Artist:
Kosuge Michihiro
Title:
Towers of Peace, Prosperity and Hope
Year:
1989
Adress:
Alright Garage
www.publicartinla.com:
Michihiro Kosuge: "When I was working on the design for this proposal," Kosuge wrote, "I was thinking about the peace and prosperity experienced by the people of Little Tokyo, as a symbol of all Japanese Americans. In my sculpture, I hope to express and convey this feeling."
Rather than executing individual towers for "peace" "prosperity" and "hope", he created an ensemble of three separate works, united by the title and a similar four-part structure. Three parts quote traditional Japanese motifs; one refers to a modern urban icon. Underneath an origami-style bronze bird capping each work, a 6' bronze section replicates the finial or garan of a Buddhist temple. Below the garan of the two tallest pieces is a thin stepped stainless steel section patterned after the Tower series Kosuge began executing in the late 1980s. Imitating skyscrapers, which Kosuge described as "towers of power" because of their phallic references, the series was an outgrowth of Kosuge's architectural training in Japan. But unlike his gallery series, which often were painted, the surface of the three towers at the Allright Garage are highly polished. The lowest section of Kosuge's two tallest pieces is patterned after the forms of stone lanterns or toro found in traditional Japanese tea gardens. In the shortest of the three works, however, the toro section is above the tower.
The developer of the project, Allright Garage, invited Kosuge, along with Ruth Asawa, George Tsutakama and Susumu Shingu, to submit proposals for a sculpture that would fit into a base originally constructed for flag poles. Responding to the tight setting and the surrounding visual clutter, Kosuge designed tall works, proportionate to the scale of the site, to be viewed when people enter and leave the garage as well as by people standing on different garage levels.
www.crala.org:
Abstract sculpture consisting of three tall towers placed on an existing base which was designed for a flagpole. The towers vary in height from 24' to 48', and are abstractions of the Japanese motifs toro (lantern), garan (old Japanese buildings), and origami (paper folding). Each tower is stainless steel at the bottom, and is topped in bronze by an origami-like bird.
"When I was working on the design for this proposal," Kosuge wrote, "I was thinking about the peace and prosperity experienced by the people of Little Tokyo, as a symbol of all Japanese Americans. In my sculpture, I hope to express and convey this feeling." Responding to the tight setting and the surrounding visual clutter, Kosuge designed tall works, proportionate to the scale of the site, to be viewed when people enter and leave the garage as well as by people standing on different garage levels.
www.pbase.com:
Pictures of art from
California
Downtown Los Angeles,
Little Tokyo
www.crala.org:
Michihiro Kosuge was born in Tokyo in 1943 and attended the Tokyo Sumida Technical School of Architecture before moving to the U.S. to study at the San Francisco Art Institute. The artist received a National Endowment for the Arts Visual Artist Fellowship in 1982. Today, Kosuge’s works are primarily exhibited in northwestern United States at various commercial galleries. Michihiro Kosuge lives in Portland, Oregon and is Art Department Chair at Portland State University.
www.arts.wa.gov:
Artist and teacher Michihiro Kosuge was born in Tokyo, Japan and studied sculpture at Tokyo Sumida Technical School of Architecture. At age 21, he came to the U.S. intending to study architecture. He explains that, "After taking several art courses to better understand shape and form, I found that making sculpture was a much better way to express my ideas and my way of thinking." He received his Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1970. He taught at Portland State University from 1978 until his retirement in 2003.
Michihiro Kosuge: "When I was working on the design for this proposal," Kosuge wrote, "I was thinking about the peace and prosperity experienced by the people of Little Tokyo, as a symbol of all Japanese Americans. In my sculpture, I hope to express and convey this feeling."
Rather than executing individual towers for "peace" "prosperity" and "hope", he created an ensemble of three separate works, united by the title and a similar four-part structure. Three parts quote traditional Japanese motifs; one refers to a modern urban icon. Underneath an origami-style bronze bird capping each work, a 6' bronze section replicates the finial or garan of a Buddhist temple. Below the garan of the two tallest pieces is a thin stepped stainless steel section patterned after the Tower series Kosuge began executing in the late 1980s. Imitating skyscrapers, which Kosuge described as "towers of power" because of their phallic references, the series was an outgrowth of Kosuge's architectural training in Japan. But unlike his gallery series, which often were painted, the surface of the three towers at the Allright Garage are highly polished. The lowest section of Kosuge's two tallest pieces is patterned after the forms of stone lanterns or toro found in traditional Japanese tea gardens. In the shortest of the three works, however, the toro section is above the tower.
The developer of the project, Allright Garage, invited Kosuge, along with Ruth Asawa, George Tsutakama and Susumu Shingu, to submit proposals for a sculpture that would fit into a base originally constructed for flag poles. Responding to the tight setting and the surrounding visual clutter, Kosuge designed tall works, proportionate to the scale of the site, to be viewed when people enter and leave the garage as well as by people standing on different garage levels.
www.crala.org:
Abstract sculpture consisting of three tall towers placed on an existing base which was designed for a flagpole. The towers vary in height from 24' to 48', and are abstractions of the Japanese motifs toro (lantern), garan (old Japanese buildings), and origami (paper folding). Each tower is stainless steel at the bottom, and is topped in bronze by an origami-like bird.
"When I was working on the design for this proposal," Kosuge wrote, "I was thinking about the peace and prosperity experienced by the people of Little Tokyo, as a symbol of all Japanese Americans. In my sculpture, I hope to express and convey this feeling." Responding to the tight setting and the surrounding visual clutter, Kosuge designed tall works, proportionate to the scale of the site, to be viewed when people enter and leave the garage as well as by people standing on different garage levels.
www.pbase.com:
Pictures of art from
California
Downtown Los Angeles,
Little Tokyo
www.crala.org:
Michihiro Kosuge was born in Tokyo in 1943 and attended the Tokyo Sumida Technical School of Architecture before moving to the U.S. to study at the San Francisco Art Institute. The artist received a National Endowment for the Arts Visual Artist Fellowship in 1982. Today, Kosuge’s works are primarily exhibited in northwestern United States at various commercial galleries. Michihiro Kosuge lives in Portland, Oregon and is Art Department Chair at Portland State University.
www.arts.wa.gov:
Artist and teacher Michihiro Kosuge was born in Tokyo, Japan and studied sculpture at Tokyo Sumida Technical School of Architecture. At age 21, he came to the U.S. intending to study architecture. He explains that, "After taking several art courses to better understand shape and form, I found that making sculpture was a much better way to express my ideas and my way of thinking." He received his Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1970. He taught at Portland State University from 1978 until his retirement in 2003.