My
Japanese teachers found me a job as a model for an art class in Sapporo – two mornings,
two hours each. The class members wanted a non-Japanese model, so I fit the
bill (no experience was necessary). All I had to do was sit still, which was a
little more difficult than I thought it would be. The teacher of the class “arranged” me,
sitting in a chair on a little platform with one hand on a small side table and
my head looking to the left out the window. One of the students made a chalk
outline of my feet so I could get back in the same place after the break. The ten students were positioned in a little
semicircle around me, so each person had a different view. Some people drew
with pencil or charcoal, some painted with watercolor or oil.
I
couldn’t understand much of what was said, but I did hear “gaijin” (foreigner) and “muzukashi”
(difficult) a lot! There has been research in the criminal justice field about
how difficult it is to identify a person of another race, so maybe the same
kind of thing applies to drawing a person of another race. I really wanted to
see what they drew and painted, but they didn’t offer to show me and I didn’t
feel comfortable asking.
So,
anyway, being a model wasn’t on my bucket list, but it was fun and I’m glad I
had the opportunity to do it.
5 comments:
What an interesting experience. 35 years ago when I lived in Hokkaido, foreigners were rare and often approached for advertisements. I was once dressed up for a cheese advertisement!
Being a very active person it must have been hard to sit still for a long time. I am sure the stutdents all enjoyed the challenge of capturing the 'gajin' on paper or canvas.
It is fun to try out new thing in life. Never try, never know. Experience is the matters.
I don't think I'd have been able to sit still for that long!!
Amazing opportunity - I'd have itches to scratch, I'd fidget…..kudos to you!
xxx
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