tsuki no mon san: ichiban ki ("moongate iii: the one tree")

The One Tree is a theme recurrent in mythology. The Penans of Malaysia and Indonesia have a spiritual relationship with Aping (ah-PING), the spirit of the One Tree who is also its guardian: the roots, boughs, and branches of this tree are the scaffolding on which all living things reside. Viking mythology gives us Ygdrassil, the One Tree whose roots and crown connect the visible and invisible worlds of spirits, humanity, and gods. The One Tree becomes, in both instances, a powerful metaphor for universalism, interdependence, and interconnectedness, themes that may be more important today than ever before.
Tsuki no mon san: ichiban ki honors this ancient metaphor. The mellifluous copper limbs and trunk should remind one of a dancer; the leaves-- each one individually hammered from copper flashing, drilled, threaded onto copper wire, and attached to the end of 21 discrete branches-- drape like a willow-- an ancient symbol of feminine magic and power. The entire tree is bounded within a 3’ moongate made of a continuous piece of bent mahogany, with a concealed strip of LEDs that add a pale silver-blue illumination to the whole, the substance of which is to reproduce moonlight-- another element of feminine power.
The name translates from the Japanese as “moongate iii: the number-one tree”; it continues to honor my debt to the orient not only for this distinctive circular Asian architectural form, but also for the art of bonsai I have attempted to reproduce here, as well as the elegant movement of the geisha.
Tsuki no mon san is currently on display at the Tropic Cinema, 417 Duval Street, Key West. Parties interested in acquiring this sculpture or discussing the creation of some variation on this theme should contact me at jonathanschork@aol.com, or ring me at 305.304.3018.