Author: nakano

Tokyo National Museum

“Yamato-e” was established in the early Heian period and has been handed down through various changes.

The special exhibition “Yamato-e – The beauty of dynasties passed down through generations” to be held at the Tokyo National Museum traces the lineage of Yamato-e, which has always been innovative.

This article reports on the press preview held the day before the event.

What is Yamato-e?

The special exhibition “Yamato-e – The beauty of the dynasty passed down through generations” focuses on “Yamato-e,” which have been painted continuously since the Heian period.
However, what is interesting is that the concept of “Yamato-e” has changed greatly over time.

From the Heian period to the Kamakura period, works depicting Japanese landscapes and people were called “Yamato-e,” in contrast to “Kara-e,” which depicted Chinese themes, but after that, new Chinese paintings such as ink painting While paintings based on a style were called “Chinese paintings,” works based on the traditional style of previous generations were called “Yamato-e.”
In other words, “Yamato-e” has always existed as a counter-concept to paintings of foreign origin.

This exhibition introduces a carefully selected selection of “Yamato-e” paintings, which inherited the essence of dynastic beauty while constantly changing their form, especially from the Heian period to the Muromachi period.

Full of “actual textbooks” on Japanese art!

This exhibition consists of 6 chapters.

Prologue: Tradition and Innovation—Changes in Yamato-e painting—
Chapter 1: The establishment of Yamato-e—Heian period—
Chapter 2 New aspects of Yamato-e—Kamakura period—
Chapter 3: Maturation of Yamato-e—Nanbokucho and Muromachi periods—
Chapter 4 Genealogy of Imperial Court Paintings
Final chapter Yamato-e and the four seasons—The beauty of the dynasty inherited from generation to generation—

Through the works, you can experience the changes in Yamato-e, which has developed independently through repeated negotiations with the ideas and techniques of foreign art such as Kara-e and Chinese-style paintings, as well as the characteristics of each era.

This is the royal road to Japanese art! It is truly a sight to see textbook-like works, works that are familiar from art collections, etc. all coming together in one place.
More than 70% of the approximately 245 items in total are national treasures and important cultural properties, and the exhibition exhibits not only paintings but also many works from the same period that supported the aesthetic sense of Yamato-e, such as calligraphy and craft works.

Among them, one of the works that is considered to be “highly recommended for this exhibition” is the Important Cultural Property “Hamamatsu Folding Screen” (owned by the Tokyo National Museum), which is renowned as one of the finest Yamato paintings from the Muromachi period.

This is a masterpiece that gives a very lively impression, with many flowers, trees, plants, and birds superimposed on a dazzling beach landscape, representing the changing seasons from right to left. It is said to be the “ultimate Yamato-e” that brings together various elements of ancient and medieval Yamato-e.

If you actually look at it up close, the entire painting appears to be emitting a dull glow, but this is apparently due to a technique unique to Yamato-e from the Muromachi period, in which mica (a layered silicate mineral) is swept over the base. is. It shines like the twilight of a moonlit night, unlike the later Azuchi-Momoyama period, which emphasized gold. Somehow, you can feel a part of the Japanese’s profound sense of beauty.

The best masterpieces in the history of Japanese emaki, the “Four Great Emaki” are gathered together.

Furthermore, among the many picture scrolls, the “Four Great Picture Scrolls”, which were produced at the end of the Heian period, are famous as the greatest masterpieces.
This exhibition will feature The Tale of Genji Emaki, the oldest and greatest dynastic tale emaki in existence, as well as Shigisan Engi Emaki, Ban Dainagon Emaki , and the famous Choju-giga (all national treasures). We will all meet.

This is one of the four great picture scrolls, a national treasure called Choju-giga (Kyoto, Kozanji temple collection). I have a strong memory of the extremely crowded Choju-Giga Exhibition held at the Tokyo National Museum in 2015, and this work has been loved by many people for its humorous and cute nature.
The changing of the four seasons, monthly events, flowers, birds, landscapes, and various stories…Yamato-e have depicted all kinds of themes, but the dynamic animals depicted in this Choju-giga are one of them. Among them, it stands out.

This exhibition has four exhibition periods (① October 11th (Wednesday) – October 22nd (Sunday) ➁ October 24th (Tuesday) – November 5th (Sunday) ③ November 7th (Tuesday) – 19th (Sunday) ④ November 21st (Tuesday) – The exhibition will be changed according to December 3rd (Sunday), but the four major picture scrolls will be gathered together for the first time in 30 years from October 11th to 22nd.
In addition to this period, the three major decorative sutras (Kunōji sutra, Heikeno sutra, Jikoji sutra) and the three statues of Jingoji temple, which are known as masterpieces of Yamato-e portraits (Den Yoritomo statue, Den Taira Shigemori statue, and Den Fujiwara no Kōyō statue) There are many notable works, including ancient and medieval masterpieces such as (all national treasures) appearing one after another.

Takahiro Tsuchiya, head of the Painting and Sculpture Department at the Tokyo National Museum’s Curatorial Research Department, who was in charge of this exhibition, said, “This is an exhibition with so many works that an exhibition could be completed even if there were less than half the number of works. I think you’ll be able to see more works as the exhibits change.I hope you’ll visit the venue again and again.”
was said to the audience.

The world of “Yamato-e” has been passed down and changed over the course of more than a thousand years.
Please feel free to visit the venue and take a look.

*For the exhibition period of each work, please see the “Exhibition Catalog” on the official website .

Event overview

*The contents of the article are as of the time of interview. Please check the official exhibition website for details as the information may differ from the latest information. Additionally, the works featured in this article may have already been exhibited.

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Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum

The “Eternal City of Rome” exhibition, which introduces the history of Rome’s beauty from the founding of the country to modern times, has opened at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art, focusing on the collection of the Capitoline Museums in the center of Rome. The exhibition period is from Saturday, September 16, 2023 to Sunday, December 10, 2023.

I visited the venue and will report on the exhibition.

Capitoline Museums celebrates the history of Rome’s glory and beauty

Capitoline Hill has long been the religious, political, and cultural center of the Romans, with temples dedicated to the supreme god Jupiter and other gods rising there in ancient times, and today the Capitoline Hill is where Rome’s City Hall is located. The Capitoline Museums, built on a hill there, are among the oldest museums in the world.

In 1471, Pope Sixtus IV during the Renaissance donated four ancient sculptures to the citizens of Rome, with the purpose of inspiring their self-respect and demonstrating that he was the legitimate heir of ancient Rome, on the Capitoline Hill. The museum was established as a result of the establishment of the museum. It opened to the public in 1734 and has amassed a rich collection of ancient relics excavated in Rome, sculptures originating from the Vatican, and works of art owned by prominent Roman families.

This exhibition focuses on items from the collection of the Capitoline Museums, and covers everything from the founding myths of the nation, to the glory of the ancient Roman era, to the Renaissance and Baroque, when art reached its peak, and from the 17th century onward, when it became a place of aspiration for artists. This exhibition introduces the magnificent history and art of Rome, known as the “Eternal City,” through approximately 70 sculptures, paintings, and prints.

In addition to the five chronological chapters, there is also a special exhibit introducing the exchange between the museum and Japan, marking the 150th anniversary of the Iwakura Mission’s visit to the museum.

The first chapter, “The Creation of the Myth of the Founding of Rome,” unravels the folklore and myths of ancient Rome, which is said to have been founded in 753 BC.The starting point is the famous work “The Capitoline She-Wolf (Reproduction),” which can be said to be the symbol of Rome. It was placed there.

The original work is one of the four ancient sculptures that started the Capitoline Museums. It is said to have been created in the 5th century BC. (The exhibited work is a later reproduction owned by the City Hall of Rome)

This story is based on the story of the she-wolf who raised Romulus, the first king of Rome, who was born to Mars, the god of war, and the priestess Rhea Sylvia, and his younger brother Remus, which is an episode of the epic poem “Aeneid” by the poet Virgil, which is based on the myth of the founding of Rome. .

Originally it only had a female wolf, but during the Renaissance, a statue of twins drinking milk was added. The she-wolf’s wide-open eyes and fur are expressed in a stylistic yet delicate manner.

The statue of a she-wolf nursing twins is enshrined in the city of Rome, and as it continues to move forward with the history of the empire as the embodiment of the founding myth, it has become public art such as public monuments and coins, poetic jewelry, and festival art. It has influenced the iconographic expression of various media. “The Capitoline She-Wolf” is the surviving work that can be considered an icon, except for the twin statues added in later generations.

Indicating its enormous influence as a symbol, there are many other works in Chapter 1 that depict the she-wolf, such as the Silver Drachma and the Mirror of Bolsena (4th century BC). .

During the imperial period from 27 BC onwards, portraits developed along with the prosperity of the empire. The portraits of Roman emperors, with their dignified expressions and realism, not only functioned as a means of propaganda, but also influenced the private portraits of ordinary citizens, and are said to have popularized various fashionable outfits, poses, and hairstyles. Masu.

Chapter 2, “The Glory of the Ancient Roman Empire ,” traces the glorious era through the “faces of the times,” including the head carvings of Julius Caesar and Augustus, who laid the foundations of the ancient Roman Empire. It communicates social and political changes.

Here, fragments of the two Colossi of Constantine owned by the Capitoline Museums were displayed in elaborate full-size reproductions, making it very impressive. The Colossus of Constantine is another ancient sculpture donated by Pope Sixtus IV to the citizens of Rome.

Constantine (r. 306-337) was one of the most important emperors of the Roman Empire. He is known as the first Roman emperor to reunite the divided empire, recognize Christianity as the state religion, and become a believer himself.

The head alone is approximately 1.8 meters tall. Its scale is reminiscent of its former glory. It is believed that the sunken cheeks, stern tear bags under the eyes, and wrinkles around the mouth are a depiction of the emperor in his later years. Even though she has a dignified expression, the eyes that look slightly upwards as if looking into the distance are impressive. It has a detached atmosphere that seems to reflect the high ideals that people at the time had for the emperor.

In addition to the head, the left foot, left hand, and the index finger of the left hand, which was recently discovered at the Louvre Museum, were also exhibited, along with a new reproduction made specifically for this exhibition.

Don’t miss out on the hidden gem “Venus of the Capitoline”!

Additionally, Venus of the Capitoline, displayed in Chapter 2, is the most notable work of this exhibition.

This 2nd century work is based on a statue of Aphrodite (the Greek goddess of love, identified with Venus) created in the 4th century BC by the great ancient Greek sculptor Praxiteles.

She takes the typical shy pose of Venus statues, and the expression of her graceful body curves and plump skin texture is extremely beautiful and attractive. If you look closely, you can see that her hair is tied into a bow at the top of her head, tied into a chignon at the nape of her neck, and then her hair is let down in two, which is a bit of an interesting hairstyle.

This work is known as a masterpiece of ancient Venus statues, along with Venus de Milo (Louvre Museum) and Venus de Medici (Uffizi Gallery). In fact, this is the third time it has been taken outside the Capitoline Museums since it was acquired in 1752, including the time when it was temporarily confiscated by the French army led by Napoleon, so it can truly be said to be a treasure that should never be left out. .

This is a must-see work that I don’t know if I will have the chance to see again in Japan in the future.

For the exhibition, we have prepared a special space inspired by the octagonal exhibition room called “Venus Room” at the Capitoline Museums, where the work is usually displayed. Similarly, the floor was created in the pattern of Piazza del Campidoglio, designed by Renaissance master Michelangelo, where the museum is located.

For more information about Michelangelo’s urban planning, which began in 1537, and the development of the iconic museum complex with a plaza and buildings that embody the splendor of the city of Rome, see Chapter 3, “From the Birth of Museums to Michelangelo’s Piazza” The concept is introduced in detail through paintings and prints.

In Chapter 4, “Picture Gallery Collection,” Pope Benedict Displaying 13 works from the art gallery’s collection.

The collection includes masterpieces by painters who were active from the 16th to the 18th century, ranging from Italian Baroque master Pietro da Cortona to works by unknown authors. It tells us about the themes and expressions that were mainstream in Italy at the time, as well as the paintings that captured the interest of art patrons.

Since the 17th century, the city of Rome, a treasure trove of ancient ruins and ecclesiastical architecture, has become a source of artistic inspiration for artists in Italy and abroad, including through the Grand Tour.

Chapter 5, “A yearning for Rome, the capital of art – the interplay between fantasy and reality”, features a monument commemorating Emperor Trajan’s victory in the Dacian War, which is said to have particularly fascinated artists and European monarchs. Prints and models of the 30-meter ancient monument “Trajan’s Column” are on display. We also feature works created using ancient Roman art as a source of inspiration.

Meissen’s unglazed pottery “Amor and Psyche” is a small work, about 30 cm in length, but the intertwined bodies, especially the arrangement of the arms reminiscent of a circle, gently holding each other’s heads, seem to symbolize eternal love. , I was fascinated by its luscious curves for a while.

The work is a reproduction of the famous 2nd century marble sculpture “Amor and Psyche” housed in the Capitoline Museums. In the 18th century, as the number of ancient art enthusiasts increased, a new industry for producing miniature versions of famous ancient sculptures and a market for buying and selling them grew, and it is said that many copies of these works were on the market.

On the last floor, there is a corner with a special exhibition, “The Capitoline Museums and Japan.”

Exactly 150 years ago, in 1873, the Iwakura Mission sent by the Meiji government to Europe and America visited the Capitoline Museums. Their experiences visiting museums in Europe and the United States influenced the Meiji government’s museum policy and art education.

The exhibition will feature illustrations from the visit report “Records of the Circulation of the United States and Europe”, which was created based on picture postcards that the members of the mission likely obtained locally, as well as illustrations of the feelings Japanese people had towards Europe in the early 19th century. We are introducing imaginary drawings that convey an exotic image, such as the Aranda French Kano Garan Drawing .

Furthermore, when Kogakuryo Bijutsu Gakko (later Kobu Bijutsu Gakko) was established as Japan’s first art education institution in 1876, Italian teachers invited to teach Western art used famous sculptures as teaching materials. I brought in plaster statues to use as models, including one from the Capitoline Museums.

As evidence of its history, students are thought to have copied the Head of Dionysus, which was created in the 2nd century and is in the Capitoline Museums, and a plaster statue that was based on the same work and was brought to Japan. “Half of the body of European lady Arianne” are displayed side by side. It symbolizes the timeless connection between the Capitoline and Japan.

The Eternal City of Rome Exhibition lets you immerse yourself in the history of the magnificent beauty of Rome, a city that has captivated artists from all over the world. Please come and visit us.

Overview of “Eternal City Rome Exhibition”

*The contents of the article are as of the time of reporting. Please check the official website for the latest information.

Article provided by: Kokosil Ueno

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Tokyo National Museum

The “Yokoo Tadanori Kanzan Hyakutoku” exhibition is being held at the Tokyo National Museum Hyokeikan in Ueno, Tokyo from September 12, 2023. (Duration is until December 3rd)

We are exhibiting for the first time 102 new works from the “Kanzan Shutoku” series, in which contemporary artist Tadanori Yokoo reconstructs the traditional painting theme of the wind-crazed monk in China with his own interpretation.

*About the images of the works… Unless otherwise specified, all works are by Tadanori Yokoo and are in the artist’s collection.

Kanzan Jitoku, who became a target of admiration for his escapist behavior.

Kanzan and Jitoku are two legendary poet-monks who are said to have lived during the Tang Dynasty in China.

Despite being a highly educated man of literature, he is known to be a free and eccentric being, living in a cave, filling his stomach with leftover food, and making outrageous statements. In Chinese Zen Buddhism, their secular appearance and behavior were hailed as a state of enlightenment, and Kanzan came to be considered sacred as the incarnation of Manjusri Bodhisattva, and Chitoku as the incarnation of Fugen Bodhisattva.
In China and Japan since the Kamakura period, Kanzan Joutoku has been depicted as a traditional painting theme by many Zen monks and literary figures, and in modern times it has been featured with admiration in the novels of Mori Ogai and Natsume Soseki.

It was in 2019 that Tadanori Yokoo (1936-), one of Japan’s leading contemporary artists, first exhibited a work based on the theme of Kanzan Jhotoku. It was inspired by the masterpiece “Kanzan Jitokuzu” by Soga Shohaku, a fantastical painter of the Edo period.

Since then, he has been intensively creating the “Kanzan Joutoku” series, changing its shapes in a variety of ways. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he avoided contact with the outside world and devoted himself to creative activities in his atelier, isolated from the world, much like a Kanzan-Jitoku retreat.

The 102 works in the “Kanzan Jhotoku” series on display are all new, previously unpublished works created specifically for this exhibition.

The production period is approximately one year starting from September 2021. As Yokoo himself said at the press conference for this exhibition, “I decided to quit being an artist and become an athlete.” With a powerful and challenging spirit that belies his age, he sometimes works three times a day. It was created at an astonishing speed, sometimes even drawing out the dots.

Beyond time and space, from image to image

Kanzan Joutoku is said to be a poet monk, and the traditional representation is that Kanzan is depicted holding a scroll with Chinese poems written on it, and Joutoku is shown holding a broom for sweeping the temple garden, but Mr. Yokoo used his own interpretation to use the scroll as toilet paper and the broom. It is humorous with modern updates such as having the user switch to a vacuum cleaner. Furthermore, the two are sitting on a toilet bowl reminiscent of Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain, perhaps an association with toilet paper.

As I walked around the venue, I noticed that the titles of each work were unified only with the date of production, and there were no explanatory captions.

Masato Matsushima, head of the Research Division at the Tokyo National Museum’s Curatorial Research Department, says that these exhibitions reflect Yokoo’s wishes.

“Mr. Yokoo himself said that he had no intention of putting a message or trying to convey something in each of his works. I have placed on canvas what has arisen from my body.I would like people to view it while freely imagining and interpreting it.”

