Makota Azuma, Matsunokimoeru, (2012)
In Japan, Ikebana, the ancient art of flower arranging, is a strict discipline, taught in hundreds of schools throughout the country. As an experimental sculptor, Makoto Azuma converts the inherent mystery of flowers and plants into radical artistic expressions regardless, or perhaps because of, those traditional expectations.
Azuma is interested in “making flowers and plants more alive” than they really are. However, his works do not focus on merely expressing the beauty of plants. The term “beauty” here means the surface beauty. His idea of completely accepting flowers and plants even as they start to rot, and not ignoring the reality of the “death” behind the “life” of all living matter is at the heart of his work.
