kee.early gutai painitng.1954 to 1957

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Situating a Singular Kind of 'Action': Early Gutai Painting, 1954-1957Author(s): Joan KeeSource: Oxford Art Journal, Vol. 26, No. 2 (2003), pp. 123-140Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3600393 .

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Situating Singular indof Action':EarlyGutaiPainting, 954-1957Joan Kee

1. The retrospectiveookplacefrom Mayto27 June 999. The Gutaiinitiallytartedn1954underJiroYoshihara ith eventeenmembers,ncludinghozoShimamoto, surukoYamasaki, oshioYoshida, nd MichioYoshihara.n 1955,Kazuo Shiraga, kiraKanayama, tsuko anaka,SaburoMurakami,Yozo Ukita,FujikoShiraga,nd SadamasaMotonagaoinedthegroup.2. The exhibition,Kazuo Shiraga ctionPainter'(Akushyoneintaa hiraga azuo),tookplacefrom June o 22 July 001.3. In TheAvant-Gardexhibition:ewArtn the20thCenturyHarryN. Abrams:New York,1994), pp. 186-7.4. As delineatedn Shinichirosaki, PaintingBetweenAction ndMaterial', nBarbaraBertozzi nd Klaus Wobert eds.), Gutai:Japanischevantgarde:athildenhohearmstadt/Japanesevant-Garde954-1965 (MathildenhoheDarmstadt: armstadt, 991), pp. 65-79.5. See HisashiMuroi, Transit one - ModemJapanese rt',Art Text, o. 40, 1991,p. 55.

Ofincreasingote nthepastfewyears asbeentherevival f nterestn theworks f theJapaneseollective roupGutai GutaiBijutsu yokai,r, theConcreteArt Association),whose spectacular esturesand extensiveengagement iththematerialityf painting ave been the subjectof anumber fnewexhibitions,uch s the 1999retrospectiveeld t theGalerieNational uJeude Paume n Paris.1Among herepertoirefGutaiworksfrom hegroup'sfoundingn 1954 to its dissolutionn 1972, the earlypaintingsetween 954 and 1957 madeprior o French ritic nd nformelpromoter ichelTapie'sarrivalnJapan avebeensingledut forparticularcomparisono theHappeningsf AllanKaprow, nd aboveall, thepouredpaintingsfJacksonollock.Given heir ormalsimilarityith hesewell-knownworks, everal ritics nd arthistoriansavenarrowlyonstruedheGutaionly n comparisono these worksdespite he fact hatthe latteremergedrom istinctlyeparate gendas. hese omparisonsreproblematicin their attempt o situate Gutai works exclusively s offshootsrpredecessorsf worksalreadypossessing ignificanturrencywithin heModernistanon.

Relativelynchallenged,hemajorityfanalysesoncerningheearlyGutaiworkshavegenerallyallen ntoone of threekinds fcomparative odels.Probablyhemost ommon fthese ituateshe Gutaipaintingss successorsto those of Pollock, s was the case in the recentretrospectivef KazuoShiraga t theHyogoPrefectural useum fModemArt n 2001, wherecurator hoichi irai,known orhiswritingsn Pollock'spaintings,ramedShiraga'sworks s beingparallel o thoseof Pollock.Thiscomparison asenacted o thedegree hat ne ofShiraga's est-knownorks, oozo PleaseCome n],waspresentedsa stand-alonenstallationith lmost o referenceto theprocesswhichwas its actualraisond'etre.2The secondmodelofcomparisons one that ituatesheGutai s a precursoro othermovements,as evidencednthewritingsfAllanKaprowwhocelebratedheearlyGutaiworks s forerunners'oHappenings.imilarly,rthistorianruceAltshulerhasarguedhat oshioYoshida'snkpouringsnticipateikide Saint-Phalle'sTirs 1960) while AkiraKanayama's emote-controlledodel car paintingforeshadowsean inguely's eta-maticdrawing achinesndotherworks ftheNouveauRealistes.3ncontrast,he hirdmodelhasattemptedo considerthe Gutai s a bridge etween ollock's rand fAbstractExpressionismndKaprow'sHappenings, amelyn thewritingsf curator nd art historianShinichiro sakiwhere heGutaiworks re considereds paintingsocatedbetween ction nd material.4The enduring ersistencef construinghe earlyGutaiworkssolelythroughheprism fcomparative odels anpartiallye ascribed o thefactthat the Gutai were only accepted as a legitimate rt group when'discovered' yMichelTapie, as criticHisashiMuroi has argued.5 et toconfine iscursive arrativesoncerninghe practise f the Gutaiaroundthesecomparisonsnsinuatesn erroneous ind of hierarchicallinearitynOXFORD ART JOURNAL26.2 2003 121-140) OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

