The End of Era and an Ode to Art

Seeing as it has nearly been a month already since I have given a dispatch about my whereabouts I figured now to be a good time to have a little chat. And as I am planning this writing out, I realize it will turn into a rant rather than the usual story time that one would expect from an Evan Weselmann blog.

But on that note. Let's begin, shall we? Yesterday marked my final morning waking up in the beautiful apartment of the Matsuoka's. I awoke, showered, finished packing, ate my final bowl of brown sugar frosted flakes (this is the true tearjerker, I loved that cereal) and changed just in the nick of time as some Rotary members entered the house to whisk me away to my next destination.

Now, we had a little extra time on our hands, it was 10:30 and we didn't have to be at my current host families abode until 2. With this blessed amount of time we decided it'd best be spent at the Hiroshima Institute of Contemporary Art. Now, as many of may know, or currently don't know but will soon found out in a matter of moments, I like art. Especially modern art, and the idea of going to the institute elated me beyond belief. So we went on over to that. The HICA is currently exhibiting work from the rainbow artist himself, Ay-O. It was a remarkable exhibition, his latter work is truly incredible, albeit his early work is incredibly forgetful. I would recommend anyone to see it if they happen to be in the Hiroshima area. Hell, I will take them to it.

But anyways, now that the door has opened up I will take the opportunity to rant to all you people out there who are reading this. Perhaps its a bit egotistical to think people are actually reading this besides my mother? Art has become very important in my life in the past year, and especially the past 3 months.  I have always had a keen interest in the arts, I would like to believe its in my blood in a certain way, but as I spend more and more time in Japan, away from the warmth and comfort of my Minnesotan home, I am beginning to realize that art provides an escape for me that very few things, as in nothing else happens to provide.  Perhaps, escape is not the right word, but rather a way of dealing with some of the time and emotions that I seem to have a lot of. I have had a great deal of struggles here, as have all exchangers anywhere, I would say, it comes with the territory after all.  And everyone has their own of dealing with frustrations, angers, and the such. I happen to sit down with my paper, pen and pencil and draw. I have learned a lot from the study of art in the past 3 months alone and I feel this things can be translated to my year, and even my life as a whole. In past times, as in when I was in Minnesota, I would become very frustrated when a drawing did not turn out as I wished. Here, however, I am not worried about the final product and how closely it resembled the imprint it had in my mind. That no longer phases, I am beginning to accept each work for its uniqueness and distinctiveness. Sometimes when they stray from the image in my head, they turn out great other times, not so much. I feel this provides a fairly comparable analogy to my exchange year as a whole. There have been times where it hasn't fit the blueprint in my head, something went wrong, the line, it strayed. I have a had a fair bit of struggles here, there is no doubt about that, but in the end, the picture that is my exchange year thus far, as I reflect back on it at this point, is beautiful nonetheless. It might not be a flawless Michelangelo, perfectly painted, each line and shade executed masterfully. It might be more of a Klee, a bit rough around the edges, and far from perfection. But who's to say that one is more beautiful than the other?

I guess what I really meant to say was this year has taught me the importance of art in my life. And I just really like to draw.
Also I started Shamisen lessons this past week. It's a traditional Japanese instrument that bears great resemblance to the American banjo. It was nice to get my fingers working again as I haven't played guitar in nearly 2 months.

I will leave you with some pictures, seeing as that is why you are here

 Only in Japan. A paper mache Pikachu

 The end of an era. No more will I see this view again

 Senior pictures all over again. Mitakiji, or Temple of Three Waterfalls. Beautiful stuff

 Ay-O had an interesting way of painting genitalia

Potential candidate for best meal thus far. A classic Soba and Tempura dish. Simple yet so good.

The esteemed Kiyosaki Sensei chilling in front of 64 Buddha's. She happens to be the person responsible for teaching me the Japanese language.

That's all I have got. See you next time. In the meantime, take some time to draw. Make something. And don't worry about how it will turn out. It's all about the process.