Kansuke Yamamoto (Surrealist)
Encyclopedia
Kansuke Yamamoto was a photographer and poet
.
He was a prominent Japanese surrealist born in Nagoya, Japan
.
, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. He was the oldest son of Goro Yamamoto(1880–1941), who was the founding member of Aiyu Photography Club. Goro was running a photo studio and a shop selling cameras in Nagoya.
and dadaism through the poetry magazine "cine´" published by Yamanaka Chiruu who was promoting surrealism in Japan. At the age of 15, he started to write poems. He graduated from the Nagoya Second Commercial School in 1929. That year, he started writing poetry
. He left Meiji University
School of Arts and letters in Tokyo, where he majored in French Literature
before graduation and then went back to Nagoya. In 1931, at the age of 17, he published his works in the Journal "Dokuritsu(Independent)", which was published by "Dokuritsu Shashin Kenkyu Kai(Independent Photography Research Association)".
In 1936, he changed his Chinese characters from 勘助(Kansuke) to 悍右(Kansuke). In 1938, he started a surrealist poetry magazine called "Yoru no Funsui(The Night's Fountain)". But the next year, the publication was forced to be discontinued by the authoritative pressure due to the Peace Preservation Law
.
In 1939, he formed a group called "Nagoya Photo Avant-Garde
" with Tajima Tsugio, Minoru Sakata
, Shimozato Yoshio, and Yamanaka Chiruu, etc. The group applied surrealism into their photographs and their avant-garde photography gathered national attention by some magazines like "Photo Times" and "Camera Art". He became a member of "VOU" in 1939, belonging until it was dissolved in 1972. He also formed "VIVI"(1948–1950), "Bijyutsu Bunka Association, Division of Photography"(1949–1954), "Mado(Windows)"(1953–1958), "Honoo(Flame)"(1955–1961), "Subjective Photography Federation of Japan"(1956), "ESPACE"(1956–1958), "Arukishine"(1958), "Avant-Garde Association of Poets"(1958) and "Nagoya Five"(1963–1964).
He often created works which indicated liberty, antiwar and anti-government in surrealistic ways.
He also donated his body to science via Nagoya University
School of Medicine upon his death and no funeral was held, in accordance with his living will.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.
He was a prominent Japanese surrealist born in Nagoya, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Birth
He was born in Naka-kuNaka-ku, Nagoya
is the heart of Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Largely hemmed in by Sakura-dōri , Ōtsu-dōri , Fushimi-dōri and Tsurumai-dōri , it contains the main shopping area of Sakae, a massive air-conditioned 5 square-kilometer underground mall) and the 'after-five' semi-red light districts of Nishiki and...
, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. He was the oldest son of Goro Yamamoto(1880–1941), who was the founding member of Aiyu Photography Club. Goro was running a photo studio and a shop selling cameras in Nagoya.
Encounter with Surrealism
He encountered surrealismSurrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
and dadaism through the poetry magazine "cine´" published by Yamanaka Chiruu who was promoting surrealism in Japan. At the age of 15, he started to write poems. He graduated from the Nagoya Second Commercial School in 1929. That year, he started writing poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
. He left Meiji University
Meiji University
is a private university in Tokyo and Kawasaki, founded in 1881 by three lawyers of the Meiji era, Kishimoto Tatsuo, Miyagi Kōzō, and Yashiro Misao. It is one of the largest and most prestigious Japanese universities in Tokyo, Japan....
School of Arts and letters in Tokyo, where he majored in French Literature
French literature
French literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than French. Literature written in French language, by citizens...
before graduation and then went back to Nagoya. In 1931, at the age of 17, he published his works in the Journal "Dokuritsu(Independent)", which was published by "Dokuritsu Shashin Kenkyu Kai(Independent Photography Research Association)".
Kansuke Yamamoto as Surrealist
The oldest of his existing works is called "Aru Ningen no Shisou no Hatten・・・Moya to Shinshitsu(The Developing Thought of a Human...Mist and Bedroom)", which was published in a magazine in 1932.In 1936, he changed his Chinese characters from 勘助(Kansuke) to 悍右(Kansuke). In 1938, he started a surrealist poetry magazine called "Yoru no Funsui(The Night's Fountain)". But the next year, the publication was forced to be discontinued by the authoritative pressure due to the Peace Preservation Law
Peace Preservation Law
The Public Security Preservation Laws were a series of laws enacted during the Empire of Japan. Collectively, the laws were designed to suppress political dissent.-the Safety Preservation Law of 1894:...
.
In 1939, he formed a group called "Nagoya Photo Avant-Garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
" with Tajima Tsugio, Minoru Sakata
Minoru Sakata
was a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:*Nihon shashinka jiten / 328 Outstanding Japanese Photographers. Kyoto: Tankōsha, 2000. ISBN 4-473-01750-8....
