Shuzo Takiguchi-Double, or Shadow-Image

This term's exhibition marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of Shuzo Takiguchi. It is the 4th joint exhibition held annually since 2023 as part of the museum's collection exhibitions, in collaboration with Keio University Art Center, which holds materials from the Takiguchi collection.
The poet and art critic Shuzo Takiguchi began making books known as「handmade brochure」from around 1960. Never having passed through the processes of a publisher or a printing house, these works of Takiguchi's own hand are composed of an accumulation of fragments: drawings, clippings from magazines, photocopies of printed matter, silver paper, labels and stickers, handwritten memos, and the like. They appear as much finished as unfinished.
This exhibition focuses on 2 books using blotting paper, "handmade brochure", "LOST DAIRY OF MATHIAS GRÜNEWALD OR PAITER’S HANDBOOK", and "BOLTTING PAPER IS SOMETHING, ET CETRA…", as well as 20 works from the decalkomanie series Tick-Tack my heart-the watch…: 《Fantom of Mathias Grünewald》.
Blotting paper absorbs excess moisture from paints and inks, and in watercolors and other media it is used to keep colors from bleeding and to adjust their density.
Decalkomanie is a transfer technique developed in the 18th century: a medium such as paint is spread across a surface, and while it is still wet, a material such as paper is pressed against it; when it is lifted away, the image is transferred to it. The Surrealists used this technique as a means of producing chance images.
In this way, both blotting paper and decalkomanie give rise to a "shadow" = a "double," traced from the original. As a way into the concept of the "shadow-image" as Takiguchi conceived it, we introduce this series of works.

※The display will be re-dressed for "handmade brochure" from November 12th (Thu).