Some of the things that inspired me on my recent travels
An exhibition “The Art of Gaman” at the Renwick in Washington DC... Language says much about a culture and the attitudes of its people. The Japanese word “Gaman” means “to bear the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity”. Isn’t it beautiful that in Japanese there is a single word meaning all of that: “to bear the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity”? For this to be encapsulated in one two-syllabled word implies that it is considered fairly common place, something we probably all have to do at some stage or other, not to make too much of a fuss rather to get on and bear it with patience and dignity. In English, that we have to throw so many words together to make that expression makes it clear it is not a common approach, that to even speak of such an attitude is challenging in itself.
The exhibition was beautiful. It contained art and functional objects made by Japanese people resident in USA during the Second World War who were incarcerated during the Second World War. Crafting objects from the limited materials they had access too, and teaching themselves the skills necessary to craft the objects, brought some dignity to their lives.They made many things including tools, furnishings, paintings, embroidery and my favourite - exquisite little bird broaches painted to accurately resemble the various birds. Click here to see a short video about this exhibit.
After this fresh look on another aspect of war, I found myself again thinking isn’t it truly amazing that at the end of this horrible World War II Jiro Murai, in Japan, sent Jin Shin Jyutsu as a gift to the West?
And ... Is there anybody in South African who would be interested in establishing a combined exhibition of “the Art of Gaman” together with the art and crafts made on Robben Island during Apartheid Detentions?