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which heearlyGutaiworks reconfigureds comparativelyessimportantthan heWesternworks hat reimplicitlyositioneds thekeepers ftheavant-garde.More seriously, hey restrictdiscussionto stylistic rformalisticonsiderations,nd thus failto consider he particularet ofmotivations ehind the creationof these works. They obscure theidentificationf the Gutai as an independent rganisation,he spirit fwhich s particularlyell articulatedn thegroup's eriesof eponymous,self-publishedournals. While this article concludes with a formalcomparison etween the earlyGutai paintingsnd Pollock's works,contend hat n adequate omparisonannot e thoroughlynactedwithoutacknowledgingheagendabehind uchexpression, hichwas theGutai'spursuit f an uninhibitedindof originalitynextricablyonnectedwithconsiderable easure freflexivity.'To Do WhatHas NotBeen Done Before'In theearly1950s,modernJapanesertisticpracticewasdominatedbythetediousSturm ndDrang f SocialRealism, hereportagerendpopular nTokyo, and the gentle,refined bstractionin particular, ost-war nihon-ga)thatwas exportedto foreign xhibitions uch as the Sao Paulo Biennale as'representative' fJapanese rtisticexpression.Amongcertaincircles,therewas a growingdesire to escape from hemonotony nd homogeneity f thisdominance, s summarisedbythenotedcriticTaro Okamoto who lamentednthe magazineAtelier hat 'most concerns of art are becoming increasinglysimilarinternationally.'6 s if n responseto Okamoto's impliedyearning orsomething unique, the leader, founder, and patron of the Gutai, JiroYoshihara, xhorted heyoungmembersof the Gutai to strivefororiginalityandnewness,which the artistsdulyheeded. 'If creationdoes not come fromeach man'spersonalfreedom t s meaningless',declared one member,SaburoMurakami.7In like manner, Akira Kanayama recalls how Shiragawouldfrequentlyriticisepaintings y dismissing certainwork as 'having een donebefore.'8The freedom' xtolledbyMurakami as beenposited s anexpressionftheGutai'sdesire o escape political ppressionndrejectorthodoxy,utsuch definitionffreedomsinescapablyasedonan dealistic,ights-basedmodel thatpresupposesn escape from n oppressive oliticalregime.Yoshiharawas not interestedn advocatingnykind of political genda,although utaiworks avebeen readbyarthistorianlexandra unroe ndcurator aulSchimmel,mong thers,s a responseo theprevailingoliticaland social situationn Japann the ate 1940sand early1950s.9AlthoughYoshihara anted hegroup o produce omethingiablynew' alongthelines f theworks lassifieds Dada ('I wasthinkinghat omething,quitenew idea whichwas not conceived efore he warmust mergen theartworld ikeDada afterheFirstWorldWar'), hedid not ntend he Gutai oemulate he Dada's formalstyles, orwas there ver an indicationhat heGutaidesired o utilise heir rt as a meansofpolitical xpression,s wasoften he ase withworksexplicitlydentifiedsDada.10The freedomsoughtbyYoshiharandotherGutaimembers,moreover, as less affixedo thepursuit f artisticvanguardismhan n attainingiberation rom retence,ambition,nd other orms fself-awareness.hisfreedom,he Gutaifelt,was an absolutepre-requisiten thecreation ftruly riginal aintingsndwasmanifestedntheGutai'ssingle-mindedmphasisn action, atherhanon thefinishedproduct.

6. Taro Okamoto, 'Sekai geijutsuno kakuritsu'[Establishmentf nternationalrt],Atelier, ay1951,p. 24.7. Anuntitledpiece bySaburoMurakaminGutai, o. 2, 10 October1955,p. 3.8. 'Shiraga Kazuo kun' [Kazuo Shiraga], Gutai,no. 4, 11July 956,p. 9.9. AlexandraMunroe, or nstance,peculatesthat heGutaiengagedn their ctionsnorderto hasten he ntroductionfAmerican-styledemocracy in Japan. See JapaneseArtAfter 945:ScreamAgainst heSky Harry N. Abrams: NewYork,1994), p. 84. Similarly,aul Schimmelspeculateshat he Gutaiworkswerea 'directresponse' o the fallout f the destructioncausedbythe Second WorldWar. Schimmel,'Leap into heVoid: Performancend theObject', in Out ofAction:BetweenPerformancendtheObject1949-1979, (Museum ofContemporaryrt ndThames nd Hudson:Los Angeles, 998), p. 25.10. JiroYoshihara, 'Waga kokoro o jijoden'[AutobiographyfMyHeart],KobeNewspaper,July 967.JamesRoberts laims hatYoshiharaenvisioned heGutai o play roleanalogous othat fDada after he FirstWorld War butYoshihara'swritings,ndthe GutaiManifestoitselfwhichacknowledgeshe Dada but doesnot consider heGutai o be indebted o it,refutes hevalidityfRoberts' onjecture.JamesRoberts,Paintings Performance',rt nAmerica, ay 1992,pp. 113-18. Similarityfappearance oes notreadily ranslatentoequivalence f ntent.Nevertheless,heGutaihavebeenconsidereds part f the Dada legacyin thecontext f exhibitionss pertheirinclusion in Dada inJapan: JapanischeAvantgarde1920-1970 at the Kunstmuseumiisseldorf,8Mayto 26 June1983.

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formsfpaintings certainlyebatable;fterll,theSurrealistsadsplashedtheirpaintsbout norder ounpack hepower ftheunconsciouss did theInformelpainters nd drippedportionswere visible n certain f HansHofmann's anvases. urthermore,he dea ofusing nconventionaltensilsformark-makingas not unique n theJapanese ontext oravant-gardecalligraphersad already xperimented ith wide array fmark-makingtools,fromgiant orsehairrushes ometalwires.But twas the Gutai hatfirstdevelopedhe dea ofpaintings a functionhat ouldbe reduced o anintense nd singular ind of actionthroughhe ambiguous onflationfviolence ndwhimsy. he whimsicalspiritwas a particularlyffectivendsharedtrategy,ort allowed heyoung aintersoshed elf-consciousnessndenable hem o,as Shiragaut t, investigatehose undamentalqualitieshatwe were all bornwith.'15'Playful' ircumventions:epudiating ierarchynd ConstraintBecause primaryeason orwantingopursuefreedom'throughhelargerpursuitforiginalityasrootedntheburgeoningesire oescape rom hatwasperceivedsa constrictingroup f rtisticrends,heGutai oncentratedonrepudiatingierarchy.s SadamasaMotonagawrote:

Theres limitlessmotionnnature.It s] n verybject,very erson,veryreature,ven na blade fgrass, utmost eoplehave ifficultyeeing tbecause hese reobjects hatwesee all the ime.. we arecreatingnewkind fbeauty here mazementndemotionrerestored.n hat rocess,we arecreatingselfwhich ill e able to recallhe mazementndemotionn verything.16Suggestedn this tatements a model in whichoriginalitys configureds anobjective that is initiallyunattainablebecause humans are too deeplyembedded in layersofpretence,ambition, nd cynicism hat are acquiredinthe process of physicalgrowth nd age. In orderto reclaim ost originality,layersmust be shed n a processof reduction.The Gutaipeeled each layerbyrepudiatingmbition nd self-glorylongwithdenying onsciously evelopedand stylised echnique.As Shiragaobserved, 'One cannot make art that sone's own if the intent is to produce works with societal messages orcommercial value.'17 All forms of self-glorywere rejected and ShozoShimamoto dmonished, I do not agreewith the dea thatholds thatpaintingwhich iberates tself romrigid deology ndgainswidespread pprovalmakesforgreat rtwork.18The Gutaiwere intriguedwith hequality f the commonas theyfelt t to be moregenuinethan n artificialhierarchy.19his attractionto the ordinary uggested similar ttraction o egalitarianism hichcarriedinto their exhibitionswhere there were no discernible star' paintersorshowcase works. As depicted in the fourth ssue of the Gutai journalcommemoratinghe October 1955 exhibitionnTokyo,and again n the 1956exhibition,paintingswere closelyexhibitedtogether n a tight, ompressedspace (Fig. 1). There is no sense that the paintingswere intended to becontemplated s 'great' (e.g. as epic solo works)20 nd throughouthe earlyyearsof Gutaiactivity,manyworks were untitled o as to avoid identifyingnindividualworkof art as suchsincetheywantedto avoid privilegingrtists sindividual stars,' at least prior to Tapie's arrival n Japanin 1957.21 Toprivilege ndividual rtists, nd thus to set up a 'hero' system n which theworks of one individual might be valued over another would be tocommercialise he collectivebyturningt intoa market n which thespirit fcollaboration n the name of originalitywould potentially isintegratentointra-groupompetition.

