"Monet's next 100 years"
Artist talk held
"Monet's 100 Years" has opened at the Yokohama Museum of Art. Claude Monet (1840-1926) is one of the most popular painters in Japan. This exhibition brings together 25 of Monet's paintings and 66 works by 26 artists from later generations in an attempt to highlight the timeless connection between the two.
On Saturday, July 14th, the opening day of the exhibition, an artist talk was held in the museum's circular forum between two exhibiting artists and a curator.
These are the two artists who will be on stage.
Katsunori Mizuno
Born in Mie Prefecture in 1982. Graduated from Nagoya University of Art and Design's Department of Art and Design in 2005. In 2008, completed the Kyoto City University of Arts Graduate School, Department of Painting, Concept Design. Major solo exhibitions in recent years include ``Lightscape'' (Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, 2011), ``reflections'' (``MOVING 2015'', Kyoto Art Center, 2015), and ``non-fiction'' (GALLERY CAPTION, 2016). Exhibited in “Water Scenes: Monet, Taikan to the Present” (Yokohama Museum of Art, 2007).
Katsutoshi YuasaBorn in Tokyo in 1978. Graduated from Musashino Art University's Department of Oil Painting (Printmaking Course) in 2002. In 2005, completed the master's course in printmaking at the Royal College of Art. Major solo exhibitions in recent years include ``All natural movements of the soul are governed by laws similar to the law of gravity in matter'' (YUKI-SIS, 2017) and ``Space, Wind, and Landscape'' (MYD Gallery, 2018). ), “Trace of Time in Thought” (Northern Print, 2018), etc. Exhibited in "Enchanting Japanese Woodblock Prints" (Yokohama Museum of Art, 2014).
The first half started with a lecture in which the artists introduced their creative activities to date.
Mr. Mizuno began his creative career by photographing the landscapes he encounters on a daily basis with a video camera, as if sketching them. From the beginning, I have been interested in the ``virtual images'' reflected on the water surface, and have created works using a fixed-point observation method using a fixed video camera.
As a filmmaker, he notes that the production and exhibition of his work is affected by advances in technology, but when the screen changed from 4:3 to high-definition 16:9, he said, ``This reminds me of Japanese paintings.'' "It's the angle of view image," he said.
Mr. Mizuno was strongly attracted to Monet's work when he saw ``Water Lilies'' exhibited at the Chichu Art Museum in Naoshima. By confronting the work in a simple, white space bathed in natural light, I realized that the appearance of the work fluctuated as time and light changed, and I wondered, ``Is this what Monet wanted to do?'' and ``I couldn't do it myself.'' "I wonder?" he thought.
Mr. Yuasa is a printmaker who has been active in various countries around the world, starting with studying abroad in London after graduating from art school. Even when creating large-scale works, he does not use a press, but instead focuses on carving the woodblocks and using a baren to print one version at a time.
The works, in which images taken as photographs are engraved onto woodblocks, and the colors are changed little by little while imagining the changes over time, and then printed over and over again, are reminiscent of Monet's world.
``I go to various places, see the scenery, take pictures, and create works. Sometimes it's a hassle to go out (lol), but I can't create works unless I go to various places. Even if the location changes, the method remains the same, but perhaps I need to change something within myself.''
The second half was a discussion facilitated by the chief curator, Shintaro Matsunaga.
MatsunagaThis time, we asked both of you to exhibit new works based on the keyword ``Monet.'' Do you feel that there is a ``relationship'' between your own creations and Monet? Please tell us your honest impressions after actually visiting the exhibition venue.
MizunoThis time, I used an audio guide, which is unusual for me, and I was able to learn about Monet's life story, which was a great benefit. It seems that Monet was drawn to the scenes he happened to encounter and often worked on series of works in the places he liked, and I thought, ``I guess I'm the same way.'' I feel that Monet's way of thinking is more like that of a photographer or filmmaker than a painter. Rather than realistically depicting the actual landscape, I think he was trying to express the information he captured visually.
MatsunagaThe media called ``image'' was born in 1895. Monet pursued the expression of time within the medium of painting, and this may have led to the series of works he began working on from the 1880s. Is it possible to express the passage of time and the resulting changes in color through painting? In the process of pursuing this, a new medium called video appeared, but instead of using it, I expressed the motif of water lilies while being conscious of the temporal experience imprinted on our physical senses. Looking at Monet's work may be similar to seeing images on a large screen.