In many cases, a particular motif forms a series of phases, such as “red cloth.”

“2022-03-24” depicts Kanzan Chitoku and a woman relaxing on a red mattress, which is clearly a parody of 19th century French painter Edouard Manet’s famous painting “Luncheon on the Grass.” There is a similar composition entitled “2022-05-01”, which looks exactly like “Noryo Screen” by the Edo period painter Morikage Kusumi, which is a national treasure in the museum’s collection.

In 2022-05-05, which was created a few days later, he is happily flying through the sky on a red magic carpet like in the Arabian Nights. And when I looked at 《2022-05-28》, it was like the world of Harry Potter. Perhaps each of them wanted to fly on their own, so they switched from the red carpet to the broom.

In this way, Mr. Yokoo’s Kanzan Chitoku statues are associated with images one after another, transforming like a hundred faces.

He appears to be dressed up as Arsène Lupin or Don Quixote, but his body also transforms into a gigantic mountain-like body that looks like an ink landscape painting, or an inorganic, geometric form reminiscent of an AI or robot. Jitoku Kanzan does whatever he wants, such as dressing up as a woman, merging into one, and blending into the scenery so much that you can no longer tell where he is.

In addition, as in the traditional painting theme “Four Sleeping Pictures”, he is not only accompanied by Jitoroku Kanzan, but also his two masters, Bukan Zenji and Tora, as well as Einstein, Edgar Allan Poe, Shohei Otani shows his face. There are also glimpses of works that reflect social conditions such as the Tokyo Olympics and the Soccer World Cup…

There was a story of Kanzan Jitoku that was free to move around, regardless of time, place, size, reality or fiction.

The diversity of these works, as if the artist’s multifaceted nature was brought out in the form of Jitoku Kanzan, is due to what Yokoo himself describes as his “physical brain.”

This work was born as a result of letting my body move freely, without being bound by style or commitment. The artist’s physical manifestations from time to time, such as the change in menstruation between yesterday and today, or the things that came into view that day, felt somewhat like a diary.

Opening up new frontiers of freedom with the “sluggish body” acquired from physical inconvenience

Many of his drawings are drawn with a soft and gentle touch, and Yokoo calls this style of drawing “oburotai.”

Oborotai originally refers to a Japanese painting technique established during the Meiji period, but for Mr. Yokoo, Oborotai means that his vision and even the inside of his head are unclear due to the effects of hearing loss that he developed in 2015. Even the boundaries between things and the distinction between dreams and reality have become blurred. Tendonitis made it difficult to draw clear, strong lines. It was acquired through these physical changes.

The outlines that have become vague through repeated brushstrokes sometimes neutralize the walls of time and space, sometimes going beyond the artist’s intentions and leaving the constraints of the past and technology, giving an impression of openness that melts the heart of the viewer. I’ll give it to you.

Most of the works are painted on large canvases of size F100 or F150, making them impressive, and since there are no covers such as acrylic cases, it is possible to appreciate the brushstrokes and layering of colors up close.
The screen was bright, and many warm primary colors such as red and yellow were used, which gave me a sense of peace and energy, as if some weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

It is said that it is rare in the history of the museum to hold an exhibition by a living artist. Why not experience the free world of Tadanori Yokoo, who broke new ground in his 80s at this exhibition, which has a special place in the museum?

In addition, as a related project to this exhibition, the special room 1 of the main building of the Tokyo National Museum will feature a special feature titled “The Tokyo National Museum’s Cold Mountains: A Longing for the Legendary Wind-Crazy Monk” from September 12, 2023 (Tuesday) to November 5, 2023. Ongoing until Sunday .

*Can be viewed with a ticket to this exhibition. Please check the official website for details as there are exhibition changes between the first and second periods.

Including the National Treasure Indara’s “Kanzan Joutoku-zu (Fragmented Zen Machine Drawing)”, the museum’s collection of classic “Kanzan Joutoku-zu” is collected and introduced in one place. It might be interesting to follow the evolution of Kanzan Jhotoku-zu and compare it with Yokoo’s latest works.

“Tadanori Yokoo Kanzan Hyakutoku” Exhibition

*The content of the article is as of the date of coverage. Please check the official website for the latest information.

Article provided by: Kokosil Ueno

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Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum

The first retrospective exhibition of Tamana Araki, a New York-based artist who continues to engage in a wide range of expressive activities from prints to installations, will be held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno, Tokyo. It is being held at The exhibition period is until October 9, 2023.

Tamana Araki (1970-) studied abroad in Mexico after graduating from Musashino Art University Junior College in 1991, and was fascinated by the unique culture where “brightness and darkness'' and “life and death'' coexist. Masu. Since then, he has repeatedly stayed in Mexico, creating works with a unique world view through a variety of expressions, including copperplate prints, which he learned techniques for locally, three-dimensional works, installations, and animations.

In 2012, she moved her base of activities to New York and took a new step by consciously living as an immigrant.In recent years, she has been interested in themes such as “crossing borders,'' “diversity,'' and “inclusion .''

This exhibition is Araki's first retrospective exhibition. Approximately 120 pieces of variety, from early works to new works, from palm-sized three-dimensional works to large-scale installations that take up an entire floor, “There of Memories'' (2023/to be shown for the first time at this exhibition), inspired by “ Ueno's memories.'' A rich collection of works is being developed.

The exhibition consists of four chapters. The charm of Araki's work is the motifs and expressions that evoke the lives and stories of people, giving a sense of intimacy and nostalgia, and at the same time creating a boundary between the everyday and the extraordinary that makes your heart feel transported somewhere. The viewer is invited on a mysterious journey through the world.

Chapter 1, "The 'Beginning, Beginning!' of Travel," introduces relatively early works, including those with travel motifs and those inspired by the experience of staying in Mexico. I am introducing this as a starting point.

At the entrance, there is a piece called Untitled (1995) that is made up of a music box, and viewers can turn the screw themselves. Regarding this work, Araki commented in a gallery talk, “While one song is playing, I created it with the idea of going on an imaginary journey while listening to it.'' The many empty picture frames foreshadow wonderful encounters on the journey that are about to begin.

The exhibition begins like a curtain opening in “Beginning, Beginning'' (2003), and a story begins. “Day'' and “Night'' (1999) were made with the idea that “It would be great if there was a portable work that could be placed next to the bed in the room I stayed in while traveling, or on a small table by the train window.'' A unique foldable three-dimensional work created by. All are made using the copperplate engraving technique.

La calavera amarilla (Yellow Skeleton) (2005), which uses skeletons as a motif, and Una marcha de los esqueletos (March of the Skeletons) (2004), which use colorful decorations and illuminations to welcome the dead cheerfully, You can feel the influence of Mexico's unique view of life and death, as exemplified by the “Sun''.

“Caos poetico” (2005) is a fantastical scene sprinkled with warm light reminiscent of a lantern. This design was inspired by the strong lifestyle of poor people in Mexico, who used to draw electric wires from telephone poles without permission and use them to light their houses and food stalls, and how the streets decorated with these lights were so beautiful that they looked like a starry sky. This is an installation that was inspired by the concept.

Numerous power cords hang from the ceiling, and at the end of them are attached small boxes that look like houses. Not only the color of the light but also the pattern of each small box is different, and various items are used, such as a box of tea that Araki drank in Mexico, a bus ticket, and a flyer for Lucha Libre (Mexican wrestling).

The image of the chaotic state comes from the “strength of living in chaos'' that Araki felt from the houses painted with colorful paint and the people of Mexico City living there. Is not it.

Please note that this work is a participatory work. Following the guidance of the exhibition facilitators (volunteers who support the viewing, nicknamed Kee-jin), viewers were able to connect small boxes to any socket of their choice and make them part of the cityscape.

In Chapter 2, “Darkness Lurking in Soft Light,” two installations are arranged symmetrically to express light and darkness, respectively.

In Uchi (1999), which Araki created with the image of the housing complex where he lived as a child, about 100 boxes made of white plywood were set up against a white wall to resemble the houses in the housing complex. thing.

Each box is randomly numbered, and viewers receive a key from the facilitator and open the door of the box that matches the number. Then, light spilled out from inside, and we began to see the warm lives of each family depicted in the prints, which was hard to imagine from the uniform exterior.

On the other side of the wall of “Home'', “Invisible'' (2011) has a strong presence as a black and ominous object spreads out from above, as if filling out the everyday world of small happiness in the same work. .

This work was created after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, and visually captures the feelings of anxiety and disgust felt at the time due to the nuclear power plant accident, in which invisible dangerous substances called radioactive materials might come flying. What I tried to make. The black objects are said to have been made by dyeing black orchid fibers purchased in large quantities in Mexico, rolling them into dumplings, and pasting them together.

Chapter 3, “The world of stories, butterflies that cross borders,'' fully introduces Araki's “world of stories,'' which is cute yet somehow unsettling, and full of the poetic nature of Araki.

Most of the people Araki draws are just silhouettes, and their expressions cannot be seen. He is alone in the vast world, sometimes facing something frightening. Do you see loneliness, freedom, or a longing for something? As my own self mysteriously overlapped with my own, my memories were shaken, and before I knew it, my mind seemed to be absorbed into the world of the work.

