Spiritual Journey to Lisa
A journey of the heart towards Lisa
First, enter the waiting room next to the chapel. There you will meet various nostalgic faces. Since we rarely met each other for the first time, I realized that our friendship, which was connected by Lisa, had developed into a certain kind without us even realizing it. We all grew older, and so did we. Ingrid, the last great-grandchild born while Lisa was still alive, is only 4 months old. She is quiet in her mother's arms. A total of more than 40 people sit on the right side with her coffin in the center for her relatives. When I think that Lisa has lived her life feeling a certain sense of responsibility towards so many people, the difference between her and me seems to be a cosmic distance.
The funeral began at exactly 1 p.m.
First of all, the music plays. Adagio by Albinoni, a 17th century Italian composer. Behind the pipe organ installed above the venue, dozens of speakers were stacked like a wall, with many exposed woofers visible. It looks like a Jamaican sound system, and it's no wonder that it seems out of place for a historic building that is a World Heritage Site. Albinoni's sad music plays from here, but it has a nice vintage sound.
The ceremony will be conducted by a female pastor. The pastor begins speaking. All of this will be in Swedish, so a Japanese translation will be provided for us, the few Japanese attendees. After the pastor's short speech, Leona, the second daughter of Lisa's eldest son Matthias, appears with a guitarist in tow. This guitarist is her boyfriend, and the two of them are said to have formed a musical unit. The Leona she saw before was a child, but she is no longer a child. The two sing a gentle folky song with simple phrases played on the acoustic guitar. Although it has a classical taste, it is definitely music of the moment. The music is not played from the previous speakers, but from the latest speakers installed in the front, giving a modern sound.
When the music ends, the pastor appears and reads Lisa's life story. The story you will hear here is said to have been compiled by a pastor who interviewed her relatives in advance and compiled information about Lisa's life. Here, the pastor is the editor of life.
There were stories we knew, stories we didn't know, and stories we had forgotten. Whoever that person is, it's more likely that the person spent time with him at one point in his life, rather than the person he was with throughout his life. Therefore, by having the deceased tell a story about his or her life in full, attendees are able to learn about the person anew. They make up for things they didn't know and come to a new understanding of the person. In this context, funeral attendees are those who fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle and witness its completion.
Look back at the stories the pastor told, pick out a few and add your own comments.
The first thing that had a decisive impact on Lisa's life was the loss of her mother at the age of two. When I heard again that her mother's name was Johanna, I thought that Lisa was trying to revive her mother by naming her first daughter Johanna. Children save their parents' lives.
The story of how she met Gunnar, who would become her husband, also appears. While Lisa was exhibiting her pottery at the Christmas bazaar, Gunnar, an art student wearing black clothes, appears dashingly and asks her if she has an ashtray. When Lisa presents her proud work, she throws away her cigarette, says ``Thank you,'' and leaves. In the episode where John and Yoko metIt's a comparable famous story. And Lisa and Gunnar deeply influence each other, just like another variation of John and Yoko. The pastor says that they have become "an eternal community."The pastor reads at a slow pace in a voice that is neither high nor low, and he mixes in some humorous expressions here and there, eliciting laughter from those in attendance. Here, the pastor has professional speaking skills.
Lisa was discovered by Stig Lindberg, and she rose to stardom at Gustavsberg. Lisa's works have become so popular that every household must have one. However, at that time, Lisa ``didn't feel that there was much significance in making figures and being successful,'' and her motivation for working was rather that ``my work had a big impact on the employment and livelihoods of the craftsmen.'' Because I was involved, I felt a great sense of responsibility."
As far as the Lisa we know she cares about others, she really does. She cared about her children's work, cared about the work of the Swedish workshops, and even cared about the Japanese craftsmen. When I told her that this would happen due to the craftsman's circumstances, she always considered alternatives. Although it was a notable virtue of hers that she cared too much about others, she could also be described as being "a pain in the ass for herself." She was even bothered by the fact that ``she couldn't respond to fan letters right away.'' She tries to meet the needs of others.
