son of soy

Red Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama

Rick — Sat, 02 May 2009 17:16:05 +0000

Mari emerges from another Yayoi Kusama pumpkin. This one, in a park by the ferry terminal, has room to walk around inside and a floor embedded with round lights.

Paos at night

Rick — Sat, 02 May 2009 04:04:09 +0000

While our pao, or yurt, was fun and comfortable, at night the rumbling engine hum of the fishing boats offshore was surprisingly loud. It kept on past midnight, and I couldn’t rest until I put on earplugs.

Yayoi Kusama’s Pumpkin at night

Rick — Sat, 02 May 2009 03:51:43 +0000

This nighttime view needed a long exposure, so I decided to add a little something to it by having Mari run around with our flashlight during the shot. Another view in late afternoon.

Chichu Art Museum

Rick — Sat, 02 May 2009 01:35:23 +0000

I forgot the museum’s “no photography” rule for a few seconds and snapped this shot of one of architect Tadao Ando’s austere, stunning spaces you pass through on your way inside.

Lily pond at Chichu Art Museum

Rick — Sat, 02 May 2009 01:30:25 +0000

Along the sidewalk from the visitor’s center to the main museum, there’s a lovely series of ponds inspired by Monet’s water lily paintings. Inside the museum, four to five Monets hang in a naturally lighted, heavenly white space with a floor of small rounded cubes of marble. Before coming to Naoshima I’d only seen water lily paintings in books. I was shocked at how beautiful, and large, they are in person.

Mari and Panda at Tsutsuji-so

Rick — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:44:38 +0000

Next to our yurt lodging at Tsutsuji-so, in a deserted playground, stood this smiling panda. Nearby, waves lapped the shore. With the wide open sky and view of the sea, Mari was in her element. She stood on the panda’s back with her eyes closed, hung her limbs, bent and twisted them slowly like a butoh dancer.

Playground at Tsutsuji-so, Naoshima

Rick — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:25:59 +0000

Mari stretches at a playground picnic table next to our yurt lodging by the beach on Naoshima.

Mari by the sea

Rick — Fri, 01 May 2009 01:43:29 +0000

View of the Inland Sea and Shikoku from outside Terrace Restaurant on Naoshima.

Mari and Pumpkin

Rick — Fri, 01 May 2009 01:14:23 +0000

Mari sits next to Yayoi Kusama’s “Pumpkin,” unofficial icon of Naoshima, on the pier next to Benesse Park hotel.

Yurt doorway, Tsutsuji-so

Rick — Fri, 01 May 2009 00:52:20 +0000

The caretaker advised us to leave our shoes *inside* the yurt, not outside, where tanuki (raccoon dogs) might steal them. Why would a tanuki want shoes?