It was in the REAL UTOPIA exhibition (*1) at 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, where I came across the works of Sayako Kishimoto for the first time. Colourful grasshopper, dragonfly, butterfly, spider and mosquito are drawn in a gigantic twenty metre-wide canvas. The colours and composition traversing space-time feel as if they almost knock a wedge into my dull brain in the dark Kanazawa winter.

Sayako Kishimoto was born as the second daughter to Ken’ichi, psychiatrist, and Natsuko. She was the third of five children. Makoto, the first son, Yoshiko, the first daughter, and two younger brothers after Sayako.

Makoto passed away when he was seven due to diphtheria. Sayako was three then. I wonder how much sorrow father and mother had. In Natsuko’s poem anthology ‘Sagisou (white egret flower)’, which was edited after Natsuko’s death, the agony of mother – not being able to sink herself in a swamp of grief while having little babies to look after – is written with a lament. To remember Makoto, who liked white flowers, Natsuko’s garden after Makoto’s death almost always had plants which would produce white flowers.

Shiroi fuji / shiroi tsutsji wo / medeni keru / nanatsuno nanji ha / yukuko narishika

(White wisteria / white azalea / loving them / you at seven / became a child to pass)
(*2)

Natsuko, the mother of Sayako, was born during the Meiji period in 1906. Since her father was a medical doctor, she was advised to go to a women’s medical college. She however sought an innovative way of life as a woman back then. After graduating from a girl’s school, Natsuko moved to Kyoto with a dream to become a painter, and studied painting under a Japanese painter. She was making Western-style dolls for living but became ill with tuberculous. Halfway through her dream, Natsuko went back to Nagoya and got married.

It was Natsuko who first found Sayako Kishimoto’s gift in her childhood drawings. To encourage her artistic ability, Natsuko brought Sayako up by praising her all the time. It seemed that Natsuko passed her unaccomplished dream over to Sayako.

Thanks to Natsuko’s encouragement, Sayako studied oil painting at the Art Department in Aichi Prefectural Asahigaoka Senior High School, and aimed to enter the Oil Painting Department of Tokyo University of the Arts. But just before the entrance exam of the University, her father, who was overwhelmed by Western oil paintings in the museums when he visited Europe to attend an academic conference, advised Sayako: ‘It is probably difficult to succeed in oil painting. How about Japanese painting?’ Sayako shifted her aim to the Japanese Painting Department just before the exam, and failed as a result. She continued her study another year to get in Tokyo University of the Arts but failed once again, and decided to go to Tama Art University instead. This experience of failure might have triggered Sayako’s bipolar disorder.

Yoshiko Iida, Sayako’s sister who lives in Kanazawa, was speaking in an interview about that time:

‘If Sayako had succeeded to enter the Tokyo University of the Arts, she would have followed the path of a proper artist. Since she became awakened to Zenei (avant-garde) in Tama Art University, it was probably the turning point in her life. All the family members were tossed around by her behaviours.’

In Tama Art University, Sayako became a member of an avant-garde performance group called Neo-Dadaism Organizers (Neo Dada) (*3). Between 1960 and 1963, she presented her work in the Yomiuri Independent exhibition. From 1964 until stopping her activity temporarily in 1969, she furiously exhibited her work in solo shows and other exhibitions. In 1977 she restarted her artistic activities, but was diagnosed with breast cancer. She went back to Nagoya for an operation and continued to work in Nagoya thereafter.

For Sayako, making a painting was to go to the ‘battle’ and was a manifestation of her rising passion. She called herself the ‘messenger from hell’. Having a reverse triangle as a symbol, she revolted against the pyramid structured male-dominated society and art world. ‘To me, art is not a goal. It is a method to tell a message. To aim to shift to the world of freedom (love) from the world of authority (power)’ (*4), Sayako screams the absurdity of being a woman.

In her solo exhibition at Sakura Gallery (*5), Sayako brought a blank canvas and worked in the gallery. On the final day of the exhibition, she erased her painting, made with white spray, by solvent spray. It was an unprecedented performance – paint and solvent were spattered all over the canvas, wall, floor, and Sayako herself. Standing as a candidate for the House of Representatives thereafter was, perhaps, a part of her happening events (*6).

In 1986, the breast cancer recurred (*7). She organised a performance even during the medical treatment period of anticancer drugs. The performance flyer says ‘Momotaro-Samurai girl, formerly known as messenger from hell! Spiritual revival!!’ and features her self-portrait drawing. Sayako’s swollen face in the picture at that time wears a self-made costume and Hachimaki headband. Her figure is painful and tender at the same time.

She may have become conscious about the fundamental meaning of being a painter. During her final days, from her bed in the hospital, she painted many portraits of hospital visitors, other patients, nurses and doctors.

To live, the battle called creation was a necessity for Sayako. When in a manic state, she devoted herself to work on art. When in a depressive state, she must have been right next to death. Being tossed around the ups and downs of the rough waves of her feeling, her solitude and fear must have turned into anger sometimes.

‘We belong to a tragic yet extremely sensitive wonderful family’ mentioned Marcel Proust. Even though it is not the family she chose, Sayako was definitely one of ‘those who make a fire’.

Sayako declared ‘After all I was made to paint by my mother’. These words probably show Sayako’s awareness of herself as a successor of the ‘family’ gene, which has been succeeded through Natsuko, rather than an ancestor. Sayako’s brother Makoto left early from Natsuko as a person of white purity and silence. And Sayako also left early from Natsuko as a person of explosion of intense colours.

However, there is no tragic feeling at all in Sayako’s poetry. They sound like the battle roar of a winning warrior.

Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on!
Watch everyone
Far away, out beyond galaxy
To create the second earth
Flying away
Six insect shape flying boats
The array of Flying Machines
Oh! The mother earth
The beautiful earth, you brought us to life and raised us
Farewell farewell farewell
At the departure for a long journey
Hard to say good bye, the hometown
The land of father and mother with deep sentiment
Farewell farewell farewell　(*8)

This year marks the 80th anniversary of Sayako’s birth. (*9)
Our time is certainly getting closer to the future that was predicted by Sayako Kishimoto, the messenger from hell.

‘Girls! The female artists! Do not fear! Open our way, now!’

Akane Nakamori
Artist / Director of Suisei-Art

(*1) REAL UTOPIA – Stories of the Unlimited
23 November 2006 – 2 March 2007
Curated by Daisuke Murata
Artists: Lee Bul, Yayoi Kusama, Sayako Kishimoto, and Taiyo Kimura

(*2) From ‘Imperfect Mother’ in Natsuko Kishimoto ‘Sagisou (white egret flower)’ posthumous poem anthology, 1996, published by Ken’ichi Kishimoto

(*3) Neo-Dadaism Organizers (so-called Neo Dada) was formed in 1960 by a group of young artists who exhibited in the Yomiuri Independent exhibition – including: Shusaku Arakawa; Masunobu Yoshimura; Ushio Shinohara; Sho Kazakura; Genpei Akasegawa; among others. Sayako Kishimoto joined this group when she was in the second year at Tama Art University.

(*4) From Sayako’s handwritten memo for her solo exhibition ‘The Last Supper’ in 1970. Reference: Mitsuro Mikami ‘Portraying the Future in a Traditional Mode ~ The Scroll Art of Sayoko Kishimoto ~’ in ‘I am Flying Red Cat! Sayako Kishimoto 1939-1988 – Publication for the 70th Anniversary of Birth-’

(*5) ’Look Left!’, Sayako’s first solo exhibition in her hometown Nagoya, was held at Sakura Gallery in 1967. Ushio Shinohara, Nobuaki Kojima and Tomio Miki from Neo Dada came to the exhibition opening. It was chaotic – both males and females started to dance half naked among other things. (From photocopy of ‘Serial Article “Interview” Gallerist – Lady of Sakura [7] Speaker: Yaeko Fujita, Bijutsu Techo magazine, issue number unclear)

(*6) Happening is a term used for one of the expressions in contemporary art, mainly from 1950s through to the early 1970s. It is a general term for performance art and showcases that happen in gallery spaces or urban areas across North America, West Europe and Japan. In Japan, the activities of the Gutai group in particular were notable.

(*7) The recurrence of breast cancer was not informed to Sayako. She was told that it is osteomyelitis. (According to her family)

(*8) ‘21c. Erotical Flying Machines – A Trip to the Galaxy’ by Sayako Kishimoto (1983, first shown at Love Collection Gallery in Nagoya). This is a painting made in the solo exhibition venue as a background to the performance ‘Erotical Flying Machine Show’. The song for the performance was ‘Song of the Pink Grasshoppers’. Here we have an extract of the song.

Reference: ‘Sayako Kishimoto 1939-1988’ published by the preparation committee of the posthumous exhibition of Sayako Kishimoto

(*9) There are several exhibitions that involve works by Sayako Kishimoto planned in 2019, the 80th anniversary year for Sayako’s birth:

• ’Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art Renewal Open Exhibition – Museum Collection:  Aichi Art Chronicle 1919-2019 (TBC)’
• SHUMOKU GALLERY Special Event: Shunkichi Baba’s Serial Talk Event [SHUNKICHI BABA×ARTISTS] No.2 ‘Sayako Kishimoto – on the Artist and Artwork’, Saturday 16 March 2019

among others

Other references:

• ‘REAL UTOPIA – Stories of the Unlimited’ Special Event: conversation between Ichiro Hariu and Shinichi Iwata, art critique magazine ‘REAR’, Issue No. 17 (2007)
• Series 20th Century No.2 ‘Women’, Asahi Graph magazine, supplementary volume

Translation :Naoko Mabon (WAGON)

[photo]

KISHIMOTO Sayako
21c. Erotical Flying Machines – A Trip to the Galaxy
1983
acrylic, water-based paint, crayon on canvas
H113×W917cm、H113×W1004cm
collection: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa ©Yoshiko Ida
courtesy: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa