(Left) Torch stand for the 2024 Paris Olympics
(Right) The first hydrogen balloon flight by the Charles brothers at Champ de Mars, Paris in 1783.
The Olympic Games in Paris, France, have come to a close. The opening ceremony was a spectacular spectacle that was focused on the Parisian and French flavors, but there were also scenes that divided opinion on the direction of the event.The presentations that we exchanged opinions about “that was good” and “that was not good” on the network had their own meanings, and I think it is a waste to evaluate them only on the basis of senses, as beautiful or “in bad taste”.
For example, consider the Olympic cauldron floating in midair—fantastical and beautiful, the very embodiment of “French flair!” But this design was probably not born from a sudden flash of inspiration like a bolt of lightning through the designer’s mind. Rather, it draws from history: in 1783, French inventor Jacques Charles successfully launched a manned hydrogen balloon flight from the Champ de Mars in Paris.Many people who saw the cauldron may have been reminded of illustrations from that era—balloons floating over open fields with the Tuileries Palace in the background.Interpreting the meaning behind an image is an essential part of appreciating art.
The Sacrifice" exhibition by KOAN is currently being held at WALLS TOKYO. It draws on two traditional motifs in Western art: the “caryatid” and the “sacred”. Caryatid“ and ”St. Sebastian.
KOAN《Boss Fight》 2024 Acrylic on paper, collage
A caryatid is a pillar in the form of a standing female figure that supports a beam in ancient Greek temple architecture. This statue depicts a woman crouching with a stone on her back. The ceiling, which had been supported by her head, collapsed, and she is still supporting a beam of stone on her back, symbolizing the burden that is placed on all mankind.
KOAN《Between a Wolf and a Shepherd, Who do you Think Has Killed the Most Sheep？》
2024 Acrylic on paper, collage
St. Sebastian was a Christian saint who is said to have been martyred during the persecution of Christians by Emperor Diocletian in the 3rd century (it is also said that he did not die during the persecution). In art and literature, he is depicted tied to a tree (or post) and shot with multiple arrows. While he is believed to be a patron saint of soldiers and a protector against the Black Death, the “figure of a young man of well-proportioned physique tied to a tree, risking his life and faith while receiving multiple arrows” has been taken up as a motif symbolizing self-sacrifice for the sake of faith, with various hidden interpretations.
In this exhibition, KOAN depicts these two figures as symbols of sacrifice, contrasting slow/quick, give/receive, and crushed/penetrated. He must be projecting his own dedication to art in these works.
"Icons" are everywhere in our lives. When I stayed at a hotel in Nagoya, I noticed that the mirror behind the island-shaped washbasin had a pattern of scales. I think this probably has a meaning. I thought it was inspired by the golden orcas of Nagoya Castle. I think it is fun to look for such little iconography in hotel decorations, which are often sprinkled with local symbols.
text： Song Wei
For more information on KOANs work, click here.
KOAN
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