Laconia Gallery Presents The Race: Tales in Flight
433 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02118
Laconia Gallery is run by the Laconia Artists Corporation (LAC), a non-profit 501(c)3 organization.

For this exhibition Laconia Gallery will be open Tuesday through Saturday, Noon to 4 PM.
Closed on Sundays and Mondays. Closed November 21, 22, 23 and 24, 2018.
There will be a Film Screening called “Living in the Story” with film director Lynn Estomin on November 11th at Laconia Gallery from 4 – 6 PM
There are Limited tickets that must be purchased in advance. Tickets will not be sold at the door.

[Patrick] Nagatani’s  novel “The Race: Tales in Flight” is the story of the discovery of Supermarine Spitfire aircraft buried in Burma at the end of World War II. The aircraft are brought to Tokyo and transformed with new technology into state-of-the-art floatplanes. Fifteen women pilots are selected to participate in a trans-Pacific race from Tokyo to San Francisco.

The exhibition features a portrait of each plane flying into solitude. Each image must then be de-coded within terms of the larger subjects of challenges, gender, ethnicity, society, individuality, joy, technology, environmental disorder, the color of the plane, the color of the sky, and the history and magic of these concepts.

The Prologue of the novel sets up the logistics and story behind Keiko Kobahashi and introduces the diverse international group of women pilots. The “Training” chapter examines some of the concerns and interests of the women, as well as the camaraderie and respect that’s established between them. Each subsequent chapter is the pilot’s story while flying in the race.

The novel, in essence, is not about the race but the stories that each pilot has and the issues that they are dealing with in their lives. Most important is the catharsis that occurs in dealing with these issues as they fly alone in the vastness of earth space and clouds. They are in control in this tight little cockpit and there is a lot of time to think.

The outer and the inner is the essence of the novel. Outer vast physical space simultaneously exists with the inner psychological thinking of the pilots. Each pilot comes to terms with what she is dealing with. Catharsis hopefully occurs as the will to live and embrace the moment and contribute to humanity is realized.

[Patrick Nagatani passed away at home almost a year ago on October 27, 2017 from cancer at the age of 72. He lived to see his book completed and had a book signing at the Aluquerque Museum a week before his death.] He [was] first and foremost a long time visual artist who [had] recently challenged himself with creative writing. Much of his past work has evolved around storytelling and narrative fiction as photographic “fact”. He has dwelled in the land of fiction and magic with his images and now does so in this novel. Additionally, he is choreographing the creative writing of 12 other writers who are contributing to the novel. The images here will be at the beginning of each chapter of the pilots’ stories. They are meant to illustrate the novel with a feeling of flying spirit and magical space.

The choice of work and “The Race” images in this exhibition are meant to examine and develop a dialogue between the physical and the spiritual; something that Nagatani [had] in a daily conversation with his cancer. “The Race” images hope to form the connections in this dialogue of a Yin Yang nature.

– Liz Kay

Used with permission from Liz Kay,  Andrew Smith Gallery, Tuscon, Arizona. Direct all inquiries on purchase of Patrick Nagatani’s work to the Andrew Smith Gallery.