity (nagare)
which droop
which flow
which swirl
which rotate
which smear

Forms of the Natural
(sonomama)
of natural things
of inlay
of firing
of texture
of impression



IV. FORMS OF CHANGE (Kawari No Katachi) Forms of Reduction
(chijime)
which are rolled
which are erased
which are folded
of storing
of bending
of shortening

Forms of Twisting
(hineri)
of twisting
of twining
of dappling
of crumpling
of shaving

Forms of Severing
(kirihanashi)
of tearing
of chipping
of splitting
of cutting
of severing
of dropping
of removing

Forms of Transfiguration
(kuzushi)
of simplification
of difference
of disarrangement
of dancing
of shading
of open-work
of splashing




Your assignment is to look at the Forms of Japan above and pick a grouping or several groupings and find an object or cluster of objects from nature which fit the grouping you have chosen.


For example:

Forms of Collection (atsumo)
of grouping of gathering
of piling
of layering
of heaping etc.
could be leaves or stones

Forms of Enclosure (kakomi)
of wrapping
of enclosing
which surround
could be shells or muscle

Forms of Severing (kirihanashi)
of splitting
of chipping
could be wood

Forms of Fluidity
which flow
which rotate



You see my "drift"?

Try to work with the notion of "gesture" and with "contour". Use charcoal and eraser on arches cover buff paper.
Fill the whole page, larger than life, on this sheet of paper. Work at least 30" x 42".

Try to work with both a sense of touch (contour) and the tracing of the movement of the form in space (gesture). Carefully observe the form you choose. Does the leaf have a crumpling "fall" line or a "lift" of a gesture?

This is an assignment to introduce the subjects of contour and gesture to the content of nature and observation.