AKIKO KOTANI

By Danni Matter

It was a bright and balmy morning when I arrived at Akiko Kotani’s Gulfport studio. The open door allowed a bay breeze to drift in, and natural sunlight to fill the space. I was greeted by Akiko, who has been creating art in Gulfport since 2014. She walked me through several pieces that were on display, from woven tapestries completed in the 1980s to a new project currently being worked on. Through a variety of mediums, Akiko explores the significance of the mundane activities that make up everyday life. Many of her pieces also relate to topics such as women’s issues and the natural world.

Before arriving in Gulfport, Akiko made quite a few other stops along her journey. She was raised in Waipahu, Hawaii, and earned her bachelor's degree in fine arts from the University of Hawaii. After graduating, she made the transition to life in New York City, which she recounts as being a formative time. As this was the 1960s, now-famous artists such as Mark Rothko and Yayoi Kusama were personally hosting shows and gallery openings in the city. Experiencing this art movement firsthand and making connections influenced Akiko’s career, but she eventually left New York behind. For two and a half years she lived in Guatemala, studying weaving techniques taught by Mayan natives. She then settled down in Western Pennsylvania, which would prove to be influential in its own way – it was, as Akiko recalls, a sort of “culture shock”. Going from the city that never sleeps to a much more rural and conservative setting made for a difficult adjustment. However, the slower pace provided her with much more time to focus on creating.

Akiko furthered her education at Tyler School of Art in Elkins Park, where she earned her master’s degree in fine art. She then began teaching at the university level, which was an unexpected source of fulfillment. As she instructed these young artists who were often unsure about their path, Akiko found she enjoyed offering input and guidance. She taught students at Tyler for a year before going on to teach at Slippery Rock University, where she holds the title of Professor Emerita. Her personal art career underwent advancements during this time as well, including a prestigious acquisition. Akiko had kept in touch with her colleagues from New York, who continued to assist her with getting shows in the city. In 1977, one of these shows ended up being especially beneficial – it was attended by curators from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They asked to see more of Akiko’s work, which stunned her.

“I was a nobody!” She laughed. “It was an out-ofbody experience.”

She ended up meeting with a panel of six curators from the museum, who greeted her with a disclaimer: although they were looking at her work, it did not necessarily mean that the work would be accepted. The Met has strict guidelines regarding their collection, and also receives an abundance of pieces from artists unsolicited. However, after some deliberation, the panel decided that they wanted one of Akiko’s pieces! Titled Sawtooth Series, the piece is made up of three large woven panels. It is currently available for viewing on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s website.

After spending a few years in the position of Adjunct Professor at Koç University in Istanbul, Akiko retired from teaching in 2000. However, her globe-trotting certainly did not end there. During our conversation, she recounted an artist residency she attended at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Ireland. There, storms coming in from the open expanse of the North Atlantic Ocean sweep across the island before they reach mainland Europe. This type of rain was unlike anything Akiko had experienced previously. The intense way the wind whipped across the landscape prompted her to create the graphite drawings titled Rain at Annaghmakerig. This is one of the pieces I had the pleasure of viewing in Akiko’s studio. The drawings impart a strong impression of movement, prompting the viewer to imagine gusts of wind tugging grasses back and forth. The Vermont Suite and Hvitahus Suite, created in Vermont and Iceland respectively, were also the results of artist residencies Akiko has attended.

When it comes to living in Gulfport, Akiko describes the atmosphere as “comfortable” and “funky”; an accurate characterization of the small yet artsy town. It was only after she made her most recent move to the Sunshine State that she began creating large installations like the piece featured on the cover of this issue, Red Falls. One of Akiko’s early influences was her sister-in-law's mother, who crocheted cup cozies using plastic from shopping bags which had been cut into strips. She had a utilitarian approach to the task, never viewing it as a form of art.

“It was just something she did, and she was very happy doing it...but when I saw the forms, I saw it as sculpture.”

Akiko has long been fascinated with the idea of culling a technique down to its bare essence; much of her art involves exploring the most elemental form of different processes, including that of her sister-in-law's mother. The concept of scaling up a very simple method to create something large inspired her most recent series of sculptures.

At first glance, Soft Walls (completed in 2017) appears to be made of fabric, with a texture similar to that of a sweater or scarf. It is, however, crocheted from plas-

Continued on next page tic in the same way the cup cozies were. There are a few differences, such as the size of the finished piece – Soft Walls is eight and a half feet tall by eighteen feet wide! Akiko also modified the traditional crochet stitch to accentuate the dimensionality of the large strips of polyethylene. While visiting her studio, I watched her work with a wooden crochet hook, specially made to accommodate the size of the project. The process is simple, yet repetitive, and undoubtedly time-consuming. She pointed out the irregularity in the stitches, recalling what her mother once told her:

“’You have to practice!’ – my stitches were not even and regular. In fact, when I used to go to beautiful museums in Shanghai or Japan, and see these beautiful hand worked things, how precise they are...it really was [done that way] in order to emulate a machine. In my mother’s mind, that was the goal, and her work was like that.”

Rather than follow the tradition of machine-perfect stitches, Akiko introduced her own “language” to the art form. As the strips of plastic are joined together, they become a sort of journal. The emotions Akiko is experiencing, the music she is listening to, and the thoughts crossing her mind are translated into physical form with each loop of the hook. No two parts of these sculptures are the same, new patterns and textures can be observed from every angle.

Since 2017, Akiko has created a total of five works using this method, including Red Falls. The striking red hue of the polyethylene used in this piece was symbolically chosen – Red Falls is a piece which addresses the abuse of women in the home. Stitching and crocheting are tasks traditionally assigned to women and are skills that many learn from a young age. In this piece, the stitching serves as a representation of all the repetitive homemaking activities that women have been doing for centuries.

“It is not valued” Akiko says about this kind of work. “This relates to the low value of the plastic.”

Working on Red Falls was an enlightening experience, as she noted she was not fully aware of the sheer number of women who have experienced some form of abuse. As she interacted with those viewing her work, she gained a whole new appreciation for the resilience of women despite these circumstances. That is the true intent of Red Falls – to serve as an acknowledgement of the strength it takes for abuse victims to keep on living.

Now 82 years old, Akiko has no plans to retire from creating art. However, she does admit that she hopes to create on a smaller scale within the near future. As stunning as her large sculptures are, constructing them can be quite strenuous. Another phase in the cycle of life and art may be coming to an end, but that is necessary to allow space for potential new projects. It goes without saying that Akiko’s contributions to the art community have been substantial, and we are happy to have her here in our neighborhood! ARTicles Gallery in St. Petersburg currently has some of Akiko Kotani’s work on display, for any art lovers who are interested in viewing.