15. KazuoShiraga,Kotainokakuritsu'TheExpansion f the ndividualEntity], utai, o.4, p. 6.16. SadamasaMotonaga,Mizi' [TheUnknown],Gutai, o. 3, 20 October1955,p. 23.17. Kazuo Shiraga,Kotainokakuritsu'TheExpansion f the ndividualEntity], utai, o.4, p. 6.18. ShozoShimamoto,Mambo okaiga'[Mambo ndPainting], utai, o. 3, p. 22.19. The second ssue of Gutai eaturedheworks f Michikonui, thirteen-yearld girl,yetbothYozo Ukita nd ShozoShimamotomarkedlyiscuss erordinariness.kitawrites,'shewas an average tudent,omewhatmall fsize,and had no astonishingalents. he was nota person f distinction'n 'InuiMichikosano onosakuhin'MissMichikonui nd HerWorks], nGutai, o. 2, p. 30. Butthe fascinationithInuilay n whatShimamoto oted s the'truthfulness'f the works. hozoShimamoto,'InuiMichiko osakuhinniuite' AboutMichikoInui'sWorks],Gutai, o. 2, p. 30. On page 30,Ukita lsopraisesnui'sworks orbeing ble torealise thedifferenceetweengenuinenessndadulteration.'hiraga lso notes hat'expressionshouldnot be limited o certain, ualifiedpeople.' See 'Kotainokakuritsu'TheExpansionof the ndividualEntity], utai, o. 4, p. 6.20. This s not to saythatconceptionsf talentor qualitywere notconcerns ftheGutai.YozoUkitawrites hat'extraordinaryalent, niqueperception,echnicalkill re vitalqualities fan artist' uthe concludes hat t s 'theabilityto understandhe essence f the art hat s themostimportantuality f all.' Yozo Ukita,'Documentaryn the Second Edition f"GUTAI"', Gutai, o. 2, p. 32.21. The masshangingfpaintingshatcharacterisedheearlyGutai xhibitionssuddenly avewayto a highlyndividualisedtreatmentbeginning ith heninth ssueof theGutaiournal,publishedn 12 April1958,afterthe arrival fTapie inJapan.Unlike arlierissueswhichprimarilyonsisted fsmallphotographsmostly lack ndwhite, eryoccasionallyolour s in thefifthnd seventhissues)of the worksaccompanied ytheartists'names n bothEnglishndJapanese,he ninthissuefocused n the artist s much s theworks.Featuring merican ndEuropeanartists,ncludinge Kooning nd Pollock swell as the Gutaimembers,ach artistwasallotted pageuponwhichhis or her art wasaccompanied ya shortbiographynd aphotographf the artist. herewasa markedshift owardWestern-stylerivilegingftheindividual rtist hathad not beenapparentnthe morecollective, roup-orientedature ftheearlyGutai xhibitions.

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-. 4- . ._,,.~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~_ . ---

Fig.1. On-siteiew f he1956 SecondGutai rt xhibition.Photo: shiya ityMuseum fArt ndHistorynd he ormer embersf heGutai roup.)22. Shozo Shimamoto, 'Mambo to kaiga'[Mambo ndPainting], utai, o. 3, p. 22.23. As notedbySadamasaMotonagan Hitoriyogari toyoo goto' [About Dogma], Gutai, no. 4,p. 21.

In order to circumvent ierarchical tructuresn their rtisticpractiseandtheir own relationshipswith each other, the viscerality f human actionbecame the centre of the earlyGutai paintings.To be sure, there were ahandful f painters ike Shimamoto,Kanayama,and Toshiko Kinoshita whowere more convincedby the potentialof chance, or accident,as a means ofattaininghe unstudiedness nd freedomnecessary o achieve 'originality'.AsShimamotowrote, I think hatsuperiorpaintings an be made bypaintspiltover afteraccidentally ropping ballfrom he secondfloor ndknocking vera can ofpaint . . in that act there s no superfluous ction nor ambition.'22Kanayamacreatedpaintings y attachingn inkcartridge n a motorisedtoycar and having t run over a largepiece ofpaper (Fig. 2), while Kinoshita,former chemistry teacher, experimented with spontaneous chemicalprocesses.More generally, he Gutai turned to play as a means of transforminghepaintingprocess. Excitement nd fun were consideredintegral o the Gutaipainters nd the act of playingwas the most expansive strategy hat wouldencompassthe excitementexperiencedby each of painter, s well as enablethemto disregard elf-consciousnessnd external notions of 'correct' ideasregarding ainting.23 uipped Shimamoto,it would never do for hoseelitiststo consider masterpiece paintingmade by dancing hemambo on a canvas'and the Gutaiaccomplished heir ransformationby iterally sing he canvas sa site forsport, as in Michio Yoshihara's 1956 painting n which the artistdipped a bicycle n paint,then rode it on top of a canvas,Shiraga'swrestlingOXFORD ART JOURNAL26.2 2003 127



