The art of kite-making is a captivating blend of history, culture, and creativity, transforming a simple object into a powerful symbol of human ingenuity. When drawings take flight, they become more than just images; they become dynamic sculptures that challenge the boundaries between art and the sky. This article explores the diverse world of kites, from their ancient origins in China to their modern interpretations by artists and designers, offering a unique perspective on this timeless craft.
A Historical Journey
Kites have a rich history, dating back to ancient China between 475 and 221 BCE, where wooden forms often imitated birds. Over centuries, kites evolved from military signaling and ceremonial purposes to becoming a popular form of play. The basic structure remained disarmingly simple: a framed paper surface held by a line. This evolution laid the foundation for the diverse kite traditions we see today.
Japanese Edo Kites: A Masterpiece of Image and Structure
Japanese Edo kites exemplify the seamless relationship between image and structure. Bowed bamboo supports a rectangular sheet of washi, often painted with broad faces or warriors. The format developed during the Edo period and continues to thrive through the work of artisans like Mikio Toki. These kites showcase thick black contours that stand out against the sky, while the slight curve of the frame provides the necessary lift.
Korean Bangpae-yeon: Engineering and Ornament in Harmony
Korea's bangpae-yeon, or shield kite, takes a different approach. It features a circular wind window near its center, allowing air to pass through and giving the flyer greater control. This design enables the kite to be guided up, down, left, and right, making it a formidable tool in traditional kite fighting. The hole in the kite's graphic composition adds a crisp piece of negative space, seamlessly integrating engineering and ornament.
Kites as Communal Monuments: The Guatemalan Tradition
In Guatemala, kites take on a communal dimension. In the towns of Santiago Sacatepéquez and Sumpango, giant circular barriletes are crafted for the fairs of the Saints and the Dead. These kites are architectural in scale, standing above the crowd like temporary facades. The tradition, dating back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, is centered around communication with ancestors. UNESCO recognized the knowledge shared between generations in these towns, highlighting the labor and scale of these monumental kites.
Modern Artists and the Evolution of Kite Design
Contemporary artists have embraced the kite as a medium for creative expression. Tyrus Wong, a Chinese American artist, brought his sensitivity in painting and film design to kite-building for the beach. He created a 100-foot centipede and long strings of birds, showcasing the power of repetition in forming a single twisting body. Tal Streeter approached kites as a form of airborne drawing, exploring paper kites as sculpture with slender frames and red marks against open blue. Jackie Matisse played with color and line, allowing light and cloud to alter the work in real-time.
The Art Kites Project: A Museum with No Ceiling
The Art Kites Project, organized by Paul Eubel at the Goethe-Institut Osaka, invited 100 artists to create images for Japanese kite forms. This initiative brought together renowned artists like Robert Rauschenberg and Niki de Saint Phalle, who flew their works in Japan and Europe before traveling through museums. The project exemplified the idea of a museum with no ceiling, moving between the sky and gallery walls.
Kite Club: Contemporary Design Drawing from Heritage
Kite Club, led by industrial designer Bertjan Pot, explores the intersection of contemporary product and textile design with kite-making. The collective builds bold single-line kites from ripstop nylon and carbon-fiber frames, often starting with traditional Japanese structures. During a residency at Museum Voorlinden, they worked in public, inviting guest makers and repairing kites brought in by visitors. Their book, One Single Kite, traces the construction of a demountable Kaku Dako, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the process.
Hai-Wen Lin: Couture for the Wind
Hai-Wen Lin, a Chicago-based artist, takes kite-making to a new level by combining garment construction with flight engineering. Their hand-sewn textile works create pieces that can be worn and flown. Silk stretches across bamboo, while beads and dyed rope alter the weight and movement of the surface. Lin's works are described as 'couture for the wind,' an apt phrase for objects that seamlessly blend the body and the sky.
Kites as Modules: Hashimoto's Giant Arc
Jacob Hashimoto's Giant Arc brings the kite indoors, transforming it into a module for building space. Even in this indoor setting, the kite retains its association with instability. Its thinness suggests that a gust of wind could rearrange everything, explaining why artists and designers are drawn to this form. Kites can hold painted images, define temporary rooms, and extend a person's reach into the sky, embodying the idea of a drawing with a condition: the image must move.
