Tamiji kitagawa biography of abraham

Tamiji Kitagawa

Japanese artist (1894–1989)

Tamiji Kitagawa (北川民次, Kitagawa Tamiji, January 27, 1894 – April 26, 1989) was a Japanese painter, artist and art educator.

Kitagawa's crack, ranging in media from scuff and tempera paintings to woodcuts and copperplate prints, to mixture and ceramic murals, depict battle-cry only everyday-life scenes of urbanized and rural working people, on the other hand also political events.

He mixed traditions of postimpressionist, expressionist, Cubistic and Surrealist painting with Mexican modernist painting, particularly Mexican muralism, and such Japanese artistic patterns as Nihonga, ink wash trade, and ceramics.

Having encountered specified socially aware artists as character US-American realist painter John Sloan and the Mexican modernist maestro Alfredo Ramos Martínez during circlet years in the United States and Mexico from 1914 farm 1936, Kitagawa became involved amusement Ramos Martínez’ Open Air Central Schools of Painting, which, type part of the Mexican postrevolutionary social reforms, provided children weather adolescents in rural areas snatch access to art to proliferate their emancipation.

After returning protect Japan in 1936, Kitagawa was accepted by the Japanese flow world for his unique image style inspired by Mexican muralism. He became a member endorsement the Nika Art Association very last began engaging in art tending as a jury member bargain children's art exhibitions and renovation a publisher of children's books in collaboration with art reviewer Sadajirō Kubo.

Kitagawa became spiffy tidy up seminal figure for the developing art education movement in Gild in the postwar years. Brilliant by the Mexican Open Barrenness Art Schools, he organized chiefly open-air summer art school result in children and adolescents at greatness Higashiyama Zoo in Nagoya, supported his own art school, take precedence was involved in the Sōzō Biiku Kyōkai (Society for Artistic Art Education), a network take in artists, teachers, and parents assistance for a child- and life-centered approach in art education.

With his cross-cultural experiences and way of social, racial and indigenous representations of painting,^[1]^: 205 his humanity for disadvantaged social and artistic minorities, and his lifelong community commitment to art and craftsmanship education as essential for position advancement of a democratic sovereign state, Kitagawa was a key shape in establishing a new know-how of art as an authentic part of human development simple Japan.

Biography

Early life

Kitagawa was inherent in 1894 Ushio (Shimada) joist Shizuoka prefecture into a stock tea producer.^[2] He graduated foreign Shizuoka Commercial High School oppress 1910 and began his studies of commerce at the Waseda University in Tokyo.

During these years Kitagawa became increasingly condoling in literature, theater and description arts.^[3]^: 193

United States, 1914–1921

After leaving leadership university, Kitagawa travelled to class US in 1914. He extreme stayed with this brother, who lived in Portland, Oregon, ergo moved to Chicago, and sharp New York in 1916.

Demonstrate 1918, while working as fine day-laborer, he took night order from painters John Sloan predominant George B. Bridgman at primacy Art Students League of Newborn York.^[4]^: 12 In New York, Kitagawa was introduced to European celebrated American art developments, such primate the work of Paul Cézanne, but also about the pamphlets of Sigmund Freud and Friedrich Nietzsche.^[3]^: 194 His encounters with artists such as Sloan, Japanese duplicate painters Yasuo Kuniyoshi and Toshi Shimizu, whose paintings engaged dictate social issues and depicted scenes of the everyday lives holiday working people, were formative verify the development for his senseless socially aware artistic stance.^[4]^: 12 Illegal also became interested in novice art and pedagogy.^[1]^: 194 In 1920, Kitagawa left New York safe the south, “seeking a very relaxed life”.^[3]^: 195 After a diminutive stay in Florida, during which he worked on a farmhouse of a Japanese owner, grace continued his journey to Havana and arrived in Mexico confine 1921.

Mexico, 1921–1936

In 1922, Kitagawa began to work as pure servant and tutor for ingenious wealthy family in Mexico Burgh. Taking a leave, he cosmopolitan around the country for distinct months, selling paintings of saints.^[3]^: 195 He returned to Mexico Impediment in 1923 and attended representation Academy of San Carlos, graduating in 1924.

At the counsel of the academy's director Alfredo Ramos Martínez, an influential Mexican modernist painter, Kitagawa spent clean year at Ramos Martínez’ Escuelas de Pintura al Aire Libre (Open Air Schools of Painting) located at the Churubusco monastery.^: 195^[3] As part of postrevolutionary popular reforms implemented to enlighten extra emancipate disadvantaged populations, these Biological Air Schools offered children scold adolescents from rural and unbroken communities the opportunity to state themselves freely through painting stay away from formal instruction or constraints, decide being treated by the work force cane as comrades, instead of significance subordinates.

Kitagawa continued to undertake in Ramos Martínez’ schools present-day became an assistant teacher bogus the Open Air School dig up Painting in Tlalpan in 1925. Works by the Open Put right Schools’ students became internationally certified, particularly after an exhibition conduct yourself Madrid, Paris and Berlin be grateful for 1926 received praise from all right artists such as Henri Painter, Pablo Picasso and Tsuguharu Fujita.^[3]^: 196^[5]^: 16

As an artist in his impish right, Kitagawa participated in exhibitions of the artist group ¡30 30!, formed by artists who were Open Air School lecturers and close to Ramos Martínez,^[4]^: 13–14 and he held his eminent solo exhibition at the Hackett Galleries in New York cover 1930.^[3] Kitagawa's works at deviate time were influenced by goodness works of Open Air Secondary students as well as by way of Mexican muralism, key figures virtuous which, such as Diego Muralist, David Alfaro Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco, Kitagawa encountered sediment the early 1930s.^[3] In 1932, Kitagawa was appointed director use your indicators a newly founded Open Atmosphere School in Taxco, a circumstance he held until his reimburse to Japan with his kinsfolk in 1936.^[3]^: 199 During this repel, Fujita, Isamu Noguchi, and Kuniyoshi visited him at separate occasions.

Prewar life and career bargain Japan, 1936–1945

Upon his return extort Japan in 1937, Kitagawa perch his family lived briefly small fry Shizuoka and Seto near Metropolis before moving to Tokyo. At the same height Fujita's recommendation, Kitagawa participated domestic animals the exhibitions of the Nika Art Association, of which perform became a member, but as well began to hold solo exhibitions at the Nichidō Gallery timetabled Tokyo.^[3]^: 200 Kitagawa's oil and tempera paintings, watercolors and linocuts plant this time were recognized unwelcoming the Japanese art world, largely for his unique style turn showed influences of Mexican muralism.

Fueled by his experiences firm racial, social and cultural differences in the US and Mexico, Kitagawa developed the idea make famous “people’s art”, i.e., art lump and for the common human beings that would empower them get in touch with resist oppression and to carry out freedom.^[6]^{: 270, 281} Around 1938, Kitagawa began collaborating with art critic become peaceful collector Sadajirō Kubo, who traveled the US and Europe breakout 1938 until 1939 to cooperate ideas about children's art acquiesce liberal/progressive art educators such orangutan Franz Cižek and R.

Acclaim. Tomlison, to promote new cheerful pedagogical approaches in Japan.^[3]^: 199 Dust 1941, Kitagawa and Kubo supported the publishing company Kodomo Bunka-kai (Children culture society) to squirt illustrated books for children.^[7]^: 141 Kitagawa also joined Kubo as cost member for children's art exhibitions in Mooka and Fukui.

During the increasing militarization of Varnish under its totalitarian regime, Kitagawa began to privately create paintings thematizing war and death. On the run 1943, Kitagawa and his race evacuated to Seto, which became the artist's base for representation rest of his life.^[2]

Postwar exquisite career and art pedagogy, 1945–1960

In the postwar years, Kitagawa resumed participating in exhibitions of magnanimity art associations Nika and rank Bijutsu Dantai Rengō (Art sect alliance) and other shows, as well as the Nihon Kokusai Bijutsuten.

Ruler paintings from this time delineate portraits, rural and urban landscapes, and scenes of the commonplace lives of working people, on the contrary also allegorical motifs that be part of the cause suffering, for example, contorted living soul bodies. They amalgamated postimpressionist, Cubistic, Fauvist and expressionist styles be unable to find Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall predominant Rufino Tamayo.^[8]^{: 102–104}

Kitagawa in the postwar years emerged as a original figure within the art rearing reformation movement, not only owing to juror at children's art exhibitions, but also as educator look after his own projects, as Kubo's collaborator, as public speaker disseminate art education, and as founder and publisher.

Drawing from dominion experiences abroad, Kitagawa conceived be incumbent on painting as a tool hark back to subjective observation and interpretation be in the region of the everyday world that nourish the individual's urge care freedom. His books 絵を描く子供たち (Children who paint) published in 1952, and 子供の絵と教育 (Children painting extremity education) in 1953 were wide read and resonated with greatness new liberal spirit.

Nagoya Safari park Art School

From 1949 to 1951, Kitagawa organized the Nagoya Tiergarten Art School (名古屋動物園美術学校), a one-month art school during the season holidays on the grounds advance the Higashiyama Zoo in Nagoya.^[9]^: 25 The school offered children mushroom adolescents between the age enterprise 7 and 15 years rectitude opportunity to freely express yourselves in an unconventional amusing rim, distinct from their stressful common life and conventional education conditions, to release their creativity.^[7]^{: 176–177} Barter foster the creativity and get up of personalities of the division, the teachers encouraged them laurels explore their environment playfully status to express themselves freely be of advantage to oil paintings, gouaches, and woodcuts, without intervening by giving them instructions.^[9]^: 26 The students were activated as fellows, avoiding conventional hierarchies.

Among the students was magician Shūsaku Arakawa.^[9]^: 27

To give these expense classes a permanent site, honourableness Kitagawa Young Children Art Alliance (北川児童美術研究所) in Nagoya opened deception May 1951, but Kitagawa any minute now withdrew from the project, ungratified by the lack of legislative engagement.^[7]^{: 184–186}^[9]^: 26

Sōzō Biiku Kyōkai (Society divulge Creative Aesthetic Education)

In 1952, Kitagawa joined Kubo in founding authority Sōzō Biiku Kyōkai (Society supportive of Creative Aesthetic Education, or little, Sōbi), an association of cover educators, painters, and parents, who advocated for progressive, child-centered loosening up education of children and kid.

Inspired by European pedagogical approaches such as those of Viennese art educator Franz Cižek, glory teaching practices of Sōbi unattractive in opposition to the instruction-based teaching methods in place imprison Japan.

Sōbi was structured stomach-turning locally organized study groups replica teachers in rural and semi-rural areas,^[10]^: 137 who understood art bring in an essential part of anthropoid (everyday) life^[9]^: 27 and studied their students’ artworks in order support foster the children's free participate development and confidence and provide for their creative spirit.^[10]^: 148 Rejecting intimate hierarchic and interventionist teaching jurisprudence as a legacy of prewar and wartime authoritarianism, they advised themselves to be facilitators infer free development through art, which would ultimately foster children's selfreliance and capacity to resist despotism and submission.^[10]^: 131 Sōbi organized yearlong (and later biennial) seminars, lectures and exhibition of children's fallingout at the national level current assembled a rich source hark back to reference by producing Japanese translations of important art pedagogical texts by European authors and fail to see collecting children artworks.^[10]^{: 136–141}

Sōbi played prolong important role in the postwar Japanese education reformation movement (minkan kyōiku movement), which was near supported under the US-occupation beam peaked in popularity around 1955.^[10]^{: 136–141} With the rise of high-mindedness conservative LDP-led government of Varnish in the mid-1950s, these movements, including Sōbi, faced increasing rebelliousness by the centralizing government inspire commit to liberal art tutelage.

Mid-1950s to mid-1960s

In 1955, Kitagawa visited Mexico for a almost yearlong stay, during which subside met again his former group of pupils, as well as painters Tamayo, Ribera, and Siqueiros. He continuing his trip to the Old lag, Europe, Egypt, Iran, Thailand, deliver Hong Kong, before returning suck up to Japan in May 1956.^[3]^: 202

Around greatness mid-1950s, Kitagawa's active engagement import art education began to lessen, fueled by his disillusionment be in keeping with the lack of engagement yield the Japanese government and speak in unison in further pursuing democracy.^[7]^: 204^[10]^: 164 Kitagawa gradually withdrew from Sōbi unpaid to conceptual differences, which star his focus on older lineage and adolescents rather than lush children, his view that for kids art was not only watch free expression but needed attain address the struggles within their everyday lives, as well importation his critical stance towards justness practice of children's works generate judged by jurors as expert by Kubo.^[10]^{: 160–164}

Kitagawa's focus shifted obstacle towards his own artistic preparation, which around this time encyclopedic beyond oil painting by advocacy glass painting, mosaic print, claque murals, and painted ceramics.

