The Heritage Meets Modernity Podcast

Welcome to the Heritage Meets Modernity Podcast where we explore how art, literature, and craft intersect with culture and contemporary life. Join us as we explore topics related to art and its history, and how it relates to our current society.

Can everyone build a personal relationship with art? In this episode, we explore what it means to engage with art and how to approach building a meaningful collection that enriches your life.

Chapters:

00:00:06 Introduction

00:01:11 How do we interact with art?

00:06:41 AI and the human experience

00:14:10 Engaging in the production of art changes your relationship to art

00:17:22 Is art undervalued or do creators undervalue themselves?

00:29:15 Experiencing the joy in art

00:36:26 There are many ways to approach art

00:37:42 Understanding your taste

00:40:10 Financial considerations when building a collection

00:48:16 Low quality work pushes the overall level of craft down

00:52:39 Creating rules around collecting

00:55:47 Collecting art takes time

01:02:45 Curating what you already own

01:05:40 Thinking about works in its historical context

01:08:15 Porcelain and its influence on delftware

01:14:43 Is art inherently political?

01:23:03 Global tastes are homogenizing and its impact on art

01:25:50 Are we in another wave of rediscovering heritage?

This is a Kyuseido production. Find out more on our website:

https://www.kyuseidotokyo.com/

Kyuseido's Library of Knowledge: https://www.kyuseidotokyo.com/libraryofknowledge

Terumasa Ikeda: https://terumasa-ikeda.jp/en/ Kasing Lung: https://www.kasinglung.com/ Affordable Art Fair: https://affordableartfair.com/ Delftware: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delftware Art Nouveau: https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/art-nouveau Art Deco: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/an-introduction-to-art-deco

Follow us to keep up to date with new episodes!

https://www.instagram.com/kyuseido

https://www.youtube.com/@Kyuseido

Opening and Closing Music:

Song: Dawn Composer: Sappheiros Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZVHXQZAIn9WJXvy6qn9K0 License: Creative Commons (BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com

Welcome to the Heritage Meets Modernity Podcast where we explore how art, literature, and craft intersect with culture and contemporary life. Join us as we explore topics related to art and its history, and how it relates to our current society.

In this episode, we discuss how museums and galleries influence cultural narratives and serve as important platforms for different interpretations of historical and contemporary art.

Chapters:

00:00:06 Introduction

00:01:25 What do we think of the role of museums?

00:09:04 Different approaches in museums around the world

00:12:04 Conservation of works in the West and the East

00:18:05 Museums and funding

00:21:48 Liang Yi Museum

00:25:25 What we do now will become a part of history

00:32:26 Protecting what we find valuable

00:38:04 Selling online or through galleries

00:48:55 Interaction of cultures

00:53:40 The impact of AI and technology on art and culture

01:00:35 Renewed focus on art and culture in China

01:03:04 Development of ceramics in China

01:05:10 How AI could negatively impact culture

01:07:53 Anicka Yi AI exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

01:12:15 Homo Faber and the value of human creations

01:14:34 Human effort versus AI

01:16:37 The End of History, or the Clash of Civilizations?

01:20:23 AI art and the homogenization of culture

01:21:45 Art's role in reflecting the human condition

01:25:43 How do we understand the value of art?

This is a Kyuseido production. Find out more on our website:

https://www.kyuseidotokyo.com/

Kyuseido's Library of Knowledge: https://www.kyuseidotokyo.com/libraryofknowledge

Liang Yi Museum: https://www.liangyimuseum.com/

Lacquered Enchantment: Conservation and Scientific Analysis of Lacquerware: https://www.jsleefellowship.org/en/2024/08/20/1460/ Urushi Conservation at the V&A Museum: https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/caring-for-our-collections/urushi-conservation-at-the-va?srsltid=AfmBOoriBJRWnn0ftMzbYpjCGkQ5UOeeqtjinLxGC9vLvGulXbfb6jWi

US Museum Funding: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/american-alliance-of-museums-survey-2025-2712464

The Gallery by SOIL: https://www.lacquerartbysoil.com/

Lacquer Art by SOIL: https://www.instagram.com/soil_hongkong/

Tokyo National Museum: https://www.tnm.jp/?lang=en

HK Museum of Art (HKMOA): https://hk.art.museum/en/web/ma/home.html

HK Heritage Museum: https://hk.heritage.museum/en/homepage.html

Francis Fukuyama | The End of History and the Last Man: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_History_and_the_Last_Man

Samuel Huntington | Clash of Civilizations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clash_of_Civilizations

China's Tech Capital Wants to Be an Art Hub, Too: https://news.artnet.com/market/shenzhen-art-infrastructure-2754431

Follow us to keep up to date with new episodes!

https://www.instagram.com/kyuseido

https://www.youtube.com/@Kyuseido

Opening and Closing Music:

Song: Dawn

Composer: Sappheiros

Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZVHXQZAIn9WJXvy6qn9K0

License: Creative Commons (BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com

Welcome to the Heritage Meets Modernity Podcast where we explore how art, literature, and craft intersect with culture and contemporary life. Join us as we explore topics related to art and its history, and how it relates to our current society.

In this episode, we discuss the importance of understanding the history and culture behind traditional arts and crafts, and the role of the artist in continuing that cultural dialogue.

Chapters: 00:00:06 Introduction 00:00:55 Why should we care about the history behind traditional crafts and art? 00:06:09 Ways of understanding a craft 00:13:12 The divide between modernists and traditionalists 00:18:13 Understanding the "Why" behind creating art 00:19:46 Learning about Mokume-gane 00:23:00 The artist's role as a visual historian? 00:26:02 The development of calligraphy styles: East and West 00:30:00 What we create will become part of history 00:36:30 What was the purpose of the art? 00:38:58 12th Century Choju-giga (Scrolls of Frolicking Animals) as a social commentary 00:41:35 The innate human desire to express ourselves 00:44:27 Understanding the history gives a renewed sense of purpose to create works 00:47:42 Respecting the culture when creating new designs 00:55:30 Drawing inspiration from the game of Go: Kyuseido's logo 01:04:32 Resources for exploring the history of art and craft 01:11:11 Kyuseido Library of Knowledge 01:13:52 Other podcasts and Instagram pages

This is a Kyuseido production. Find out more on our website: https://www.kyuseidotokyo.com/

Kyuseido's Library of Knowledge: https://www.kyuseidotokyo.com/libraryofknowledge Hiroko Sato Pijanowski | A Self-Examination: Reaching for Spiritual Expression "Gentle Solitude": https://www.hirokosato-pijanowski.com/essay/self.html

Chinese calligraphy scripts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_script_styles

Carolingian minuscule: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolingian_minuscule

Japanese script reform: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_script_reform

Choju jinbutsu giga Scrolls: https://kyoto-kosanji.jp/en/treasure/06/

George Bailey Sansom | Japan, A Short Cultural History: https://www.sup.org/books/asian-studies/japan

Songmont: https://www.instagram.com/songmont_official/

Game of Go: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_(game)

Tattoo Tales: https://tattootales.podbean.com/

Yarn Library Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@YarnLibraryPodcast

Yesterday (イエスタデイ): https://www.instagram.com/yesterday_japan/

Otofromtky: https://www.instagram.com/otofromtky/

Cnshanbai: https://www.instagram.com/cnshanbai/

Upwitheric: https://www.instagram.com/upwitheric/

Additional Resources:

Smart History: https://www.youtube.com/@smarthistory-art-history

The Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong: https://www.youtube.com/@theorientalceramicsocietyo5289

Asian Art Museum: https://www.youtube.com/@AsianArtMuseum

一条Yit: https://www.youtube.com/@Yit

GINZA Tsutaya: https://www.instagram.com/ginza_tsutayabooks

Follow us to keep up to date with new episodes!

https://www.instagram.com/kyuseido

https://www.youtube.com/@Kyuseido

Opening and Closing Music:

Song: Dawn Composer: Sappheiros Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZVHXQZAIn9WJXvy6qn9K0 License: Creative Commons (BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com

Welcome to the Heritage Meets Modernity Podcast where we explore how art, literature, and craft intersect with culture and contemporary life. Join us as we explore topics related to art and its history, and how it relates to our current society.

In this episode we discuss how society's relationship to art and craft has changed over time, and how traditional crafts have evolved in a world that has been transformed by industrialization.