NeNe Sol – The Youngest Sun – is a picture book based on the Mayan myth of the creation of the sun that is still passed down in the Chiabas region of Mexico, and was co-produced by Mr. Araki and Leñateros Kobo, a printmaking studio whose members are mainly indigenous Mayan people. thing. A prototype version and the original illustrations are on display at the venue. The unique binding, which looks like a stone carving, was created by a Mexican sculptor.

In 2022, Araki will hold a workshop called “I Hear Folk Tales'' at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum with children who have roots in various countries. The children experienced making tents and picture books in the shape of butterflies using paper pulp, and they also introduced folk tales from the countries where they have roots. The tent that was actually made at that time is on display at the venue.

Mr. Araki is interested in the Monarch butterfly that he encountered in Mexico, which migrates from country to country like a migratory bird to overwinter. This work was apparently inspired by the image of a Monarch butterfly resting its wings on the ground.

This work is based on Araki, who lived in the United States as an immigrant during the Trump administration, and his thoughts on refugees who are blocked by walls and unable to cross borders, and the monarch butterfly, which can move freely around the world regardless of borders. It is superimposed on.

Additionally, since tents are meant for people to temporarily stay or take shelter, Araki revealed that this work has the meaning of “a place where people can hide with peace of mind.''

In Chapter 4, “An Adventure Around the Bottom of Ueno,'' we use the entire space of the exhibition room on the third basement floor, which can be called “there'' ( the bottom) of the museum, with a ceiling height of 10 meters, to create ideas for “Memories of Ueno.'' The large-scale installation I obtained , “Beyond Memories'' (2023), will be the last part of this exhibition's journey.

During my research, I learned that it became the stage for many historical events, such as the birth of Japan's first parks, museums, and zoos, the Great Kanto Earthquake, the Great Tokyo Air Raid, and the emergence of the black market after the war, and attracted people from various countries and regions. Mr. Araki was attracted to the chaos of Ueno, a place he had adopted.

Around the huge object resembling a black birdcage in the center, fragmentary images of Ueno's past and present are shown, including photographs of Ueno taken by Araki himself and ukiyo-e prints depicting Ueno. , a pair of mirrors symbolizing “eyes'' suspended from the ceiling play the role of bringing to light the image of Ueno that was buried “down there'' (at the bottom).

The object is “a cage-like, hollow basket that swallows up and spits out the past, the future, the beautiful, and the trivial.''The upper part of the object looks like it's being grasped by a large hand. Some of the columns are curved, as if they were forced out from within or pried open from the outside.

Regarding this shape, Araki says, “Bird cages and cages seem to protect the birds, but they also confine them so that they can't fly away freely, and the shape emerges from these dual aspects.'' ” he explained.

Regarding this exhibition, Mr. Araki says, “I would like many children and young people to see it.I hope that they can go underground and have a somewhat mysterious experience, and enjoy it as if they were traveling.'' The journey from the ground to "there" in Ueno also aroused my longing for another journey.

An exhibition that brings to mind the common themes that modern society has across countries and regions, such as crossing borders, diversity, and inclusion, which Araki is interested in. ' will be held until October 9, 2023.

Ueno's "Beginning, Beginning" Tamana Araki Exhibition

*The contents of the article are as of the time of reporting. Please check the official website for the latest information.

Article provided by: Kokosil Ueno

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Tokyo National Museum

A special exhibition "Ancient Mexico – Maya, Aztec, Teotihuacan", which introduces the treasures of three civilizations representing ancient Mexico, will be held from Friday, June 16, 2023 to Sunday, September 3, 2023 at the Tokyo National Museum. Currently being held at the museum (Ueno, Tokyo).

This exhibition will focus on the three civilizations representing Mesoamerica ( the Maya, Aztec, and Teotihuacan civilizations that shared cultural elements and prospered in parts of Mexico and Central America until the Spanish invasion in the 16th century). Focused.

About 140 valuable excavated items such as inscriptions and reliefs and archaeological relics carefully selected from major museums in Mexico are introduced along with the results of recent excavations. We will explore the depth and charm of the ancient Mexican civilization, such as the unique world view and the beauty of molding created from the diverse natural environment.

The exhibition consists of four chapters : "An Invitation to Ancient Mexico", "Teotihuacan: City of the Gods", "Maya: The Rise and Fall of City-States", and "Aztec: The Great Temple of Tenochtitlan".

Chapter 1 "Invitation to Ancient Mexico"

Chapter 1, "An Invitation to Ancient Mexico," is a cross-sectional exhibition of works based on common themes of the three civilizations, such as "corn," "celestial bodies and calendars," "ball games," and "human sacrifices," as well as images of the ruins of each civilization. It is an introductory part that conveys the world view of the whole ancient Mexico through.

Here, the roots of Mesoamerica, which arose in the Gulf of Mexico around 1500 B.C., were the Olmec civilization, which inherited various elements to later Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the concept of sovereignty and many gods linked to rituals. The work "Olmec style stone figurine" that shows the existence of

Chapter 2 "Teotihuacan City of the Gods"

Chapter 2, "Teotihuacan: City of the Gods," deals with the Teotihuacan civilization, which flourished from 100 B.C. to 550 A.D.

Based on the cosmic view of the world that people believed in at the time, Teotihuacan is a state-led city centered on the "boulevard of the dead" and incorporating pyramids, ritual halls, palace-type buildings, and strict housing complexes. It was a planned city and a large religious city . Recent research has revealed that up to 100,000 people lived there, but the language and characters used have not been clarified, and it is still a civilization with many mysteries.

Here, we introduce the three pyramids representing Teotihuacan , the Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon, and the Pyramid of the Feathered Snake, as well as works excavated from their surroundings.

The "Death Disk Stone Sculpture" exposed in the center of the exhibition room was excavated from the plaza in front of the Pyramid of the Sun, the largest of the pyramids in Teotihuacan, during an excavation in 1964.
It is a stone sculpture with a diameter of more than 1m, and the motif that spreads radially like a halo and the tongue protruding from the mouth of the skull are impressive. In Mesoamerica, sunset is death and sunrise is rebirth.

The exhibits that had a particularly strong presence were the Stone Sculpture of the Feathered Serpent God and the Stone Sculpture of the Sipaktri Headdress .
This is part of the large stone carving that covered the four walls of the Feathered Snake Pyramid, the central temple of the Citadel, a large ceremonial hall measuring 400m on a side. It is said to represent the headdress of the Feathered Snake God, which is a symbol of Venus and power, and the creator god, Shivakhtri, who symbolizes the beginning of time (calendar).

At the venue, the installation was devised so that you can see how these stone carvings protrude from the pyramid.

The feathered serpent god's wavy body is repeatedly carved with the motif of the Cipactri's headdress, so the entire Feathered Serpent Pyramid is the first monument in Mesoamerica to represent sacred kingship and coronation. It is thought that

Among the artifacts excavated from the 15m – deep, 103m-long tunnel beneath the Feathered Snake Pyramid, the trumpet, a musical instrument made from the tip of a snail shell, was eye-catching. This work has an iconography similar in style and content to that of Mayan religious centers, which is not found in Teotihuacan.

Buried in the burial body of the Teotihuacan dwelling site was an animal-shaped pottery with gorgeous decorations such as shells, which the excavator named "a strange duck". Since it was found with many shellfish products, it is thought that it was a grave goods related to shellfish traders who traded with the Gulf of Mexico.

Exhibits such as the "Trumpet" and "Bird Pottery" tell us that Teotihuacan was a multi-ethnic city with thriving trade and market economic activities.

In addition, the murals and earthenware that make you imagine life in Teotihuacan are also interesting.
Multicolored murals, such as the Storm God Mural , which is said to represent one of Teotihuacan's principal deities, the storm god, or Tlaloc, the rain god, are found in many apartment complexes and ceremonial facilities. It was

In addition, many incense burners excavated from the ruins of dwellings were made by rearranging various decorative pieces according to their purpose. The "incense burner" on display is thought to have been used for ceremonial requiems for dead warriors, based on motifs such as arrows and shields.

Chapter 3 "Rise and Fall of Mayan City-States"

Chapter 3, "The Rise and Fall of Maya City-States," introduces the culture and dynasties of the Mayan civilization, which flourished around the Yucatan Peninsula from around 1200 BC to the 16th century. This section is composed of the largest number of works in this exhibition.

It is said that the Maya established a dynasty with a distinct culture and form of governance around the first century AD. However, it has never been politically unified, and has formed a large network society through friendly exchanges such as trade between countless cities and the coming and going of diplomatic missions, and sometimes wars for supremacy. The excavated items convey various trends in the Mayan region.

One of the Maya's forested cities is Palenque , a middle-sized city that prospered in the western region between 400 and 800 AD. In particular, the artifacts excavated from the tomb of the Red Queen (Reina Roja), which will be exhibited for the first time in Japan, is one of the highlights of this exhibition, which is famous as a masterpiece of dynasty art .

