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Hidenori YAMAGUCHI
Reviews
Written by Satoshi KOGANEZAWA   
Published: July 15 2009

fig. 1 "Vacuous and Homogeneous Time” (2009); Shihon-saishoku, 41.0cm×27.3cm, courtesy of SHINSEIDO HATANAKA, copy right(c) Hidenori YAMAGUCHI

fig.2 "Town Story” (2009); Shihon-suiboku, 27.3cm×45.5cm, courtesy of SHINSEIDO HATANAKA, copy right(c) Hidenori YAMAGUCHI

fig. 3 “Promise” (2009); Shihon-saishoku, 33.3cm×53.0cm, courtesy of SHINSEIDO HATANAKA, copy right(c) Hidenori YAMAGUCHI

     Paintings classified as “miniature suiboku-ga” - I feel like describing Hidenori Yamaguchi’s works like that. Let me give you two examples of his creations. In the works entitled “Vacuous and Homogeneous Time” (Shihon-saishoku 41.0cm×27.3cm, 2009) [fig. 1] and “Town Story” (Shihon-suiboku, 27.3cm×45.5cm, 2009) [fig. 2], in which urban scenery is depicted in detail, Yamaguchi drew the scenery to resemble miniatures by using a gradation technique on all sides, right and left, and up and down, and drawing particularly elaborately in the narrow center space. Yamaguchi said that, in the former, he “depicted various kinds of things flooding towns, such as signs, transportation and so on, ordering them at my own discretion”.*1 Nevertheless, it seems to be quite difficult to consider them as suiboku-ga unless we look at them with our own eyes, which reminds us of a set of photographs taken by the photographer, Naoki Honjyo. Excluding the difference of classification, i.e. one is a suiboku-ga and the other is a photo, I find a clear synchronicity between Yamaguchi’s suiboku-ga and Honjyo’s photographs included in a photo collection entitled “small planet” (Little More),*2 in which Honjyo took pictures of real scenes but made them look like miniatures by using very narrow shots.

     Not all of Yamaguchi’s creations are similar to those of Honjyo, but I dare to focus on and refer to the synchronicity between them. So, what is the difference between Yamaguchi’s suiboku-ga and Honjyo’s photos? Honjyo emphasizes the imaginariness of cities in his pictures by taking shots of them in a way that makes them look like miniatures, while in Yamaguchi’s paintings, we find no such critical perspective of cities. This seems to be the difference between them. It can be said that Yamaguchi only reproduces trivial things from our daily lives which he is interested in, such as cities, plants, Ferris wheels, animals and plants, all of which were drawn in the works displayed in this exhibition, by using his main technique of ink painting. Particularly, the “Promise” (Shihon-saishoku, 33.3cm×53.0cm, 2009) [fig. 3], in which clover leaves are depicted, makes viewers recognize his concern about common things. Regarding this work, it is said that among these dense clover leaves, some four-leaf clovers, which are known as symbols of fortune, were drawn. The clover leaves depicted in this painting give us an impression of proximity, as if we are standing so close to them that we can grasp them, even though there is a large distance between them and us, and even though Yamaguchi did not use the gradation technique in this painting. Thus, this work can also be considered as a miniature suiboku-ga.

     What I must point out here is that most artists in the field of suiboku-ga usually do not choose common things, which we often see in our daily lives, as subjects of their works, which makes us consider Yamaguchi as a peculiar artist within this area. As sansui-zu has had a great influence on the history of suiboku-ga, Japanese ink, which is used to create rich and varied colors because of its dark and light coloring and the various ways it can be used, has been considered to be a great material for expressing a broad and deep world. It seems that suiboku-ga has been created to depict religious doctrine, great admiration for unknown lands, or a ferocious nature. Therefore, Yamaguchi’s works make me feel that he has been renewing the traditional style of suiboku-ga. He always depicts trivial things that we can see in our daily lives. Indeed, in not a few of his creations, such common subjects were shown changed into rather dramatic things by scattering silver foil on them. Nonetheless, even in such works, Yamaguchi expresses trivial things that we can always see every day. Yamaguchi presents the original beauty of common things to us. I suppose the fine texture of ink painting, which cannot be recognized unless we look at it with our own eyes, and Yamaguchi’s amazingly deliberate composition may contribute to strengthening his world of creations.
(Translated by Nozomi Nakayama)


Notes
*1
This statement is a quote from an article entitled “Intersection” (16/Feb/2009) in the “Notes” on Yamaguchi’s website, the“思纂室” ( http://sizuanshi.com/2009note.html).
*2
The “small planet” won a prize in the 32th Ihei Kimura Photographic Award in 2006.

Related Exhibition

"Hidenori Yamaguchi, solo exhibition"
10/Jun/2009 - 21/Jun/2009
Venue: SHINSEIDO HATANAKA

Last Updated on July 05 2010
 

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