| ■Tokyo National Research
Institute for Cultural Properties |
■Center for Conservation
Science |
| ■Department of Art Research,
Archives and Information Systems |
■Japan Center for
International Cooperation in Conservation |
| ■Department of Intangible
Cultural Heritage |
|
Symposium “Advancement of Art Resources in a Global Context”
On June 6 (Sat.), the “Advancement of Art Resources in a Global Context – Contact point between global digitalization strategies and academic specialized research” was held at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo as part of the annual meeting of the Japan Art Documentation Society. Representing the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Deputy Director General Atsushi Tanaka and Mai Sarai, senior researcher at the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems, attended the symposium as presenters. With an eye to increasing the quantity of art resource information, which has been internationally requested, this symposium was intended to confirm the situations surrounding relevant organizations regarding issues related to the specialization and advancement of information in Japan and to deepen discussions on the issues.
First, representatives from the National Museum of Western Art, the Netherlands Institute for Art History (RKD) and the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, respectively gave presentations on their own methods of offering information on art and cultural properties. Mr. Tanaka and Ms. Sarai from the institute gave a presentation under the title “Formulation of Specialized Archives on Cultural Property Information – Efforts by the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo,” and introduced the history of the institute, archives activities and digital contents, and reported the institute’s efforts and measures on the provision of information at a global level (cooperation with the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures and with the Getty Research Institute, etc). Following the individual presentations, a panel discussion between presenters and a keynote speech by Akiko Mabuchi, the director general of the National Museum of Western Arts, were held in the symposium.
In this symposium, we again presented the effectiveness of art and cultural property information and resources that have been accumulated and maintained by the institute over many years in research activities under the current situation surrounding art resource information to relevant officials at home and abroad. At the same time, we could obtain many suggestions on the provision and dissemination of information at a global level by learning pioneering activities of other institutions.
The dialogue with Leiko Ikemura
We held a public dialogue with Leiko Ikemura, an artist living in Berlin, Germany, on June 9 (Tue.) Before this, the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems held an international symposium “Reconsidering ‘Form’: Towards a More Open Discussion” in January 2014, and Ms. Ikemura served as a speaker in the symposium. (We published a report on the symposium. For details, please see
http://www.tobunken.go.jp/info/sympo13/index_e.html)
The dialogue event was the second phase of the symposium. Emiko Yamanashi and Mai Sarai from the department asked Ms. Ikemura questions and she gave answers to the questions. In the trilateral dialogue, Ikemura delivered various talks, starting with the production concept of her most recent work “Usagi Kannon,” a terracotta statue more than three meters in height. Then she talked about practical issues including production techniques, materials, the selection of media, and ways to realize production concepts. In addition, she frankly and fully discussed the act of creation, such as her attitude toward production, inner feelings and conflicted feelings at the time of creation, and the state of mind she is trying to reach through art.
When she draws a picture, Ikemura said, “I capture the moment when the object and I are integrated. What I want to draw is not an object. I want to capture the sense that the object is connected to me and my body. That is the connection between myself and the world and experience, and I am trying to make it into a painting.” That statement was very impressive.
The contents of the dialogue will be made available on the website of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo. We hope you will look forward to this.
Getty Museum
Getty Research Institute
On June 16 and 17, Atsushi Tanaka, deputy director general of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo (Tobunken), and Mai Sarai at the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems visited the Getty Research Institute (GRI) that plays a leading role globally in the dissemination of information on artworks and art research with the help of Ms. Ann Adachi, a video art researcher living in Philadelphia. They had a consultation with officials at the GRI to seek the possibility of joint research. In October 2014, GRI Director Thomas W. Gaehtgens and other staff members inspected Tobunken. Following the visit, both institutions decided to hold a consultation to seek concrete ways of cooperation.
The GRI is located on a hill overlooking the coast in Santa Monica in Los Angeles and the UCLA campus. The GRI is part of a complex facility generally referred to as the Getty Center that comprises such institutions as the Getty Conservation Institute and the J. Paul Getty Museum having five pavilions.
Jean Paul Getty, the founder of the Getty Center, had an idea that the revolutionary digital technology in the 21st century would enable the integration of art, humane studies and natural science, and that the Getty Center should offer a platform for the integration. Based on the idea, the GRI has been organically organizing a range of projects in cooperation with museums and research institutes not only in the United States but also in Europe, aiming to form a cooperative model to integrate accesses to all artworks.
Sarai gave a presentation titled “Approaches to the Creation of Japanese Cultural Properties Database at the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo; Tobunken,” and introduced Tobunken’s current efforts to disseminate research information on cultural properties to Mr. Gaehtgens and other senior officials at the respective departments.
Tobunken’s digital archives on cultural properties and artist database are contents that are highly likely to be linked to the Getty Center, and we received favorable reviews from staffers at the GRI. We will reach an agreement to promote cooperation between both institutions and eventually exchange memorandums.
If Tobunken’s digital contents could be searched on the GRI’s portal site, which is connected to the world, information on Japanese art and cultural properties will certainly become available to a larger number of people in the world. We will continue to enhance Tobunken’s ability to disseminate information.
Art historian Aki Ueno, who had worked for the Tokyo National Research Institute of Cultural Properties, the predecessor to the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, from November 1942 to April 1984, passed away on Oct. 12, 2014. Ms. Ueno specialized in the Art of Western regions such as Kizil Caves and Mogao Caves. In addition, she was awarded the Imperial Prize of the Japan Academy in 1960 for her joint research on the mural painting of the five-storey pagoda at Daigo-ji Temple with Osamu Takata, Takuji Ito, Taka Yanagisawa and Tsugio Miya, becoming the first woman to receive the award along with Yanagisawa. Her bereaved family will donate Ueno’s research notes, related materials and part of her book stock to the institute so that they can be utilized for future research. They are a valuable collection of materials that show the traces of research on the history of the Art of Western regions and other issues. After organizing them, we plan to make them available to the public.
Yashiro and Berenson-Art History between Japan and Italy
Art historian Yukio Yashiro (1890-1975), who served as the director general of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, went to Europe in 1921 and studied under Renaissance art researcher Bernard Berenson (1865-1959) in Florence, Italy, from the autumn of that year. Yashiro learned his teacher’s method of stylistic comparison, and published “Sandro Botticelli” in 1925, a bulky English work on Botticelli that made Yashiro internationally recognized. After returning to Japan in 1925, he participated in the foundation of the “Institute of Art Research,” the predecessor to the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo. Based on the Institute of Art Research, he made efforts to compile the history of Oriental art using Berenson’s methodology. After World War II, he was involved in the opening of the Museum Yamato Bunkakan from the preparatory stage and served as the first director general of the museum. The National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, has been conducting research on the correspondence between Yashiro and Berenson. On June 30, we started a Web exhibition on the extant correspondence titled “Yashiro and Berenson-Art History between Japan and Italy,” presenting the republications of all 114 letters between Berenson and Yashiro and related documents in cooperation with the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, which is housed in the former villa of Berenson, and Michiaki Koshikawa, professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. (See http://yashiro.itatti.harvard.edu/) You can enjoy various materials showing the exchanges between the two art historians in the Web exhibition comprising the following chapters: letters, a list of people appearing in the letters, “Sandro Botticelli,” English versions of Yashiro’s literary works including an English translation of “My Life in Fine Arts” (from Chapter 7 to 10) published in 1972, studies on Yashiro, Berenson’s literary works on Oriental art and a gallery including Yashiro’s water-color paintings and sketches. Yashiro and the letters shed light not only on the individual activities of Berenson and Yashiro and their master-discipline relationship, but also on the international circumstances surrounding research on Renaissance art and Oriental art from the 1920s to 1950s.
During the Conference
On June 30 (Tue.), the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems invited Mr. Matthew Mckelway, professor at Columbia University, and held a workshop titled “NAGASAWA Rosetsu before his Sojourn in Nanki (Kii Province): His Relations with Temples of the Zen Sect”.
Rosetsu Nagasawa (1754～99) is a painter who was active in the mid-Edo period. Substituting for his master Okyo Maruyama, Rosetsu visited several temples of the Zen sect in the southern Kii Province (Nanki) from 1786 to 1787. Rosetsu is known as having drawn a large number of sliding panel paintings during his sojourn of a few months. His experience in Nanki gave him significant momentum to obtain his own painting style. However, there are quite a few unclear points over Rosetsu’s movements and painting education before his sojourn in Nanki.
Based on a detailed analysis of a sanja (person who appreciates the work and writes an appraisal of it) of Rosetsu’s works currently possessed in overseas countries and his collaborative works, among other materials, Mr. Mckelway pointed out that Rosetsu had had close relations with Zen monks at Myoshin-ji temple such as Shikyo Eryo and Shishin Sogin since before his sojourn in Nanki. By examining the motifs of Rosetsu’s sliding panel paintings at temples in Nanki with this fact in mind, Mr. Mckelway also pointed out the possibility that Rosetsu was inspired by a sliding panel painting at Myoshin-ji temple. Given that the current research on Rosetsu lacks works before his sojourn in Nanki, Mr. Mckelway offered a very significant and attractive theory. After his presentation, there was an active exchange of views on Rosetsu’s works in overseas countries introduced by Mr. Mckelway. Such a presentation about works possessed in overseas countries provided important information to the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, and we expect further progress in the research in the future.
The moment during the 37th Session of the World Heritage Committee when an announcement was made that Mt. Fuji would be inscribed on the World Heritage List
The Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems held a seminar on April 21. Entitled “Problems with the World Heritage Committee and Their Solutions: Capitalizing on Those Approaches to Safeguard Cultural Properties under the World Heritage Convention,” the seminar featured a presentation by the author, who has been observing the World Heritage Committee since 2008. In her presentation, the author analyzed what was discussed at Committee sessions.
The public is highly interested in World Heritage, and flocks of visitors visit World Heritage sites. Many of the books on World Heritage cover specific heritage sites. In contrast, only a few books in Japanese specifically discuss the World Heritage Committee and related issues.
During her presentation, the author described the process from nomination of a site to its inscription on the World Heritage List, and she also explained how sites were considered during Committee sessions. The author described how the Committee Members are chosen from 21 of the State Parties to the Convention and how the Advisory Bodies act as expert advisors to the Committee. The author also noted the issues facing the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (Secretariat of the World Heritage Committee). In addition, the author offered her own views on the utility of the World Heritage Convention from her perspective as an expert in safeguarding cultural properties.
The original role of the World Heritage Convention was to establish a framework to safeguard and preserve cultural heritage and natural heritage for posterity. The nomination dossier nominating a site for inscription on the World Heritage List must describe how the site will be protected. The process of nominating a site for inscription on the World Heritage List involves a process of verifying and improving the framework for protecting that site. This approach facilitates international support for effective protection of the site. Gleaning the tendencies of the World Heritage Committee should allow Japan to more effectively prepare nomination dossiers and reports on the state of conservation of given sites. Thus, Institute personnel plan to study the World Heritage Committee and World Heritage Convention in the future as well.
English-language version of the TOBUNKEN Research Collections search page
The Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems has now made databases that were created by departments of the Institute publicly accessible. Information that is essential to research on cultural properties is available via the TOBUNKEN Research Collections (http://www.tobunken.go.jp/archives/).
On April 30, 2015, an English-language version of the TOBUNKEN Research Collections was made available. A button for Japanese and English on the top right of the page allows uses to switch between Japanese and English language versions of the page. This project is one of the results of “Shaping the Fundamentals of Research on Japanese Art,” which is a project that the Institute conducted with the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC) in England. In addition to the page having an English-language version, the following features have been added.
＊Within References on Cultural Properties, a search limiter has been added for Information on Japanese Art Outside of Japan (compiled by the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures).
http://www.tobunken.go.jp/archives/%E6%96%87%E5%8C%96%E8%B2%A1%E9%96%A2%E4%BF%82%E6%96%87%E7%8C%AE%EF%BC%88%E7%B5%B1%E5%90%88%E8%A9%A6%E8%A1%8C%E7%89%88%EF%BC%89/
Five databases of art-related publications have been accessible thus far, but these databases have now been joined by a database of foreign publications on Japanese art (approximately 718 sources that were published since 2013, which is when the project began) compiled by the SISJAC.
＊A page to search Information on Modern-Contemporary Art Exhibitions and Film Festivals was added under Information Search.
http://www.tobunken.go.jp/archives/%E6%83%85%E5%A0%B1%E3%81%AE%E6%A4%9C%E7%B4%A2/%E8%BF%91%E7%8F%BE%E4%BB%A3%E7%BE%8E%E8%A1%93%E5%B1%95%E8%A6%A7%E4%BC%9A%E3%83%BB%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB%E7%A5%AD%E9%96%8B%E5%82%AC%E6%83%85%E5%A0%B1/
Compiled by the SISJAC, this information includes exhibitions and film festivals (approximately 520 events that took place since 2013, which is when the project began) that took place overseas (primarily in Europe and the US) in English.
The Art-related Publications database was made publicly available online by Tobunken. The SISJAC collected information on Japanese art overseas, and this information is now publicly available in the Institute’s Art-related Publications database. This work was done to help provide a platform for research on Japanese art in Japan and overseas. Hopefully, the databases will prove of benefit to users, and plans are to add subsequent data in the future.
Signing of an agreement between the Institute and the Tokyo Art Club
An art catalogue is a brochure that is handed out before items in an individual or a family’s collection are sold at sale place on a certain date. An art catalogue features photographs and it lists the name and medium of artworks such as paintings, calligraphic works, and art objects. Such a catalogue is a vital source with which to determine an artwork’s provenance. Such catalogues enjoy a limited distribution, so only a handful of facilities nationwide curate auction catalogues as a whole.
In its collection, the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo has a total of 2,532 art catalogues that were printed from the late Meiji Era to the Showa Era. The Institute has the largest number of these catalogues among public repositories in Japan. The Tokyo Art Club has long been involved in the sale of artworks since its founding in 1907.Over this period, the Tokyo Art Club has amassed a number of catalogues it has published.
In the past, the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo recorded information in art catalogues on cards with attached photographs and made these cards available to researchers in the Institute’s Library. However, original art catalogues were often poorly preserved. Thus, the Institute joined with the Tokyo Art Club to start a project to create digital copies of art catalogues.
This project will fully reproduce older art catalogues (i.e. catalogues printed prior to 1943) in the collections of the Institute and the Tokyo Art Club in digital format. These images and information will then be shared in an effort to preserve these important sources.
Reproducing images and information in these art catalogues in digital format should further enhance databases of important materials in the Institute’s collection.
The seminar underway
A seminar was held in the Seminar Room in the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems starting at 2:00 PM on March 24 (Tues.). The seminar featured a research presentation from KAWAI Daisuke, an Associate Fellow of the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems, on “Anti-art, De-subjectification, and Anonymity: Focusing on the Yamanote Line Event and AKASEGAWA Genpei” and a research presentation from KIKKAWA Hideki, another Associate Fellow of the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems, on “A Panorama of Sightseeing Art at Tama: Mount Fuji, locomotives, girls, and wells”.
KAWAI’s presentation mentioned the “de-subjectification of works,” which is one of the features common to art from around the world in the 1960s. This “de-subjectification” became evident as “anonymity” in Japanese art of the period. KAWAI substantiated this point through an analysis of materials related to the Yamanote Line Event put on by NAKANISHI Natsuyuki and other artists in 1962 and the activities of AKASEGAWA Genpei at the time (since AKASEGAWA was affected by the Yamanote action).
KIKKAWA’s presentation covered An Exhibition of Sightseeing Art at Tama, which is the first event put on by the Tourist Art Research Institute. KIKKAWA used the drawing A Panorama of Sightseeing Art at Tama and the video piece Das Kapital by NAKAMURA Hiroshi to look back at the exhibition. KIKKAWA’s presentation included information that was presented at a symposium commemorating the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the PoNJA-GenKon listserve in September of last year as well as subsequent research he had done.
The seminar was attended by the painter NAKAMURA Hiroshi and the artist and post-war art researcher SHIMADA Yoshiko. NAKAMURA arrived after KIKKAWA’s presentation and provided attendees with an explanation of the Tourist Art Research Institute and his own work at the time in a question-and-answer session following the presentations.
Imaging of A Painting of Mahamayuri
Bijitsu Gaho(The Magazine of Art) is an art journal that was first published by Gahosha as Nihon Bijitsu Gaho in June 1894. In addition to “new works” by artists at the time, the journal also featured artworks and handicrafts dating from before the Edo period as “reference works.” The journal provides a glimpse into what works were considered classics in the Meiji era. The name of the journal changed to Bijitsu Gaho in 1899, and the journal continued publication until 1926.
A database featuring images from Nihon Bijitsu Gaho and Bijitsu Gaho is now available for public access via the Institute’s website. The database allows searches by the names of artists and the names of pieces.
http://www.tobunken.go.jp/materials/gahou
The database currently contains images from Japanese Art Pictorial Vol. 1, No. 1 (June 1894) to Vol. 5, No. 12 (May 1899). Plans are to make images from subsequent volumes available as well. In addition, volumes prior to Vol. 3, No. 12 (June 1897) can be viewed with a book viewer, which users can peruse like flipping through a book, so we invite you to have a look.
KUNO Takeshi left an indelible footprint on the history of Buddhist sculpture. KUNO’s collection has been organized, and a catalogue of photographs and other images of Buddhist sculptures in Japan and elsewhere around the world is now available to the public. The collection is massive, with more than 7,000 images, and was assembled by KUNO, who was a researcher at the Institute. After KUNO passed away in 2007, his family donated the collection to the Institute.
KUNO joined the Institute of Art Research (the forerunner of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo) in 1944, and he researched history of Buddhist sculpture for 38 years until he retired in 1982. After retiring, he founded and sponsored the Buddhist Art Research Institute near his home. He collected materials over a number of years and made those materials available for use by researchers (a brief biography of KUNO can be found at the link below).
http://www.tobunken.go.jp/materials/bukko/28393.html
Most of the photographs are of Buddhist sculptures that have been categorized by the temple or shrine where they are found in prefectures and major cities. Providing an extensive view of Buddhist statues throughout Japan, the photographs convey the zeal of an extraordinary person. The photographs are extremely important materials and include images of Buddhist statues as they were being restored. KUNO oversaw the editing of A Compilation of Buddhist Statues (Gakuseisha), and some of the photographs can be found in that work. A Compilation of Buddhist Statues features descriptions of major Buddhist statues in different regions.
The catalogue allows searches by the name of the shrine or temple where the statue is found and by the name of the piece. If you would like to view this collection, please fill out the Application for Use Form (word / PDF) and submit it to the Library.
The seminar featuring a presentation by Ms. INABA Mai
The Modern and Contemporary Art Section of the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems has continued Research on the History of Cultural Exchanges of Modern and Contemporary Art. This research project covers modern and contemporary art from Japan and other parts of East Asia. As part of that project, a seminar of the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems on February 17th featured a presentation by Ms.INABA Mai, an Associate Professor at Kwangwoon University in South Korea. The presentation was entitled Korea’s “Dong Yang Hua(East Asian Painting)”.
The genre now known as Dong Yang Hua in South Korea originally developed when Nihonga(Japanese style Painting) took hold in Korea during the era of Japan’s colonial rule. In criticism of Oriental Painting after the end of that rule, the term South Korean Painting referred to the same genre of painting but connoted establishment of an ethnic identity. The term Han Guk Hua(South Korean Painting) came into vogue starting in the 1980s. Professor INABA’s presentation described the political context for the term Dong Yang Hua and events leading up to use of the current term South Korean Painting. The presentation also covered related topics and featured examples of representative works.
The concept of Nihonga was established after Japan’s modernization. This concept was actively discussed by critics, art historians, and artists in Japan from the 1990s to the early 2000s. Over the past few years, artists producing Nihonga have been re-examining the concept in light of Mineral Pigment Paintings and Gouache Paintings that have developed in parts of East Asia such as China and Taiwan. The seminar looked at the nature of Korea’s “Dong Yang Hua in light of its shared origins and its unique developments within national boundaries. The seminar provided a good opportunity to reconsider Nihonga in comparison. Friction between Japan and South Korea with regard to an awareness of history is constantly discussed. The seminar was attended by Ms. KIM Kibum (a curator at the National Hansen’s Disease Museum), who remarked that “we should not ignore the unfortunate circumstances under which the two cultures met. Instead, researchers from the two countries should delve further while looking at each other with fresh eyes.” Hopefully, researchers will ponder KIM’s words and events like this seminar will lead to future research.
The Special Exhibits Gallery of the Kuroda Memorial Hall. From the right, the pieces are KURODA Seiki’s Woman Reading, Maiko Girl, and Wisdom, Impression, Sentiment. The gallery is open to the public for 2 weeks during the New Year holidays and 2 weeks in the spring and fall.
The Kuroda Memorial Hall that stands in one corner of Ueno Park is the Institute’s birthplace. The building where the Hall is now located was built in conjunction with a bequest by the Western-style painter KURODA Seiki, who is revered as ”the father of Japanese modern Western-style painting.” This is the same building in which the Art Research Institute, the predecessor to today’s National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, was established in 1930. The building houses the Kuroda Memorial Hall, a repository and gallery that showcases KURODA’s career as a painter. In addition to his bequest, KURODA Seiki also donated pieces of his work. These works, which include Lakeside and Wisdom, Impression, Sentiment, have been put on public display. In 2000, the Institute took over the building’s role as an exhibition site, and the Institute continued to manage the building until 2007, when the Tokyo National Museum assumed control over its management. Over a period of about 3 years, the building has been earthquake-proofed, and on January 2 the building reopened.
Renovations involved the creation of a new gallery, designated the Special Exhibits Gallery, that seeks to give visitors greater insight into KURODA’s career as a painter. In addition to the works Lakeside and Wisdom, Impression, Sentiment, the gallery now also houses Woman Reading and Maiko Girl, which are works that were previously curated by the Tokyo National Museum. The gallery provides a place in which one can enjoy signature works by KURODA Seiki (the gallery will be open to the public for 2 weeks during the New Year holidays and 2 weeks in the spring and fall). The Kuroda Memorial Hall has exhibited KURODA’s works since its establishment. The Hall will be open to the public on days when the Tokyo National Museum is open, providing even more opportunities to enjoy KURODA’s works. Exhibitions at the Hall are arranged to allow an overview of KURODA’s career as a painter.
Since the Institute relinquished its control over management of the Kuroda Memorial Hall, it has continued to focus on research into KURODA Seiki, who was closely involved in the Institute’s founding. Volumes on Kuroda that the Institute has published can be perused in the Library on the second floor of the Memorial Hall. In addition, the Institute’s website http://www.tobunken.go.jp/kuroda/index.html offers access to basic information for research into KURODA, such as high-resolution images of his works and the text of the diary he wrote. Please feel free to have a look.
Imaging of A Painting of Mahamayuri
Together with the Tokyo National Museum, the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems has continued to conduct joint studies of Buddhist paintings from the Heian Period in the National Museum’s collection. Each year, the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo uses its high-resolution digital imaging technology to image a single work in order to assemble data so that researchers can learn about the finer aspects of the techniques used to produce the work. These data have allowed identification of extraordinary techniques that would not have been apparent with the naked eye. Researchers from the Tokyo National Museum and the Institute have explored how these techniques relate to the sophisticated pictorial depictions in Buddhist paintings from the Heian Period. As part of this year’s study, A Painting of Mahamayuri (jpn.Kujaku-myō-ō) (National Treasure) was imaged on January 15, 2015. The image data obtained will be shared with researchers from the Tokyo National Museum, and in the future researchers from the two facilities will explore the painting’s place in art history.
On January 27, the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems invited KAWAGUCHI Masako (Head of the Research Library, Curation department, the National Museum of Western Art) to speak. Ms. KAWAGUCHI delivered a presentation entitled “Recent international trends concerning information on art-related literature: With a focus on the Art Discovery Group Catalogue developed with the Getty Research Institute (US).”
The Art Discovery Group Catalogue as was mentioned in the title of Ms. KAWAGUCHI’s presentation is a bibliographic search system that came on line in 2013. According to Ms. KAWAGUCHI, the system “allows a search of the catalogues of over 60 art libraries in countries around the world along with 1.4 billion journal articles.” Moreover, the system has an interface in Japanese as well. This allows information to be provided by the National Diet Library in Japan in addition to information from major art libraries in the US and Europe. Pursuant to a 3-year plan, the Institute is currently creating a cultural properties archive, so presentations on recent trends overseas like that by Ms. KAWAGUCHI are a valuable source of information and a prominent indicator of efforts abroad. The Getty Research Institute in the US played a major role in the creation of the Art Discovery Group Catalogue, and Ms. KAWAGUCHI described some of the Research Institute’s efforts related to collecting and disseminating information in the Catalogue. In October of last year, the Director of the Getty Research Institute and colleagues visited the Institute, so the presentation provided information that would prove useful in discussions of future joint studies by the Research Institute and the Institute. The presentation mentioned the website of the National Museum of Western Art, and the Museum is actively working to make research information available on its website. This description was a valuable reference for determining the future direction of information dissemination by the Institute. The Institute plans to continue talks with an eye toward coordinating with the National Museum in the future.
The front cover of “Reconsidering ‘Form’”
From January 10 (Fri.)–12 (Mon.), 2014, the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems held the 37th International Symposium on the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Properties. The title of the symposium was “Reconsidering ‘Form’: Towards a More Open Discussion” and the symposium featured presentations mostly by Institute staff members who study tangible cultural properties. The tone of the symposium was set by asking fundamental questions such as what is an object’s “form” and why do we consider “form,” and the symposium covered methodological approaches to “form.” Thus, the symposium was attended by researchers who study the intangible such as noh drama and waka poetry. The symposium attempted to highlight different perceptions of “form” in different disciplines. Artists also took the podium to describe their perspective of creators of works and they candidly talked about their perceptions in relation to the act of creating a work. This was a fresh perspective for researchers who seek to delve into a work starting with its “form.”
Research presentations and the discussion that took place at this international symposium were consolidated into a report that was published on December 17, 2014. This proceedings is being sold by Heibonsha and is available at book stores. For details, please check out the following webpage.
http://www.heibonsha.co.jp/book/b186659.html
Diary of IMAIZUMI Yoshihiko
IMAIZUMI Yoshihiko (1931–2010) is an individual who supported post-war avant garde art both implicitly and explicitly. Seeking to become a painter, IMAIZUMI began by writing critical essays for publications like the magazine Work & Critique in the 1950s. In 1958, he participated in the inaugural issue of the magazine Keishō (Form) (later renamed Kikan, or Organ). Through Keishō, IMAIZUMI interacted more with young avant garde artists at the time. The artists he met became lecturers at the art school known as Bigakkō (Art School) that the publisher Gendaishicho started in 1969. IMAIZUMI was involved with Bigakkō from its inception. In 1975, Bigakkō broke from Gendaishicho, and IMAIZUMI joined the School’s board to help run the School.
Materials in IMAIZUMI’s collection that were related to Bigakkō were exhibited at an exhibit entitled “Anti-Academy” at the John Hansard Gallery at the University of Southampton in 2013. During the current survey, KIKKAWA Hideki and KAWAI Daisuke, Associate Fellows in the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems, examined materials consisting of a diary, photographs, books, magazines, and correspondence. This survey took place with the help of IMAIZUMI’s wife Eiko, who was referred to the Institute by SHIMADA Yoshiko, one of the individuals who planned the “Anti-Academy” exhibition. The materials were found to include a relatively large amount of correspondence with and documents regarding artists who later taught at Bigakkō such as NAKAMURA Hiroshi, a fellow graduate of the Art Department of Nihon University known for his reportage painting, AKASEGAWA Genpei, who met IMAIZUMI at a round-table discussion on “Keishō” and who went on trial for the “1000 Yen Note” incident (IMAIZUMI was one of the key figures who helped to support AKASEGAWA during his trial), KIKUHATA Mokuma, a key member of the avant-garde art group known as the Kyūshū-ha, and MATSUZAWA Yutaka, the pioneer of conceptual art in Japan.
In addition to materials related to these artists, IMAIZUMI’s collection also includes a detailed diary he wrote from around 1960–1962. IMAIZUMI’s collection includes valuable records from the time when Japanese avant-garde art was at its peak. Plans are to continue studying post-war art by examining these materials in detail.
The JAL Project During a tour of the Institute
The JAL Project (Head of the Executive Committee: KAMOGAWA Sachio, the Director of the Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo) seeks to invite specialists dealing with Japanese artworks overseas (such as librarians and archivists) to visit Japan. The Project also seeks to foster a network of specialists in Japanese artworks. In addition, the Project seeks to reconsider the way in which information on and documentation of Japanese art is provided based on feedback from specialists who have visited Japan as part of the Project. The Project started this year. TANAKA Atsushi, Assistant Director General of the Institute, and KIKKAWA Hideki, an Associate Fellow of the Institute, were tapped to join the Executive Committee of the JAL Project. Mr. KIKKAWA has met with potential invitees in their home countries, he provides them with training guidance, and he accompanies them during their tours of institutions in Japan.
Ann ADACHI-TASCH is one of the invitees the JAL Project. Ms. ADACHI-TASCH served as the program coordinator for the C-MAP global research initiative of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. MIZUTANI Takeshi (a member of the Project’s Executive Committee and a librarian at the Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo) and Mr. KIKKAWA toured MoMA QNS and the EAT with Ms. ADACHI-TASCH on November 12.
Seven specialists were invited to visit Japan, and these visitors received training at institutions in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara starting on December 1. On December 3, the specialists visited the Institute, where they were given an overview of the Institute and its project to create an archive of cultural properties. The specialists examined library materials, photographs of studied artworks, and artist files . And then They exchanged information with researchers from the Institute. The specialists offered suggestions such as enhanced content in Romanized Japanese to facilitate dissemination of information overseas and allowing open access to photographs from studies. On the final day of training (December 11), an open workshop was held in the lecture hall of the Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. This workshop provided a good opportunity to gain a fresh sense of what information on cultural properties is desired in the US and Europe.
Photographing images of “Portrait of KOYA Yoshio (Man Holding a Plant)” by KISHIDA Ryusei
In the research project “Research on Modern Art in Terms of the History of Cultural Interaction” of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems, one aim is to conduct investigative research on cultural interactions, focusing on the East Asia region including Japan.
As part of that work, an optical investigation was carried out on October 16 for two oil paintings by KISHIDA Ryusei held by the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo: “Portrait of KOYA Yoshio (Man Holding a Plant)” (1916), and “An Apple Exists on Top of a Pot” (1916).
This investigation was carried in out only for works from the period when KISHIDA Ryusei was strongly influenced by European classic painters such as Albrecht Durer. Its purpose was to verify not only the design, but also the details of the picture surface such as technique and expression.
The smooth surface seen in classic European art was obtained by layering, using techniques such as tempera and oil painting, but KISHIDA Ryusei originally picked up these techniques from reproduction plates, and thus it is important to observe works from that time to determine whether he understood the techniques, and to further explicate the history of reception. The photography went beyond just shining uniform light onto the picture surface to enable visualization of the brush strokes of the painter and the current status of surface. Light was also projected at an acute angle from the left side of the work to enable understanding of the unevenness of the surface due to oil painting (photographer: SHIRONO Seiji, Artificer, Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems). Reflected near-infrared photography was also carried out at the same time. From the images obtained through this photography, it was possible to confirm that there were no traces of repainting, fumbling or other difficulties, and that the image of the painting was quite settled by the time the painting was executed.
This optical investigation was made possible through the cooperation of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo and the restorer SAITO Atsushi, and we would like to express our deep gratitude for their help. The results of this research will be published in The Bijutsu Kenkyu with the (provisional) title: “The Realistic Expression of KISHIDA Ryusei and the Formation of his Image as a ‘Poor Man’ artist: Focusing on His Recuperation Period in Komazawa Shin-machi.”