, Shimozato Yoshio, and Yamanaka Chiruu, etc. The group applied surrealism into their photographs and their avant-garde photography gathered national attention by some magazines like "Photo Times" and "Camera Art". He became a member of "VOU" in 1939, belonging until it was dissolved in 1972. He also formed "VIVI"(1948–1950), "Bijyutsu Bunka Association, Division of Photography"(1949–1954), "Mado(Windows)"(1953–1958), "Honoo(Flame)"(1955–1961), "Subjective Photography Federation of Japan"(1956), "ESPACE"(1956–1958), "Arukishine"(1958), "Avant-Garde Association of Poets"(1958) and "Nagoya Five"(1963–1964).
He often created works which indicated liberty, antiwar and anti-government in surrealistic ways.
Afternoon of Life
From around 1965 to 1975, he coached the younger generation as an adviser of Chubu Photography Federation of Students.He also donated his body to science via Nagoya University
Nagoya University
Nagoya University is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan. It can be seen in the several rankings such as shown below.-General Rankings:...
School of Medicine upon his death and no funeral was held, in accordance with his living will.
Works
- Nagoya City Art MuseumNagoya City Art MuseumThe Nagoya City Art Museum is located in the city of Nagoya in central Japan.The museum building itself was constructed by Kisho Kurokawa, one of the leading Japanese architects, from 1983-1987....
has been keeping eight of his works since 1988. - Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of PhotographyTokyo Metropolitan Museum of PhotographyThe is an art museum focused on photography. The museum was founded by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and is located in Meguro-ku, a short walk from Ebisu station in southwest Tokyo...
has been keeping 10 of his works since 2000. - Santa Barbara Museum of ArtSanta Barbara Museum of ArtThe Santa Barbara Museum of Art is an art museum located at 1130 State St. in downtown Santa Barbara, California.It was founded in 1941 and currently ranks amongst the top 10 regional art museums in the United States . It is home to both permanent and special collections, the former of which...
has been keeping 8 of his works since 2006. - J. Paul Getty MuseumJ. Paul Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum, a program of the J. Paul Getty Trust, is an art museum. It has two locations, one at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, and one at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California...
(J. Paul Getty TrustJ. Paul Getty TrustThe J. Paul Getty Trust is the world's wealthiest art institution with an estimated endowment in April 2009 of $US 4.2 billion. Based in Los Angeles, California, it operates the J. Paul Getty Museum, which has two locations, the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Getty Villa in Pacific...
) has been keeping 20 of his works since 2009.
Exhibitions
- 1936 Personal Exhibition / Maruzen Gallery, Nagoya, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
- 1939 "The Blue Wonder Association Exhibition" / Maruzen Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
- 1948 - 1950 "VIVI" / Maruzen Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
- 1949 "Modern Art" / MitsukoshiMitsukoshiis an international department store chain with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. Mitsukoshi Ltd. has amalgamated with Isetan Co.,Ltd ,and changed company name to Isetan Mitsukoshi Ltd.- History :...
Gallery, NihonbashiNihonbashi, or Nihombashi, is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan which grew up around the bridge of the same name which has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603, and the current bridge made of stone dates from 1911...
, Japan - 1949 - 1954 “Bijyutsu Bunka Art Association Exhibition" / Tokyo Metropolitan Art MuseumTokyo Metropolitan Art MuseumThe is an art museum in Tokyo, Japan. It is located in Ueno Park.-External links:**...
etc. - 1952 "Photographers of Figurative art" / Aoyanagi-Hirokoji-Ten, Nagoya, Japan
- 1953 "Mado(Windows)" / Nagoya, KobeKobe, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, Japan - 1956 - 1961 "Honoo(Flame)" / Konica Gallery(Konica MinoltaKonica Minoltais a Japanese manufacturer of office equipment, medical imaging, graphic imaging, optical devices, and measuring instruments. It is headquartered in the Marunouchi Center Building in Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, with a Kansai office in Nishi-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture...
Plaza), Tokyo, OsakaOsakais a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, and Nagoya, Japan - 1956 "International Subjective Photography" / TakashimayaTakashimayais a large Japanese department store chain.Founded in 1829 in Kyoto by Iida Shinkichi as a retailer of used clothing and cotton cloth, the store now has outlets throughout Japan and also in Taipei, Paris and Singapore....
Gallery, Nihonbashi, Japan - 1956 Personal Exhibition / Matsushima Gallery, GinzaGinzais a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi.It is known as an upscale area of Tokyo with numerous department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses. Ginza is recognized as one of the most...
, Japan - 1956 Personal Exhibition / Maruzen Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
- 1957 Personal Exhibition / Konica Gallery(Konica Minolta Plaza), FukuokaFukuokaFukuoka most often refers to the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture.It can also refer to:-Locations:* Fukuoka, Gifu, a town in Gifu Prefecture, Japan* Fukuoka, Toyama, a town in Toyama Prefecture, Japan...
, Japan - 1957 - 1976 "VOU Exhibition" / Kunugi Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan etc.
- 1957 "Modern Art Photography Group" / Kunugi Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan
- 1958 "ESPACE" / Maruzen Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
- 1958 "Exhibition of Japan Subjective Photography" / Fuji Photo Salon(FUJIFILMFujifilmis a multinational photography and imaging company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.Fujifilm's principal activities are the development, production, sale and servicing of color photographic film, digital cameras, photofinishing equipment, color paper, photofinishing chemicals, medical imaging...
