Jibetarian – 芦村康吉

The first of the great art I saw at the National Art Center here in Tokyo. It is called Jibetarian, by a graduate of Tokyo Zokei University. Now, I have seen sculptures made out of scrap metal many times before, but never have I seen something as elegant such as this one. The grace, the balance, the craftmanship, it is really terribly well executed. I am not 100% certain, but Jibetarian is a Japanese slang term (the kinder of two well known terms) for kids who spend their days sitting hunched up on their heels in parking lots and street corners, up to no good at all. The term is a pun on the word ji (ground, earth) and vegetarian. I think most of you have seen this kind of work before, but I can’t even begin to imagine how the artist balanced this life sized sculpture while crafting it. It is a massive undertaking – to so finely shape a person that it can balance all by itself. I felt moved by the open mouth and stare of skeltel figure, like a post apocalyptic corpse, a Hiroshima meets Pompei figure, tragic, doomed and beautiful at the same time. Like a corpse withered by an atomic blast, mere moments before collapsing in a smoking pile of bones in a radioactive desert. Art at it’s finest, a fruitful composition of idea and execution.

Jibetarian by 芦村康吉 - 1

Jibetarian by 芦村康吉 - 2