Thank goodness for the Internet’s ability to show Matsutani's work and your decision to share it. The Internet is the world's most extensive gallery of art. More people see more art than ever. Matsutani's work also leads us to a much broader source of art-making ideas. Even the most contemporary Western art is ham-strung by dualistic Cartesian thinking. Matsutani’s Eastern philosophical orientation is one reason he may not get the notice he deserves in the West. His expression is embodied in the work. It doesn't require a verbal explanation. Seeing it is a visceral experience.
I’ve enjoyed watching the video of Matsutani (many times!) what a process to watch.
Some big questions posed in the blog, the authenticity question is interesting, for Matsutani personal values are clearly driving him to produce solo, does he acknowledge the structures or systems in place that enable slow work to be profitable? It can’t always have been easy for him I imagine.
I love how this thread of replication and reimagining art is weaving it’s way through the recent posts, in trying to understand consciousness we are always trying to work out what part or element of our thoughts are unique or novel, but how can we ever know how the fragments of our mind piece things together? Perhaps there is innovation but nothing new.
Hi. One more comment. I think avant- garde declarations of ‘make it new’ are not merely aesthetic choices by the artists but code for either, ‘something monstrous has happened in our world; we must make something better’ or ‘ our world has changed and we can’t make art in the same way any more’.
Also loved watching this video and learning about Matsutani and the Gutai group. Your question about how we come to value certain artists over others, there are many great female artists throughout history that aren't household names like Van Gogh, but we just keep repeating the same names because that's what we are taught at school rather than other names. And then there are big exhibitions of the artists we are taught at school. Like Cezanne at Tate Modern now. So we just keep saying the same names over and over when there are clearly others that were doing interesting things too - like Matsutani.
Oh wow, I love Matsutani's work, and I really enjoyed seeing the process of him creating his art. He's a new artist for me, never heard of him before. It is interesting how some artists make it big and others don't, I've often wondered about this. Although he is in the Hauser & Wirth stable so presumably he's not doing too badly.
Good choice for a Sunday morning helping of art discourse! First and foremost, I like the materiality of his art. He has done a lot with the behaviours of one material. I like that complex visual resonances can come from simple materials and methods.
The histories of ‘other’ modernist avante garde groups of artists from outside Europe and the US has been researched but so far not promoted into wide art public awareness. The matters of ‘make it new’ and ‘ make it authentic’ are as you know perennial in European modernism . In the context of Japanese pre and post war art history it may be unusual, perhaps apart from cinema. I’m not qualified to say more, except that the more well known figures are distinctive.
On the subject of ‘objectivity of value’ in art and the ongoing canon of artists, by coincidence I happen to have been listening to audio recordings of Clement Greenberg holding a set of seminars on just these topics at Bennington College in 1971. They are fascinating , and perhaps annoying, in many ways.
Thank goodness for the Internet’s ability to show Matsutani's work and your decision to share it. The Internet is the world's most extensive gallery of art. More people see more art than ever. Matsutani's work also leads us to a much broader source of art-making ideas. Even the most contemporary Western art is ham-strung by dualistic Cartesian thinking. Matsutani’s Eastern philosophical orientation is one reason he may not get the notice he deserves in the West. His expression is embodied in the work. It doesn't require a verbal explanation. Seeing it is a visceral experience.
I’ve enjoyed watching the video of Matsutani (many times!) what a process to watch.
Some big questions posed in the blog, the authenticity question is interesting, for Matsutani personal values are clearly driving him to produce solo, does he acknowledge the structures or systems in place that enable slow work to be profitable? It can’t always have been easy for him I imagine.
I love how this thread of replication and reimagining art is weaving it’s way through the recent posts, in trying to understand consciousness we are always trying to work out what part or element of our thoughts are unique or novel, but how can we ever know how the fragments of our mind piece things together? Perhaps there is innovation but nothing new.
Hi. One more comment. I think avant- garde declarations of ‘make it new’ are not merely aesthetic choices by the artists but code for either, ‘something monstrous has happened in our world; we must make something better’ or ‘ our world has changed and we can’t make art in the same way any more’.
I will try and share the Greenberg audio .
Martin
Also loved watching this video and learning about Matsutani and the Gutai group. Your question about how we come to value certain artists over others, there are many great female artists throughout history that aren't household names like Van Gogh, but we just keep repeating the same names because that's what we are taught at school rather than other names. And then there are big exhibitions of the artists we are taught at school. Like Cezanne at Tate Modern now. So we just keep saying the same names over and over when there are clearly others that were doing interesting things too - like Matsutani.
Oh wow, I love Matsutani's work, and I really enjoyed seeing the process of him creating his art. He's a new artist for me, never heard of him before. It is interesting how some artists make it big and others don't, I've often wondered about this. Although he is in the Hauser & Wirth stable so presumably he's not doing too badly.
Hi Victoria
Good choice for a Sunday morning helping of art discourse! First and foremost, I like the materiality of his art. He has done a lot with the behaviours of one material. I like that complex visual resonances can come from simple materials and methods.
The histories of ‘other’ modernist avante garde groups of artists from outside Europe and the US has been researched but so far not promoted into wide art public awareness. The matters of ‘make it new’ and ‘ make it authentic’ are as you know perennial in European modernism . In the context of Japanese pre and post war art history it may be unusual, perhaps apart from cinema. I’m not qualified to say more, except that the more well known figures are distinctive.
On the subject of ‘objectivity of value’ in art and the ongoing canon of artists, by coincidence I happen to have been listening to audio recordings of Clement Greenberg holding a set of seminars on just these topics at Bennington College in 1971. They are fascinating , and perhaps annoying, in many ways.
Best
Martin