CLEAN, harae by Maaike Gottschal

CLEAN hara

(research)

TO CLEAN harae*

A research on cleaning as mental and physical practice. The research will be translated into a serie handwoven artworks that are made with the material heritage of Kitty van der Mijll Dekker.

Harae stems from the myth of Susano-o, the brother of the Sun goddess Amaterasu. According to the myth, while Amaterasu was supervising the weaving of the garments of the gods in the pure weaving hall, Susano-o broke through the roof and let fall a heavenly horse which had been flayed. This startled one of her attendants who, in her agitation, accidentally killed herself with the loomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shuttle. Amaterasu fled to the heavenly cave Amano-Iwato. Susano-o was subsequently expelled from heaven and Amaterasuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sovereignty resumed. The traditional Shinto Image on the left ceci 2019 DIALOGUE ACTIII, Beeld 3

Clean From Middle English clene, clane, from Old English clǣne (“clean, pure”), from Proto-Germanic *klainiz (“shining, fine, splendid, tender”), from Proto-Indo-European *glēy- (“gleaming”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to gleam”). Cognate with Scots clean (“absolute, pure, clear, empty”) and clene, clane (“clean”), North Frisian klien (“small”), Dutch klein (“small”), Low German kleen (“small”), German klein (“small”), Swedish klen (“weak, feeble, delicate”), Icelandic klénn (“poor, feeble, petty, snug, puny, cheesy, lame”).

Hara Harae or harai is the general term for rituals of purification in Shinto. Harae is one of four essential elements involved in a Shinto ceremony.[1] The purpose is the purification of pollution or sins (tsumi) and uncleanness (kegare). [2] These concepts include bad luck and disease as well as guilt in the English sense. Japanese hara means belly. At a deeper level the word, hara, means one’s true nature; who one truly is as a human being. It is connected with physical centre in the body. The word, hara, in Japan is interlinked with the word, tanden (Chinese – dantian). Tanden is translated from the Japanese to mean cinnabar field and is also known as the elixir field. It can therefore be understood as a place in the body where the elixir of life is created. In Japan the words hara and tanden are not intellectual concepts, they instead refer to the actual experience. For me personally the words and concepts means uninhibited (Onbevangen) open to receive, or to see. uninhibited (adj.) 1880, from un- (1) “not” + past participle of inhibit. swinging (adj.) 1550s, “moving to and fro,” present-participle adjective from swing (v.). Meaning “marked by a free, sweeping movement” is from 1818. Sense of “uninhibited” is from 1958. hang (v.) a fusion of Old English hon “suspend” (transitive, class VII strong verb; past tense heng, past participle hangen), and Old English hangian “be suspended” (intransitive, weak, past tense hangode); also probably influenced by Old Norse hengja “suspend,” and hanga “be suspended.” All from Proto-Germanic *hanhan (transitive), *hanganan (intransitive) “to hang” (source also of Old Frisian hangia, Dutch hangen.

Image on the left ceci 2019 DIALOGUE ACTIII, beeld 4

I used to have a bit a hate love relation with cleaning. When I was young I had the feeling my mom was a bit obsessed with cleaning. She was always present behind my back telling me to clean and organize my stuff. I always loved to make mess. To gather a lot of objects, materials, information and play with it. Creating something new. Clean the mess and start again. Anyone creative knows that creation cannot be done without making a little mess. For a long time in my life I felt that this way of working was not appreciated. But I like it this way. For me it works. But I also slow learned to appreciate to start my working days with an empty and clean desk. On the end I did not learn the art of cleaning from my mother but from my Shinto master Paul de Leeuw. After 2 trips in Japan where I was taught by several Japanese textile masters and after a lot of experimenting with Indigo and Japanese textile techniques, I became interested in the Japanese shinto philosophy that is connected with the idea and esthetics of objects and art. It is in the DNA of Japan to see something special in every thread, piece of fabric, or for example, a leaf on a tree. In Japan the idea behind beauty is linked to a state of consciousness and a way of looking at the whole and the small parts. According to the Japanese Shinto philosophy, not only mortals but also objects and elements from nature (for example a mountain) have a soul and are interconnected. Beauty can be seen in the everyday and simple manifestations that are characterized by place, time and change. I learned how to be “in time” and found out that all forms relate to the self and nature. The form I did already internalized by stitching them and weaving them for years. The abstraction of the line, the stripe, movement. Continuous patterns of netting, arrows, waves; energy fields that are connected with humble actions and proceedings in farming and crafting tools for fishing and working on the land. Unity (diamond shapes like lozenge, birds-eye and abstractions of flowers are used by me and worldwide in all textile cultures. I used both weaving and embroidery as technique of creating many cleaning towels. For my kitchen, for my studio and for special objects like my house and my bike. And alway the act of cleaning with these hand crafted towels felt specials and gave a little extra consciousness on the act of cleaning. It connected me with the objects and gave me the feeling that I took care about them, saw them. I took good care of the cleaning towels by washing them by hand. I used them till they were worn out. In the meanwhile I learned about Shinto practice. About the act of cleaning for your own body. A practical way off getting rid of body and mind stress. This practice I could learn locally because the Japanese Centre Shofukan is just around the corner. I made a little exhibition there with the cleaning towels and “clean” textiles that I made for serving food. (see image). This was in the summer of 2018. Autumn 2018 I started my masters on the Design Academy Eindhoven and worked on my project “Playing Ping Pong with Kami”. In that time I moved into an old farmhouse on the countryside. As an act of cleaning and ritualizing my new home I wanted to investigate, in a playful way, the relation between me and the house. I improvised tools to communicate with the house. I used sticks, balls, mirrors, wooden blocks, brushes as instruments to play with the house and evoke a very primitive communication with this object. Besides that the tools have a function the also evoke new form, color and new objects. These I like to see as a translation/ outcome of the communication between the object (my house) and me. (see images). For the same master study I worked on a project on technology, energy, innovation and connections (textile as language/ sustainability). I used the idea of exnovation instead of innovations as a sustainable way to create new work. I went back in time to re-do history. Made a follow up / re-do contribution the Duch artist group “The Stijl” (1917-1931). And In this project I try to create work based on the noble cloth and actions of cleaning and hand weaving and embroidery and translate those in (textile) art. For me it feels like a statement on where things went wrong in Bauhaus. The narrow focus on mechanical reproduction and inferior view on craft as inspiration and way to gain knowledge. (see: http://www.bauhaus-imaginista.org/articles/6262/dry-time?0bbf55ceffc3073699d40c945ada9faf=2b862f0db662e992dbf5c9cb63912711).

