Each bookstore will act as a concierge, recommending "the book you should read now" to FASHION HEADLINE readers. Every Thursday, each branch of the art bookstore "NADiff" will introduce a book they recommend. This time, we will be introducing the recommended book at NADiff Contemporary, a branch in Kiyosumi Shirakawa, Tokyo (located inside the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 4-1-1 Miyoshi, Koto-ku, Tokyo).
■ "War Paintings and Japan" Aida Makoto x Sawaragi Noi
Art critic Sawaragi Noi produced the series "War Paintings Returns" in the mid-1990s, citing his desire to "face Japanese war paintings once again in the 70th year since the end of the war." Since then, he has consistently garnered attention for his scathing criticism of society and politics, and he will be hosting a discussion on "war paintings," which have been largely omitted from the history of Japanese painting. Both men, born in the 1960s, share their postwar memories, including the manga "Barefoot Gen" they read as children and the wounded veterans they saw at a nearby shrine. They also explore why so many war paintings are so gentle, why were war paintings done in oil, and why did nude women become so prevalent after the war. They also reconsider the painter and sculptor Tsuguharu Foujita, who was the only artist permitted to paint the dead at a time when it was forbidden, and who left Japan after contributing to the military. War, a time when winning and losing are inherently unrelated to art, saw many artists destined to work tirelessly, no matter the circumstances. Aida Makoto asks himself, "Would I have painted war paintings if I had been born in that era?" and "Would I paint war paintings if we were to return to a time like that?" This book, especially as we mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the war this summer, is a must-read and offers an opportunity to rediscover Japanese war paintings.
【Book Information】
"War Paintings and Japan"
Author: Noi Sawaragi x Makoto Aida
Publisher: Kodansha
Language: Japanese
Softcover / 144 pages / A5
Publication: June 23, 2015
Price: 2,000 yen
