TANIKAWA Shuntaro
June 27(Sat)－September 6(Sun), 2020
Tanikawa Shuntaro made a striking debut in 1952 with his first collection of poems entitled Two Billion Light-Years of Solitude. His unencumbered style was free from sentimentality and passion, providing a breath of fresh air in Japanese post-war poetry scene. Tanikawa gained further fame through his lyrics for the Mighty Atom theme song, his translations into Japanese ofThe Songs of Mother Goose and Peanuts books, his screenplay for the Tokyo Olympiad movie directed by Ichikawa Kon, and his collaborations with Takemitsu Toru and other musicians. Now 88 years old, he keeps on composing vibrant works and fascinating his readers.
The sheer scale and breadth of Tanikawa’s works make it difficult to capture a comprehensive picture of his personality and whole work. In this exhibition, through his 2007
poem ‘Self-Introduction’ we highlight his essences, introducing his daily life as well as his representative works. Weaving poetry from the joys and pains of his everyday experiences, he has expanded the scope of words and poetry throughout more than sixty years of his career.
As well as reviewing Tanikawa’s wide-ranging creative accomplishments, the exhibition includes materials shedding light on his friendships, favorite music and collections, with a view to gaining a better understanding of the poet as a person.
Through the new poetry written especially for this exhibition, and through the presentation of a collaborative installation works with musician Oyamada Keigo (Cornelius) and interface designer Nakamura Yugo, we try to make new kind of poetic experiences that visitors can enjoy only in the exhibition space.
This exhibition will be an opportunity for visitors to encounter and interact with Tanikawa’s ongoing creative challenges.
TANIKAWA Shuntaro Profile
Tanikawa Shuntaro was born in Tokyo in 1931. Since the publication of his first collection of poems Two Billion Light-Years of Solitude in 1952, he has authored numerous works. His many awards include the 4th Japan Record Awards Lyrics Award in 1962 for Songs for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; the 1975 Japan Translation Cultural Award for his Japanese translation of The Songs of Mother Goose; the 1982 Yomiuri Prize for Literature for Map of Days; the 2005 Mainichi Art Award for A Chagall and a Tree Leaf and The Selected Works of Tanikawa Shuntaro, Vol. 1-3, the inaugural Nobuo Ayukawa Award for Tromso Collage in 2010, the 11th Miyoshi Tatsuji Award in 2016 for About Poetry, the Japan Foundation Award in 2019; and the Towa Futurist Award in 2019.
Exhibition Images
Spatial Installation
The first work of the exhibition is a spatial installation, where Tanikawa Shuntaro’s poetry fuses with the music of Oyamada Keigo (Cornelius) and visual imagery created by interface designer Nakamura Yugo (tha ltd.). Oyamada arranges the inherent rhythmicality of Tanikawa’s poems, like ‘Kappa’ from the picture book WORD GAMES: Nonsense Pictures and Rhymes in these works. The collage of visual imagery and sounds, which include Tanikawa’s own voice, steeps audience in the poetry, creating a new spatial poetic experience.
《ここ / いるか / かっぱ - Installation for TANIKAWA Shuntaro》
Sound : Keigo Oyamada (Cornelius)
Voice : Shuntaro Tanikawa & Friends
Movie : Yugo Nakamura / Koji Takahashi / Tsukuru Asada
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Self-Introduction
In this space, taking Tanikawa’s 20-line poem ‘Self-Introduction’ as our starting point, we exhibit various kind of materials associated with him on 20 different themes, as a way of re-examining this well-known poet. Exhibits in this space are selected poems, music and objects that influenced Tanikawa, family photographs, letters from those dear to him, his collection of radios, fragments from his everyday life and so on. Using Tanikawa’s own ‘Self-Introduction’ as a means of introducing the man himself, we brings into relief the deep connection running between his poetry and his daily life.
TANIKAWA Shuntaro
Installation view at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery
2018
photo:KIOKU Keizo
Corridor of a Poem
In this section, we exhibit Tanikawa’s new work in very simple space.
Visitors will be able to witness the latest style of the poet who never stop challenging.
Chronological Record
Through an over twenty meters long chronological record, we follow the track of Tanikawa’s life and career from birth to present.
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Installation view at Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto
2020
3.3 Questions and Answers
This section takes its name from Tanikawa’s 33 Questions and Answers in 1986, which in turn is a reference to an interview with Norman Kingsley Mailer entitled 69 Questions and Answers. In this “33” project, Tanikawa came up with 33 questions, which he then put to seven acquaintances, and collected the resulting dialogues into a book. In this exhibition, Tanikawa updated the project by selecting three of his original 33 questions, and adding a further 0.3 question to create a total of 3.3 questions. These questions were then put to people in various fields, and their responses are displayed in the exhibition space. These simple questions may reveal their respondents’ way of seeing the world.
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Installation view at Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto
2020
In addition, some humorous spatial gimmicks are in the exhibition spaces.
Installation view at Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto
2020
Exhibition Information
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Dates：
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June 27(Sat)－September 6(Sun), 2020
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Venue：
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Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto, Gallery I, II
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Opening Hours：
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10:00－20:00 (admission until 19:30)
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Closed：
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Tuesday
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Admission：
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- Adult：
- ¥1100 (¥900)
- Seniors (65 and over)：
- ¥900 (¥700)
- Students (High school students and over)：
- ¥600 (¥500)
- Junior high school students and under：
- Free
*The admission given in parentheses are for advance tickets / group (20 or more) / with one-day ticket for tram or buss, etc.
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Organizer：
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Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto, Kumamoto Nichinichi Press
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Planning Cooperation：
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NANA ROKU SHA Publishing Inc.
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Special cooperation：
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Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery
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Cooperation：
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Shibuya Bunsenkaku Co., Ltd., Yamada Photo Process Co., Ltd., FIRST UNIVERSAL PRESS
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Music：
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OYAMADA Keigo (Cornelius)
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Video：
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NAKAMURA Yugo (tha ltd.)
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Graphic Design：
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OSHIMA Idea
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Space Design：
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IGARASHI Lui
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Support：
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Kumamoto Prefecture, Kumamoto Prefectural Board of Education, Kumamoto City Board of Education, Kumamoto Ken Bunka Kyokai (Cultural Association of Kumamoto), Kumamoto Ken Bijutsuka Renmei (Artist’s Union of Kumamoto), J:COM, Kumamoto International Convention and Tourism Bureau, FMK, FM791
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Grant from：
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Japan Arts Council