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It'44 *'b-N^^~~ z 24. Shozo Shimamoto, 'Mambo to kaiga'[Mambo ndPainting], utai, o. 3, p. 22.Fig. . Akira anayama akingremote-controlledaintingnhis tudio, 957,performance.(Photo: shiya ity useumfArt ndHistoryndAkira anayama.)matches with mud, like Doru ni idomu[Challenging Mud] (1955) (Fig. 3), or inhis foot paintings in which he appears to take Shimamoto's words to heart bydancing on the canvas surface.24With this transformation came the ability to strip pretence from action asShiraga achieved in his discovery of foot-painting: 'when I firstdiscovered myown individuality, I thought I would remove all ready-made clothes and

? e"?, r i` r r ? ?tfi. 1L?r"-?it:?,i?4 kur

( 2: "" ??S? 3_;?- .; Y?? t.)v?I! ? f%???- i.-5ic i. ,-ic ??.1.\ ?, .iLit'.rF i?* '-tr f ?+L- -r7t C4 ZIc*-\4 ?rrb ' V4r. r? L?. ??.?? ti'? " iFig. . Kazuo hiraga, oru i domuChallengingud], 955,performance.Photo: shiya ityMuseum fArtndHistory,azuo hiraga,nd he ormer embersf heGutai roup.)128 OXFORD ART JOURNAL26.2 2003

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EarlyGutaiPainting,954-1957

25. Kazuo Shiraga,Koi koso' Just ction],Gutai, o. 3, p. 22.26. FujikoShiragami,Yakaitenengowatashi'[Myself efore nd After he OutdoorExhibition], utai, o. 3, p. 23.27. FujikoShiragami,Yakaiten',. 23.28. Atsuko anaka, nterview ithAlexandraMunroe,24 August 991, cited nJapanesertAfter945: ScreamAgainstheSky, . 89.29. AtsuoYamamoto,Gutai 1954-72', GutaiI-II-1, (Ashiya ityMuseum f Art ndHistory:Ashiya, 994), p. 7.

become naked, formsblew away and all techniqueslipped offmypaintingknife.'25By this return o the visceral nstinct, he Gutai believed that a set,crystallisedorm fpainting ould be avoided. In one of heressaysforGutai,publicationwhichwas characterisedby its almost confessional oice, FujikoShiragami iscusseshow thedisposalofsetformwas inevitable n herprocessof transformation.efore the FirstGutai Exhibition, he 'craved expressiongreaterthanherself. wanted to express mmensepower whichhumankindcould never controlby anymeanspossible.'26She soon discovered,however,thather deal couldonlybe realisedthrough ymbolism, hich nturn,yieldedthe developmentof form.To pursue the developmentof form,however,would be 'uncontrollably uffocating... I had to change.'27Whimsy ndviolence, nherently ransgressiveualitiesknowingno order,became highly pronounced. Several members of the Gutai had beeninterested n whimsyprior to the actual formation f the group in 1954.Kazuo Shiragaand AtsukoTanaka, members of the Zero Group (Zero-kai)who later oined the Gutai in 1955, were especiallyengagedin these earlyexplorationsof the whimsical spirit. Shiraga's set of brightred canvasesemployed finger ainting echniques hatresulted n a push-and-pull hythmthatmade furrow-likemarkson the pictorialsurface.Coursing throughoutthe entirety f the canvas,the slack and pull of Shiraga's fingerss visibleatevery turn and junction. This tug-of-warbetween the artist and paintparalleled Shimamoto's Sakuhin Work] (Fig. 4), which was created byviolentlyrubbinga pencil over a canvas made of layers of newspaper. Amore vividexamplewas demonstratedby Atsuko Tanaka's Sakuhin [Work6], produced in 1955, which featurednumbersrepeatedlyscrawled withcrayonon fragmentsf cloth or paper. Made when Tanaka was hospitalisedand in a stateofhallucination, henumberswere taken from calendar on ahospital wall, and the numbers depicted in the work resemble absent-minded,unconsciousdoodlingthatmight e found n themargins f a child'stextbook or notebook.28Her use of crayonon paper reinforces he linktochildhood,while the simplearithmeticrepetition f thenumber 6' retracesthe equallybasic arithmeticearned n the earlieststagesof life.The insistentrepetition operates as a writtenplea to return to this early state; in herhallucinatorystate of un-self-consciousness, anaka has taken leave ofordinary estraint o pursueher nstinctive esirefor a return o herorigins,coded in this work as a simple positive nteger.The relationshipbetween viscerality nd childlike impulse as seen inTanaka's earlyworkswas fosteredby manyof the Gutai artists'experiences selementary nd kindergartenrt teachers.29 his relationshipwas more fullydeveloped in the Gutai's own relationshipwithKirin, children'sart andliterary magazine founded in 1947 and edited by Yozo Ukita, whichoccasionallyreproducedthe works of the Gutai. Fromthis nitial nterest nchildren's rtas an alternativemeans ofexpressiongrewa lasting ttraction othe impulsive nergy erceivedas the domain ofchildren.The Gutaipaintersvalorised this energyfor if theywere able to acquire the unbridled andunadulteratedenergy f the childlikeimpulse, heirworkscould stayfresh ndintriguing orever.This idea was explored in the second issue of the Gutaijournal and manifestations f the childlike impulse were discussed insubsequent ssues, particularlyn the fourth ssue where Yoshiharadescribesmanyof the Gutaimembers n termsordinarilyeserved o describechildren.In recalling he excitement fthe Kansai-basedGutaipainters n having heirfirstxhibitionnTokyo ('FirstGutai ArtExhibition',19-28 October 1955),YoshiharadescribesSadamasaMotonagaas looking so happykeepinga room

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I I 30. JiroYoshihara,The FirstGutai ArtExhibition', Gutai, no. 4, p. 3.31. Gutai, o. 4, p. 4. Yoshihara'sdescriptions" . ''may stem,however, rom ispaternalnterest4 .,f . 'i. ,, _,,in younger painters (in the sixth issue of Gutai,5* s ' i''* * ^ .:t. " there s a strikingeproductionf a letter ated

".., ' " 'N' 've' '1. w.rit' t h r.- 7 November 1956 written to Yoshihara by;*. .. . 3 'I "^ f *U FluxusmemberRayJohnsonnresponse o the_ . - interest heformerxpressed o B. H. Friedman?/ ~#'?^ B' -...5 ' ?St M , |B were nterestedn) as wellhisrole as surrogate" ~ '~" '.' F"^;'?''' - " father or heGutai, ll of whom were n their. '>^ :'t .( '. t .- >." late 20s or early 30s. Yoshihara'swn son,_. . i" ' \ .: '*.' '.' MichioYoshihara, as also partof theGutai.