Palenque, the city of art, is known for its sophisticated architecture, sculptures and inscriptions, and its golden age was the reign of King Kinichi Hanab Pakal (615-683).
It is said that while King Pakal strengthened the influence of Palenque through diplomacy and warfare, he also focused on expanding the royal palace, making it one of the most magnificent buildings in the Mayan region. His body was placed in a mausoleum called the Temple of Inscriptions, which is said to have been designed by King Pakal himself.

The body, called "Red Queen (Reina Roja)", was found in 1994 in Temple 13 next to the Temple of Inscriptions. Its common name comes from the fact that it was buried covered with bright red cinnabar (mercury red). As a result of the investigation, it is highly likely that this person is Ish Tsakub Ahau, the wife of King Pakal.

At the venue, the 12 burial goods of the "Red Queen" were attached to mannequins to recreate the state of burial in a space inspired by the stone chamber of Temple 13. The "Red Queen's Mask" is made of small pieces of malachite, with obsidian for the eyes and white jadeite for the whites of the eyes.

Although it is not shown in the photograph, among the beautiful grave goods such as necklaces and crowns, there was a small, unremarkable "needle" quietly displayed next to the mannequin that caught my eye. Strange as it may seem, spinning and weaving is one of the activities that women of all social classes do, and the needle was also used by the "Red Queen" on a daily basis and was thought to be necessary in the afterlife. that there is
Not only do they dress up according to their status, but they also empathize with the life-size wish of the person himself or the people around him, who say, "I want to live without trouble."

Next to the reproduction exhibition, video materials of the excavation survey of "Red Queen" were also played.

In addition, at the exhibition of the 96-character lithograph found in the royal palace of Palenque ruins, we were able to thoroughly appreciate the picturesque and beautifully shaped Mayan characters.

The Maya script is a mysterious language composed of logograms and syllabaries, but currently about 700 characters and various combinations that are said to be tens of thousands of weaves are being elucidated. People's deeds were thought to reproduce the deeds of gods and ancestors, so letters were mainly used to record the histories of kings and nations, as well as court ceremonies.
This work also records the accession of the kings of Palenque with exact dates.

Like in Japan, calligraphy was not only used to convey information, but was also loved as a work of art in the Maya.

After the decline of Palenque and many other cities, the excavated artifacts of Chechen Itza, which became the largest city in the Maya region in the northern part of the Yucatan Peninsula around 900, are also worth seeing.
Among them, "Charcoal statue" is a work that I felt the scariest of this exhibition after reading the explanation. On the belly of the statue there is something like a plate, in which it is possible that an offering, sometimes a heart taken from a human sacrifice, was placed…

In this exhibition, there are many frightening keywords such as "sacrifice" and "human sacrifice." These peculiar practices have persisted in Mesoamerica for over 3,000 years, and modern sensibilities may raise eyebrows at their brutality.

However, it is not just an inhumane ritual act. All life forms are born and move through the work and sacrifice of the gods. This was due to the ethics of the indigenous peoples, who believed that principles must be maintained. There is a universal prayer to God and nature.

Chapter 4 "The Great Temple of the Aztec Tenochtitlan"

Chapter 4 "Temple of the Aztec Tenochtitlan" is a large city of the Aztec Kingdom of Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico) founded in 1325 on an island in Lake Texcoco in the central highlands of Mexico by people whose mother tongue was Nahuatl , such as the Mexica. City) excavated items. With a population of over 200,000 at its peak, it prospered until it fell to Spain in 1521.

By the way, in the central highlands of Mexico, civilizations rise and fall in the order of Teotihuacan ⇒ Toltec ⇒ Aztec. The name "Teotihuacan", which means "City of the Gods" in Nahuatl, was named by the Mexica people of the Aztec kingdom who discovered the ruins.

The Aztecs, which strengthened their national power with military power and a tribute system, brought amazing developments in architecture and painting, especially sculpture. Tenochtitlan, where the Aztecs concentrated their wealth, is said to have created a creative environment unlike any other in history, with national and international artists sharing techniques, tastes and traditions.

The courageous "Eagle Warrior Statue" conveys a part of the creative beauty of Tenochtitlan.

At the heart of Tenochtitlan stood the Templo Mayor, a pair of majestic pyramidal temples dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, god of the sun and war, and Tlaloc, god of rain and earth. This work was discovered in the "Eagle House" on the north side of the Great Temple. Life-size and powerful.

Many experts consider them to be the warriors of the "Eagle Legion" under the direct control of the king, who played an important role in battle and religion. It seems that there are still various theories that it represents the appearance of Lopochitori.

Many of the sculptures on display represented the gods worshiped by the Aztecs.

"Tralok God's Vase" is impressive with its bulging eyes and bright blue.
Mesoamerica, an agricultural society, is said to have had an obsession with controlling rainfall for centuries. Therefore, prayers, offerings, and child sacrifices were all devoted to Tlaloc, the rain god and 'giver' who provides everything that plants need to germinate.

It is believed that this work contains a wish for rain and a bountiful harvest, as the pot for storing water is decorated with the deity Tralok.

One of the exhibits is a "mask" made of green serpentinite, and it has a similar atmosphere to the "mosaic statue" introduced in the Teotihuacan exhibition in Chapter 2. In fact, it was a mask excavated from the ruins of Teotihuacan, polished by the Mexicans, and touched with eyes and earrings.

It is said that the people of the late postclassic period (1250-1521), including the Messikas, dug up past civilizations and dedicated them to their temples as sacred substances with magical powers. One of the interesting things about this exhibition is that you can feel these connections.

At the end of the exhibition, pendants, earrings, and scepter-shaped ornaments made of gold, which are rare in Mesoamerica, were exhibited all at once, showing the latest excavation results of Templo Mayor.

At the venue, we were particular about the production of the exhibition space, such as video materials that convey the charm of the ancient city ruins and realistic reproduction exhibitions, and we could feel the atmosphere of ancient Mexico just by walking. It is also a nice point that the distance between the exhibits is wide and it is easy to appreciate.

By the way, at present, all the exhibits in the venue are allowed to be photographed for personal use only. (There is a possibility that it will be canceled or changed in the future, so please see the information in the hall and the official website for details.)

The special exhibition “Ancient Mexico” explores the depth and charm of the cultural traditions of ancient Mexico, which are still passed down by the people living in the land. The event will be held until September 3, 2023 (Sun).

Overview of the Special Exhibition “Ancient Mexico: Maya, Aztec, and Teotihuacan”

*The content of the article is as of the interview date (June 15, 2023). Please check the official website for the latest information.

Article provided by: kokosil Ueno

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Ueno Royal Museum

A unique dinosaur exhibition that collects only dinosaur art centered on paintings, not fossils and skeletal specimens, a special exhibition “Dinosaur Picture Book-Imagination / Creation of the Lost World” May 31, 2023 (Wednesday)-7 It is being held at the Ueno Royal Museum on Saturday, March 22nd.

This exhibition draws attention for its large number of works by Charles R. Knight and Zdenek Briand, two of the greatest dinosaur paintings of the 20th century. Report on the state of the venue.

When we think of dinosaur exhibitions, we usually think of exhibits centering on fossils and skeletal specimens, but in this exhibition , we draw paleontological creatures such as dinosaurs based on scientific evidence such as fossils, which are usually placed beside those materials. The spotlight is on ecological reconstruction map = “Paleoart” .

Dinosaurs, which ruled the earth in the Mesozoic Era from about 250 to 66 million years ago, came to be known to the general public through ecological reconstruction maps following the excavation of fossils in the first half of the 19th century. Since then, many scholars have worked hand-in-hand with artists to try to reproduce the appearance of ancient creatures full of romance from ancient times.

At the venue, about 150 pieces of paleo art collected from all over the world will be displayed, ranging from strange reconstruction drawings drawn in the early days to masterpieces by contemporary artists based on recent research.

In the 200 years since the “discovery” of dinosaurs until today, we will trace how the expressions of dinosaurs (paleontology) have changed as the scientific basis changes with each new discovery.

Chapter 1 “The Birth of Dinosaurs – Strange Monsters of the Dawn”

The exhibition consists of four chapters. Chapter 1, “The Birth of Dinosaurs – Strange Monsters of the Dawn” introduces a group of works created with limited knowledge shortly after the “discovery” of dinosaurs in the 19th century. You can enjoy a unique appearance that is far from the dinosaurs that we imagine in our minds.

At the beginning, the lithograph “Douria Antiquiol (Ancient Dorset)” (1830) based on the original painting by geologist Henry de La Beach, is said to be one of the first paintings in history to restore the ecology of paleontology. Display your work.

The work is a female fossil collector known for contributing to the development of paleontology in the 19th century by discovering marine reptiles such as the ichthyosaur Ichthyosaurus and the plesiosaur plesiosaur before the dinosaurs in Dorset, southern England. It was made to honor the achievements of Mary Anning .

Set on the prehistoric coast of Dorset, it is filled with ancient creatures discovered by Anning. Attention is drawn to the right side of the screen, and it seems that the Ichthyosaurus is biting the thin neck of the Plesiosaurus.

Hiroki Okamoto (Professor at Kobe Design University and former curator at the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art), the organizer of this exhibition, said, “From modern research, it’s hard to imagine an ichthyosaur attacking a plesiosaur. It conveys that there was an image of a predator that was overwhelmingly stronger.”

In addition, this exhibition focuses on introducing the evolution of the image of Iguanodon , the first dinosaur to be “discovered” along with Megalosaurus.

British physician and amateur geologist Gideon Mantell, known as “the man who discovered the dinosaurs”, named it “Iguanodon” (iguana tooth) in 1825 because it had teeth similar to those of the modern reptile Iguana. It seems that this creature was originally imagined as a gigantic iguana.

An early example of an Iguanodon, George Schaaf’s Reconstructed Reptile (1833), depicts an exceptionally large Iguanodon with its enormous body crawling on the ground and its long, snake-like tail undulating.

However, if you look at the sculpture Iguanodon of the Crystal Palace produced around 1853, the image has undergone a minor change. Iguanodon’s four legs descended straight from its body to the ground like mammals such as elephants and rhinos.

It was created under the guidance of Richard Owen , the most influential British paleontologist of the time and the person who coined the word “dinosaur” . According to Okamoto, this physical feature is one of the current definitions of dinosaurs.

Furthermore, the discovery of near-perfect Iguanodon fossils in Belgian coal mines in 1878-80 greatly revised the image of the Iguanodon reconstruction that had spread for nearly 50 years since Mantell’s discovery. Especially. It turned out that it was erecting its upper body, and that the bones previously thought to be the snout horns were actually thumb spikes on its forelimbs.

For nearly 100 years, Iguanodon was depicted in paleo art as a bipedal creature with sharp spikes on its forelimbs. In the following chapters 2 and 4, you can see works depicting the appearance of Iguanodon that “evolved” while being modified in this way.

In addition, in Chapter 1, eerie dinosaurs that look and behave like humans are disgusted by their friends who are being attacked and retreat, or walk around the residential area like a monster movie. It is interesting that there are works that depict dinosaurs more like story paintings than restoration paintings. It was a glimpse of the people’s fluffy perception of dinosaurs and the richness of their imagination at the time.

Chapter 2 “Establishment and Popularization of Classical Dinosaur Images”

In Chapter 2, “Establishment and Popularization of Classical Dinosaur Statues,” which introduces works from the golden age of paleo art from the end of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century, Charles R. and Zdeněk Briand have a lot of space.

The stage for dinosaur excavation and research gradually shifted from Europe to the North American continent, and from the 1870s to the 1890s, two paleontologists fought a fierce battle called the “Bone Wars” over the discovery of dinosaur fossils. We waged a competition. As a result, numerous types of dinosaurs such as Stegosaurus and Triceratops were found, revealing the diversity of animals that lived in the Mesozoic Era.

Charles R. Knight (1874-1953), an American paleontology painter, was the greatest contributor to the realistic visualization of new dinosaurs that had taken off the veil of the unknown and popularized them.

Knight, who was also a wildlife painter, left nearly 1,000 paintings of living animals, and it is believed that the observational eyes and biological knowledge cultivated through such activities were useful in the creation of paleo art.

Knight’s realistic landscapes, and the lively figures of dinosaurs and extinct creatures placed within them, were excellent for the time in terms of both anatomical and natural environment depictions, and soon became popular. It has attracted the attention of both the general public and experts. His work had an impact on film culture, such as the movies “The Lost World” (1925) and “King Kong” (1933).

In the exhibition of Knight’s work, one of his greatest masterpieces , Cretaceous-Montana (1928), one of the sketches for the murals of the Field Museum of Natural History, cannot be overlooked.

“Cretaceous-Montana” is a monumental work that fixed the image of the rivalry between the stars of the dinosaur world, “Tyrannosaurus vs. Triceratops,” and has become widely known as a work that symbolizes dinosaur painting itself. The tense composition has been imitated and adapted by many subsequent artists, and it often appears in the entertainment world such as movies and comics, so many people should have seen it at least once. I was deeply moved that this was the original.

On the other hand, Zdenek Brian (1905-1981), a painter from Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic), gained popularity in a generation slightly after Knight.

Although Knight’s work was a departure from the unrealistic paleo art of the previous era, Briand was also an excellent painter. His works, based on the tradition of realism in European art, were so persuasive that you might believe it if you were told that he had actually seen the real thing and painted it.

Looking at the paleontological creatures that Brian draws, they naturally have a body temperature, and you can tell that they are living creatures.

Briand’s works gained popularity around the world with books such as the masterpiece “Breaks of the Last Century” (1956), and were reproduced and copied in large numbers in children’s encyclopedias and children’s books here in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s. , is said to have played a decisive role in establishing the image of dinosaurs of an era. For this reason, people of the generation who were obsessed with dinosaur encyclopedias during this period may find a lot of works that make them feel like they’ve seen this somewhere before.

In the past, it was not possible to determine the color of dinosaurs from fossils, so artists used their own guesses to color them. The contrast of te … is strongly impressed. The Stegosaurus in Antrodemus Valens and Stegosaurus Stenopus (1950) is probably one of the sources of that image. I was able to realize the magnitude of Brian’s influence.

This exhibition brings together 18 precious Briand works. It is the biggest attraction.

Also, in the same chapter, we can admire the majestic figure of the past of Hypsilophodon, which was popular as a “tree-climbing dinosaur” but later discovered that the restoration itself, which was the basis of research in the first place, was wrong.

Chapter 3 “History of Reception of Dinosaurs in Japan”

The image of dinosaurs that was established in Europe and the United States entered Japan at the end of the 19th century. Chapter 3, “History of Reception of Dinosaurs in Japan,” changes direction and introduces dinosaurs that were rooted in Japanese cultural history from the Meiji to Showa eras. In addition to science magazines, children’s comics, and classic science fiction translations such as Conan Doyle’s The Lost World (1912), toys such as soft vinyl dolls and plaster figurines imitating dinosaurs are also on display. .

In addition, he also explains the symbolism of dinosaurs in the realm of general art, so-called fine art, whose purpose is not to realistically reproduce dinosaurs. (Some works from Heisei to Reiwa are also included)

Ichiro Fukuzawa, who brought surrealism to Japan and produced many works that included social satire and criticism of civilization , Ichiro Fukuzawa’s Reptiles Infested and Reptiles Perish (1974) are interesting in their bold composition of dinosaur limbs. The contrast between the intense colors of the blue sky and the setting sun, the ephemeral appearance of the giant beings that once boasted prosperity, and the appearance of small mammals flocking to take their place are said to satirize Japan’s factional politics.

Ai Shinohara 《From the Cradle to the Graveyard》 (2010-2011), which reminds us of the traditional image of “death and maiden” in Western painting, where no matter how beautiful a girl is, cannot escape old age and death; Hiroshi Fuji, Jurassic Plastic (2023) , reminds us that petroleum, the raw material of plastic, was originally the fossil of dinosaurs and other creatures, and at the same time, considers the problem of mass production and mass consumption. ), etc., were all large-scale and worth seeing.

Chapter 4 “Reconstruction of image based on scientific knowledge”

In Chapter 4, “Reconstruction of images based on scientific knowledge,” the topic returns to the changes in images of dinosaurs. Dinosaur research from the 1960s to the 1970s saw a revolution called the “Dinosaur Renaissance,” in which the view that dinosaurs were “active warm-blooded animals” rather than slow poikilotherms as previously thought was presented. Dinosaur statues have been greatly redesigned. One after another, works that expressed the appearance of new dinosaurs were born.

In the exhibition, illustrator William Stout , who boasts a cult-like popularity even in the field of fantasy art, and Michael Tursic , who worked on the three-dimensional model of the movie “Jurassic Park”, and an accurate and powerful touch of dinosaurs based on art anatomy. A wide variety of works by talented paleo artists who have appeared since 1960, such as Takashi Oda , the leading artist of paleo-creature restoration paintings in modern Japan, will be competing.

Contemporary artists are making dinosaurs move with agility. John Bindon’s “The Front of the Storm” (1996), in which a tyrannosaurus runs at a tremendous speed while raising water splashes, and Gregory Paul ‘s “Shichipachi and Sauro,” which seems to capture the moment when dinosaurs start moving all at once, whether they are friends or foes. Lunithoides (1989) and others have a different sense of dynamism compared to the dinosaurs seen in Chapter 2.

I have the impression that the individuality of the works is also strong. Douglas Henderson ‘s works, which are breathtakingly beautiful and lyrical pastels, precisely expressing the light and air of the ancient world, are like looking at a high-quality photo book.

While many painters focus on the dinosaurs themselves, Henderson has a strong tendency to depict dinosaurs together with the environment in which they lived at the time. situation. I draw so that it blends into the scenery without focusing.

I was completely drawn into the clever composition, which overlapped with common memories such as when I was trying to shoot a sunset and a bird was accidentally captured, or when I was walking in the forest and found a squirrel in the depths of the trees.

As academic knowledge increases, the special exhibition “Dinosaur Encyclopedia-Imagination/Creation of the Lost World” will be held until Saturday, July 22, 2023. . Of course, the contents will stir up the romance of the ancient world, and it is a rare opportunity to see paleo art that straddles the ages, so please check it out.

Overview of the special exhibition “Dinosaur Encyclopedia – Imagination/Creation of the Lost World”

※※The content of the article is as of the interview date (May 30, 2023). Please check the official website for the latest information.

Article provided by: kokosil Ueno

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The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts

Taito Ward and Tokyo University of the Arts have deepened exchanges and cooperation over many years, starting with the “Taito Ward Mayor Award” established in 1981. Many artists have made their way into the world through the Taito Ward Mayor’s Award, and it can be said that the award has made a great contribution to the development of young artists.

In this exhibition, 40 of the Taito Ward Mayor Award-winning works created by the students will be exhibited.

Exhibited at the “Taito City Collection Exhibition – Artists who have left Ueno, a city of culture and art -” is the “ Taito City Collection”, which honors outstanding students of Tokyo University of the Arts and whose graduation works are collected by Taito City. A collection of works that won the Mayor’s Award . In other words, they are all student works.

The Taito Ward Mayor’s Award system, which began in 1981, is awarded to one person each from Japanese paintings and oil paintings / prints of the painting department of the Faculty of Fine Arts. joined). Many of the awardees later went on to be active on the front lines of the industry, and we can see that they played a role as a gateway to success for young artists.

Tracing the “changes” of expressions in Showa, Heisei, and Reiwa

The themes of this exhibition are “transition” and “diversity.”
In this exhibition, 40 works from the Taito Ward Mayor Award, which has been awarded for more than 40 years over the three eras of Showa, Heisei, and Reiwa, will be displayed. Since then, artists who have been active on the front lines and recent winners who are expected to make great strides in the future will gather together in one place the works that they have created as a culmination of their student days.
Of course, each piece is attractive, but we also pay attention to the changes in trends over time and the diversity of ideas that are not bound by the framework of “Japanese painting” or “oil painting”.

This exhibition consists of two parts, and the first half introduces award-winning Japanese paintings, oil paintings, and prints that have been collected in Taito Ward since the previous exhibition (2016). Originally, the 6th “Taito Collection Exhibition” was scheduled to be held in conjunction with the Tokyo 2020 Games, but it was postponed due to the new coronavirus infection and was held for the first time in seven years.
In the first half, the works of young artists created over the past seven years are exhibited at once.

On the other hand, in the second half, works carefully selected from the successive works of the Taito Ward Mayor’s Award are exhibited. Starting with the work of Yuji Tezuka (Professor Emeritus, Tokyo University of the Arts), who won the first award, there will be a line-up of gems that have won the same award over the past 42 years.

What you can feel at the venue is the energy of the “fetal movement” of the young artists who are about to take off. In novels, it is often said that “the maiden work contains all of the writer’s work,” but it may be possible to find themes and styles that underlie their subsequent works in these works. .
It can be said that this exhibition will provide vivid discoveries and impressions for both fans who are already familiar with their activities and those who will come into contact with their work for the first time.

Introduction of exhibited works

Here are some of the works on display.

“Labyrinth” Yuji Tezuka 1981

Is this what a real “meeting” is like? A mysterious space where animals talk

A meeting where everyone expresses their own opinions. The labyrinth spreads endlessly behind the woman who is the chairman. It is a work that expresses a chaotic and mysterious world by comparing the people around you to animals. (From the creator)

<Yuji Tezuka>
Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1953. Member of the Japan Art Institute, executive director, professor emeritus at Tokyo University of the Arts, and special director of the Fukui Fine Arts Museum. As a Japanese painter who leads the contemporary Japanese painting world, he continues to work vigorously.

“Dancing in the fields with pillows” Masafumi Kikuchi 1992

A work that reconstructs the stage he directed as a “landscape painting”

1992, Minami-Azabu Sannohashi. Released every Saturday and Sunday for about two months Weekly one-shot play “Is the Great Detective Really There?” Many people who have seen the whole story have not seen this picture. (From the creator)

<Masafumi Kikuchi>
Born in Kobe in 1968. Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Department of Painting, Oil Painting. Engaged in painting, theater production, and music production, he has held numerous solo and group exhibitions both in Japan and overseas. “Nobe ni Makura de Odori Makure” was produced in 1992 with the aim of experiencing the stage play “Wet Feathers Can’t Grab the Sky” through landscape paintings.

“Encounter with Trees” Yasuto Ide 1989

The mystery of Yakushima where light and darkness intersect

When I entered graduate school, I went on a trip to Yakushima alone. It is an island with banyan trees on the coastline, virgin forests in the forest, and heavy snowfall at the summit. I sketched while staying at a mountain hut and created an impression of walking around in the forest. The world where moss-covered branches stretch in all directions, and darkness and light intersect is a mysterious and solemn space. (From the creator)

<Yasuhito Ide>
Born in 1962 in Fukuoka Prefecture. Completed graduate school at Tokyo University of the Arts. Currently, the Japan Art Institute special treatment. Professor of the Faculty of Arts, Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts. It is characterized by a gentle and fantastical style that women and flowers create.

Overview of the event

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Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum

Henri Matisse (1869-1954), a leading French painter of the 20th century, is known as a central figure in the Fauvism movement, whose vivid colors had a major impact on art history. A large-scale retrospective “Matisse Exhibition” is now being held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. The exhibition period is until August 20, 2023.

This is a report on the situation at the venue, as I covered the exhibition, which was a hot topic for the first public exhibition in Japan of one of his early masterpieces, "Luxury, Silence, Eccentricity."

Explore Matisse's journey through about 150 masterpieces

Henri Matisse is known as the "Magician of Color". His pictorial expression, which freely released colors from the visible reality, revolutionized art history and left an unforgettable mark on the history of modern art.

The "Matisse Exhibition" currently being held is the first large-scale retrospective exhibition in Japan in about 20 years. About 150 masterpieces were gathered from the Center Pompidou in Paris, which boasts the world's largest Matisse collection. Focusing on paintings, sculptures, drawings, paper cutouts, and materials related to the Rosary Chapel in Vence, southern France, which is the greatest masterpiece of his later years . It provides an overview of the life of 84 years dedicated to the exploration of vivid colors and light that appeals directly to the senses.

The exhibition consists of 8 chapters.
・Chapter 1 Fauvism 1895-1909
・Chapter 2 The age of radical inquiry 1914-1918
・Chapter 3 Parallel Exploration – Sculpture and Painting 1913-1930
・Chapter 4 People and Interiors 1918-1929
・Chapter 5 Spread and Experiment 1930-1937
・Chapter 6 From Nice to Vence 1938-1948
・Chapter 7 Paper-cutting paintings and works of the last years 1931-1954
・Chapter 8 Vance Rosary Chapel 1948-1951

Neo-Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism…Matisse's Experimentation in a Variety of Painting Expressions

If you look at the works arranged in chronological order, you will notice that Matisse changed his painting style one after another in a short period of time. Here are some examples.

Born in 1869 into a wealthy family in northern France, Matisse set his sights on becoming a painter after he turned 20, and moved to Paris in 1891. One of the earliest works in which he was trying to establish his identity as a painter was Woman Reading (1895), which he made while studying under the symbolist painter Gustave Moreau, who was teaching at the Paris National School of Fine Arts. can be appreciated.

Influenced by Camille Corot's figure paintings, his realistic and restrained style makes one wonder, "Is this Matisse?" It was the first commercial success after it was purchased by the state, but it seems that such traditional painting methods were quickly abandoned.

Gradually, he created blazing, vivid color schemes such as Pont Saint-Michel (c1900) and Still Life with Hot Chocolate Pot (1900-1902) that foreshadowed the arrival of Fauvism a few years later. will be

In 1904, after spending a summer in Saint-Tropez at the invitation of Paul Signac, a central figure in Neo-Impressionism, he created an early masterpiece , Luxury, Silence, Elegance (1904) , using the technique of "split strokes" that he had learned from him. ) was completed.

This work, which will be shown for the first time in Japan, depicts a scene filled with light that can be called a utopia, using pure colors instead of the original colors of the subject. In general, he follows the guidelines of Neo-Impressionist painting faithfully, but if you look closely, you can see traces of experiments that are not in the guidelines, such as the abstract figures being surrounded by outlines to preserve their forms. Although Matisse's lifelong problem of the "collision of color and line drawing" remained unresolved, this work marked an important step in Matisse's painting career.

As early as the following year, he threw away this division of brush strokes and tackled head-on the problem of the clash between color and line drawing in Collioure in the south of France. Therefore, he created Fauvism with free and bold color expression and rough brush strokes, which emphasized the senses rather than the colors that were visible to the eye.

However, while Matisse caused a scandal in the art world as a leading figure in Fauvism, when we look at Luxury I (1907), which was produced three years after Luxury, Silence, Eccentricity, we can see that the colors are harmonious and the brushwork is harmonious. It is flat. Some people may have a strong image of Matisse as a Fauvist painter, but in reality, Matisse's Fauvist tendencies did not last for several years, and by 1907, the work had already begun to explore painting space. indicates that you have progressed to the stage of

The first world war that occurred in 1914 changed the life of Matisse, who had continued to create steadily. Isolated by the mobilization of his two sons and friends, Matisse immersed himself in creation as if to resist the situation, and proceeded with innovative plastic experiments.

The most eye-catching work from this period is French Window at Collioure (1914), which was produced immediately after the outbreak of World War II. . For Matisse, who repeatedly experimented in his atelier (indoors) throughout his life, the "window" is an important motif, and in Matisse's work, the "window" does not separate the inside and outside, but makes it clear that the inside and outside spaces are the same unity. It seems that it was something to do.

Windows are also used as visual metaphors in the Western tradition. In the same work, balconies were originally drawn on the windows, but it is suggestive that they were all painted in black in the end. Is this window closed or open? Would you have recognized this as a window if it hadn't been indicated in the title in the first place? The work, which is believed to have come to an end after much deliberation while remaining unfinished, is one of Matisse's creations, showing the extreme composition of “how many elements must be removed to make the image impossible to hold?'' It is a work that marks a critical point.

While working on French Windows at Collioure, Matisse also worked on portraits. During his stay in Collioure, he had a series of dialogues with the cubist painter Juan Gris (Juan Gris), after which he produced White and Rose Head (1914) modeled after his own daughter Marguerite. Among Matisse's works, it is considered to be one of the most influenced by Cubism.

Flat and simplified screen composition, geometric human body. It shows the results of a radical experiment similar to that of the French Window at Collioure, which explores how to remove details to the utmost limit while still preserving the essence of the model.

The works introduced so far convey Matisse's voracious quest for new forms of expression through repeated experimentation and contemplation. However, the content of the exhibition is still in the middle of the second chapter, and Matisse's career has not even passed halfway through. When I watched up to Chapter 8, I forgot that this was a retrospective show about a single painter because of the variety of styles. However, no matter how his painting style changes, I feel that his high awareness of colors and shapes, and his attitude of emphasizing emotion over visible things, remain consistent.

From the perspective of the breadth of his painting style, I was particularly interested in Dreams (1935) and Sitting Rose-Colored Nude (1935-36), which can be seen in Chapter 5, "Expansion and Experiments 1930-1937."

After moving his base to Nice in the south of France, Matisse traveled to America and Oceania in the 1930s, encountering new light and space, and his works became more open and expansive. It was also a time when the means of expression, which had returned to the traditional view of painting in the 1920s, began to be simplified again. "Dream" and "Rose Nude Seated", both of which were produced around that time, were started in the same year, depicting nudes of Lydia Delektorskaya, Matisse's favorite model until his death, his secretary. Although there are many things in common, such as the blue background, the impression received from the works is very different.

"Dream", in which the upper body of a woman lying down with her eyes closed is placed across the screen, is filled with a comfortable sense of openness and expresses psychological and sculptural fulfillment. Colored Nude reveals traces of repeated manipulations of erasure and simplification, transforming an elegantly posed woman into a ghostly schematic image. Please pay close attention to these two works, which clearly express the state of contemplation during this period in which I pursued the method of inserting the form of a person into the background, accompanied by countless variations.

Matisse's quest for harmony between color and line drawing, and the last oil painting in his life, "Large Red Room"

Chapter 6, "From Nice to Vence, 1938-1948," displays several masterpieces from his later years.

It is said that Matisse's numerous experiments, which turned the world upside down, were all carried out in his colorful atelier. For this reason, the atelier itself became an important motif throughout Matisse's life. In 1939, when World War II broke out, Matisse, who was nearly 70 years old, carefully arranged the items he had collected, such as vases, fabrics, and furniture, in his atelier. I will do the work of letting the "essence" permeate my body.

Still Life with Magnolia (1941), a representative work with a beautiful red color that is synonymous with Matisse, and which emphasizes flatness and decorativeness, was completed after dozens of preparatory drawings. works. By extracting only the essence from the motif, I have come to express that multiple things surround the star-shaped magnolia as if they were floating. This is one of the painter's favorite works, which Matisse said he did "all his might".

In 1943, Matisse moved from Nice to Vence in the suburbs to escape the threat of an air raid, and it was here that he produced his last series of oil paintings, the "Interiors of Vence" series. In the same exhibition, the first work in the series , Yellow and Blue Interior (1946), and the 13th and last canvas painting by the artist , Large Red Interior (1948) are on display. increase.

In particular, "Large Interior in Red" is positioned as a masterpiece that condenses Matisse's work on color, and in a flat space, the important themes of Matisse's paintings such as red, atelier, and painting in the painting are cleverly composed. is synthesized in The two paintings hanging on the wall are both quotes from existing works by Matisse. The brush-drawn black and white drawing on the left not only spreads out into the space like a window, but it is also displayed on an equal footing with the colorful oil painting on the right, continuing to challenge the challenge of the conflict between color and line drawing. I felt that I was showing the work of Matisse to those who saw it again.

Tomoko Yabumae, a curator at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, commented on the appeal of her work, saying, "For Matisse, the world is full of harmony. So, various elements that bind together different worlds exist in harmony in a single painting (I aimed for a work).

The black outline dances lightly against the lively red background. Lines and colors not only harmonize, but also open each other up, creating an endless sense of happiness. It is a work that symbolizes that Matisse did not stop until his last years at the age of 79.

A beautiful special video of Matisse's masterpiece "Vence Rosario Chapel" full of color and light will also be screened.

So far, we have picked up paintings from the exhibition and introduced them, but in Chapter 3, we have taken up the major sculptures, in Chapter 7, the paper-cutting works, and in Chapter 8, Vence's work on the Rosary Chapel. rice field.

In Chapter 3, "Parallel Investigation: Sculpture and Painting, 1913-1930," a series of <back> works , a motif that was explored over the course of 20 years, were lined up on the wall and were very impressive. Matisse is a painter who has a strong image of two-dimensional expression, but he says that the reason why he worked on sculpture is “to organize my thoughts as a supplementary excellent work''. However, its importance was not small, and it helped me to explore the relationship between two and three dimensions, and clay sculpture was my favorite medium as it gave shape to ideas that could not yet be expressed in painting.

Gradually complicating the expression of the portrait, he tried to prove that even if the structure of the body is depicted incorrectly, the essential truth hidden in the person is not hidden, but rather revealed . The Rillette series (1925-29) is full of Matisse-like works that did not emphasize the reproduction of the visible.

The <Back> series (1909-30), which consists of four life-size female figures, seems to express the process of gradually simplifying the rear view of women from I to IV, but in fact it was a series from the beginning. Instead, it was conceived as a single ever-changing clay sculpture. It has been pointed out that the production period for this series overlapped with the production period for monumental paintings such as Dance. This shows that Matisse tried to solve the formative problems of the time by linking painting and sculpture. Sculpture, for Matisse, was what gave rhythm to his entire artistic practice.

In Chapter 7, "Kirigami Paintings and His Late Works 1931-1954," Matisse began to concentrate on his work after the 1940s, when he was confined to a bed and a wheelchair due to illness. Drawing with scissors.

Between 1943 and 1946, Matisse produced 20 paper cutouts, based on which he published the groundbreaking art collection Jazz . The title emphasizes the improvisational nature of paper cutouts. The famous cutout work "Icarus" is also included in the same book. The paper-cutting pictures, vividly colored with gouache, give the impression of dancing on the black walls of the venue.

Kirigami-e, which has the advantage of being able to easily experiment with screen composition and focus on color without worrying about outlines, was also an inseparable expression from Matisse's series of paintings. Drawing, painting, and sculpture are integrated in the single action of cutting out, and it is used as a means of unifying the two formative elements of color and line drawing.

In the climactic chapter 8, "Vence's Rosary Chapel 1948-1951" , a wealth of materials related to Matisse's work at Vence's Rosary Chapel , which Matisse worked on as a culmination of his work from 1948 to 1951, is exhibited.

Matisse, who conceived the chapel as a single comprehensive work of art, used all the techniques he had explored, such as design, sculpture, and paper-cutting, to design buildings, murals, decorations, vestments, and liturgical items. I worked on everything up to that point. You will be surprised by the vitality that cannot be imagined from the image of the word "last years".

In this chapter, a special video of the Vence Rosary Chapel, which was filmed for the exhibition, was shown. A beautiful 4K video introduces the changing light inside the chapel on a sunny day from morning to night. At the end of the tour, please enjoy the space where colors, lines, and light come together, which perfectly embodies Matisse's belief that this chapel should be a space that “lightens the hearts of those who visit''. I want you to

The “Matisse Exhibition” will be held until August 20, 2023 (Sun).

Outline of “Matisse Exhibition”

*The content of the article is as of the interview date (April 26, 2023). Please check the official website for the latest information.

Article provided by: kokosil Ueno

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