Art is balance!
The charm of masonry art September 27 18:17
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Will it collapse or will it not collapse?
Along the Kamo River, which runs through Kyoto, there is a man who piles up stones of various shapes in perfect balance.
The man is working on an art called rock balancing, which has spread overseas and is gaining popularity in Japan as well.
The work is so well done that passers-by stop and wonder, "How are you stacking it!?"
I turned my camera to the stone art created from a superhuman sense of balance.
(Osaka Broadcasting Station cameraman Kazuo Takubo)
The atelier is the shallow waters of the Kamo River
I headed to the Kamo River, which flows through Kyoto City, to capture the miraculous stone art on camera.
The meeting place was very close to Demachiyanagi Station on the Keihan Main Line. When I arrived under the Kamo Ohashi Bridge, a man in a black beret greeted me.
Daisuke Ikenishi (47), a master of rock balancing.
Mr. Ikenishi, who had already finished making one work, said happily, "I have made a work that I like."
If you look at Ikenishi's work, you can see that he combines various shapes of stones found on the riverbed and stacks the stones so that they stand upright.
Exquisite balance that can collapse at any time.
Mr. Ikenishi says that is what he is particular about.
Mr. Ikenishi:
“I am conscious of how unnatural and beautiful it is. Rather than stacking flat stones on top of each other, I am conscious of stacking small points of contact. I am conscious of making works that can be received.”
look at the stone
Ms. Ikenishi:
“Stone always has unevenness, and it feels like it’s a good match. The important thing in creating a work is to see the expression of the stone carefully.”
Mr. Ikenishi finds a slight indentation on the surface of the stone and fits the protruding part of the other stone there.
Then, move your finger to explore the point where the stone stands on its own.
Repeat this carefully, and finally find a point where the whole is stable with the stone placed on top, and the work will be completed.
"Tips for life" from rock balancing
Mr. Ikenishi runs a chiropractic clinic in Kyoto.
He met rock balancing six years ago.
He started piling stones on the nearby riverbed after seeing it on TV.
Mr. Ikenishi
“I used to play rugby all the time when I was a student, but I didn’t really have any hobbies other than rugby. It started when I went down to the river bank to see it.”
Mr. Ikenishi was fascinated by rock balancing and continued to stack stones on the nearby riverbed every morning.
At first, all he could think about was stacking stones well, but as his skill improved, rock balancing, which he enjoys in nature, began to teach him hints about life.
Mr. Ikenishi
“My work can be destroyed by the wind. At first, I hadn’t taken a picture yet, but I was born with negative emotions, but I can’t control the wind. I thought going would be a waste of time and energy.”
Ikenishi then turned his attention to enjoying the process of creating his works.
“Completion was my goal, but I thought it would be a waste to focus only on that, so I started to focus on the process. I think this is also being used in our lives.Since we live in a world overflowing with convenient things, there are cases where it is better to shorten the time, but if you are looking for the shortest distance by shortening the time I realized that I lost sight of what was important in the process.”
art that makes you smile
The confluence of the Takano River and the Kamo River is called the Kamo River Delta, and is a place for people to relax.
Mr. Ikenishi has been creating his work here once a week for about four years, hoping that many people will see it.
When I was allowed to take pictures of how the stones were piled up--
"
Wow, that's amazing." "How did you make it?"
Rock balancing has the power to move people's hearts
Mr. Ikenishi teaches the people he meets politely and enjoys interacting with them, occasionally interweaving jokes.
As for the reason, he told me an episode with a woman in her 50s whom he met when he was making a work.
Ms.
Ikenishi: “A woman stared at my work, and she burst into tears. He said that he felt refreshed and thanked me.At that time, I really realized that rock balancing has the power to move people's hearts."
Since then, he seems to have come to value meeting people more.
“I think this stone that I picked up today is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. I don’t know when I’ll be able to meet the people who come to me like this, so let’s cherish this moment. I came to do
Temporary art that disappears in the setting sun
"Can I
tear it down now?"
I heard that the etiquette of rock balancing is to destroy the work and return it to its original state so that people who visit the river do not get hurt.
Mr. Ikenishi:
"This place is a river for everyone, so I think it's a good idea to put it back in place after playing. If there are people who want to imitate it, I'd like it if they could imitate it properly until it's broken.
" Flowers are beautiful when they fall, aren't they?
Mr. Ikenishi's work faded away in the Kamo River, which was illuminated by the setting sun.
NHK Osaka Broadcasting Station cameraman
Kazuo Takubo Joined the station in
2000
After working at the Okinawa station, the news station, and the Kumamoto station, he has been with the Osaka station since 2019.
He also works as part of the drone team for disaster reporting.