f/ -* # l ^ , *.r'* ^.. . 32. Akira Kanayama, 'Shiraga Kazuo kun' IOn^i '^^^^^^^T^.~~*0 '^Ii' - * - '' '.i M[Kazuo Shiragal, utai,no. 4, p. 9.. '-'"K " ' ' "',A i '.,4. S:+ I

Fig. . Shozo himamoto,akuhinWork],954, paint nnewspaper,61 x 127 cm.AshiyaityMuseum fArtndHistory,shiya.Photo: shiya ityMuseum fArtndHistorynd ShozoShimamoto.)upstairs to himself, his oils on the walls and his "stones" on the floor' 0 whilecomposing a work of painted stones and likens the other members to'kindergarteners on a school excursion.'31 Far from any condescension thatmight be implied in this account, however, such description reflected thesignificance attributed to the childlike impulse. The impulse was critical for itsignalled a return to that stage in life where the mythical power to wonder,dream, and imagine was intact, free from a jaded perspective that blinded theindividual's capacity for sensitivity,creativity, and amazement.

Lightheartedness thus played a strong role in the Gutai rhetoric, and asKanayama mentions, 'there was no point in doing something that was notfun.'32 A further llustration of such lightheartedness was the reproduction ofa review of the first outdoor Gutai exhibition by the US armed forcesnewspaper PacificStars & Stripes n the fourth issue of the Gutai journal. TheGutai cut out the headline 'Art is a Hole in the Ground' and prominentlyplaced it on the centre of the page. Combined with the fact that the review is130 OXFORD ART JOURNAL26.2 2003

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EarlyGutaiPainting, 954-1957

33. JiroYoshihara, 'Gendai bijutsu engen' TheGutai rtManifesto],eijutsuhincho,December956, . 202.34. Osaki,nterviewith azuo hiraga,0July985, ocumentutai/Gutaihiroyoshu:1954-1972Ashiya ity ultureFoundation:gAshiya,993), . 380. a35. YozoUkita,Manatsuo aiyoi domu j. t:'modan toyagai ikkenten'Experimentalutdoor i OExhibitionfModerArt oChallengeheMidsummerurningun],Gutai,o.3, 1955,p. 26.

4'"crr

Fig. . Kazuo hiraga,oozo Pleasecome n], 955,performance.Photo: shiya ityMuseumfArtndHistory,azuo hiraga,nd heformer embersf heGutai roup.)reproducedon the next-to-last age (or thesecondpage to a Japanese eader)and translated nto Japanese,the Gutai wanted to imprintthe unwittinglyhumorous/absurdheadline into the minds of their Japanese readers asstrongly s possible.Often, the visceralitynvolvedin transformingainting nto play was sozealously pursued that violence, rather than whimsy, became the all-consuming heme. Indeed, Yoshiharahad urgedtheGutai to let the materialtakerevenge'33 ndmanyofthepaintingshatwere exhibited n thefirst howwhere the Gutai made their nauguralappearance ('Experimental OutdoorModern Art Exhibition o Challengethe Burning un', 25 July o 6 August1955 in the Ashiyaforest)featuredvisuallyaggressiveworks like Shiraga'sDoozo [Please Come In] (1955) (Fig. 5). Doozo was notable for ts set ofcuts,or scars on a pyramidal one oflogs set in theground.ConsideredbyShiragato be a painting, he ogsplaytherole. f canvas n whichthey erve as a passivereceptor f the keennipof the axe.34The axe wounds,violates, ndpenetratesthe wooden surface, eavingcreamy hipmarks s evidence of theravageandUkita notes that Shiraga'smotive in displaying his work was to 'expressinstinctive estruction.'35 ikewise,SadamasaMotonaga's Kugi Nails] (1956)(Fig. 6), comprisedof two poles studdedwith hundredsofnails, mpliesthesame sense of violent action. Protrudingmenacingly rom the surface ike aporcupine's quills,the nailsare still n theprocessofattack, hus onnoting heongoingprocess of destruction.This idea of attack also manifestedtself nShiraga'sbow-and-arrowsequence in 1957 when the artisthad groups offriends ssault groupof whitepanelswith rrowsdipped nredpaint Fig. 7).But althoughthe acts themselves are violent, they are not implicativeofmalicious intent or physicalmanifestations f rage, pain, or sorrow. Theactionsofthrowing ball against canvas,bottlesagainst hefloor,or hurlingarrows gainst anelsresemble ctualsportor child'splayto thepointthat heapproximation lmostdilutes the violence of thephysical ction.The insistence n usingweapons,or other mplements hat ould be used assuch - axes, arrows, nails - could easily be read as a metaphorfor thedestruction fJapan's ndustrial-militaryomplex following he Second World

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Fg. 7. Kazuo hiraga, hogendaianbaso Supermodemanbaso], 957,performanceiew f Gutai nStage'. Photo: shiya ityMuseumfArt ndHistorynd the formermembers f theGutaiGroup.)36. JiroYoshihara,The FirstGutaiArtExhibition', utai, o. 4, p. 3.37. Toshio Yoshida, 'Betu no zibun no goto'[RegardingAnother'Me], Gutai, o. 4, p. 24.Althoughhispiecewas signed12 February1956,fewof the Gutai rticlesweredated.

Fig. . SadamasaMotonaga,ugiNails],1955,paint n wood ndnails, 20 x 23 cmeach.Ashiya ityMuseumfArtndHistory,Ashiya.Photo: shiya ityMuseum fArt ndHistorynd SadamasaMotonaga.)

