Sculptures, Shopping and SUN!

Saturday I had an appointment to be in Osaka in the evening so I figured why not make a whole day out of it! I had wanted to go to the National Museum of Art Osaka a couple weeks ago but hadn't got to, so this Saturday I figured there wasn't another perfect day to go explore.



I got into the city about noon, and as I was walking to the museum, I stopped by an udon stall for a quick bite for lunch. The place was very small and only had a bar for standing. It was a place where you literally eat and run, no time for chatting or hanging out. I ordered a simple udon bowl with an egg and some fried disk thing.



When I was walking to the museum, I could recognize it from a distance because I saw the building structure online before. That was great for me because I knew I was heading in the right direction! When I got there the set up was really cool. You enter the large structure and go down a level to get to the actual museum. The museum had two large spaces for work. The first collection had a mixture of artists from Cy Twombly to Yoshihiro Suda. While walking through the space, it was really nice to be in a museum again. I use to frequent them back home so the feeling was comforting. I couldn't take pictures in the museum but really enjoyed The Potential of Abstraction and U-Fan Lee's work in the first collection.




The second collection was their current exhibition titled Nostalgia and Fantasy: Imagination and Its Origins in Contemporary Art. They had many artists showcase in this collection but a few really stood out for me. Kobashi Yosuke's work was really colorful and out there. It was sometime even comical with how he used elements of space, bright colors, and naked self portraits. Hashizume Sai was also really good. Her work was mostly oil on canvas but what was so striking about her pieces was that they looked like photographs! I am always truly impressed when an artist cant make a painting that looks like real life. I had to get really close to many photos just to be sure. My favorite artist showcased in that exhibition had to of been Tanada Koji. His work was just really awesome. He is a sculptor and works in the method of ichiboku zukuri, which is carving from one solid piece of wood. I just really loved the fantasy type beings with their unique clothing (or lack of). Some of my favorites that were on display were The Girl Appeared, Standing on a Star, and Blossoming Girl. I also really liked how he sculpted the faces with glassy eyes and rosy cheeks. I think that was the section I stayed in the longest, even pulling out my note book to sketch a few of them.

After the collections I went to the museum gift shop. I've always loved museum gift shops because they usually have fun stuff. And I was right! I ended up picking up a post card book of mushrooms and a funky post card by another artist I like.



When I walked out of the museum it was about three in the afternoon and the sun was shining! The day was perfect, a bit hot, but really nice. When walking outside I also got to see a street performance act. It was performed by two men and it seemed like it was more for children. Even though I didn't understand much, it was still fun to watch even had some laughs myself. But that was partially because Japanese kids are so darn cute!

After the museum, I decided to head down to the area where I would have to be for my appointment later in the evening, Shinsaibashi. I walked around the shops doing some shopping for my siblings. For dinner I quickly got a bite to eat at a food place me and my friends frequent often. I didn't have time to explore something new so I figured just good food would do.

The appointment went well and by the time I had finished it was getting late. I grabbed all my things and rushed over to the train station. Luckily, I caught the rapid express train was was home from Osaka in about 35 minutes. Phew! The day was long but also eventful. Living in Japan I find I do many things alone, but I think it has already taught me alot and tested me alot so I don't mind. Today is Sunday and I just have to say God is good. My apartment is starting to feel more home-y and I've got my last week of work at the schools till I get a break for Summer. Can't wait for August!! I've got alot of things planned so stay tuned!!

Happy Sunday yall!!

xx
t

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