Cy Twombly
His paintings are very vogue and don't understand what it tells when I see his paintings at the first time. I think the most important thing in his paintings is Line. I just always get lots of energy and power from the line in his painting. It is because it tells a story. Telling something poem from his paintings. Since I was thinking I want to make something which express my emotion through photography. My emotion is very up and down. My emotion is always running fast speed and aggressive sometime. Also last last year, in May I went to his exhibition at Hara museum in Tokyo. and There was interesting performance at the gallery. Contemporary dancer Mistake Takei did performance which inspired by Cy Twombly painting. Performance was amazing. It put focus on emotion through contemporary dance. then I thought how I can translate into visual language? Therefore I decided to get inspiration for this project from Suma(1982) and Bacchus(2006-2008).
Exhibition at Hara museum Performance art Mistake Takei
When I went to the department store, I found this traditional Japanese ceramic. The ceramic of the colour reminds me Moss. and also Red colour really match together. This was the starter of colour inspiration.
Colour inspiration Kabuki
I went to see Japanese classic theatre which is called Kabuki in Tokyo. Trade mark of Kabuki colours is Orange(Red) and white and black and green. The reason why I got inspired by Kabuki colour is using colour of classic theatre also express Japan's atmosphere in a photography. Because for us, classic theatre is still very important and we are very care of it. Therefore Kabuki express Japan in a special way. I am the only Japanese person in my class therefore I wanted to make something special and something only I can do.
Green colour, it is a dark blue-green tinged with ash. It was a dark grayish blue used in the raincoat Kansei year of Edo, Kyokaku popular Matsumoto Koshiro IV was killed in the “tin forest people”, grouper Sui Institute Chobe. The color name “Korea” is pointing the trade name of his “Koraiya”. However, this color became a fashionable color read the reputation I am from getting to five world. XV Koshiro He has been active over the Tempo from Bunsei culture, it seems was popular in the Edo is called self-respect Koshiro later.
Kaki colour, is a vivid dark orange color, such as the persimmon fruit. it is the color name in a long time, but there are four types of color only be referred to as a “Kaki colour” to bite, color of the two-dyed in the colors of the system and the persimmon named after the real color of persimmon divided into system.
The Kaki colour of the actual color of the lineage of persimmon, general color swatch “Kaki colour”. And, dark reddish reminiscent of the fruit of ripe persimmon “Terigaki”. This Terigaki-iro is for short called “Kaki-iro”.
On the other hand, as a system of color was dyed, et al. In the persimmon, the name also has a color name “Kakishibu-colour”, was called “Kaki-colour” here even for short. It is called “Kaki-colour” from further in the kabuki term brown “Naritaya”, known as “Danjurocha” was also dyed with persimmon juice and red pattern.
In this way there are four types of commonly known as “Kaki-colour”, the Edo period previously “Kaki-colour” Speaking of which points to the only Kaki-iro of persimmon juice, reddish orange that dull named after the fruit of the persimmon but, it is not clear what time since I came to be called “Kaki-colour”.
By the way, the medieval warrior priest who had been trained in the costume of Kaki-colour, because there is a waterproof effect to the persimmon, Will had been dyed so as not to wet clothes when over the fields and mountains.
The Keshizumi-colour, is a dark gray orange Daidaimi such as Keshizumi. Of charcoal, which put out the fire, and thus represents the color of charcoal that appears when skip a thin ash. Gray close to black, but not the deep black as “Sumi-icolour”, is a color close if anything to “Usuzumi-iro”.
The Keshizumi disappeared in the middle of a fire of burning firewood, is that of soft coal. Even today from good fire with once burning is used as an ignition source in such camps. Both Ukizumi.
In addition, “the fire is likely to occur” through it “easy to anger, angry people,” that is also used as a slang called a “short-tempered person”.
Keshizumi-colour is probably because it is not seen in the literature of the old, it’s color name from the Meiji era.
These are main Japanese traditional Kabuki colour and I want to play with them for this project. Since I decided to express emotion and inspired by Cy Twombly, I decided to use Kaki colour for main colour. and use green and Keshizumi-colour for landscape. and make atmosphere of my country Japan.
These painting which is called Ukiyoe are also used by those 3 colour. Colour express country and culture. I can say Those colour is a symbol of Japan.