Chapters:

00:00:06 Introduction 00:00:22 Traditional crafts in Japan 00:06:32 What is art, craft, Kogei and Mingei? 00:10:43 The Arts and Crafts movement 00:16:58 The classification of art and craft in Japan 00:19:05 The Mingei "folk craft" movement in Japan 00:21:11 Differences between the Arts and Crafts movement and the Mingei movement 00:26:10 Different interpretations of Mingei in the 21st century 00:36:25 What is the definition of Dento Kogei "Traditional craft"? 00:43:22 What defines a craftsperson and an artist? 00:45:06 Craftsmanship as a part of industrial production 00:47:58 The art and craft of urushi lacquer work 00:49:06 Kogei and design 00:53:10 Kokkokai - artists or craftspeople? 00:54:40 The art of design and the craft of reproduction 01:01:21 Art and craft requires different approaches 01:05:48 The difference between Mingei and Kogei 01:09:57 Why has Mingei evolved into an industry? 01:12:40 Experiencing crafts through workshops 01:14:52 Democratization of crafts through workshops and education 01:18:38 Urushi artist Terumasa Ikeda innovates on traditional crafts using modern technology 01:21:41 How can traditional crafts continue in the future?

This is a Kyuseido production. Find out more on our website:

https://www.kyuseidotokyo.com/

Kyuseido's Library of Knowledge: https://www.kyuseidotokyo.com/libraryofknowledge

Arts and Crafts - An Introduction: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/arts-and-crafts-an-introduction

Yanagi Soetsu | The Beauty of Everyday Things: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/311112/the-beauty-of-everyday-things-by-yanagi-soetsu/9780241366356

MINGEI | Art of the People - Exploring the Mingei Film Archive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dxGcQ62uFc&t=67s

Kogei Standard | What is Traditional Craft?: https://www.kogeistandard.com/insight/serial/editor-in-chief-column-kogei2/traditionalcrafts/

Dento Kogei Traditional Craft: https://www.japan-kogei.com/dento-about-eng.html

Yarn Library Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@YarnLibraryPodcast

Aleksandra Cieśliczka | The Boundary Between the Art and the Product - On the meaning and form of kōgei in the past and present (PDF): https://share.google/0q8w7c68eQGjXf5rK

Terumasa Ikeda: https://terumasa-ikeda.jp/en/about/

Follow us to keep up to date with new episodes!

Instagram: Kyuseido

Youtube: Kyuseido

Opening and Closing Music:

Song: Dawn Composer: Sappheiros Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZVHXQZAIn9WJXvy6qn9K0 License: Creative Commons (BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com

Welcome to the Heritage Meets Modernity Podcast where we explore how history, art, literature, and craft intersect with culture and contemporary life.

In this debut episode we get to know more about Sophia, and how she is navigating a career shift together with the challenges she has faced along this journey. We talk about how she got into the world of urushi and maki-e, and why she made the decision to leave an academic career in science to pursue art. We also discuss the reality of commission work and the difficulties faced when working as an independent artist.

Chapters:

00:00:06 Introduction 00:01:26 Developing an interest in art 00:10:25 The intersection of art and science 00:13:00 Getting started in urushi lacquer art 00:18:09 Why quit academia? 00:24:20 Taking on commissions and navigating work as an independent artist 00:29:55 Returning to Tokyo for formal maki-e lessons 00:33:14 What's the value of the apprenticeship system? 00:38:18 The struggle with balancing commission work 00:42:51 The ongoing question about the sustainability of art 00:51:11 Transitioning to work with Kyuseido full time 00:55:40 Changes to the relationship with art

This is a Kyuseido production. Find out more on our website: https://www.kyuseidotokyo.com/

Kyuseido's Library of Knowledge: https://www.kyuseidotokyo.com/libraryofknowledge Urushi Notes: https://www.urushinotes.com/

Maki-e School Ginza: https://www.makieshi.com/

Follow us to keep up to date with new episodes!

Instagram: Kyuseido

YouTube: Kyuseido

Opening and Closing Music:

Song: Dawn Composer: Sappheiros Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZVHXQZAIn9WJXvy6qn9K0 License: Creative Commons (BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com