Page 50 - Studio International - December 1968

Fluorescent Crysanthemum: an ex- Of all the stylistic tendencies that took root in apart from music, there are posters, kites and films,
hibition of contemporary Japanese Japan, that of the Ecole de Paris, was and is still, which have a very definite relevance in this con-
sculptures, miniatures, posters, widely emulated. Informal abstraction in both text.
graphics, music with visual scores, painting and sculpture, with textured surfaces and The two concepts 'Japanese' and 'modern' appear
kites and films, at the ICA Gallery, allusions to still-life, is common enough. And in- as a contradiction in terms when put together. They
5 December-26 January. deed with the extraordinary amount of artistic are not contradictory of course, but it is difficult to
activity, more than ninety per cent of the works poise oneself somewhere in space and evaluate new
The world fair at Montreal was called 'Man and seen around the main centres of Japan are not only Japanese art according to neither the criteria of
his world'. The world fair to be held in Osaka in indifferent but also quite similar to the middle of Western art nor the criteria of what we think of as
1970 is called 'Progress and harmony for mankind'. the road art in Europe and America, apart from Japanese. The young Japanese artists draw on their
The difference between these two titles embodies the general sprinkling of traditional theme paint- experience and environment as sources, and Tokyo,
some of the attitudes which are responsible for the ings of Fujiama, Samurai and Geishas. The new for instance, which as a greater representation of
dissimilarities between the work of young artists in trends are very different both in style and emotive different cultures than any other city in the world,
Japan, and that of their contemporaries in the qualities. Pop art has had its influence no doubt, so has provided in this context many important con-
west. It is just as difficult to pinpoint the difference had Nouveau Realisme, but for the rest it is difficult tributing factors. It is not possible to think of Ameri-
between these two titles, as it is to describe the to trace any direct derivations. In 1967, when I can influence in relation to Japanese art without
nuances of difference between new Japanese art visited Japan, the works that surprised me most considering at the same time the impact of Chinese
and new British or American art, which despite the were particularly those that were transparent, culture, Russian ballet, English fashions, French
difficulties of verbal description most certainly translucent, fluorescent, reflective, those using light painting, and so on.
exist. sources, shining plastics and polished metals. They It is interesting that for all the simplicity in the
The development of what we think of as modern had the qualities of delicacy, refinement, mystery world none of the visual works could be described
art in Japan dates back to the 1870s when it was and pleasure, creating an atmosphere not unlike as minimal. The term 'minimal art' carries impli-
first possible to learn Western painting techniques that evoked by Klee when he talked about taking cations of large scale, industrial finish and a total
in a few of the Japanese art schools. It took nearly a line for a walk. Also, it seemed that there were lack of associations. Despite the very superficial
seventy years for any real innovations to be effected some obvious connections between new Japanese similarity between the simplicity of both, the Jap-
with the use of these techniques and all the impli- art and new Japanese music. It may have been anese works are by comparison like the contents of
cations which they carry. Although a few artists totally irrelevant to talk about the visual arts at the an Aladdin's cave. Another striking difference be-
like Taro Okamoto already experimented with ab- turn of the century and their connections with con- tween the Japanese and American approaches is
stract painting in the 1930s, the modern movement temporary music, it may even be irrelevant to talk that the distinctions between art and design in
in Japan started after the war, when for the first about Picasso and Satie in one breath, but in Japan Japan are non-existent. Most artists do some de-
time a significant number ofJapanese artists aligned this association has some very real foundations. In signing for a living, and most designers produce
themselves stylistically to the trends which were the same way that young composers have explored works without functional purpose. Since there is
considered modern in Europe and America. Artists the role of silences and breaks in their compositions, virtually no patronage for contemporary Japanese
with common aims and approaches formed them- so the artists have found equivalents for these art in Japan, this lack of distinction is both a neces-
selves into groups, of which the Gutai in Osaka had silences in the empty spaces and gaps of their con- sity and a virtue. It accounts for the technical per-
gained the most substantial reputation in the West. structions and environments. The extensive use of fection and an open attitude, or perhaps even a
The various groups were not formed with the speci- echoes, for instance, in the music of Takemitsu certain modesty, since it is not uncommon to find
fic purpose of promoting new trends, but because finds its parallels in the role of reflections in the in one or another of the few Japanese galleries
lack of encouragement and facilities for exhibiting the chrome-plated cubes of Yuhara. These parallels dealing with modern art, a print with the edition
had made co-operation of this sort a necessity. They are not only consistent in the eye of the beholder marked 1 out of 2.
mounted exhibitions in department stores, public and the ear of the listener, but both the artists and Contributions to Fluorescent Chrysanthemum
halls, and various other unorthodox premises, the composers are aware of them. belong typically to the post-Hiroshima generation.
sometimes for as short a period as one or two weeks The choice of work for the Fluorescent Chrysan- They are exemplified by a marked distaste of per-
at a time. Since Japan has more than 60,000 artists, themum show was made on the basis of originality. sonal expression, and the abundant creativity and
and Tokyo has no more than ten galleries that will Paintings, for instance, appeared generally less out- imagination have been applied to materials and
show modern art at all, this development was an standing than sculpture or graphics, and therefore formal juxtapositions and patterns, rather than to
obvious one. they have been omitted. On the other hand, and man's uneasy situation. Historically, it is not sur-

Yusaku Kamekura Expo '70, 1968, poster Kazumasa Nagai Growth, 1968, poster Tadanori Yokoo Shosetsu Yui, 1968, poster