War. Thougha veritable edherring, uch a readingoverlooksthe nteractionbetween materials nherentn the acts of chopping, carving, nd hammeringand the Gutai artists' enjoyment n engaging n these acts. Certainlytheprofessional ttitudedisplayedbysome of the Gutaimembers npreparing ortheir ctions was not unlike athletes n training or an important ompetitionwith a formidableadversary. hiraga,forexample,worked on themud everyday to obtain the proper consistency n anticipationof his struggleand'obtained,forpurposesof thework [Doozo],a magnificentxe, which he wasshining veryday.'36 In spite of these painstaking rocedures,however, theprofessionalisms reworked nto the whimsicalspirit s Shiraga ranslatedt aspart of a game of masquerade and playacting.He experimentswith ToshioYoshida's idea of a differentI', or second self by assuming,but nevercompletely absorbing, different oles.37 Shiraga assumes the role of aprofessionalwrestler he momenthe enters he mud-filledring nd steps ntothe role of the warriorwhen he firstwields his shining xe against heinitiallyunyieldingnd hostilesurface f the wooden poles in Doozo.The acts andtheprocessofcreating hepaintings, owever,are never to betakenseriously. t s importanto note thatShiraga oes notactually bsorb thepersonaof an athleteor warrior, ince to departfrom he realm of simulationfor the realm of actualitywould implythat the artist s trying o duplicatereality.The materials mud and wood - are quixoticicons that erve as theartist'simaginarynemies,consequently educing heimpactof theirviolenceuntil t could be read more as a form fplaythan manifestationfbrutality.The artistplaysa role, that s to say,he engages n simulation ut never osessightof the fact that there is a clear difference etween duplicatingwhatOXFORD ART JOURNAL26.2 2003 133



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alreadyxists ndsimulatingredefinedodels,mages,ractionsnorder oaccomplish differentbjective.Simulationsuch as these xtended o otherGutaipaintings.n keepingwithYoshihara'surgingf theGutaimembers o co-operate ith ll artisticgenres romiteratureo music, he Gutaiplayedwithdifferentoles andguises.38 oshioYoshida,for nstance, nvisioned project n whichhewouldpaint y releasingolouredgasacross heOsakasky ccompanied ystage ights, ence'cinematising'hesky.39erformingctions nfrontfanaudiencewas but a variationf stageperformance,version f Shiraga'stactic n donning uises n whichhe suspended imself etweenrealityndpure fiction.n a similarmanner o Shiragawho masqueraded s, orsimulatedherole of the thlete rwarrior,heGutai xhibitionsimulated,or masqueradeds theatricalerformance.midst hefestive,matsuri-liketrappingsfstrungightsndaccompanyingusic, heir utdoor xhibitionssimulatedhe festivalr stage o as to spectacularisehepaintingrocess.This role-playingulminatedn the 1957 exhibitions'Gutai Arton theStage',held n Osaka on 29 MayandTokyoon 17July)n whichpaintingleft heoutdoorsnd the enclosed xhibitionspacefor heinherentlyublicrealm f thestage see Fig.7, forexample).Paintingputon' theguiseoftheatricalperformancen orderto attract s muchattentions possible,although he early exhibitionswere receivedwith surprisinglyittleinterest40nterest.

38. JiroYoshihara, 'Hakkan ni saisite' [OnPublishing],utai, o. 1, 1 January955,p. 3.This deawasalsorepeated yYoshiharan'Butai o tsukaugutai bijutsu' [Gutai Art That UsestheStage],Gutai, o. 7, 1957.39. Yoshida, 'Yatte mitai koto' [Things I Want toDo], Gutai, o. 2, p. 30.40. Tsuruko Yamasaki, 'Tokyono Gutaijin' [TheGutaiofTokyo],Gutai, o. 4, p. 32. Yamasakimentions erdisappointmentt the ack ofcriticalresponse o the FirstGutaiExhibitionnTokyo1955. 'Critics ften iscuss he contentofart nd whenthey annot indanything,criticizetby remarkinghat here s nocontent.'41. Shozo Shimamoto, 'Daisetsuna shinkei' TheImportancef theImpulse],Gutai, o. 4, p. 9.42. Osaki, BodyandPlace: Actionn PostwarArt nJapan',OutofAction,p. 148-9.43. Osaki, Bodyand Place: Action n PostwarArt nJapan',OutofAction,. 149. See alsohisessay, 'Une Strategie e 'action: Gutai, Pollock,Kaprow'TheStrategyfAction:Gutai,Pollock,Kaprow],n GutaiJeude Paume:Paris,1999),pp. 50-66.Neither ction aintingNor Happening':ASingularKind fExpressionGiven hisbackground,hedifferenceetween heearlyGutaipaintingsndPollock'sworksandto a lesser xtent, appenings)anbe morethoroughlyexplicated.n contrast o Pollock,whosedrip paintings emanded othattentiono process nd the finalproduct, herewas a crucialdifferencebetweenproductionndproductn theearly aintingsf theGutai, or hecruxoftheworkwas n tscreation,s stated yShimamoto:

Whenne's rrepressiblexcitementsexpressed,nd t s linkedo thepast hroughirectexpression,hevalue f he rt ies not n he rtist or he n hework.t ies n hewill ocreate4"Contrary o what Osaki has suggested that heresult nd the creation f theearlypaintingswere ofequal importance o theartists itwas theprocessthatoutweighedthe value of the product.42Osaki rightly otes that the actionswere performed orthe press, which supportsthe notion thatprocess andproductionwerekeyelements,but he does not deliver n arguments towhytheworks,the end products,were significanto thepainters hemselves, ndat least as significants thecompletedworks.Despite all the Gutai's attemptsto explode previous definitions f what paintingshould be, the finishedpaintingwas affordedgreaterstatus than that allotted for the process ofartmaking,venamongJapanese riticswell versed n thegroup'sactivities.43The assumption hat abour definedhere as thepainting rocess) is inferior othe product persists,although t was the very assumptionthat the Gutaisucceeded in subverting.Osaki's argumentof equality, that action wasreduced to form, nd that he Gutai ntended o focusonproducing hekindofpaintingntended o be hungforpublicview, that s, the endresult, s at oddswith the earlyworks.YoshiharapositedthatPollock servedthematerial,whichwould seem to bea persuasive iece ofevidence narguing hatPollockalso was in theemployof134 OXFORD ART JOURNAL26.2 2003



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44. Jackson ollock, My Painting', ossibilitiesI, New York,Winter1947-8, p. 79.45. William . Lieberman,Introduction',Jackson ollock: The Early Years The GeraldPetersGallery: antaFe andDallas, 1988).46. As stated n Answers o a Questionnaire',Arts nd Architecture,ol. 61, no. 2, February1944.

