News Release
ATZ230630_E_E

June 30, 2023
Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation

From the Scene of Creation―Artists’ Archives in Films and Photographs
September 9[Sat] - November 19[Sun], 2023

Flyer of From the Scene of Creation

The Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation (Director: Ishibashi Hiroshi), presents From the Sceneof Creation―Artists’ Archives in Films and Photographs.
In 1953, the Bridgestone Museum of Art, the Artizon Museum’s predecessor, established its Film
Committee. In what it entitled the Art Film Series, the committee had, by 1964, filmed 61 artists
and produced seventeen documentary films. These extraordinarily valuable materials record
Japanese artists such as Umehara Ryuzaburo (1888-1986), Takamura Kotaro (1883-1956), andMaeda Seison (1885-1977) at work and in their daily lives.
The project was originally proposed by Ishibashi Kanichiro, the son of our founder, Ishibashi
Shojiro. Taking the post of chairman of the Film Committee, Kanichiro sought “To help people
who really love art and are working to understand it and also to illustrate moving portraits ofleaders in the arts” in leading this project. Among the many art films produced in the 1950s, theseplayed a pioneering role, particularly in the field of modern art, and were highly regarded inJapan and abroad, including being awarded a prize at an international film festival in Italy.
Recently, our museum has collected photographic works by Anzai Shigeo (1939-2020), whochronicled the contemporary art scene. Anzai, calling himself a contemporary art accompanist,produced, from the 1970s, portraits of artists and photographed transient works such asinstallations and performances.
This exhibition introduces the Art Film Series and photographs by Anzai accompanied by works ofthe artists pictured in these films and photographs. It includes about eighty works, both from ourcollection and on lease from other museums in Japan. By displaying the Art Film Series andAnzai’s work together, the exhibition offers a comprehensive view of Japanese modern andcontemporary art in the making.
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Exhibition Highlights
１.

Presenting the Full Art Film Series produced by the Bridgestone Museum ofArt’s Film Committee
Between 1953, a year after the opening of the Bridgestone Museum ofArt, and 1964, the museum produced seventeen films featuring 61
artists. The production staff included, as the director, the documentary
film producer Takaba Takashi (nephew of Henry Kotani, a central figurein the modernization of Japanese films), the abstract artist Kotani
Hirosada, and Fukuda Rando, a shakuhachi player and Aoki Shigeru’s
only child. The films are not only valuable records but highly artistic
works in themselves. This exhibition introduces these films, whichhave been rarely presented until now, in full.
Photography in progress (Umehara Ryuzaburo on the lower left and Takaba Takashi on thesecond from the right)

２. Displaying about 30 photographs of artists by Anzai in the settings where
they created their work
Anzai Shigeo, who called himself a contemporary art accompanist,photographed portraits of artists and the places where they worked, inJapan and abroad. Our museum has collected a group of 206
photographs selected by Anzai himself. Of them, this exhibition
presents a selection of about 30 photographs: portraits of artists withclose ties to the Ishibashi Foundation Collection and scenes of them atwork.

ANZAI Shigeo, Hisao Domoto, Artist’s Studio, Tokyo, June 1980, 1980/2017 © Estate of Shigeo Anzaï３. Japanese Modern and Contemporary Art
A Full View

From the Scene of Creation :The Art Film Series, in the 1950s and 1960s, and Anzai Shigeo’s photographs, from the 1970s on,record artists in Japan at work in their studios and in their everyday lives. The films are extremely
valuable records, with content showing Umehara Ryuzaburo actually painting with his brush in
his left hand and letting us hear Kawai Gyokudo’s natural voice. This exhibition, presenting
these films and photographs together, attempts to display “the scene of creation” in Japanesemodern and contemporary art.

KAWAI Gyokudo, from the Art FilmSeries entitled, Kawai Gyokudo, 1953.

