Melody of the Firmament in Italy 2006

Melody of the Firmament 2019.07
Journal of Koji Kinutani Tenku Art Museum vol.1
On publishing the Journal“In this museum, I want you to absorb colors with your eyes toSuch moving experiences are important, the best part of art

activate your brains and become healthy, just as you eat colorful

appreciation. However, we also think it true that viewers can feel

food such as vegetables, fruit, meat and fish every day to become

the fineness, delicacy and advanced skill from a different viewpoint

healthy.” This is what Koji Kinutani, our honorary director, always

other than a sensuous moving experience by adding furthersays when he explains his works. Therefore we, the staff of Kojiknowledge and information. It is considered that the emotions

Kinutani Tenku Art Museum, also make daily efforts, aiming forspring from there.

our numerous visitors to touch Kinutani Art full of energy andA moving experience from viewing an artwork means a newtake in the spectacular view overlooking Osaka Bay, forget theencounter with oneself who is moved. Such an encounter canroutine of daily work and reality for a moment and feel energized.

become the source of creativity, a veritable “seed” for energy.

This journal “Melody of the Firmament” is published with ourWe are confident that this Tenku Art Museum, and the works

earnest desire to help you when you use our museum, providingof Koji Kinutani are filled with such seeds. We want the visitors

more in-depth information than is available from the captions soto discover as many seeds as possible and enjoy the movingthat you can appreciate the displayed works with more interest.

experience of discovering a new self. This journal is positioned

General and abundant knowledge is not always necessary inappreciating art. In particular, Kinutani works draw viewers
into a world of their own with their colorful expressions andvigorous world of images even without knowledge of the works.

to serve its secondary role. We intend to strive toward regularly
providing information from diverse viewpoints.

History of Koji Kinutani Tenku Art Museum
December 2015 The concept of the museum came from Sekisui House, Ltd., and Koji Kinutani, Person ofCultural Merit.
August 2016Museum facility construction began on the 27th floor of Umeda Sky Building Tower West.

December 2016 Completion. Open on the 23rd. “Exhibition Commemorating the Opening of the Museum”
August 2017

Special Exhibition “’City of Radiant Light’, first viewing of the affresco masterpiece”

December 2017 Special Exhibition “Time Brimming with Joy - Sing, Eat, Love, and Art -”March 2018

Special Exhibition “A Message of Peace – Passion, Vitality, and Prayer”

June 2018

Special Exhibition “Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of Umeda Sky Building Tenku
Fantasy - The Amazing Floating Garden Experience”

December 2018 Special Exhibition “Commemorating the Second Anniversary of the Museum The Power toDream - Grand Theater of the Imagination”
July 2019

Special Exhibition “A Time Trip - Arcadia ”

Koji Kinutani Biography
Born in Nara prefecture in 1943. Completed a Mural Painting Course in the university's graduate school
after graduating from Tokyo National University of Fine Art and Music. Spent time in Italy to study affresco
painting (mural technique). After returning to Japan, he was awarded the Yasui Prize in 1974, the youngest
award recipient in its history.
A unique painting style full of abundant energy making the best of his various techniques and rich colors
saw him awarded the 19th Grand Prize for Japanese Fine Arts in 1987. He went on to create original
paintings for the official posters of the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1997, and was honored as a Person ofCultural Merit in 2014, leading the Artists’ Society in Japan.

Photo Yu Kaida

He does not limit himself to his own creative activities but makes contributions to educational activities for future generations. Participationin the “Japan Brand Program” organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, creation of the “Koji Kinutani Prize” for young artists, and taking
part in the “Kids Dream/Art/Academy” by the Agency for Cultural Affairs are typical examples.

Encounter with affresco - Path to become the authority on affresco in Japan The mural paintings of Horyuji Temple in Nara are said to have inspired Koji Kinutani to paint affresco when he was in his third year at Tokyo
National University of Fine Art and Music oil painting department. In 1949, a disastrous event struck the temple when fire broke out in the mainhall, destroying numerous mural paintings in storage. Later, the columns and mural paintings were stored as they were, for posterity. In 1964,
when Kinutani was allowed to see the storage as part of his training in antiques, he felt sad having seen the burnt columns and walls yet wasamazed at the existence and appeal the mural paintings still possessed despite having gone through fire. He learned from the still brilliantly
shining murals that people put hope and prayed for something that would last forever even though they felt the sense of vanity of life at theHoryuji Temple in ruins and realized the impermanence of things.
Later, after he finished at the Oil Painting Department, he went on to the Mural Painting Course, Graduate School, and to the Academy of Fine
Arts of Venice at the invitation of Professor Bruno Saetti who had given him lectures. He studied mural painting techniques in Italy, the homeof fresco paintings. This led to the creation of numerous affresco works representing the Kinutani
Style of the time, such as “Flight of the Apple” and “Thinking Woman”. The Apple series weredisplayed in an exhibition sponsored by the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation, and he was awarded
the La Masa Prize. He continued to stay active, holding private exhibitions at a municipal museumin Venice. In 1972, when the “Asuka Beauties” were discovered at Takamatsuzuka Tumulus in Asuka
Village, Nara prefecture, the Agency for Cultural Affairs asked him to become a conservation task
force member for murals. He returned to Japan after training at the Central Institute of Restorationin Rome. He became the recipient of the 17th Yasui Prize for “Portrait of Mr. Anselmo” (owned bythe National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo) in 1974, thus making “affresco” as well as the nameof “Koji Kinutani” well-known all over Japan. Later, in his autobiography, Kinutani says ”Since mychildhood in Nara I have always been deeply aware of the Buddhism sense of vanity in life that allphysical existence will someday wither away and vanish. All of us die but if anything exists that will
not disappear, that would be the “heart” of people and dreams. That thought is the theme underlying
Flight of the Apple（Through the Window）1971
Fresco and strappo on canvas

all my works.” He puts this consistent thought into all the affresco works he creates.