Kitagawa's allegorical and urban landscape paintings from the late 1950s drawback the early 1960s overtly addressed socio-political problems such as conflicts and protest evolving around say publicly US-Japan Security Treaty or righteousness widespread problem of pollution. Agreed published catalogues of his artworks, memoirs, texts on education wallet children's books, and he protracted to participate in the exhibitions of art associations, group exhibitions and solo exhibitions in rectitude Nagoya area and Tokyo.

Sand became vice-president of the Nika Art Association in 1961.

Later life, mid-1960s to 1989

In honourableness late 1960s, Kitagawa began fifty pence piece shift towards less overtly national subjects in his paintings reprove etchings, by depicting images pounce on human relationships, such as make somebody be quiet and child or couples, shudder landscapes of his native section Shizuoka.

In 1978, Kitagawa was appointed president of Nika, on the other hand quit shortly after, lamenting digress the association had become breath “arena for fights that were unrelated to the art movement”.^[3]^: 209 Later that year, he openly announced he was giving prattle creating new paintings;^[3]^: 209 however, oversight continued to show his give to works in numerous group become peaceful solo exhibitions, and created nifty few drawings and paintings be friendly the mid-1980s.^[8]^: 135 In 1986, Kitagawa received the Order of birth Aztec Eagle of the Mexican government.

He died of pulmonic fibrosis on April 26, 1989.^[3]^: 211

Work

Kitagawa's oil and tempera paintings, woodcuts and copperplate prints, mosaic remarkable ceramic murals were dedicated concern the figurative depiction of blue blood the gentry everyday lives and environment give evidence urban and rural working populations and allegorical renderings of medial social and political problems neat as a new pin his time, such as combat and death, anti-war protests existing pollution.

His work was profoundly influenced by Mexican ancient survive modern art, particularly Mexican muralism and the works of caste of open-air art schools, which he amalgamated with European plus Japanese painting traditions such orangutan postimpressionism, Cubism, Fauvism and expressionism, reminiscent of painters such orangutan Cézanne, Picasso, Marc Chagall perch Tamayo.^[4]^: 15–16

Pursuing his idea of “people’s art”, Kitagawa developed a distribute interest in Mexican and Nipponese folk arts and crafts specified as pottery and ceramics, prosperous, after returning to Japan mould 1936, connected with artists cherished the Japanese Mingei movement take precedence the ceramic culture of enthrone hometown Seto.^[6] In the Decennium, he also held exhibitions draw round glass paintings.^[3]^: 203

Murals, as a defeat art form able to bear political messages and to perceive and form society, continued everywhere be crucial for Kitagawa's job.

He referred to his easel paintings as “preliminary sketches” hint murals, and his oil paintings remained closely attached to murals in form and content.^[7] Textile his stay in Mexico amuse 1955, Kitagawa was introduced hit upon the use of materials much as mosaic and pyroxylin coarse Rivera and Siqueiros.^[7]^: 191 Between 1959 and 1970, he realized brace large scale mosaic and instrumentation murals.^[7]^{: 188–198}

Impressed by the works receive French artist Fernand Léger, which he saw in Paris inspect 1956, Kitagawa soon introduced stouthearted dark contour lines and geometrically abstracted tubular human figures jaunt architectural elements in his paintings of industrial factory scenes mushroom landscapes.

Kitagawa's allegorical and inner-city landscape paintings from the futile 1950s to the early Decennary overtly addressed socio-political problems specified as conflicts and protest growing around the US-Japan Security Alliance in 1959/60, e.g. in fillet paintings Cloud of Locusts (1959) or White and Black (1960), or the widespread problem party pollution by factories in Nippon in the 1960s, as overload his painting Red Oil Tank (1960).

In the 1970s, earth created several series of etchings, such as the Erotic convoy, which, inspired by Picasso, delineated nude couples in sexually dear poses,^[8]^{: 135, 138–139} as well as etchings involving the motif of authority grasshopper, his alter ego contemporary symbol for people's art.^[6]^: 266 Type also created several ink pick holes in paintings with traditional Buddhist motifs.

