WHEN EAST MEETS WEST...
...Its makes for a fascination exhibition in kyoto where centuries- old crafts from the Meiji period share the spotlight with French savoir-faire. Only at an exhibition of Van Cleff & Arpels jewellery and Japanese art By Kennet Goh
It’s not every day that you get invited to an exclusive exhibition in Japan, get flown up in luxury, cosseted in splendourur and dine like a king only for the CEO to tell you to get lost—literally. Nicholas Bos, CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels (VCA) goes on to explain, “I don’t truly know how to navigate the space because it is so unexpected. The way it’s been laid out is less academic and scientific in approach than usual. Normally, you start from point A and go to point Z, and you can see exactly what the curator is telling you. But here, I think you would get lost, because you don’t have that recognised structure.” I couldn’t agree more. Held at The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, the exhibition space of “Mastery of an Art: Van Cleef & Arpels - High Jewelry and Japanese Crafts” is a darkened room with a long cypress table in natural wood, on which prized jewels from VCA are being displayed. Sou Fujimoto, an architect by training and the appointed scenographer for the exhibition, explains: “The table is made of Japanese hinoki (cypress w wood), which is used for temple construction as it represents pureness and cleanliness. I thought it w would make for a nice contrast to Western and French discourse; between VCA’s jewels and Japanese Zen-like craftsmanship with this long hinoki table. And, of course, it’s linear—to signify the chronological history of Van Cleef & Arpels.” This is perhaps the only space that immediately makes sense to me: The jewellery pieces not only reflect the period and age of the era (think Chinoiserie from the 1920s Art Deco period to heavy harness-like necklaces from this millennium), but they have been curated to reflect the changing tastes and styles of jewellery design. Past the table of delights, the darkened room reveals itself as a series of glass partitions, not unlike the silk screens from a traditional Japanese tatami mat room. “The layering of the glass and glass cases puts the jewellery and Japanese crafts together, mixing the different media. All the spaces are made of glass, giving the illusion of transparency and adding the idea of infinite reflections. The result is an endless space, representing two very different
cultures. It’s about layer ing spaces and the movement of air within,” says Fujimoto. I take the chance to peer inside one of the glass screens. Inside, I see the dance of a million diamonds swirling off VCA diamond “ballet” brooches, while resting beneath are lifelike replicas of fruits and vegetables from the Meiji period, carved out of pure ivory and vegetable-dyed. The comparison isn’t immediately obvious. Rather, what you can see is the attention to finish and imagination—a commonality of craftsmen both in Japan and France. Bos adds, “Things are done very, very differently because the business culture and emphasis in Japan are very different from the ones in France. But the importance of aesthetics, craftsmanship, attention to detail, harmony and creativity are fundamentals we share across both cultures.” Delve deeper into the exhibition, and the most apparent commonality both crafts share is time—lots of it. I am talking about the pleasure of time taken to produce such incredible works of art.“Japanese craft and French jewellery-making share the same story. It’s just that the techniques are very different. The type of training is different. The skill set is different. But the philosophy is so similar when you look at these workshops, with all the training and apprenticeships. The importance of time is something I really lear nt to appreciate on this project, which took years to come together. If I were to define the level of craftsmanship [of something], it would be the time it takes to create it. That ultimately adds value to the final product. When you think of production in the industrial world, time is of the essence. You do everything quickly. But when you’re working in craftsmanship, the more time it takes, the better,” says Bos.
While it is fascinating to see first-hand the prevalence of Japanese design in jewellery (Asian references seen in VCA’s jewellery designs at the exhibition include butterflies, dragonflies, and other flora and fauna), French influences in the Japanese craft seem to be harder to find. Bos admits, “There’s not much influence in Japanese craft that I think is French, or feels French to me. The only thing is that there are some pieces that were made for export by Japanese craftsmen trying to figure out what European customers wanted a century ago— caricatures, per se. I met a guy who’s a major Japanese art collector at the exhibition and he said that some pieces are kind of weird—too much of this and too much of that.”
The closest I can find in similarity between the two are the techniques employed by some Japanese craftsmen that reflect the techniques employed in jewellery design. “There are a few pieces that are articulated animals such as a fish, dragon or praying mantis, which were developed in parallel by craftsmen who created armour and weapons for samurais. While that market disappeared in the 19 th century, the craftsmen developed the same techniques for decorative objects. They worked in steel, which was a bit unusual for a precious object, but understandable as they were coming from more military, weapon-based traditions. This articulation can be seen in elaborate jewellery design and so, there exists this incredible parallel,” says Bos. Nothing however, can mark the significance in terms of timing for VCA’s exhibition in Kyoto. VCA can proudly hold the flag as the first of three major fashion events that spotlighted the country in front of a worldwide audience—a week after the launch of its exhibition, Louis Vuitton held its cruise 2017/2018 show in the same city, and a fortnight after that saw the opening of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute spring 2017 exhibition honouring Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons. “Japan is very important to us right now. After the Japanese economy shrank and bounced back recently, the government realised they have to be open to tourism. Fifteen years ago, it was kind of a secret destination if you were a European going to Japan. Even up until five years ago, it was still very limited as a tourist destination. Now, there is a policy from the country to open up,” said Bos. And open up it has—giving us this marvellous exhibition where everything is open to interpretation and nothing is set in stone. Make what you want out of it—VCA has opened the silk screens, so to speak, and is ready for you to get lost in translation.
“Mastery of an Art:Van Cleef & Arpels - High Jewelry and Japanese Crafts” is on from now to 6 August at The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto