Jackson Pollock & Gutai Artists of Japan
Under Each Other's Spell: The Gutai Group and New York,
exhibition at the Pollock-Krasner House, opened July 30.
This exhibition examines the fruitful relationship that developed between the avant-garde Gutai
Art Group, which was founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1954 and New York artists in the 1950s and
1960s. It draws in particular on material in the Pollock-Krasner House collection, and a group of
paintings in the collection of Paul Jenkins, who was an artist in residence at the Gutai
Pinacotheca in Osaka in 1964. The paintings were given to Jenkins in exchange for his own
works as an act of friendship. As he recalled the time he and the Gutai artists spent together,
Jenkins said that they were under each other's spell.
In the groups manifesto, its founder Jiró Yoshihara defined Gutai as truth to the material of
which art is made, and lifting that material to spiritual heights. He singled out Jackson Pollock
and the French painter Georges Mathieu as artists who grapple with the material in a way which
is completely appropriate to it, and encouraged group members to emulate this approach. Their
efforts were publicized in a journal, Gutai, of which 14 issues appeared from 1955-65.
The Gutai group was well aware of its distance from the art worlds centers, and used the postal
system extensively to build their international network. These efforts resulted in their publication
of some of Ray Johnsons earliest moticos, and the inclusion of Gutai in Allan Kaprows 1966
book Assemblages, Environments and Happenings.Yoshihara collected art journals from around
the world, and also sent copies of the Gutai journal to artists overseas, including Pollock. In
1956, when B.H. Friedman was helping Lee Krasner organize Pollocks affairs, he came across
issues 2 and 3 of the Gutai journal in Pollocks library. Friedman wrote to the group, requesting a
subscription and commenting, I know these publications of yours must have been loved by
Jackson, as they are concerned with the same kind of vision and reality with which he was.
In addition to paintings by several Gutai members, including Yoshihara, Atsuko Tanaka, Shozo
Shimamoto, Sadamasa Motonaga, Kazuo Shiraga and Akira Kanayama, the exhibition will
include examples of the Gutai journal and other publications, works by New York artist who
related strongly to Gutai, videos of Gutai exhibitions and performances in Japan, and
photographs of American artists—including Jenkins, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns and
John Cage—visiting the Gutai group in 1964. It will be accompanied by a fully illustrated
catalogue, with essays on the interaction between Gutai and New York artists by guest curator
Ming Tiampo, Ph.D., assistant professor of art history at Carleton University in Ottawa, and on
Jackson Pollocks relationship to the Gutai group by Tetsuya Oshima, Ph.D., curator of the Aichi
Prefectural Museum in Japan.
The exhibition will be on view through October 17, after which it will travel to the Harold B.
Lemmerman Gallery of New Jersey City University.
The Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center is open to the public on Thursdays, Fridays and
Saturdays from May 1 October 31. The house is handicapped accessible. A video tour of the
studio is available to those using wheelchairs, walkers and other mobility devices that do not
have access to the studio.
May, September and October: One-hour guided tours on the hour, 11 a.m. 4 p.m., by
appointment only. Call 631-324-4929. $10 prepaid. Free for members, children under 12, and
SUNY/ CUNY students, faculty and staff.
June, July and August: One guided tour at noon, by appointment only. $10 prepaid. Call 631-
324-4929. General admission 1 5 p.m., no appointment required. $5 at the door. Free for
members, children under 12, and SUNY/ CUNY students, faculty and staff. Free audio guide
available on a first-come, first served basis (security deposit required).
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12:07GUTAI: Highlights from the exhibitionby nipponlugano787 views
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