How Do Things Take Shape? Kasuri Towels Ceci, Maaike Gottschal 2018 http://www.ceciestunmagasindevetements.com/activities/how-do-things-take-shape/ The towels are made for the ceci dinner :â&#x20AC;?How Do Things Take Shape?â&#x20AC;?. They are handwoven linen textiles made with kasuri (ikat) yarn that was a gift of my Japanese Weaving master Mr. Matsueda. He gave me a ball of kasuri yarn. What image was hidden in this ball of yarn? That was a secret I tried to find out. These designs I made on the end of that research. A combination Japanese textile craft and European table linen. The works are invluenced by the work of Agnes Martin that I researched thoroughly at the same period.

Image Whipped Cream Whisk (Ĺ&#x152;nusa), Maaike Gottschal 2018

Harae Harae or harai is the general term for rituals of purification in Shinto. Purification To see things in their true nature (pure), in Japan (and many other countries and cultures as well) cleansing rituals are used to remove all impurities that a person or object has collected. For humans, this can be mental or physical stress. In the case of textile, you can think of smoothing the fabric that is creased. By washing textiles, the threads rejoin the right way. Cleaning is an important ritual in Japan. In addition to getting rid of irregularities, cleaning can be a way of getting to know and study the space or an object. When I tidy up my studio, I pass all the objects in it. Do they have to be there? Are they in the right place? Is there enough open space to create? Cleaning means taking care of all the angles and small details. Rearrange and redefine the space. It is an exercise that clears the mind. MFor official purification rituals in Shinto, that are used to release energy from objects, a mob-like object; the Ōnusa, is used. As a designer, an artist, I think it’s a lovely idea to use a ritual to reactivate an existing object. Objects are time machines. They have the dreams of their maker in them (past), and (if they have sufficient quality) they evoke ideas for new use (future). Cleaning object/ Ōnusa As a tribute to beautiful objects that stay with us for a long time I made my own version of the Ōnusa. The cords of the mob have reference to Quipu. Quipus (Quechua: khipu) were a type of cords with knots used by the Incas to convey all kinds of information. For centuries the quipus were a mystery. Until the 1970s, it was believed that quipus were a kind of abacus used to document the accounts and administration of the Inca empire. Subsequently, evidence emerged that quipus also contain much more complex information and are in fact a type of script. Cleaning cloth/Zōkin Zōkin are traditional Japanese handmade wipes that are made from scraps of fabric and are used in the common communal cleaning (sōji,) of the floor of the house, school, kitchen or dojo. The different layers of fabric are connected with small stitches. The technique used for this is sashiko (sash = stitch, iko = small). I discovered this Japanese quilting technique a few years ago. I have been making and using these self-quilted embroidered and woven cloths for 3 years. Quilting/ Sashiko Connecting several layers of fabric with a needle and thread is called quilting. From Proto-Indo-European *quel-. Cognates include Ancient Greek (kólpos, “bosom”). quilt (n.) c. 1300, “mattress with soft lining,” from Anglo-French quilte, Old French cuilte, coute “quilt, mattress” (12c.), from Latin culcita “mattress, bolster,” of unknown origin. Sense of “thick outer bed covering” is first recorded 1590s. New work/ Kitty van der Mijll Dekker. The the cleaning cloths that you see in this book are the start of a long research that I will now use as a background for the production of a new series of autonomous textiles that I make with the legacy of Kitty van der Mijll Dekker.

Image Right: text presented with the obje with the object Whipped Cream Whisk) and up: Loveltter also presented with the text and object. (not the right version here) Maaike Gottschal 2018

How Do Things Take Shape Kasuri Towel, used for cleaning. Photographed in front of studio window, Maaike Gottschal 2020 The towel was made for the ceci dinner :â&#x20AC;?How Do Things Take Shape?â&#x20AC;?. It is handwoven linen textiles made with kasuri (ikat) yarn that was a gift of my Japanese Weaving master Mr. Matsueda. This specific towel had to many mistakes. I use it as cleaning towel. It became a bit pinkish because I washed it together with synthetic dyed fabrics.

Playing Ping Pong with Kami Cleaning Cloth Maaike Gottschal 2018 The cleaning cloth was to made to clean my new house at the Blaaksedijk in Mijnsherenland. Before moving in my mother and I cleaned the whole house from ceiling to celler. The cloth was part of my project â&#x20AC;&#x153;playing ping pong with Kamiâ&#x20AC;? for my master study at Deisign Acadeny Contextual Design. See also next page.

Playing Ping Pong with Kami Maaike Gottschal 2018 In the summer 2018, when it was extremely hot, I felt trapped, in our beautiful city house with no garden, and made the impulsive decision to move to the countryside. The country house is about hundred years old and was all its life the property of farmer family. I think that if objects have a soul then this one certainly has one. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not an expert in relations with houses but for this project I wanted to investigate, in a playful way, the relation between me and the house. I improvised tools to communicate with the house. I used sticks, balls, mirrors, wooden blocks, brushes as instruments to play with the house and evoke a very primitive communication with this object. Besides that the tools have a function the also evoke new form, color and new objects. These I like to see as a translation/ outcome of the communication between the object (my house) and me.

Wipe Cleaning Cloth Maaike Gottschal (and Interns) 2017 In 2017 I made serie of cleaning cloths from organic cotton and bright coloured yarn I bought in Thayland. The idea was to sell it at the shop of the texile museum in Tilburg. The colours were desided upon by the intern who would weave it. I was busy with a lot of other things so it never became a proper production. I gave away most of them and some I use myself.

SASHIKO TWILL VARIATION II Cleaning Cloth Maaike Gottschal 2017 In 2017 I made serie of cleaning cloths for my kithen. I used two layers of old T-shirt with a woven cotton top and under layer. The quilting yarn is bright coloured yarn I bought in Thayland. The quilt pattern resambles twill weaving patterns.

Reflection

Some inforamtion on the background of the used patterns in the cleaning towels: Definition of birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s-eye (Entry 1 of 2) 1 : any of numerous plants with small bright-colored flowers especially : a speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys) 2a : an allover pattern for textiles consisting of a small diamond with a center dot b : a fabric woven with this pattern 3 : a small spot in wood surrounded with an ellipse of concentric fibers In Buddhism, persimmons symbolize transformation, and six of them signify enlightenment. The symbolism reveals that an unripe persimmonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sharp and bitter taste represents ignorance. As the fruit matures, it becomes sweet and indicates wisdom that follows transformation

SASHIKO TWILL VARIATION I Cleaning Cloth Maaike Gottschal 2017 In 2017 I made serie of cleaning cloths for my kithen. I used two layers of old T-shirt with a woven cotton top and under layer. The quilting yarn is bright coloured yarn I bought in Thayland. The quilt pattern resambles twill weaving patterns.

NEEL Cleaning Cloth Maaike Gottschal 2017 In 2017 I made serie of cleaning cloths for my Indigo Dye station. Making a indigo vat is a kind of ritual. The blue indigo cloth that you see on the right Is used to stirr the indigo before adding it to the dye bath. I need the cloth because otherwise I would burn my hands. I also use it to clean away indigo stains I make in the procces of the dye bath. This cloth is made out of an antique Japanese kids Kimono that I bought in Japan. It has a lovely simple kasuri pattern.

NEEL Cleaning Cloth Maaike Gottschal 2017 In 2017 I made serie of cleaning cloths for my Indigo Dye station. Making a indigo vat is a kind of ritual. The cloth that you see on the right Is handwoven and naturally dyed Indigo linen. The fluor yarn in it is waste yarn from the Textile Museum in Tilburg, the Netherlands.

SASHIKO TWILL VARIATION Cleaning Cloth Maaike Gottschal 2017 In 2017 I made my first quilted cleaning cloth when I was during my trip in Japan. I was working on it while traveling. The trip was organised by Craft Council Nederdand as celebration of the 400 years of trade relation between Japan and the Netherlands. We (Aliki van der Kruijs, Liselore Frowijn, Adrianus Kundert and I) were trained by three different Japanese craft masters on three different locations in Japan. The experience of actually using the cloth in my kitchen was quite an experience that encouraged me to go on in the research.

Puddle