Murakami’s performative actions to the paper screens embraces the Gutai movement’s ideals of originality and experimentation
with performance and materiality. The explosion of sound, movement, and reaction of the paper, parallel the explosive potential of the human spirit.
A woman made of shapes brings her handkerchief to her face as she mourns the loss of her child and the devastation of her town caused by the German militia in the Spanish American War. Though this painting is brightly colored and abstracted, Picasso depicts deep emotion in his representation of tears through his use of contrasting colors and the expression on her face. There are no visible tears, yet it is implied through the woman’s scrunched eyebrows and shining eyes. Picasso uses shades of grey and icy blue to paint her handkerchief in contrast to the surrounding bright colors, implying that it has been soaked by tears. Tears are a universal symbol for sadness and grief; unfortunately everyone encounters and understands them. “Tear” as a physical form, is a “drop of the limpid fluid secreted by the lachrymal gland appearing in or flowing from the eye.” They are frequently involuntary, a reaction and byproduct of an extreme emotion or encounter with physical pain. Though tears can come out when something gets into the eye as a mere reaction, they are most associated with emotional experiences. The last time I cried, I was watching a video of stray dog being rescued and finally finding a home. These tears, the bodily fluid that can be wiped away with the brush of a hand, are ephemeral. They are temporary reminders of grief that may be healed with time. However in other circumstances and contexts, the word “tear,” and the things that come with it, can have much more permanent consequences. Martha Wenger, editor of Middle East Report, discloses the increasing misuse of tear gas in the Middle East as a riot control weapon. However, something that is used to control a crowd is causing high rates of death through direct poisoning and exposure to pregnant women, causing miscarriages. According to the
British Medical Journal, “tear gas is actually not a gas at all, but a toxic chemical irritant in the form of powder or drops...delivered through a dispersion vehicle.” Though the labels on these canisters mark the dangers of the misuse of this weapon, those who use these, do not consider or care for the lives of those they are using them against. It is reported that they are being used purposefully not only control rebelling crowds, but killing them. In this context, the attaching of the word “gas,” makes it a weapon wielded by another human being to cause intentional harm and violence. Other physical manifestations of “tear,” take form from the act of “wounding or injuring by rending,” as stated by the Oxford English Dictionary. A tear on the physical body is an injury that can be inflicted by oneself or others, by accident or with malicious intent. Either way, the harm done to the flesh or muscle have consequences. It doesn’t only take time to heal, but medical attention, and strength of the body. Whereas there are preventative measures and treatments given to those exposed to tear gas, sometimes in these cases the tears on the body cannot heal at all because of the lack of information and time given to these health specialists. In the specific case of a seven year old boy, Adhisivam, a researcher and specialist in pediatrics, reveals that through a right corneal tear caused by an attacking stray dog, the boy contracted rabies and ultimately died. Though this tear was small and hidden, the damage to the eye allowed the entrance of a deadly disease to a young boy who had a chance accident with a dog. The significance of a tear on the physical body is immense. Though they can cause permanent scars, no consequence is bigger than death. Unfortunately, like in this case, some things are out of our hands. In certain cases, victims are unable to protect themselves from the clawing hands of predators and assailants. The
tearing of cloth and revealing of bare flesh proves the vulnerability of women under the unwavering gaze of male dominance that continuously exposes and sexualizes. Torn items of clothing are evidence of violence and assault of such. In many instances, one is able to tell what something is torn by. Doctors are usually able to tell the causes of tears to the body, whether it be by an action of the muscle or a striking claw. Other tears can be caused by ravaging fingernails ripping apart clothing, evidence marked by torn seams and frayed edges. Other times, tears can happen on a larger scale with rubble and empty gaps of land that come with the destruction of landmarks and buildings. With the world constantly trying to move forward, to advance and renew, some remnants of history are left behind to rot. Eventually these buildings come down with the force of implosion bombs or a swinging iron balls. However, much debate surrounds the tearing down of buildings. There are those who still stand behind the historical integrity of a building and wish to restore and memorialize it. 111 N Robinson, once the home of the state legislature in Oklahoma, waits for its judgement day, standing by to see if it will be torn down or not. Residents claim “its restoration would give back a bit of history in an area that lost much of its past in the 1960s and 1970s.” Having a building of historical value in comparison to the mass produced monotonous modern building would provide some richness to the neighborhood and keep its originality as a legislative structure. People have come together with such passion for keeping some buildings intact, that urban guerilla groups have formed to protest and show their anger. These “urban conservationists, concerned with all aspects of city life,” aspired to keep and maintain the “old