What is affresco?
Affresco means fresco paintings in Japan, originating from the Italianword “fresco (fresh)”. Fresco painting is a classical technique of mural
painting, and existed in the BC era. Numerous artists used this painting
technique before the advent of oil painting, which is the mainstream
today. Italian Renaissance masters including Giotto di Bondone,
Michelangelo Buonarroti, and Raffaello Santi left various works inaffresco.
Affresco is a technique in which a wall of half-dried plaster is made on
which paint is directly applied using pigment dissolved in water before
it has fully dried. It features no use of medium, which serves as glue ingeneral paints (oil paintings and acrylics). While the half-dried plasteris drying, the pigment is absorbed into the lime layer. When dried, aglass-like firm and clear film is crystallized on the surface, which serves
as protection. This is why affresco has its special finish that stays solid
without the color fading for a long time (said to be thousands of years).
Moreover, the pigment sealed in the crystals shows the bright and strong
coloring it originally possessed. This brightness of colors is also a feature ▲ In the city of Florenceof affresco.

The half-dried plaster dries in about 24 hours, requiring speedy work in the affresco
painting process. Basically, artists carefully create the idea and prepare real-size
sketches so that they can paint the complete affresco all at once, literally a work of
total commitment. Therefore many of the works of Koji Kinutani are like this, energetic
affresco created all at once, the same as the brilliant image world portrayed by theRenaissance masters.

Thinking Woman 1972 〜 3
Fresco and strappo on canvas

Introduction of affresco painters Part 1

Michelangelo Buonarroti 1475-1564 FlorenceMichelangelo Buonarroti is known as a Master of High Italian Renaissance along with Leonardo da Vinci and Raffaello Santi, leaving
outstanding achievements as a sculptor, painter and architect.
He was discovered by Lorenzo de' Medici called Lorenzo il Magnifico (the Magnificent), and studied sculpture in earnest under his patronage,
allowing his talent to blossom. He painted a boundless world of images and ideal beauty based on deep culture and sharp critical spirit. He
developed the position of art in those early days, and is now one of the most important figures in the history of western art.
He was heavily influenced by the Hellenistic sculptures of ancient Greece, and his massive and dynamic marble sculptures are famousincluding the “Pietà” at St. Peter’s Basilica and “David”. His other creations are the almost divine affresco monumental works represented by theSistine Chapel ceiling in the Vatican and its counterpart “The Last Judgment” on the altar wall of the chapel, whose dynamic design focused on
the emotional movement of human bodies fascinate viewers.

Sistine Chapel（Vatican City） ▶︎In Vatican Museums▼

Announcement of Workshop“ Painting Affresco ”
Koji Kinutani Tenku Art Museum offers a popular monthly
workshop “Painting Affresco” where participants canexperience this technique.
Plastered brick is assumed to be a wall, and participants
freely paint on it. Prior to painting, a display commentary
is given by a curator, so participants can listen to it,
deepen their knowledge about affresco, and develop their
imagination through looking
at the displayed works
before enjoying theaffresco experience. Thus the affresco experience is somewhat different from painting on
paper or canvas. Enjoyable for everybody from adults to children, a great memory experiencemaking something that will last for 100 - 200 years.
Use the QR code shown below or visit our official website for details including workshop
dates.

【QR code】【Official website】
https://www.kinutani-tenku.jp

Come with your whole family
for memory making affresco experience

Editor’s note
Excuse me for being personal, but one year has already passed since I came to this museum. I am still learning as assistant curator, andhave been able to become interested in the field of viewing education thanks to the work of educational activities, mainly consisting ofworkshops. I hope I can introduce the details of this deep and intense field in future journals.
Because of the circumstances, “On publishing the Journal” at the beginning was a somewhat formal greeting. However, to my mind, thisjournal is not a place for one-sided information delivery or a curator’s talk but a place to carry on thorough communication with all thestaff of Tenku Art Museum and visitors.
That is why I have placed an “Opinion Box for Journal” in the workshop space! Your opinions, requests, and frank comments are all
welcome, and I would like to make this “Melody of the Firmament” with you all.
The next journal is planned for publication around the time of the “Special Exhibition Commemorating the Third Anniversary of theMuseum”.

（Akio Takahashi Assistant curator of Koji Kinutani Tenku Art Museum）

Published on July 14, 2019
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Melody of the Firmament vol.1

Koji Kinutani Tenku Art Museum

27th Floor, Umeda Sky Building Tower West, 1-1-30, Oyodonaka, Kita-ku, Osaka