Shoji Ueda
Shoji Ueda was a photographer of Tottori, Japan, who combined surrealist compositional elements with realistic depiction. Most of the work for which Ueda is widely known was photographed within a strip of about 350 km running from Igumi to Hagi.
His is the most favourite photographer in the world fro me !!! For this project, I decided to get inspiration the method of his photography which is called "MA". There is no translation in English but If I can translate, let say MA is the balance between GAP and SPACE and PAUSE. It is very simple Japanese aesthetic sense and very important for us in daily life. I think that's why most of Japanese design and art have minimal style and we create it without noticing. For instance, Mitsuki Tosa who is the painter in Edo period, one of the book he wrote said that Art is how to play(make use of) blank space like poem. There is a blank space which is not drawn. We want to communicate our thoughts without saying directly and try to feel poem from it. It is also I can say about music of Kabuki. Generally western music have regular rhyme but Kabuki music is not like that. It depends on breather and signature pose of performer the rhyme change which means "MA" how to take a pause is important. The important thing is "MA" is the concept of space but also time. Then I put focus on landscape on a photography. How I can a make a blank space and play with landscape. From his photography, always with huge nature landscape. Play wind, wave, sunlight. It is normal thing for us in daily life. Everyday we see sunlight, rain, wave, and feel wind but we don't really think about where it comes from, and end. Photography have a power to tell it. and tell a story of daily normal thing. Also his photography is kinds of surrealism which express aspect of mysterious thing in real world. When I take a photoshoot, I really have to taking about "MA". Using landscape and nature like sunlight and wind, and express emotion suing human.
René François Ghislain Magritte
René François Ghislain Magritte was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well known for a number of witty and thought-provoking images. Often depicting ordinary objects in an unusual context, his work is known for challenging observers' preconditioned perceptions of reality. His imagery has influenced pop, minimalist and conceptual art.
link from here
Shoji Ueda's photography reminds me Surrealism where I wrote above. Magritte is the one of the most famous of Surrealism painter. and Lots of photographer inspired from his painting such as Viviane Sassen for instance. The interesting is how he put subject on a image. The balance is literally perfect. Because of the way of using the blank space.
Above this image, make me very interesting. Because I cannot see the model(Thie painting is called self portrait therefore probably Magritte himself). as a human, I think if there is something in front of us but are not able to see, which make us interesting. Like this technique lead to us conflict between visible things and invisible things. When I make plan for shooting, I want to references from this picture but not in a same way.
Above this painting, It reminds me back Shouji Ueda. Using huge nature landscape and playing "MA". Very beautiful.
Viviane Sassen
For this project, I use reference of posing from her photography. Posing of the models are dramatic but not from their face. I can feel the story from their posing and the way of using the colour rather than expression(face looking). Also her photography is always using landscape but it is not real life. more like The world of fantasy in unreal life but obvious to see.( which is I can say the balance between realism and abstract unrealism) The common thing with Shouji Ueda and Magritte is her photography is also Schul and meditative.
Since I decided to use this above Kimono for main colour, I was thinking how I can combine traditional clothes with fashion photography. But Also I was thinking I don't really care of fashion photography. Fashion is not the main thing for my project. It is one of the element of the thing I want to express. and also I was thinking how I can create styling with kimono in a contemporary way. Kimono's colour is red and landscape colour will be 2 colour. Therefore I decided to use white colour for styling except kimono which emphasize emotion, Cy Twombly.
Place
After I decided to use red(orange) and green and brown for this project, I walked many places in Tokyo to look for photoshoot.
Place: Hongou
Ichiyou Higuchi who is Japan's first prominent woman writer of modern times used to live here in a short period. I was looking for place and read tourist book of Tokyo and found this place. When I visited this place, I immidetly decided to use this place for photoshoot. Because there are tall buildings stand on the plateau, and low-rise buildings are concentrated in the lowlands. The buildings's skyline serves to emphasise the undulations of the land. and also Since the transition between the plateau and the lowlands is articulated by cliffs, the city itself is discontinuous. this made it very mysterious and even all buildings are same colour which is brown however the colours of each buildings create different atmosphere and colour even though actually the colours are same.(example all buildings colour are brown but All of them create different atmosphere and colour and texture.) Also when I visited here for the first time, it was sunny and admit light into this space. It was very beautiful. therefore I decided to take photoshoot in this area.