(warm, handmade, lasting, and pleasing), while rejecting the new (air conditioned frigidity, shoddy mass production, and ugliness” of modern buildings. They villainized developers and large corporations that wanted to tear down the old for the new. Quite opposite to that, the tearing down of history by monuments have been called for by citizens in the name of justice and fight for racial equality. Erected statues commemorating Confederate soldiers and slave owners remind many people of a dark time in American history, rife with racism that still flows into today. Mark Kemp, a writer in Charlotte, hopes for a country heading towards cultural acceptance, and proposes for the tearing down of these statues by any means possible. Whereas the tearing down of history in terms of old buildings was protested, in the context of racism and current affairs, it is supported and rallied for. “Tear” becomes a command, not in a violent way, but in a way aiming for progress and erasure of America’s ugly stains. The way groups gather to tear something down demonstrates how something so seemingly negative, transforms into a connective experience. In the fashion realm, denim enthusiasts gather to remake jeans into something more. Tearing becomes a tool used by both specialists and DIY-ers to personalize and make a simple piece their own. There are instructions to manipulate this “violence to the fabric.” You can “rub a steak knife, cheese grater, or scissors vertically or horizontally against the area of denim that you would like to distress. Rub gently for mild distress; rub longer and more vigorously to create more visible distress (such as holes and tears)." A cultish obsession has grown over this clothing piece. Torn denim, an American staple gone rebellious, has garnered so much attention and demand, that designers work laboriously to “feed the $11 billion jeans market.” They are artists and artisans who
dedicate much of their time to perfecting the carefully imperfect manipulation of the jean. Scheltens & Abbenes have quite literally torn apart denim jeans to create works of abstract art. Tearing becomes a tool for art as well, but in a different way. These pieces are not meant to be seen as clothing items, but in their deconstructed forms, as abstracted shapes and silhouettes. The action of tearing becomes art itself with Saburo Murakami’s Laceration of Paper. He hurls himself into large paper screens, and the tearing becomes expression as the loud explosive sounds replicate the explosive energy and potential of the human spirit. Quite opposite to Picasso’s Weeping Woman, which depicts grief and wallowing in emotion, Murakami shows the vibrant play of emotion to material. Though both, and in fact, all uses of tear, develop and manifest itself from some sort of deep emotion, but the difference comes from how the mind decides to wield this emotion. Tearing has the ability to express the power of the mind and spirit, as it was expressed through Murakami’s hurtling actions. It can also express the mind’s strength and defiance. Another artist, Lousie Bourgeois, used steel, lead, and fabric to depict a blue eyeball tearing through, peering through its sewn eye socket. Underneath in capital letters, “He Murdered My Eyes” is engraved. This sculptural eye resembles a woman’s vagina, implying that the subject is female, restricted and constrained in some way by “He,” a male figure. It seems as though this female gaze and voice cannot be held back as the eyeball tears though the stitching in defiance. Through the forceful action of tearing, people, and in this case, women, become empowered as they take action against the decades of sexism and inequality. Women carpenters in California take this action not in physical terms, but by breaking and tearing down bar-
riers and stereotypes. “Being a woman in a man’s field means we’re constantly having to prove ourselves and that reality takes its toll.” However, through persistent actions to become noticed in the field of work, and fighting against discrimination, the walls eventually come crumbling down. The Oxford English Dictionary states that to be “torn between,” is “to be distracted by two equal but conflicting desires, emotions, or loyalties. The word “tear” itself, splits into different meanings and connotations. It is a manifestation of extreme emotion that can take form as a bodily fluid, but also as an action that can be made in the physical or mental state. It becomes further multifaceted as the word can be understood and used in different connotations. The initial thought of tearing or tearing something seems negative and violent or depressing, however, depending on the outlook and state of mind, the word transforms itself into a conduit for creative expression and empowerment.