Description

Gyotaku – 魚拓

PROGRAM NOTES
Gyotaku –魚拓 (2023) by Juan Eiras
Commisioned and premiered by Michiyo Honma
From very early on, I found my sources of musical inspiration through interdisciplinarity: fine arts, –such us Old Sailor’s Room (2013)–, ancestral rites, –such us Samhain (2012), Beltane, Memory of the Fire (2014) or Chaxiraxi (2018)–, literature, –such us As abellas d’ouro (2004), Labirinto azul (I). Martín Códax in memoriam (2014)–, mathematics, –such us Dualismos (2005-2018)–, etc.

When I received the commission from my dear friend Michiyo, I immediately knew that I had to somehow give the work more than just technique. It is there, when investigating the Japanese cultural roots, I discovered the gyotaku technique, (魚拓), which I interpret not only as a method to capture the physical or material plane, but as the purest of ways to capture the essence of the spiritual, to so that it lasts over time.

This traditional engraving method has been refined over time, until making a series of prints in which one color is applied at a time, which gives the work a more realistic appearance. Through this superimposition of different images, musical plans, events and gestures, I intend to poetically capture this wonderful pictorial technique. I hope you enjoy it!

Juan Eiras