MONO NO AWARE 物の哀れ

Often considered to be untranslatable, the Japanese term MONO NO AWARE refers to the bittersweet realization of the ephemeral nature of all things. It is the awareness that everything in existence is temporary. The fleetingness of youth, the fading of romance, and the changing of seasons are not to be mourned, but cherished and appreciated in their impermanence, for that is where their beauty comes from.

This art video is made in collaboration between the music collective C'mon Tigre and the artist Maurizio Anzeri, animating the Anzeri original artworks to tell a story of the beauty of ephemeral human beings life, flying over places like a bird, observing people who live in those places in a dimension where history and future converge. Maurizio Anzeri makes his portraits by drawing on tracing paper, which he laid on top of old photographs, and after by sewing directly into the photographs. His embroidered patterns garnish the figures like elaborate costumes, but also suggest a psychological aura, as if revealing the person’s thoughts or feelings. The antique appearance of the photographs is often at odds with the sharp lines and silky shimmer of the threads.The artist’s recent expansion of his practice to include landscapes stems from an interest in the idea of ‘electricity’: electricity that we emanate and absorb and its manifestations. In his altered landscapes, mysterious emanations suggest unseen phenomena, and allude to the spiritual and mystical.

a C'mon Tigre short film
Directed by Marco Molinelli
Artworks by Maurizio Anzeri
Japanese calligraphy/Shōdo by Shigekiyuriko Yamane
Mountain pics courtesy of Behind Mag
mixed technics: stop motion and CGI