Blending performance art and informative presentation, JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles and HOUSE of HOSOO present the debut of Masataka Hosoo’s immersive “Yohaku,” an in-person experience that fuses music, art, and craft.
Yohaku – a Japanese term for “blank space” or “space left empty” – is frequently used in Japanese art and design. In textile design, yohaku can refer to the blank spaces in a design before the color is added. Over the generations, Kyoto’s textile makers have preserved designs, or zuan, without added colors to allow future generations to innovate designs with their own contemporary aesthetics. Yohaku, therefore, contains the potential for creativity.
For this very special event, we will be joined by Masataka Hosoo, Creative Director of HOSOO, one of the oldest and most prestigious textile brands in Kyoto. HOSOO has a history of over 300 years and specializes in textiles woven from pre-dyed silk threads known as Nishijin-ori, after the district in Kyoto where such textiles have been made for 1,200 years.
Using a blend of spoken word, live electronic music and projection, Hosoo, who is also an MIT Media Lab Fellow, will explore yohaku in his company’s innovative textile designs and as a metaphor for the current state of Japanese craft. He will also discuss ways that new digital tools and platforms, including AI-generated patterns and NFT’s, can offer new creative opportunities for designers, and how digital archives can help preserve traditional culture.
His presentation will be followed by a Q&A with the audience.
There are two separate free presentations
Saturday, September 9, 2023
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
JAPAN HOUSE Salon | Level 5