Anti-Netsuke
Netsukes are small Japanese sculptures originally used as counterweights. Since kimonos lacked pockets, men used to suspend containers in their waist sash through a cord, Netsukes were attached to the other end of that cord. After Japan's ports opened to the West, kimonos were less worn and the demand for Netsukes as counterweights decreased drastically. Nonetheless, Westerners, mes
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merized by its delicate features, began to collect these objects, purely by their aesthetics. Since its function was left aside, Netsukes started to lose some of their original key features, such as the hole to attach the cord, their small size, smooth surface and compact figure.
The Anti-Netsuke is a proposal to inquire about Netsukes' transition from belonging to a functional, ingenious system of counterweights, to purely an aesthetic object in the hands of those who did not fully understand its original use. Anti-Netsuke is rough, huge and unesthetic, the opposite of Netsukes but still truthful to its original function: a counterweight.
Netsukes are small Japanese sculptures originally used as counterweights. Since kimonos lacked pockets, men used to suspend containers in their waist sash through a cord, Netsukes were attached to the other end of that cord. After Japan's ports opened to the West, kimonos were less worn and the demand for Netsukes as counterweights decreased drastically. Nonetheless, Westerners, mes
The Anti-Netsuke is a proposal to inquire about Netsukes' transition from belonging to a functional, ingenious system of counterweights, to purely an aesthetic object in the hands of those who did not fully understand its original use. Anti-Netsuke is rough, huge and unesthetic, the opposite of Netsukes but still truthful to its original function: a counterweight.