the paintingprocess. This was true to the extent that the latterventured'further nd furtherawayfrom he usualpainter'stools such as easel, palette,brushes, etc',44 but as art historianWilliam Lieberman has pointed out,'drawingwas always an essential component of his [Pollock's] art'45 andPollock himself tatedthe essentiality f craftsmanshipo his art.46Thus heserved the materialonlyto thepointthat uch servitudewould createlastingimpressions n canvas nthehopesofproducing good result.The members fthe Gutai, in contrast,had no record of establishedwork as emergingyoungartistsand expressed no interest n delineatingmonumentalor enduringimages. Indeed, to create such imageswould contradict hekind of ethos ofegalitarianrdinarinessthey ursuedboth as a meansofliberatingne's instinctas well as refutinghekinds fhierarchy heyperceived nsociety ndin the artpracticeofJapan t thattime. The emphasison playfurther nderminedanypossiblepretenceat making asting, arefully enderedimages.Consider the marksmade by Murakami, nd others ike Shimamoto,whomade paintings ythrowing ottlesofpainton a flaccid, impcanvas(Fig. 8),and Yoshida, who poured India inkfroma wateringcan at a point ten feetabove the canvas. Their canvases were memorable n theirrecord of smash,splash,and splatter ut lacked the controlneeded to produce a painting hatcould speak fluentlyf line and rhythm.n Murakami'sBorude kaitasakuhin[Painting, xecuted ByThrowing Ball] (1954) (Fig. 9), the artist reatedapaintingby throwing rubber ball coated with ink againsta white canvas.The remainingmark resembles a much-magnifiednk stain from a leakyballpointpen, completewith a comet's tail-likewake. The markpunctuatesthe canvas,but does not speak of any fluidity f motion or rhythmic race;it is simply a singularblack mark. Early Gutai paintingsthat relied onpouring, mashing, r throwing aintthus resembled a flurryf exclamationpointson canvas,an apt metaphor s thepaintingswere sudden, intense,but

Fig. . Shozo himamotoxecuting paintingy hrowingottles fpaints npaper tthe econdGutai rt xhibition,955. (Photo: shiya ityMuseum fArt ndHistory,hozo himamoto,ndtheformerembersf heGutai roup.)OXFORD ART JOURNAL26.2 2003 135



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47. Carter Ratcliff,The Fate ofa Gesture(HarperCollins:Canada, 1996), p. 3.48. CitedwritingyPollock nRatcliff,ate,p. 8.

Fig. . SaburoMurakami,oru e kaita akuhinPainting,xecutedy hrowingBall], 954, inkonpaper, 05.8 x75.6 cm.Privateollection.Photo: shiya ityMuseum fArt ndHistory,Makiko urakami,nd heformer embersf heGutai roup.)

short-lived.They broughtmaterial to life,but the resuscitationperiod wasbut momentary.Pollock's canvases, on the other hand, gave the material continued lifethroughhis ability o control,even when he was substitutingrushes withsticks and basting syringes s his preferredmeans of mark-making.Hispaintingsre morerightlyermed s 'actionpainting' o the extent hat ctionis onlya means to produce the enduring anvas. As critic Carter Ratcliff asobserved, Pollock's paint-flingingenerated a 'pictorial equivalent to theAmerican infinite.'47AlthoughPollock himselfemphasisedthe connectionbetween himselfndthepainting'the painting as a lifeof tsown. I try o letitcome through. t is onlywhen lose contactwith hepainting hat he resultis a mess')48 t was the earlyGutaipaintings hatemphasised he action over136 OXFORD ART JOURNAL26.2 2003



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49. Kazuo Shiraga,Koi koso'JustAction],Gutai, o. 3, p. 22.50. Ratcliffites wo instances herePollockactuallymadephysicalontactwith hecanvasPollock'shandprintsrevisible nNumberA(1948) and Lavender ist 1950). Ratcliff,ate,p. 110.51. Pollock,My Painting'.52. RosalindKrauss,ReadingPhotographssText', in Pollock:PaintingAgrinde:New York,1978).53. See Krauss,ReadingPhotographs'.

theresultsproduced ythe ction.AsShiragavenurgedn the hirdssue ftheGutaiournal,let's havedead, norganic aterialso that he races f heactionclearlyeturn.'49rom his omment,t can be assumed hat hedeathof hepainting,hichwas a concernfPollock's,was notsomethingearedbytheGutai.Pollock'sconcern orthepaintings tangible,venpaternalnnature.He wanted to maintainntimate ontactwith the paintings econceived.WhilePollockmaintainedkind freverenceor hesanctityfthe anvasspace and rarely,f ever,came intocontactwiththecanvas,Murakami,Shiraga,ndtheotherGutaipaintersreatedt as a siteforplay.50 ortheGutai, hecanvaswasnot a protectedpace ndtheywerenotsubject o theconstraintsfcontext,sPollockwaswithregardothe dea of heframe. sa functionf thewhimsicalimpetus ehind heirworks, heGutaihad noqualms boutinsertingheir odieswithinheframefthe anvas rthroughthecanvas.The actions f theGutaiaptly erifiedriticHaroldRosenberg'sidea of the canvas s arena factivity.hough ollock elthe couldbe in apaintingyworkinground canvas acked othe loor,hiraga'smudbathsamore adicalmanifestationfRosenberg'sdeaas the anvasliterallyerves sa physicalocation orhisstruggles.51Arthistorian osalindKraussargued hat efore ollock, therpaintingswereorganisedround hemoreconventionaliew that'painting' picturewasinfact minoraspect f 'creating' picture.'52 pplied o Pollock hiswas certainlyrue; he equalisedprocessand productby allottingikeimportanceoboth.TheGutai id nothave hisequalisationnmind ecauseincontrast ith ollock,who Krauss sserts ad closeaffinityothe anvas,theGutaihad noregard or hecanvas ave s a usefulreceptorrreceptaclefor heir ctions.53hecanvas tselfwas incidental,ven rrelevant,ndanyexpanse fspacewoulddo so longas ithadthecapacityo receive ction.Unlike ollock'svigorousanvaseswhichactivelyngagedheonlookerwiththeir ontinuationfmotionthrough hythmicatternsf lines,theearlypaintingsftheGutaiwereconsiderablyorepassive. heywerenotworksof rt ntended orcontemplationssuch, ut ecords factivity,muchmorefaded ersion f thevisceralenergyhat reated heworksnthefirstlace.Many arlyGutaipaintings,r moreaccurately,heresults ftheactions,werenot evenexhibiteds suchuntilTapie's arrival, ollowing hich heGutaicommittedo a moreconventionalstyle fpainting.ave forthoseworksmadebythosemembersftheGutai eforeheirGutaidays, heearlypaintingsack sense funityrcoherencentheircompositions seen ntheexampleof some of Shiraga's oot-paintingshereseveralcolours aresequentiallyaidontopofoneanothers fheexperimentedith necolour,becameboredordissatisfiedith heresult nddecided o try nother. hebold trokesfpaint o not nteract ith achother s nthedelicateweb-likeframeworkeen nPollock'sworks.Neither otheearlyGutaipaintingseemto havebeenappliedwith hekind fcarefulcompositionaleliberationhatcanbe discernednPollock'smassiveanvases.f hepaintingsreassessed npurelyonventionalerms,hats,asworks fartmadebyapplyingaint ocanvas,the works of Pollockand the Gutai are qualitativelyifferent,notwithstandingsimilar rocess fcreation.This aid, do notwant dvocate notherxtremendargue hat heearlyGutaipaintingserepurelyction-driven,hats,performanceskin oAllanKaprow ndother rtistsengagingn Happenings.WhileKaprow aw theHappeningss aninternationalovementfsorts, ncompassingheGutai'sworks s well as those ntheUS andEurope, heGutainever ntended heir

