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KA LAI YUEN

MR. Gallagher

English 12 CP Period 6

5 April 2010

Hand-cut paper sculpture artist Noriko Abme

Noriko Ambe is a hand-cut paper sculpture artist who uses a new technique to

create a new art (Turner par.1). Noriko Ambe was born in Saitama, Japan in

1967(Goodman par.1). She was starting drawing lines and etching in the beginning of her

art work (Kerr par.1). She received her B.F.A. in Oil Painting from Musashino Art

University, Tokyo in 1990. Since that time, “she has had numerous exhibitions and

residencies internationally.” Her work has been exhibited at many different countries,

NY, JP, CN, FL, and PA (Halsey par.1). “She has been mapping the mysterious land

between physical and emotional geography because she wants to attain something

sublime.” (Ambe par.2) Also her hand-cut paper sculpture was the most fascinating art

work in any museum (Turner par.1). In 1999 (Ambe par. 1), Ambe explores the concept

for force of nature through “an installation that involves paper works and drawing on the

annual rings of a tree in the forest” (Halsey par.1).

For the most of her sculptures art work, she was using an “X-Acto Knife” to cut

through many layers of “A synthetic Japanese paper called Yupo.” (Goodman par.1) “It

has an organic quality that makes it feel like sink“(Kerr par.1) and “the sheets of paper

appear as narrow ridge hills” (Goodman par.1). However, Yupo is a beautiful, smooth,
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bright white waterproof paper, (Johnny par.1) and made of 100% recyclable materials

(Johnny par.2).

In Noriko’s words, “Time is essential to my work.” Because when she add more

and more paper into her sculpture to develop the art work that she was create and also

this was an important process of practice for her (Kerr par.1). However, “Ambe applies

her technique to newspaper, reference books and magazines” (Turner par.1), and

industrial metal cabinet with drawers, (Sculpture) occasionally Serving up “Weird

juxtaposition of text and image.” (Miami Herald) For Ambe, “the accumulation of her

drawing or cutting represents a marking of her time.” She was spanning 6 years of “self-

defined, 10 years commitment to explore the “liner actions.” In her words, “humans are

the micro cosmos” (Halsey par.1). She describes the in-cut paper as a metaphor for the

universe. When the time she begins cutting layer after layer, she can define her presence

and time on the planet, her art work represent of her own “spirit” (Halsey par.1). In her

words, “the detail is the key point of nature, and part of nature.” she doesn’t try to cut

mechanical or draw perfect lines, she likes to do anything by hand because that can show

“for subtle natural distortions convey the nuances of human emotion, habits, or

biorhythm” (Ambe par.2).

Noriko Abme has a lot of her artwork. One of her famous art work named “A

Thousand of self” (image #1 pg.11). This artwork is 9 1/8 x 14 ¾ x 5/8 inches, made in

2007. She used a book of “1000 on 42nd street” by Neil Selkirk in order to make a

meaning by cutting the patterns and information in the book. “1000 on 42nd” is Tibor

Kalman, famed designer and consulting art director for the 42nd Street Development

Project commissioned the photographer to produce "a composite picture...in the heart of
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New York" of the structural and cultural changes taking place. The Selkirk solution was

to shoot, in Times Square, head-on, full-frame, in just sixty seconds each, 1,000 people of

all shapes, colors, and origins.

Ambe wants to tell us Human they have a lot of different thought of sight about a

thing. As you see, Ambe cut a lot of different eyes all in one person’s face. Shows that

people differently than the people who just have two eyes. In another hand that if a

person who has a lot of eyes they can see everything very quickly. For an example, Bees

are like Ambe’s concept of her artwork because bees have compound eyes. In her

artwork, Abme try to make people to have a pair of compound eye. Compound eyes are

made up of repeating units, each of which functions as a separate visual receptor. When

people have a pair of compound eyes, they can able to move quickly and easily.

