 Ur
is a German prefix meaning original or primal. Goethe attached it to the word
for plant to create a new concept, Urpflanze, the original form
of a plant. The poet used this coined word to refer to the ideal form that serves
as a type or root of the plant that currently exists, a basic form that is susceptible
to various transformations. I have already explained the circumstances by which
Tanabe's work moved toward such an ur-condition in his search for the origins
of the path of rice cultivation. I look forward to seeing the results of his explorations
in this exhibition.
A "hundred
flowers are blooming" in the scientific research related to the path of rice
cultivation. Wild rice grains have been found in archaeological excavations in
the Yangtze River drainage, which has some of the oldest remains of rice cultivation
in the world. There has been a remarkable find at the He Me Du site of momi
that is more than 7000 years old. Tanabe has made a serious study to increase
his knowledge of rice cultivation and created many works of all sizes on the theme
of momi. Work from this series of cast stainless steel sculptures
was shown in solo exhibitions in 1989 and 1992. There were dramatic changes in
form during that period, from the smooth, round form of a grain of cultivated
rice to the irregular form of a piece of wild rice with a long protuberance, the
nogi. |
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Tanabe's
search took him deep into the untracked territory of wild rice. In ancient times,
wild rice crossed the line of 30 degrees north latitude and was eventually cultivated
in the north. This fact is known from the high proportion of wild rice among the
rice grains found at the He Me Du. Because of later temperature changes, wild
rice moved southward to tropical regions. As new strains of cultivated rice were
created, wild rice was treated as a weed when it sprouted in rice paddies, but
it eventually found a safe haven in marshy wilderness areas. No one knows who
began cultivating this wild rice over 7000 years ago. Of course, efforts were
made in modern times to preserve wild rice in gene banks and grow it in research
facilities, but it was quickly becoming extinct in its natural habitat because
of overdevelopment. In 1992, Tanabe met Dr. Yoichiro Sato, a distinguished researcher
in this field, and joined his movement to preserve the natural habitat of wild
rice.
The series of sculptures
Tanabe created during this period were exhibited at the Zhejiang Provincial Museum
and He Me Du Ruins Museum in China and the International Rice Research Institute
(IRRI) in Manila, and these institutions purchased his work after the exhibitions
were over. The installation shown at the IRRI exhibition consisted of a silver-colored
cast stainless steel sculpture enshrined on a golden pile of momi
in an open burlap rice bag. It clearly conveyed the message that wild rice is
the father of cultivated rice, an irreplaceable jewel that is essential to the
future of humankind.
As demonstrated
by the exhibition at IRRI, Dr. Klaus Lampe, the German director general of the
institute at the time, understood the great importance of Tanabe's work. Dr. Lampe
invited Tanabe to the institute in 1994 commissioned him to make a freely designed
artwork for the observation hall, and the artist received the highest level of
wages paid to employees of the institute in spite of a difficult economic situation.
The doctor probably hoped to use this artwork to create a more open atmosphere
at the institute, to introduce a fresh spirit into the "ivory tower"
and give it the vitality it needed to continue its work into the future. In response
to this request, Tanabe used eight tons of red lauan wood to make MOMI 1994
- Wild Rice, a monumental work that held out a dream for the future. |
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| During
the same year, an IRRI conference was held in Tokyo, and Dr. Lampe asked Tanabe
to create artwork for the conference venue, Nikkei Hall. He made a large drawing
of a momi grain 11 meters long, displaying it in the center of the
stage with cast forms of momi on both sides of the podium as well
as an actual plow once used in the Philippines. In the entrance to the hall, he
displayed a large color photograph of MOMI 1994 - Wild Rice, which
he had just installed at IRRI headquarters. It was a display that expressed the
importance of returning to the source. Through the general consent of the participants
and Tanabe's own decision, the drawing and cast sculptures were donated to the
royal princess of Thailand, who sponsored the conference as well as presenting
a paper. |
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| Right
after this meeting, the "Wild Rice Habitat Preservation" project was
initiated by the royal house of Thailand. Tanabe participated in this project
and, in 1997, installed a gigantic outdoor monument to wild rice, 33 meters in
length, at the Pathum Thani Rice Research Center. In this work, the main body
of the momi is three meters long, and the remaining 30 meters are
the nogi, the extended whisker, which is a minimum of ten times
the length of the grain. |
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| I
attended the unveiling ceremony of this monument. It reminded me in its overall
form of the unhulled ears of wild rice that I first saw at the National Genetic
Research Institute in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, which I visited with Tanabe
ten years ago. The body of the rice ear is filled with a life force that keeps
it alive for many years, and the nogi that extends from it has a
sensitive and elegant form. This is the subject that Tanabe has chosen for his
art. It is based on an idealistic concept of respect and praise for ancient ways
and artistic form. Tanabe refused to display this work in the front entrance because
he wanted to place it in the experimental rice paddies spreading around the center.
It was a remarkable achievement. The momi was revealed in the sunlight
after the veil was removed, singing out its idealistic message in a way that made
the entire site, all 160 hectares of space, fall silent. |
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