Yuasa: I don't like Paris because there are so many people there (lol), but the only thing I liked was the Musée de l'Orangerie. As you all know, this museum was created to display large decorative paintings of ``Water Lilies.'' When I saw ``Water Lilies'' here, I felt that it was more like an installation than a flat surface. The space itself is an art, and I really like this place.
I myself want to be particular about flat surfaces, so I can empathize with Monet's worldview of pursuing flat surfaces.
MatsunagaIn this exhibition, we tried to create a one-on-one relationship between the artists, ``Monet versus a contemporary artist.'' As I went around the venue again, I realized how much fun it was to connect and compare works by contemporary artists, rather than Monet's. Therefore, I would like to ask both of them about their impressions of each other's work.
The two have a common technique of creating colors by mixing RGB, or the three primary colors of red, green, and blue. Although prints and videos are different media, what do you think about the fact that they use the same process to create images?
Yuasa : I think we certainly have something in common. Prints and photography have the same origin and can be said to belong to the same family tree as media. However, the crucial difference from photographs and videos is that once the size of a print is determined, it cannot be changed. Photos and videos can be resized using a screen or monitor, although some adjustments are required. But with prints, if you want to make a 10 meter piece, you have to carve 10 meters. The larger it is, the longer it will take. And for me, I feel that the process, the time itself, is important.
On the other hand, the video is shot after going to the location and making preparations, so I think it is a work that is strongly related to time.
When I saw Yuasa Mizuno's print work called ``RGB'' using a light box, I remembered, ``This is what LCD TVs used to look like.'' That's an interesting phenomenon. The human eye has a high ability to process information, so we try to associate it with things we have seen before. I'm a filmmaker, so I guess it looked like an LCD TV.
MatsunagaI just realized that you both started out with monochrome works. This time, I wanted to highlight the connection between them and Monet, a painter of color, but what kind of creative changes took place that led to the addition of color to their works?
Yuasa :I'm not very good at using colors, so at first I didn't know how to use them. I thought it would be possible if I decided on some rules and a method, so I first tried using CMYK printing ink. The idea was good, but it was quite difficult to do it with water-based woodblock prints. With inkjet digital printers, the ink colors are predetermined, but with water-based woodblock prints, you have to mix the colors yourself. It took some time to figure out how thickly the layers should be layered. However, by establishing this method, we were finally able to use color. It feels like the spell has been lifted.
MizunoI still prefer monochrome to color. The images we usually watch are in color, but this was replaced with black and white, meaning the unnecessary information was removed, and this was the first black and white work I created. Since I photograph reflections, I was interested in the impression that by removing unnecessary information, a virtual image can look like a real image.
However, if you keep making things in monochrome, you will get tired of it, or rather, it will become monotonous. To overcome this problem, I started making color works.
Matsunaga :I think we were able to express diversity in this exhibition. When you look at contemporary art, you may find yourself thinking, ``I understand this,'' or ``This doesn't make sense.'' However, it is natural for there to be diversity based on individual sensibilities, and that is what the art world is all about. I believe that the role of museums is to allow for multiple perspectives and to present the existence of different points of view. This is what I wanted to express with the catchphrase for this exhibition, ``The new Monet I find,'' so I hope you will use this exhibition as an opportunity to find ``your Monet.''
Thank you for today.
《Information about the next artist talk》
Date and time July 29th (Sun) 14:00-15:30 *Doors open 13:30
Venue: Yokohama Museum of Art Circular Forum
Artists on stage: Kouseki Ono, Mao Kodama
Interviewer: Shintaro Matsunaga (Chief Curator, Yokohama Museum of Art)
Capacity: 80 people (no advance application required, first come first served)
Participation fee free
Monet The next 100 years
Exhibition period: Until September 24, 2018 (Monday, Shinkyu)
Venue: Yokohama Museum of Art
Closed: Thursdays (open on August 16th)
Opening hours: 10:00-18:00 *Until 20:30 on September 14th (Friday) and 15th (Saturday)
(Admission is allowed until 30 minutes before closing)
