Ross Barber Installation Artist Mr Ichino's Gift

Collaborative Multi-arts/Community Cultural Development Project Mr Ichinos Gift, Wataboshi Music Festival Brisbane 2003.

Mr Ichinos Gift performance highlights Brisbane Powerhouse WMV file 655 kbs

Andrew Ross, Artistic Director Brisbane Powerhouse, quoted in the Courier Mail Arts page, Mr Ichino's Gift“ was one of two standout productions of the Brisbane season.”

In the market place, Gifts like Ideas are simply cold units of exchange written on balance sheets. Contrary to this in the creative world they are transformational messengers. Their real value lies in the hearts and minds of givers and receivers. “Mr. Ichino's Gift Collective’’

Broadband Link: Mr Ichino''s Gift performance highlights Brisbane Powerhouse WMV file 2.36 meg

Background to Mr Ichinos Gift.
In 1998 Kadsuke Ichino Master potter from the Tamba region of Japan was invited to the Cooroy Butter Factory to run a series of master class workshops. It had been Mr. Ichino’s lifetime dream to combine two traditional kinds of kiln in one (anagama or hill-climbing kiln with nobodigama or cave kiln. In Cooroy he was encouraged to realise his dream and the kiln, the only one of its kind in the world, was built. It is an aesthetically beautiful and wonderfully functional kiln, used regularly by Cooroy ceramics artists, ceramic students at the Cooroy Butter factory and it is also a powerful symbol of innovation. As a totally unexpected bonus, during firings that can be several days in length, the kiln makes all sorts of strange and beautiful sounds. As Zoro Thomas a young artist experiencing aspbergers syndrome succinctly said of the kiln, “It’s singing to us, listen”.

This project was born out of the desire to “listen”. To listen to the sounds of the kiln, to listen to the subtle movements of the clay on the wheel, to listen to the voices of those who experience disability or disadvantage, to listen to the movements of the body, to listen to the resonance of the voice, to listen to each other as we explored as a community, the meaning of Mr. Ichino’s 'gift'

In Performance a certain kind of body is expected, in Music a certain kind of voice.
Development of the Mr Ichino’s Gift performance took its cue from dispirit and different rhythms produced by a range of bodies and voices which beautifully shadowed the elemental nature and unpredictability of the kiln in its firing cycle.

Project Summary
Funding was sourced from The Australia Council, Arts Queensland, Festivals Australia and Maroochy/Noosa RADF for the development, creation and final, public outcome stage the multi-art form “Mr. Ichino’s Gift”. The work was performed at the official closing ceremony of the Wataboshi Music Festival at the Brisbane Powerhouse in November 2003.

The Performance was the culmination of a five-month, cross-skilling and creative development collaboration between professional Sunshine Coast based artists from a variety of disciplines and community participants from the local area. By actively encouraging and supporting the participation of people who experience disadvantage or disability, who worked side by side with non-disability participants, the project as a whole achieved a high degree of both inclusiveness and mutual collaboration.

The resultant “performance” was a highly innovative, multi-layered event, bringing together visual and ceramic arts, text, movement, sound sampling technologies, video treatment and projection including live Internet streaming from the Powerhouse & Cooroy Butter Factory.

Director/Visual designer Mark Bromilow
Project and community Coordinators Ross Barber, Jacquelyn Brown
Movement Co-ordinator/Choreography Marie Dumont, Moira Lian Tan
Assistant to the Director Annette Shoenberger

Performance arts workers , Corrie Wright, Di Collier, Edith Van der Hyde
Soundscaping/Composition Janto Browning
Vocal workshops Ann Bermingham
Ceramic Instrument making Barry Tate, Rowley Drysdale, Andrew Bryant. Tanya Gaylor
Musical Instrument consultant Steve Langton
Japanese text Rika Tuschida
W Web streaming John Burke
Video Jen Muller

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Collaborative Multi-arts/Community Cultural Development Project Mr Ichinos Gift, Wataboshi Music Festival Brisbane 2003.
	Mr Ichinos Gift performance highlights Brisbane Powerhouse WMV file 655 kbs Andrew Ross, Artistic Director Brisbane Powerhouse, quoted in the Courier Mail Arts page, Mr Ichino's Gift“ was one of two standout productions of the Brisbane season.” In the market place, Gifts like Ideas are simply cold units of exchange written on balance sheets. Contrary to this in the creative world they are transformational messengers. Their real value lies in the hearts and minds of givers and receivers. “Mr. Ichino's Gift Collective’’

Broadband Link: Mr Ichino''s Gift performance highlights Brisbane Powerhouse WMV file 2.36 meg
Background to Mr Ichinos Gift. In 1998 Kadsuke Ichino Master potter from the Tamba region of Japan was invited to the Cooroy Butter Factory to run a series of master class workshops. It had been Mr. Ichino’s lifetime dream to combine two traditional kinds of kiln in one (anagama or hill-climbing kiln with nobodigama or cave kiln. In Cooroy he was encouraged to realise his dream and the kiln, the only one of its kind in the world, was built. It is an aesthetically beautiful and wonderfully functional kiln, used regularly by Cooroy ceramics artists, ceramic students at the Cooroy Butter factory and it is also a powerful symbol of innovation. As a totally unexpected bonus, during firings that can be several days in length, the kiln makes all sorts of strange and beautiful sounds. As Zoro Thomas a young artist experiencing aspbergers syndrome succinctly said of the kiln, “It’s singing to us, listen”. This project was born out of the desire to “listen”. To listen to the sounds of the kiln, to listen to the subtle movements of the clay on the wheel, to listen to the voices of those who experience disability or disadvantage, to listen to the movements of the body, to listen to the resonance of the voice, to listen to each other as we explored as a community, the meaning of Mr. Ichino’s 'gift' In Performance a certain kind of body is expected, in Music a certain kind of voice. Development of the Mr Ichino’s Gift performance took its cue from dispirit and different rhythms produced by a range of bodies and voices which beautifully shadowed the elemental nature and unpredictability of the kiln in its firing cycle. Project Summary Funding was sourced from The Australia Council, Arts Queensland, Festivals Australia and Maroochy/Noosa RADF for the development, creation and final, public outcome stage the multi-art form “Mr. Ichino’s Gift”. The work was performed at the official closing ceremony of the Wataboshi Music Festival at the Brisbane Powerhouse in November 2003. The Performance was the culmination of a five-month, cross-skilling and creative development collaboration between professional Sunshine Coast based artists from a variety of disciplines and community participants from the local area. By actively encouraging and supporting the participation of people who experience disadvantage or disability, who worked side by side with non-disability participants, the project as a whole achieved a high degree of both inclusiveness and mutual collaboration. The resultant “performance” was a highly innovative, multi-layered event, bringing together visual and ceramic arts, text, movement, sound sampling technologies, video treatment and projection including live Internet streaming from the Powerhouse & Cooroy Butter Factory. Director/Visual designer Mark Bromilow Project and community Coordinators Ross Barber, Jacquelyn Brown Movement Co-ordinator/Choreography Marie Dumont, Moira Lian Tan Assistant to the Director Annette Shoenberger Performance arts workers , Corrie Wright, Di Collier, Edith Van der Hyde Soundscaping/Composition Janto Browning Vocal workshops Ann Bermingham Ceramic Instrument making Barry Tate, Rowley Drysdale, Andrew Bryant. Tanya Gaylor Musical Instrument consultant Steve Langton Japanese text Rika Tuschida W Web streaming John Burke Video Jen Muller
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