Magcal is on the move! "SIMONDOLL Yotsuya Simon" Exhibition

I had the honor of participating in the preview of the "SIMONDOLL Yotsuya Simon" exhibition, which will be held at the Sogo Museum of Art from Saturday, May 31st to Sunday, July 6th!
In this exhibition, you can see 46 dolls, ranging from early works to the latest creations.
As someone who had always wanted to see something in real life at least once, it was such a spectacular sight that it made me want to jump for joy.
The dolls I've only seen in books are right in front of me... I'm so impressed!!

"Sisters" 2012, Artist's Collection

Having experienced this exhibition, all I can say with all my heart is that you have to see it for yourself.
Simon's dolls are made with a lot of thought. Simon makes them while thinking.
There is a strong sense that the crystal is right in front of you, and it seems as if how you interpret it and feel about it is entirely up to you.
I would like you to experience the presence of the works, silently and gracefully standing in the dimly lit venue.

I think it's okay to have no preconceptions or knowledge.
This is because Simon himself continues to ask himself, "What is a doll?" as he creates his works, so it is not even clear whether the work in front of you is a "doll".
"Hmm, what exactly is a doll?" I ponder, while simply becoming entranced by the mystically beautiful artwork.
Just that alone makes me feel like "SIMONDOLL" is throwing something back at me.
We were also blessed with the dream opportunity to interview Simon directly at the preview, so we will also report on our conversation.

From the exhibition

Q: This was the first time I was able to see the real dolls up close, and I was curious about the earrings. Why do you put earrings on the girls that are out of proportion to the size of their faces?

Yotsuya : I don't think about anything outside of the doll, it's just the doll.
So the bare minimum is what they should wear, for example, a wristwatch for a boy doll.
It's just my personal opinion that earrings on girls are cuter than necklaces.
The things the dolls are wearing are the same size as humans would wear, and yet they don't look out of place. They're cute when they're a little too big.

Girl Doll (detail) 2008, Kamada Kyosai Kai Public Interest Foundation

Q: Is there any intention behind dolls that are not wearing clothes and only have shoes on?

Yotsuya : Does making them wear shoes mean that they are "cut off from contact with the outside world"?
The toes are the very tip of a human being, and by putting shoes on them as a part of the body, the doll comes into existence as a doll, and a world of its own is created.
Of course, even if she doesn't wear shoes and is barefoot, she still functions as a doll.
In my own imagination, I thought, "Oh, it melts. That doesn't seem right."

Q: Is it the intention for the dolls in the boxes to also be cut off from contact with the outside world?

Yotsuya : I like things like specimen boxes. Like a world that exists through a cold pane of glass. Like a show window, for example.
Something hard and transparent, and the world that exists through it... It's not something so grandiose. Well, maybe a specimen box.

Q: Your work is different from the "box works" of Joseph Cornell.
It certainly seemed like a "box" that existed because of the doll.

Yotsuya : There is the Angel series. I wanted to play around with pasting letters and making collages, and I needed a setting for that, so I made a box. I guess it's a little different from the Guard.

The collage mentioned in the story, Love in Front of Me 2 (detail), 1995, Kamada Kyosai Kai, Public Interest Foundation

Q: There were several male dolls with black hair, but I couldn't find a single female doll with black hair.
Do you hate black hair?

Yotsuya : When it comes to girl dolls, there is an image attached to them, like the nursery rhyme, "The doll with the blue eyes."
Maybe I'm just embodying the blond, blue-eyed, French doll that they call "a French doll."
When you give a girl black hair, it brings out something very strong, the color tone and all that.
If you have blonde or light-colored hair, no matter how much you have, it feels fluffy and weightless.
I have never made a doll of a girl with black hair.

Simon Yotsuya answering questions during an interview

Simon-san always had a warm smile on his face and asked me if I answered correctly! It was wonderful. It was only a short 10 minutes, but it was a rich and light-hearted experience. It was such a precious experience that I wanted to lock the specimen in a specimen box and look at it again and again. Thank you so much.

AO
Based in Tokyo
Tokyo Zokei University, Painting major
I'm growing pea sprouts.