However, I think they can look at something more even faster and easy to

remember things because when people have a lot of eyes can help their life faster. In the

real life when people have a lot of eyes on their face will make them more weird. As you

see her artwork, the first thing that I look is those weird looking eyes. Every eye when I

am looking at has a different meaning and feeling in it. Maybe those eyes are cutting

from many different people’s eyes. Also many people said that eyes are the soul of the

human body. We can see though people’s emotion by watching their eyes. In addition,

ambe used two different colors of people to create this artwork, one with a color of black,

another one is white. This create a distinction of the artwork because both people sink

color is different, one has no hire, another has hair, One has moustache, another doesn’t,

however, the interest thing is both people are wearing the opposite color shirt of their sink
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tone, black sink tone with white color shirt on, the other white sink tone with black shirt

on.

Another famous artwork from Noriko Abme is “Flat File Globe Red Tank A”

(Image #2pg.11). This artwork is 12 3/4 x 11 x 16 1/8 inches, made in 2007. Ambe used

her favorite paper Yupo, a metal cabinet and Plexiglas to create this art work.

This is collaboration with metal cabinets. In Amber’s word, “The cabinets are a

metaphor for the human body as emptiness. And, this work visualizes the intersection of

the stream of vertical time with the present” (Ambe’s website). As you see Ambe said we

can see the cabinets as an emptiness human body. What Ambe try to tell the people is that

a human is full of emptiness. Especially the wealthy people, let’s say that the paper is the

money that the wealthy people had. Even though they are wealth, they have a lot of

money to spend, but they always don’t have any happiness that the other people have.

Although they can make them gorgeous, but they are still empty because they are not

satisfied what they got and they always wanted more. As you can see the outside of the

edge doesn’t have anything holes, but inside of the cabinets are empty like a termite ate

it. Actually you can see through to the floor, it tell how empty does the human had. The

color of the cabinets can make people get attention because I think most people first sight

of this artwork is the red color cabinet.

In addition red is a similar color evoked by light and also is the longest

wavelength of light that discernible by human’s eye. In Psychology, red is associated

with bravery, happiness, good luck, fire, energy, and blood. Ambe using a red cabinet to

represent the emptiness of the human body is to show the happiness and good luck that

appear on the outside of the human, but inside they are colorless and empty. Apparently
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they are wealthy, that’s why a lot of people want to be rich, but when they became rich

then the will become empty because they have nothing less.

The third famous of Noriko Ambe’s artwork is “Lands of Emptiness 3.” This

artwork is 16 ¾ x 17 ¾ x 137 ¾ inches, made in 2005, installation view at LMCC. She

used many newspapers gathering together to create this artwork. This is almost the some

concept of her another artwork that we just review called “Flat File Globe Red Tank A.”

This art work is also known as emptiness, but this talk about the world emptiness

instead of the emptiness of the human. This artwork seems like an earthquake, but is

seems very calm like no body there. In her mind, Ambe try to sketch her thought of her

mind like an empty world that no one lives in. I think Ambe try to said is people already

go to the outside of the universe in order to find a place that can fit all the people live

because the right now the world has a globe worming, it maybe end one the if people

don’t protect their world. Perhaps Ambe want to let people know that it’s not too late to

protect our world at least we can do it to make to world better, maybe the world could

live more longer.

In another hand, I can see the balance of her artwork because there has two

windows between the works. Ambe did that because she wants to make the view of her

artwork better. Also the newspapers really take my eyes attention because I didn’t see

this kind of artwork before. Sometime, this is hard to know that what the artists want tell

people about work. Especially Ambe’s artwork, Ambe’s artworks are simple but

sometimes difficult to understand.

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The next artwork of Noriko Ambe is “Flat Globe Cutting Book Series.” (Image

#4 pg. 11) This artwork is 10 ¼ x 8 7/8 x 7/8 inches. Ambe cut this by a book called

“AKIRA CLUB,” made in 2007.

