"Kitsune" mask, by Melita Curphy aka "Miss Monster"
I get a small thrill when I recognize common threads within works of art that I love, art being anything from film to fashion.
I've been on my perennial Neko Case binge lately and have been oversaturated myself with repeated spinnings of her fabulous 2005 recording "Fox Confessor Brings The Flood". My pal Dean and I were singing her praises on Facebook a couple of days ago, discussing her particular artistic relationship with and reverence for nature, which never suffers from cheap sentimentality but always resonates as deeply, primally genuine.
During this discussion I put Neko on the ol' IPod dock and as she sang the song "Fox Confessor" in her sweet tenor, I was reminded of one of my favorite movies, "Dreams", by the Japanese film master, Akira Kurosawa. This movie consists of film shorts, all solemn and mostly silent. One of the shorts is called "Sunshine Through The Rain", which tells the story of a young boy who sneaks into the woods to witness a fox wedding and the consequences he faces after observing this forbidden wonder.
I invite you to get lost for a few minutes in Neko's song and Kurosawa's vision as they spin spiritually similar tales of the wily fox. Enjoy....
Here's Neko:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihONUt99utg
Here's Kurosawa, in four parts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGhqHZypds4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0LZ9AL8Xmo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6-25o2lFZc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIJBT4Rq4lk&feature=related
I should not failt to mention the genius that is Miss Monster, Melita Curphy, who carved the beautiful Kitsune mask. You owe it to yourself to peruse her online store.
http://missmonster.myshopify.com/pages/f-a-q