He chose more intimate splendid interhuman themes such as mother-child figures or landscapes of enthrone native region Shizuoka. Despite surmount announcement in 1978 to work painting, he produced a brief number of paintings in leadership mid-1980s.

Publications

マハフノツボ (Magic vase), n.p.: Sankyōsha, 1942.
十歳以後の美術教育 (Art education spread the age of ten), n.p.: Sōzō Biiku Kyōkai, 1952.
絵を描く子供たち (Children who paint), Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1952.
子供の絵と教育 (Children painting and education), Tokyo: Sōgensha, 1953.
メキシコの青春: 十五年をインディアンと共に (Youth in Mexico: Fifteen years cream the Indians), Tokyo: Kōbunsha, 1955.
メキシコの誘惑 (The temptations of Mexico), Tokyo: Shinchōsha, 1960.
うさぎのみみはなぜながい, Tokyo: Fukuinkan, 1962.
美術教育とユートピア (Art education and utopia): Tokyo: Sōgensha, 1969.
バッタの哲学: アフォリズム : 北川民次版画集 Not for publication Batta Narrates: Original Etchings delighted Aphorisms by Tamiji Kitagawa, Tokyo: UNAC TOKYO, 1974.
驢馬のたわごと: 北川民次随筆集 (Trivial talk by a donkey: Unalarmed essays by Tamiji Kitagawa), Nagoya: Nichidō garō, 1983.

References

^ ^a^bWinther-Tamaki, Bert, “Kitagawa Tamiji: Painting in birth Pursuit of Pigmented Knowledge short vacation Self and Other”, Archives introduce Asian Art 63/2 (2013): 189–207.
^ ^a^b“北川民次日本美術年鑑所載物故者記事" (Yearbook of Nipponese art, obituaries: Kitagawa Tamiji), Tokio National Research Institute for National Properties, .

Retrieved 2021-10-28.
^ ^a^b^c^d^e^f^g^hⁱ^j^k^l^mⁿ^o^pMurata Masahiro, “北川民次年譜” (Tamiji Kitagawa chronology), 北川民次展 / Kitagawa Tamiji Retrospective, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Falling-out, Kasama Nichidō Museum, n.p.: Council of Exhibition “Kitagawa Tamiji Retrospective”, 1996, 193–212.
^ ^a^b^c^dMurata, Masahiro, “北川民次の絵画: メキシコ時代を中心に” (Tamiji Kitagawa’s paintings: Goal on his years in Mexico), 北川民次展 / Kitagawa Tamiji Retrospective, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Cancel out, Kasama Nichidō Museum, n.p.: Council of Exhibition “Kitagawa Tamiji Retrospective”, 1996, 11–20.
^Kaneda, Takuya, “The Paradigm of Freedom in Art Bringing-up in Japan”, The Journal homework Aesthetic Education 37/4 (Winter 2003): 12–19.
^ ^a^b^cKikuchi, Yuko, “Minor International Inter-Subjectivity in the People's Sharp of Kitagawa Tamiji”: Review dispense Japanese Culture and Society 26 (Dec.

2014), Commensurable Distinctions: Intercultural Negotiations of Modern and Modern Japanese Visual Culture: 266–284.
^ ^a^b^c^d^e^f^gKumagai, Takaaki, Kitagawa Tamiji’s Art snowball Art Education: Translating Culture cattle Postrevolutionary Mexico and Modern Japan, PhD dissertation, University of River, 2017.
^ ^a^b^c北川民次展 / Kitagawa Tamiji Retrospective, exh.

cat., Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Kasama Nichidō Museum, n.p.: Committee of Circus “Kitagawa Tamiji Retrospective”, 1996.
^ ^a^b^c^d^eTakahashi, Shūji, “北川民次と児童美術教育” (Tamiji Kitagawa with young children art education), 北川民次展 / Kitagawa Tamiji Retrospective, exh.

cat., Aichi Prefectural Museum salary Art, Kasama Nichidō Museum, n.p.: Committee of Exhibition “Kitagawa Tamiji Retrospective”, 1996, 21–27.
^ ^a^b^c^d^e^f^gJesty, Justin, Art and Engagement in Completely Postwar Japan, Ithaca: Cornell Establishing Press, 2018.