FILL: Sticking your neck out?

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting 22 Dec. 2012

One piece on the TV morning shows was really interesting. They were visiting an art museum somewhere near Aomori, northern Japan. A number of unusual pieces.

The one that caught my attention or maybe my imagination, though, was actually pretty simple. Basically, you stepped into a white room, with a very plain white table sitting in the middle. Beside it there were two plain white chairs pulled back from the table. Sitting on the table was one more white chair. Hanging from the ceiling was a white animal's torso, short flipper-like legs just dangling. Imagine maybe a large rabbit whose neck is embedded in the ceiling, with the rest of his body hanging down. Near the hanging torso, just above the chair on the table, there is a hole in the ceiling, just big enough for someone's shoulders.

You are welcome to climb up on the table, climb up on the chair, and stick your head up through the hole.

When you do, you enter another world. Colored plants, cloudy sky, fog blowing across the glistening water under your chin. And nearby, a strange white head smiles at you, with his eyes closed, eyelids slanting down.

That's the entire piece. The plain white room with the mysterious torso stuck in the ceiling, and the other world, just through the hole.

I didn't hear the name of the work, but I certainly think either "Another world" or "Through the rabbit hole" would be quite appropriate. Even watching on TV, the contrast between the plain white room and blocky white furniture and the exotic world that you could stick your head into was delightful.