I like this artwork because I can see that there seems like some animation in her

artwork. Although I don’t really know what Ambe trying to tell what is this about, but

this is an awesome artwork that I like the most. People always said, the more difficult

artwork to understand is the more valuable. In another hand that I am more intenerating

about the book that Ambe used. AKIRA CLUB is a companion art book to Akira, Akira

Club is a collection of Otomo's visions, including over one hundred title-page

illustrations created for the original serialization but not included with the published

collections of Akira. The book also features alternate art, preliminary drawings,

production sketches, and a variety of Akira posters, advertisements, and products, all

accompanied by commentary by the artist himself. (http://taro.lool.net/Akira/club.html.) I

really like the way that Ambe cut it. I think She cut it layer by layer to create this work

and also it look like the layers of onion with red, black and white color. The red color is

my first thing to look at maybe because it a red color.

Also If I look at this artwork more carefully, I can see that there kinder like a

earth. I can see the texture in the layer that Ambe cut and the other little circle like the

other planet in the universe. The red color can be representing the war that the world had

on it right now because the red let me think the blood and fire. In her artwork I can see

the angry that appear in my mind and the black color sometimes described as an
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"achromatic", or hue less. That can represent the people died during the war and the white

can also represent peace.

The next art work is “Dialogue with a tree” Ambe drawing a slice of tree on a

wall. This is an installation view at college of Charleston and the title is called “Force of

Nature Project.” This is one of Ambe’s drawing.

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Works Cited
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Goodman, Jonathan. “Exhibition review of ‘Flat Globe’ At Josee Eienvenu, New York,

2006.” Sculpture. Nov. 2006.

http://www.norikoambe.com/texts/200611_sculpture.html.

In this source Jonathan describe that the way Ambe used to create her artwork,

and how she develop her idea of her design. However, Jonathan describes the

equipments and materials that Ambe using to work with. In addition Jonathan

talks about her artwork in one of her gallery show.

Rosin, Jessica. “Exhibition review of ‘Lands of Emptiness’ at Pierogi,

Brooklyn, NY, 2003.” Art on Paper . Feb. 2003.

http://www.norikoambe.com/texts/200302_artonpaper.html.

In this source, Rosin admires Ambe’s artwork. She said the volumes, open flat to

reveal the design were great compliment. Also she describes Ambe’s skill that she

used to cut more than 1200 sheet of paper to create the sculpture.

Turner, Elisa. “Exhibition review of ‘JAPAN: RISING’ at The Palm Beach

Institute of Contemporary Art, 2003.” Miami Herald 26 Oct. 2003.

http://www.norikoambe.com/texts/200310_miamiherald.html.
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Turner said about that Ambe’s artworks of hand cut paper sculptures are the most

fascinating in the show because her art work are “weird juxtaposition” of the text

and image. Even though it is looking weird, but the works are wonderfully tactile.

Kerr, Merrily. “Article on Art on Paper magazine March-April edition 2005.”

New Paper Sculpture . Mar. 2005.

http://www.norikoambe.com/texts/200503_artonpaper.html.

In this interview, Ambe talked about how she began to use paper to cut a

sculpture. Before she was drawing lines and etching, after when she was in an

airplane, she saw a beautiful laces cape then she began to create her 3D artworks.

Alan Brenner, Wayne. “Noriko Ambe: Artist books, linear- acting cutting project.”

Art review, Lora Reynolds Gallery. 31. Dec.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/review?oid=%3A921437.

Wayne talk about that Noriko’s Art works in Lora Reynolds Gallery. Ambe’s art

work is the great fascination forcing toward figures. Also Ambe cut her paper

page by page; it’s really subtracted unbalancing the equation of the book.
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Harris, Jane. “Slash: paper under the knife exhibition media October 7, 2009- April 4,

2010.” New York Magazine. 7 Oct. 2009.

http://collections.madmuseum.org/html/exhibitions/485.html.

This is about the history exhibition paper art, which examines the Renaissance of

tradition handcraft material and techniques. Also many artists modify books to

transform them into sculpture.

Johnny. “Noriko Ambe.” Web source. 24 Jun. 2009. http://www.spoon-

tamago.com/2009/06/24/noriko-ambe/.

In this source Johnny showing that Noriko Ambe had a show at Scai the

Bathhouse gallery in Tokyo. Also he talked about that the paper is 100%

recyclable materials also beautiful and smooth.

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Works Consulted
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