KAWAI Gyokudo, Autumn Rain, 1940, The National
Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

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Composition of the Exhibition
Section 1. Artists in Motion Pictures̶the Art Film Series
The Bridgestone Museum of Art’s Art Film Series features exceptional figures in theworld of art, including Umehara Ryuzaburo, Kawai Gyokudo, Takamura Kotaro, andMaeda Seison, at work creating in their studios and in their everyday lives. Thissection introduces the artists who appear in those films and their work.

Section 2. Artists in Photographs: Anzai Shigeo
Anzai Shigeo (1939-2020) called himself a contemporary art accompanist. From the1970s on, he photographed artist portraits and temporary installations,performances, and other works. This selection introduces about 30 works by Anzai
from the more than 200 of his photographs in the collection.

Artists Starring in the Art Film Series:
UMEHARA Ryuzaburo, KAWAI Gyokudo, TAKAMURA Kotaro, KABURAKI Kiyokata, SAKAMOTO
Hanjiro, and MAEDA Seison

Artists Included in the Art Visit Series:
ITO Shinsui, KAWASHIMA Riichiro, SAITO Yori, TAKAMURA Toyochika, KUMAGAI Morikazu,HIRAKUSHI Denchu, KAWABATA Ryushi
KODAMA Kibo, ISHII Hakutei, KONDO Koichiro, KOITO Gentaro, KIMURA Shohachi, KITAMURASeibo
TSUJI Hisashi, NAKAGAWA Kazumasa, TANABE Itaru, MATSUBAYASHI Keigetsu, YAMASHITAShintaro, YAMAGUCHI Hoshun
UMEHARA Ryuzaburo, NAKAMURA Gakuryo, ASAKURA Fumio, NAKAZAWA Hiromitsu, SHIRATAKI
Ikunosuke, MAEDA Seison
KANAYAMA Heizo, OKUMURA Togyu, NISHIYAMA Suisho, KATAYAMA Nanpu, IIZUKA Roukansai,
TOKUOKA Shinsen, SAKAMOTO Hanjiro
YASUDA Yukihiko, WADA Sanzo, FUKUDA Heihachiro, ARISHIMA Ikuma, MATSUDA Gonroku,
YOKOYAMA Taikan
TAKAMURA Kotaro, MASAMUNE Tokusaburo, YUKI Somei, ISHIKAWA Toraji, SAKAKIBARA Shiho,TOMIMOTO Kenkichi
YOSHIDA Saburo, ONO Chikkyo, TERAUCHI Manjiro, DOMOTO Insho, NAKAMURA Kenichi,
KABURAKI Kiyokata, KAWAI Gyokudo
KOSUGI Hoan, NODA Kyuho, SAITO Sogan, NAKAGAWA Kigen, IWATA Toshichi
SHIMIZU Takashi, MORITA Motoko, CHOKAI Seiji, YAMAMOTO Toyoichi, HAYASHI Takeshi

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Works on Display
4123104567891） TAKAMURA Kotaro, Hand, c.1918, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Photo: OTANIIchiro*Exhibition period: September 12 [Tue] - November 19 [Sun]2）YAMASHITA Shintaro, Offering, 1915, Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation
3）MAEDA Seison, Red and White Plum, c.1970, Artizon Museum, Ishibashi FoundationⒸ Y. MAEDA ＆ JASPAR, Tokyo, 2023 C4260
4/64）TOMIMOTO Kenkichi, Fresh Water Jar, decorated with flower and willow design, overglazeenamels, Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation
5）TAKAMURA Kotaro, from the Art Film Series entitled, TAKAMURA Kotaro, 1954.
6）MAEDA Seison, from the Art Film Series entitled, MAEDA Seison, 1957.
7）KIMURA Shohachi, from the Art Film Series entitled Artist Visit Vol.2, 1954.
8）TOMIMOTO Kenkichi, from the Art Film Series entitled Artist Visit Vol.7, 1958.
9）KABURAKI Kiyokata, from the Art Film Series entitled, KABURAKI Kiyokata, 1954.
10）KABURAKI Kiyokata, Portrait of Higuchi Ichiyo, 1940, Tokyo University of the Arts
ⒸKiyoo Nemoto 2023/JAA2300087

Exhibition Overview
Exhibition title:
Organized byVenue:Exhibition period:
Opening hours:
Closed:Admission (incl. tax):

Curators:

From the Scene of Creation ―Artists’ Archives in Films and Photographs
Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation
Artizon Museum, 5F Gallery
September 9 [Sat.] - November 19 [Sun.], 2023
10:00 - 18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays except November 3)*Last entry 30 minutes before closing.
Mondays (except September 18, October 9), September 19, October 10
Timed entry system(Online booking starts from July 7, 2023)
Online ticket: 1,200 yen
In-Person ticket (purchase at museum): 1,500 yenStudents: Free entry (Advance online booking required.)*In-Person tickets are available only for time slots that have not reachedfull capacity.
*Advance booking is not required for children up to junior high schoolage.
*This admission fee gives the visitor access to all concurrent exhibitions.
TADOKORO Natsuko, HARA Sayuri

Concurrent Exhibitions
Jam Session: The Ishibashi Foundation Collection x Yamaguchi Akira

Drawn to the Irresistible Sensation（6F Gallery）
Contact with the modern—and even more so with modern painting—had an adverse influence on Japan. Modern painting in Western Europewas a reaction against realistic and academic painting, an attempt torecover its essential nature. But what about modern art as introduced toJapan, which had no history of realistic or academic painting?
Yamaguchi Akira (b. 1969) responded with that statement to theIshibashi Foundation Collection, which includes modern paintings byboth Japanese and Western artists. In this Jam Session, we invite you toobserve Yamaguchi Akira questioning what "modern," a "Japanese-stylecode," and "the essence of Japan" mean as he tries to break away fromthe history and art systems imposed by society, driven by a sensation hefinds irresistible.
Flyer of Jam Session: The Ishibashi Foundation Collection x Yamaguchi Akira

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Selections from the Ishibashi Foundation Collection

Special Section Women Reading（4F Gallery）
Women engaged in reading has been a theme in European art since theeighteenth century. Modern Japanese artists who studied in the West havealso addressed that theme. This exhibition introduces works from theIshibashi Foundation Collection depicting women reading, including
paintings by Matisse, Cassatt, and Yamashita Shintaro.
This section introduces selected works from the Ishibashi FoundationCollection, which now consists of approximately 3,000 works, including
Impressionist paintings from the latter half of the nineteenth century,
modern Western paintings from the twentieth century, modern Japanesepaintings from the Meiji period on, postwar Abstract paintings, earlymodern and modern art from Japan and elsewhere in East Asia, andancient Greek and Roman art.
Marry CASSATT, Augusta Reading to Her Daughter, 1910, Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation

Artizon Museum
1-7-2 Kyobashi Chuo-ku Tokyo 104-0031 JapanTel. Domestic: 050-5541-8600 International: +81 47-316-2772 (Hello Dial)
https://www.artizon.museum/en/
Directions: 5 minutes on foot from JR Tokyo Station (Yaesu Central Exit); Tokyo Metro Ginza Line Kyobashi
Station (No.6, 7 Exit); Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, Tozai Line, Toei Asakusa Line Nihombashi Station (B1 Exit)

Images for Press Use
If using only one image, choose Photography in progress (Umehara Ryuzaburo on the lower left andTakaba Takashi on the second from the right) from Page2.
Include image credits as provided. Do NOT trim images or overlay them with text.
＊If using a detail, please add (detail) after the title of the work.
＊The work in image 3 is still subject to copyright protection, but we haveobtained permission to use it to promote this exhibition.
! Please download images from the site below.
Download images for press use here: https://www.artpr.jp/artizon/fromthesceneofcreation
For inquiries about this press release:
Artizon Museum Public Relations GroupE-mail: publicity@artizon.jp TEL: +81 3-6263-0132(Direct)
1-7-2 Kyobashi Chuo-ku Tokyo 104-0031

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