DRURY BRENNAN
CONTEMPORARY CALLIGRAPHY ARTIST AND CERAMICIST
This site was created as a final project for an Art History class at Kalamazoo College - Art Since 1945, taught by Dr. Christine Hann, Fall 2014
TOKYO TATEMONO
In 2005 while Brennan was studying photography at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago he traveled to Japan to produce a photo essay which to this day stands out as a defining event in Brennan’s education. The final product was a printed book in standard portrait orientation. This collection of work contains many similar elements to his calligraphy and ceramic work - namely, organized structure, repetition of forms and figures, the humility of his subjects and the showcasing of cultural imagery. The following is Brennan's statement for the body of work: "Rather than go for the typical fare of cosplay and "hyper"-ness, or classical tropes of kimono/kabuki/minimal "beauty" that permeate the existing visual narratives I'm aware of, I strove to portray Japan as I felt it: modest, humid, poignantly empty like a vessel, full of character with a slight tinge of electric melancholy - yet dripping with aesthetic formality and rusty beauty at every turn. Even the apartment buildings throw away practicality and expanse to possess wondrous, imaginative facades.” (Brennan)
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The book is available for purchasing here: http://www.blurb.com/b/2256958-japan
About “Tokyo Tatemono” Series:
“Tokyo Tatemono explores the facades of post-WWII, multi-story commercial and residential architecture in Japan, and the inherent contrasts and conflicts between surface and core, ornate exterior and cramped interior that underlie much of Japanese visual culture. Drury first visited the country in 2001 and was fascinated by the bleak futurism and quiet power of these structures. Upon winning the School of The Art Institute of Chicago’s coveted “Odyssey Travel Grant,” Drury spent the summer of 2005 riding his bicycle around the country and amassing a massive visual archive of Japanese culture. Resulting in over 13,000 photographs, the work is an informative yet uninformed examination of Japanese visual culture as a whole…Drury has worked as a professional photographer for several years with all types of commercial and independent clients. While still in school, he landed a job for Critical Mass advertising agency in Chicago, and clients there included McDonald’s, Mercedes-Benz and Hyatt Resorts. After school, Drury relocated to Los Angeles, where he worked as Associate Editor of Flaunt Magazine for almost two years. His work has been published in GQ, Flaunt and Stop Smiling Magazine, amongst others. Drury currently lives in South Pasadena and is cultivating a serious interest in bespoke functional ceramics.”