Photo Salon), Tokyo, Japan - 1958 "The Vanguard of Photography and Poetry" / Mimatsu Publishing, Inc. Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- 1960 "The Sense of Abstraction" / The Museum of Modern Art, New York, U.S.A.
- 1960 "Subjective Photography" / Konica Gallery(Konica Minolta Plaza), Tokyo, Japan
- 1963 "Shusen Kai"
- 1963 - 1964 "Nagoya Five" / Fuji Photo Salon(FUJIFILM Photo Salon), Tokyo, etc.
- 1968 "VERB" / Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan
- 1978 - 1982 "The Exhibition of The Committee of The Chubu Headquarter of The All-Japan Association of Photographic Societies" / Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan
- 1983 "Pictures of Yamamoto Kansuke" / New French School, Nagoya, Japan
- 1986 "Avant-Garde Photography, Italy and Japan / The Contemporary Art Gallery, Seibu Department StoresSeibu Department Storesis a Japanese department store. The first store to trade under the name opened its doors in 1949. Seibu is typical of Japanese department stores with a wide variety of stores doing business on several floors. The company is now a subsidiary of Seven & I Holdings Co., Ltd..-Japan:The Seibu...
, IkebukuroIkebukurois a commercial and entertainment district in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. Toshima ward offices, Ikebukuro station, and several shops, restaurants, and enormous department stores are located within city limits....
, Tokyo, Japan - 1986 "VOU" / Rhode Island School of Design MuseumRhode Island School of Design MuseumRhode Island School of Design Museum is a prominent art museum in Providence, Rhode Island affiliated with the well-known Rhode Island School of Design...
- 1988 "The Art of Modern Japanese Photography" / Two Houston CenterHouston CenterHouston Center is a retail and office complex in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. It is owned and operated by subsidiaries of Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. .The three towers in Houston Center have almost of Class A office space...
- 1988 "Surrealist Kansuke Yamamoto Exhibition" / IMAGINATION MARKET Q&P, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan
- 1988 "The 150 years of Fine Art Photography - France, Japan, America" / Tsukashin Hall, Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan
- 1988 "Fine Art Photography in Japan 1920's - 1940's" / Konica Plaza(Konica Minolta Plaza), Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
- 1988 "Japanese Photography in 1930s" / The Museum of Modern Art, KamakuraKamakura, Kanagawais a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, about south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called .Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is often described in history books as a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency during the...
& Hayama, Japan - 1989 "Avant-Garde Photography of Nagoya" / Nagoya City Art Museum, Japan
- 1990 "The Silent Dialogue : Still Life in the West and Japan" / ShizuokaShizuoka Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun...
Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan - 1990 "Surrealism in Japan" / Nagoya City Art Museum, Japan
- 1990 "Modernism in Nagoya 1920's - 1930's" / INAX Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
- 1995 "The Founding and Development of Modern Photography in Japan" / Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of PhotographyTokyo Metropolitan Museum of PhotographyThe is an art museum focused on photography. The museum was founded by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and is located in Meguro-ku, a short walk from Ebisu station in southwest Tokyo...
, Japan - 1995 "The Age of Modernism" / Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Japan
- 1995 "Collage, A Method of Contemporary Art" / Nerima Art Museum, Japan
- 2001 "Modern Photography in Japan 1915-1940" / Ansel AdamsAnsel AdamsAnsel Easton Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially in Yosemite National Park....
Gallery, San Francisco, U.S.A. - 2001 "YAMAMOTO Kansuke:Conveyor of the Impossible" / Tokyo StationTokyo Stationis a train station located in the Marunouchi business district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, near the Imperial Palace grounds and the Ginza commercial district....
Gallery, Japan
- 2003 "The History of Japanese Photography" / The Museum of Fine Arts, HoustonThe Museum of Fine Arts, HoustonThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston , located in Houston, is one of the largest museums in the United States. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 6,000 years of history with more than 62,000 works from six continents....
etc. - 2004 "Provincial Fine Arts" / Nagoya City Art Museum, Aichi, Japan
- 2005 "How Photography changed People's Viewpoints" / Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Japan
- 2006 "Vintage Photographs 1935-1955" / Stephen Wirtz Gallery, San Francisco, U.S.A.
- 2006 "Curators' Choice from The Collection of Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography" / Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Japan
- 2006 "Collage and Photomontage" / Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Japan
- 2006 "The World of Yamamoto Kansuke" / Doshisha UniversityDoshisha University, or is a prestigious private university in Kyoto, Japan. The university has approximately 27,000 students on three campuses, in faculties of theology, letters, law, commerce, economics, policy, and engineering...
, Tokyo office - 2007 "Living in the Material World -'Things' in Art of the 20th Century and Beyond" / The National Art Center, TokyoThe National Art Center, Tokyois a museum in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. A joint project of the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the National Museums Independent Administrative Institution, it stands on a site formerly occupied by a research facility of the University of Tokyo....
, Japan - 2008 "Surrealism and Photography" / Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Japan