Willa Goldthwaite
Email: willa@willagoldthwaite.com
Personal Website: www.willagoldthwaite.com
Artist Statement
Ah, Motherland! A Wonder Women project at _gaia
When my grandmother left Japan to start her new family in the United States, her own family was upset and rejected her and her new American husband. I have always been interested in the choice she made and in the social stigmas my grandmother struggled with both in Japan and in America.
I am developing a series dedicated to my grandmother, Eiko Sato. I have always felt a connection to my grandmother although she died when I was still young. I am focusing on the specific objects that my grandmother cherished most. After her death, visiting her house told me so much about who she was. Her possessions were a mixture of American and Japanese culture. With the plastic Christmas tree and the collection of videos ranging from Mighty Mouse to Elvis, I saw my grandmother’s shrine for her ancestors, her lucky cat, and her antique sewing machine. Now that the house is gone as well, all I have is the memories. My goal is to evoke these memories through my watercolors.
In my watercolors, I attempt to highlight aspects of life that we take for granted. It is these small and often unnoticed characteristics that give culture significance. The formal concerns are produced using different viscosities of paint. Through consideration of density and scale, fluidity of paint application and layering, I use an unconventional method of application, pushing the paint. This allows the forms to expand, overlap and bleed into each other. The thin black outline surrounding the colored forms connects them as a whole.
The first watercolor in the series is an image of Meneki Neko. Maneki Neko is Japanese for “beckoning cat.” Also known as Lucky Cat, Fortune Cat, Welcoming Cat, and Money Cat, Maneki Neko is a beloved figure in Japan and adorns places of business, welcoming you to come in. Lucky Cats are a very popular collector items- typically a porcelain figure. My grandmother kept one in her home as well as in her place of business.
For this project, I am translating the images from the watercolors into a design for Noren (entrance curtains). A recent visit to the Serizawa exhibit at the Japan Society inspired me to make Noren. The entrance curtain, which hangs in a doorway, is a traditional Japanese sign of the merchant’s shop. My grandmother owned her own tailor shop in the United States. Because I am machine-sewing these pieces myself, I also feel connected to the seamstress side of my grandmother. I believe that creating Noren would be the perfect way for me to honor her and the story of her immigration.
