Kjell Hahn

i know the site is all messed up still. There are a few points on the home page I cant figure out myself and need mr. kuehnle to tell me what i did wrong. so it will take a few more days till i get it all straightened out.

in the meantime I have been doing substitute work this week at a school about 25 km (15 miles) across a small mountain range in the town of Chichibu. I thought I’d post an image of the course since I’ve been doing it on my bicycle and have really enjoyed the trips. leaving at 6:30 in the morning the mountains have very little traffic. you almost couldnt ask for a more ideal cycling situation. now, im not a bike nazi or anything but i cant help but feel somewhat hostile towards even the occasional motor vehicle. city cycling just sucks, so I was excited knowing this job would take me out further into the country and give me an excuse to ride more. i cant think of any other way i’d like to start the day, and some obnoxious pile of steel and plastic couldnt be more out of place. i know 99% of car occupants think i must me miserable or out of my mind when they pass me going uphill but i think if people would just try it, they’d get addicted to it as well. people’s bodies adapt to whatever situation you put it in, and after a little regular riding you can go up just about any hill and it actually feels good.

i guess the thing that bothers me most about the car is that people just use it as a default for everything when you really dont need one most of the time. not only is it more expensive to drive, it often takes more time.

anyway, getting to the mountain commute, i dont know the best way to post a map- the japanese maps on google arent very good. so i took a screen shot from google earth which looks a little better even if none of the roads are labeled.
if you are interested, click here for the google maps link

onishi to chichibu cycling road

in the process of updating the site.
for the next couple of days new things will be popping up here and there, but until its complete there will probably be a lot of dead-end links and whatnot.
i wish jimmy was here to hold my hand. i have no idea how he figured out how to write this nonsense.

personage 20

graphite, colored pencil, acrylic on paper
2009

still drawing.
in kind of a limbo waiting for the paperwork to clear on my visa.
no money, in between jobs.
lately I have been looking around the area for a permanent studio space. looks like it will take a while just to find a place. I would like to buy a somewhat derelict home if possible and fix it up over the next couple years. the trouble is what I want just doesnt have the kind of profit margin that attracts real estate agents and most unoccupied homes in the countryside will probably never sell, so buyers have to do a lot of legwork to find a place.

back from tokyo. great trip. made the rounds to a number of gallery shows and museums.

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for my upcoming exhibition I  met with the owner of Contrasto Galleria,  Mr. Kashibwabuchi.   we set aside a general date of May for the show. I havent decided what works to include yet.  whatever I decide on it will be a pain to frame everything with the small working area available here.  i dont care if i dont have the money, i really want to expand my studio.
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the following sketch is from a BBQ buffet on phuket island in thailand.  while staying there i couldnt get over the very western diet the toursits had.  from muslix and milk in the morning to hamburgers in the afternoon no one seemed interested in trying the amazing food the country has to offer save for those hollowed out coconut drinks you see all over the beaches.  personally, i wouldnt recommend an all-you-can-eat meat diet to someone spending most of their time in a swimsuit.

phuket BBQ buffet

heading down to tokyo for the next couple days to see some friends’ exhibitions in Ginza and i have a meeting with a small gallery for a future exhibition.  not most renowned place in the world but i get along with the owner and its a nice space.  we’ll be deciding a date this week so it looks like ill be showing here before the place in Osaka.

oni drawing yellow

the other day was setsbun, a holiday marking the lunar beginning of spring. shrines and temples all over the country celebrate the holiday by throwing beans and saying “oni was soto, fuku wa uchi” an expression meaning, “keep out the demons and bring in happiness.” pretty standard japanese stuff, but living in onishi the holiday takes on a slightly different meaning. the official town legend goes something like demons from a nearby mountain threw a bunch of multi-colored stones here, giving the town the name onishi, or demon-stone.
with devils all over the town it wouldnt do very well to tell them to leave, so on setsubun the people here proclaim “fuku wa uchi, oni mo uchi” inviting happiness and demons into everyone’s life. kind of cute.
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so here are some pictures of some stones for sale from one of the many quarries in the area. from the price you might guess why people here want to keep the demons around.  3000 dollars for a rock aint bad. $25,000 is better.