Kyudo: Spirit of the Way at the Tikotin Museum Exhibition
The exhibition, Do: Spirit of the Way at the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art in Haifa, was held earlier this year and curated by Shir Yamaguchi. The exhibition Do: Spirit of the Way sought to approach the concept of "the spirit of the way" by presenting it as a way of life within mindfulness, movement in harmony with constant change (in the Dao tradition) and train the mind in the here and now (in the Do tradition). In essence it is from Chinese "Dao" to Japanese "Do." Empty Mind Films was invited to contribute to this important exhibition with photography and video of Kyudo from our documentary film, One Shot. One Life.
Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art
The exhibition was composed of a wide range of Japanese arts bearing the suffix "Do" or the way, which has shaped Japan's cultural and spritiual landscape for centuries. Central among them is Chado the way of the tea, and Shodo the way of writing and Budo the way of martial arts.
The gallery features calligraphy scrolls from the Itamar Procaccia Collection, alongside print and tea utensils from the museum's collection, as well as works by contemporary artists will continue to practice the spirit of the way within each discipline.
Becoming the Way
The video above was created by the museum for the Do: Spirit of the Way exhibition, and we are pleased they featured our Kyudo video clips at the beginning of this promotional trailer. In the words of the exhibition curator, "in the drawing and releasing of the bow in kyudo, the practitioner is always a totality, not just 'body' and not just 'mind."
In the Japanese tradition, Do is embodied in the martial arts, in the tea ceremony, and in calligraphic writing. In all of these, the technique is only a means. The essence is the spiritual transformation that a person undergoes during practice. With every step you take in the spaces of this Japanese art exhibition, you are not only an observer, but also a walker on the path. As you go deeper inside the museum, you may discover that the separation between yourself and the way gradually dissolves.
Empty Mind Films and the Catalog
Empty Mind Films will be 25 years of age next year and in that time we have been invited to take part part in a number of university and museum events or exhibitions, where we have contributed our knowledge, photographs and video of Asian culture, religion and martial arts.
After an exhibition closes, we are rarely given updates on it's success or given any exhibition material. You can imagine our surprise, when we were contacted by curator Yamaguchi, and given a complete update of this exhibitions success, and two weeks later, we received a beautiful catalogue from the museums exhibition store.
