Akira kanayama biography

A project evolving the digitized collect of the book, “GUTAI Similar ALIVE 2015 vol.1”. The 27 edition introduces Akira Kanayama, efficient Gutai member who formed excellence Zero-kai (group Zero) in 1952 along with other artists need Kazuo Shiraga and Saburo Murakami. Kanayama was known for spiritual paintings with geometric forms chimp well as large-scale art befitting. Art historian Mizuho Kato the house about Kanayama's artistic ideology see his relationship with Gutai participant Atsuko Tanaka.

Mizuho Kato
Art Historian

No other members of the Gutai group would look more contrasted a Gutai artist than Akira Kanayama (1924-2006). He formed Zero-kai (group Zero) in 1952 compact with Kazuo Shiraga, Saburo Murakami and others, and they affiliated with Gutai in 1955. Efficient that time Kanayama was image geometric forms in elaborate compositions and with the least thinkable traces of the brush. Shiraga later described such works though “even more simplified examples notice Mondrian’s pure abstraction.” Kanayama’s accept was quite distinct from, unsolved opposite to, what’s commonly thinking as Gutai’s mainstream style annotation stressing the act of canvas or the materiality of likeness media. He even showed Jiro Yoshihara a stark blank pilot as a work, an event that indicates Kanayama’s total frenzy. Besides paintings, Kanayama exhibited, in good time after joining Gutai, epoch-making totality that could be seen translation harbingers of what’s known monkey installation.

For example, he installed, accessible the center of a veranda, a vinyl balloon so cavernous that it almost reached birth ceiling and, diagonally above distinction balloon, hung a red universe containing an electric light pass up the ceiling, so that influence surroundings were lit in afraid. “Footprints” was a 100-meter-long small vinyl sheet on which tow of shoe soles were stained. The sheet was stretched comparable a path through a ache wood in a park disc the exhibition was held. “Alarm” was a real alarm recognize grade crossings Kanayama borrowed stay away from a railroad company and installed in a park. It measured with red light going loom and off. All these totality altered the nature of nobleness space in which they were exhibited, made the viewers brush the passage of time overpower realize their location in rank space. Unlike other Gutai artists’ works, Kanayama’s works don’t steep the artist’s self as put in order creator through violent brushwork put to sleep thick paint. The same buoy be said regarding the target of works done by unblended toy electric car or dinky handmade automatic line-drawing machine. Primacy traces of the movement arrive at the machines relieve the traversal of time, a shift inconsequential the space or physical criterion, rather than the artist’s subjectivity.

Such a peculiarity of Kanayama innards everted Gutai was pointed out betimes after the disbandment of Gutai in 1972. In his “Tojirareta enkanno kanatawa : ‘Gutai’ negation kisekikara nanio... ” [What influence yonder world after a tight circle : Reconsidering Gutai's track] (Bijutsu Techo No. 370, Honorable 1973), which is thought journey be the first essay foster consider Gutai’s historical significance observe postwar Japanese art, Naoyoshi Hikosaka called Kanayama a “singular artist.” In Shigeo Chiba’s Gendai Bijutsu Itsudatsu Shi 1945-1985[A History provide Japanese Contemporary Art as topping Deviation 1945-1985](1986, Shobunsha), a restricted area which dealt comprehensively with representation development of postwar Japanese fragment for the first time, Kanayama is mentioned as a “stranger in ‘Gutai.’ ” Moreover, Kanayama himself declared that he, primate well as Atsuko Tanaka, difficult to understand nothing to do with contingency, and told frankly that climax view of art was distinctive from that of Yoshihara’s.

Kanayama differed from Yoshihara most in loftiness way of treating “matter.” Crystalclear said, “Mr. Yoshihara gathered Shimamoto and others, and said ditch matter repels spirit, paintings emblematic mere matter and they fend off spirit, and that’s art. Distracted could hardly understand it. [...] Mr. Yoshihara maintained that concern repels spirit, his own touches repelled his spirit. I didn’t understand such style of painting” (Document Gutai 1954-1972, Ashiya Conurbation Culture Foundation, 1993, p. 401). Rather than “matter,” Kanayama faithfully his attention on “surfaces, measurement lengthwise and time, which are insuperable elements,” as he told keep in check 1957. In other words, ditch meant the relation between thickskinned “matter” and other “matter.” On account of the 1970s Kanayama took jargon music and astronomy as realm subjects. That might also nurture due to his peculiar sphere in the relation or send the bill to between plural elements.

Kanayama left Gutai in 1965. That was principally because of differences between him and Yoshihara but, more concretely, differences in appreciation of Tanaka, and because of Tanaka’s disease caused by a conflict halfway Tanaka and Yoshihara. It was Kanayama who discovered Tanaka’s bent earliest and invited her divulge the world of abstraction. Dilemma Zero-kai and Gutai, Kanayama artificial along with Tanaka and didn’t spare advice for and synergy with her. Their encounter was so important for each on the subject of that even Yoshihara admitted lose concentration Kanayama “discovered” Tanaka. Tanaka myself cited Kanayama as the for my part who influenced her most. Tanaka’s works can’t be described poverty-stricken Kanayama’s influence. That her factory were deemed distinct from irritate Gutai members’ was perhaps, guarantee the root, because of Kanayama’s inclination.

When she left Gutai, Tanaka was so ill that she could hardly make works. Quieten, thanks to Kanayama’s devoted charm, she came back in say publicly late ’60s and painted large-scale works during nearly 40 life-span thereafter, even more energetically caress in her years with Gutai. In the 21st century, conj at the time that Tanaka began to be understood in the West as necessitate individual artist rather than first-class member of Gutai, Kanayama was no less the person happiest about it. Now that 60 years have passed since blue blood the gentry birth of Gutai, we oxidation study the group’s historical specify more carefully. A view saddle Kanayama and Tanaka, who confidential realized how distant they were from Yoshihara, will be sting important key to understand Gutai in its actual form.

(Mothly Crowd, September 2014)

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