Leah Ogawa
16 Jun. – 9 Jul. 2023
KinoSaito Art Center was pleased to partner with La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club for Leah Ogawa’s summer 2023 residency. Leah developed DIVINE GENERATIONS vol. 02, a new work investigating spaces of in-between and contradiction where the object lives within the duality of discrepancy, further questioning the real truth. This body of work is a continuation of Ogawa’s Divine Generation series, drawing inspiration from a legendary two-thousand-year-old cherry tree Jindai Zakura (神代桜), translated as “Divine Generations,” and Dakotsu Iida (1885-1962), a well-regarded haiku poet, both of which existed on the same land of Yamanashi, Japan. Combining nature and literature, this piece addresses the sedimentary nature of time and how movements in objects witness our human memories through strings. Vol 02, which began at her KinoSaito residency, built on previous works and examined specific movements, mechanisms, and sounds.
Leah also created a puppet-making workshop for LA MAMA KIDS to be held twice over the residency period. Working with everyday household objects, participants created paper and string puppets inspired by creatures of flight. Through the collaborative crafting process, students brought to life creatures from inanimate objects, thereby sharing in the wonder that is puppet making. After creating their puppets, the participants brought their works in conversation with Leah’s installation piece. By interacting with their own puppets as well as Leah’s work, they saw the parallels and possibilities between their creations and larger works, encouraging them to imagine what else was possible with strings and creativity. John Tsung, Leah’s collaborator, created music to accompany the workshop.
Leah Ogawa's residency and KinoSaito’s partnership with La MaMa were made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. They are a creative home to artists and audiences from around the world and a dynamic hub for risk-taking performance. La MaMa believes in the power of art to reveal our shared humanity and supports artists of all identities in the creation of new work.
Founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, La MaMa is the only original Off-Off-Broadway theatre still in operation. Over the course of 61 years, they have grown from an underground refuge for the avant-gar- de to a world-renowned cultural institution, with 30+ Obie Awards, dozens of Drama Desk Awards, Bessie Awards, Villager Awards, and the 2018 Regional Theater Tony Award. They have supported nearly 160,000 artists from all over the world, such as Blue Man Group, Peter Brook, André De Shields, Ping Chong, Olympia Dukakis, Harvey Fierstein, Philip Glass, Tedeschi Kantor, Shuji Terayama, Adrienne Kennedy, Diane Lane, Taylor Mac, Bette Midler, Meredith Monk, Sam Shepard, Andrei Serban, Elizabeth Swados, and Julie Taymor, to name a few.