Her husband Gunnar even advises her that she should not ``give in to the commercial desires of her factory and stick to what she wants to do.'' However, when we met Lisa, she was quick, unwavering, and sure-footed when it came to her decisions, and she made decisions without worrying about those around her. I don't know if this is something Lisa acquired later in life, or if it's always been this way, especially when it comes to her professional (artistic) decisions. However, it is true that she was always a caring person. For example, when we went to Lisa's house, she always made sure that our products were the main display, and she even picked flowers and delivered them to the hotel. I also didn't forget to prepare for lessons. When she last visited the atelier, there were still prototypes on the packaging of cameras from the power shovel era (a company that made cameras that would become the predecessor of Tonkachi), and a portrait of Sasaki (designer of Tonkachi). was pasted on it. There have been several times when she has given me pottery pieces as gifts, and each time I have selected something that shows that she was serious about choosing this for the person. This ``awareness'' made Lisa a completely different person from other humans, and the things that come to mind first when we remember her are the things that came out of her.
I think Lisa liked responding to the needs of others. Creating her work was her best means of doing so. Although she was sometimes too ``caring'' and pushed herself, she still responded to the needs of others and making others happy was her driving force.
It also describes Lisa as told by the children. She says, ``I'm glad my children don't have to go to kindergarten if they don't want to.'' Lisa's temperament of ``caring about her other people's feelings (even if it's her own child)'' is evident here as well. "Her father Gunnar was a pessimistic optimist and Lisa was an optimistic pessimist. They also complemented each other in temperament," the children said. The pair said they "jokingly" had "optimistic hopes" that their child would go on to "some useful job, like a doctor, lawyer, car mechanic, etc." "Everyone has become an artist." I think that whether Lisa was an artist or whatever she was, she was someone who could never say for certain whether something was really good for that person.
After the ceremony, we went to Lisa's girlfriend's house with her family. Their partners (including ex-partners!), children, and grandchildren all gathered together, the children running around in the backyard, and the adults apparently all free men. Looking at this large family, I am sure that ``everyone will become artists.'' After all, the environment is the deciding factor.
He then talks about buying a summer house in the 60's and his girlfriend's home in the 70's. In other words, acquiring these two houses was a major event in Lisa's life. Since we don't own a house, it was strange that two houses were featured so prominently in this Digest of Life edition. However, if you think about it, it's not surprising. It must have been important for Lisa and Gunnar to have a home that provided them with a production environment and a warm home base that they had never experienced before. This is because both Lisa and Gunnar grew up without experiencing a warm family.
It was also said that Lisa was "constantly collecting information" for her work, which was a little surprising. She said that ``she sketched in front of the TV at night,'' which she considered to be an important source of information. She was a person of continuous effort.
The story then talks about the latter 15 to 20 years of her life. From here on out, we will mainly focus on Japanese stories that we already know, so I won't discuss them here. I would like to summarize this period from our perspective. ``My Lisa Larson,'' which is currently being held, is like the beginning of that process.
In the second half, "Lisa was once ignored by Swedish authority, but has survived by being supported by the general public, and has recently increased the momentum of re -evaluation." Huh. This is especially important in talking about Lisa's life. She lost her mother and burned her mother, succeeded in her job, but she was sparse and jealous because she was commercially successful. She was just valued, but she was a legitimate evaluation, and a big family, a rewarding job, and revengeed her life. Of course, there is no winner in life. But just before her death, she said, "We have a lot of things we want to do!" And at the end of her last, it was a very peaceful death. Then there will be nothing more than this world.
When the pastor finished talking about Lisa's digest of her life, her eldest son, Matthis, and his second son Andreas booked, appeared, and two musicians appeared, with beautiful women's voices and electronics cello, old songs on the Vulcan Peninsula. The music reminiscent of was played. The two were units for this day, and Matthias was assembled. He seems to see the tradition of the Larson family, who inherited her parents' free experimental spirit. How was Matthias music after finishing? He asked me. I know I like music. Here, Lisa's concern is inherited.
At the end of the ceremony, the attendees hold roses in their hands and put them on the coffin. Some people put their hands on the coffin or kiss. I closed my eyes for a while.
After the ceremony, the atelier without Lisa we visited was everywhere with her work and the prepared clay as if she had just made it, and Lisa picking her flowers will return now. It was like. We are in the house where Lisa and Gunnal spent more than 40 years, together with the other work that she left, drinking, drinking Sweden wine, playing with children, and bonfires. She cried after watching a nostalgic Lisa video, danced with music that her eldest son Matthias chose, hugged with Lisa's children, and returned to the hotel while it was bright after 9 o'clock at night. Still, I don't think there is Lisa yet.