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works ocompriserbepart fanymovement,iven heirsingular ission opursue what they considered s originality. aprow's conceptionofHappeningss an alternative ind of movement r even genrecan beevidencedbyhislongdiscussionf tsdifferenceis-a-visheatrenhis 1961essay Happeningsnd theNew YorkScene'.4 On theother and,however,the Gutaiwereclearlynterestedn theatre nd the notion fspectacle sdenotedby theirwillingnesso be photographed.or all their nterestninterdisciplinaryxplorations,he Gutai,for the mostpart,focused heirpractice ponthemedium fpaint nd the ct ofpainting.A compellingxample emonstratingheenduringnterestf the Gutai nthemechanicsfmark-makings theexhibitionf Murakami's uttsu o ana[SixHoles] 1955) (Fig.10) and aterTsuka[Passage]1956) (Figs.11and12).This work was createdwhenthe artist lungednto a seriesof six paperscreens.Following is madrush, he tornpanelswere notput away,butinsteadwereprominentlyisplayedt the front f thegallery paceto becontemplatedytheviewer.Theseholesweredisplayednconjunction ithphotographsf thepristine,ntouchedanvas; herewas a before-and-aftereffecthat nderscoredhesequential ature f thework.Thisphotographicrepresentationromptedxhibition iewers o ask whatwas it that reatedthesecavernous, apingholes,and therewas an emphasis n the action,although he action could only properly e appreciated y viewing tsdocumentation. urakami ecame the medium hatmade the mark;hebecamethe 'paint'ofhispainting henhe ranthroughis walls ofpaper.Yoshihara otes the experience f becoming his'paint'during he 1955exhibitionn TokyowhenMurakaminvited imto openthe exhibitionbyrunninghroughpanel fgoldfoilwhich overed hemouth f he xhibitionspace: themoment shotmyselfhroughhepaper, heard great ang, orthe layers f paperwere stretchedo tightlyike a diaphragmf a largedrum.'55 hisexperience fbecominghemark-makingoolhimself, as,accordingoMurakami,n essentialpart fcommunicatingith he rt,for

54. 'Happeningsn the New York Scene' inAllan Kaprow, Essayson theBlurring fArt andLife, d. Jeff elley UniversityfCaliforniaPress:Berkeleynd London,1993), pp. 18-19.55. JiroYoshihara,On theFirstGutaiExhibition', Gutai, no. 4, p. 4.

Fig. 0. SaburoMurakami,uttsu o na [Sixholes], 955,performance.Photo: shiya ityMuseumfArt ndHistory,akiko urakami,nd he ormer embersf heGutai roup.)138 OXFORDARTJOURNAL6.2 2003



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56. Saburo Murakami, 'Gutai kaiga shoron'[Short ssay n Gutai] nBiyukuunka, ol. 6,November 957.57. Osaki, Bodyand Place: Action n PostwarArt nJapan', nOutofAction,p. 149.58. The Gutai entphotographsf the October1955 exhibitionnTokyoto Life,whichpromptedhemagazine o send a photographerfromSingaporeo takephotographsf the Gutaiworks rom to 8 April1956. The workstheywere nterestednphotographingncludedShiraga'smud-wrestling,recreation fDoozo,and Murakami's estructionfpaper. n 'Life ano Gutai bijutsu yassei' Life's Photographs ofGutaiArt],Gutai, o. 5, p. 25.59. ToshioYoshida,Yattemitai oto'[ThingsWant To Dol, Gutai, o. 2, p. 30.

Fig. 1. SaburoMurakami,sukaPassage],1956,performance.Photo: shiya ityMuseum fArt ndHistory,akiko urakami,and heformer embersf heGutai roup.)

Fig.12. SaburoMurakami,sukaPassage],1956,performance.Photo: shiyaityMuseumfArt ndHistory,akiko urakami,and heformerembersf heGutai roup.)

appreciationof the work was dependenton understandinghe vitality f itsmaker.56Although he end productwas less important hantheprocess,therewas an implicit cknowledgmenthatthe mark was crucialto the creation ofthe work.In thissense, the earlyGutaipaintings ivergedfromHappeningsbecausethere was an awareness of the importance of the mark left behindsubsequentto the action executed. Returning o Osaki, he states that theGutai leftmanyobjects as opposed to artistswho engagedin Happenings.57But here his qualitativeuse of the word 'objects' is problematic f fornoother reason than its affinityo the idea of a finishedpaintingexclusivelyintended for post hoc contemplation, something that the early Gutaipainingswere clearlynot. Still,the residual mark was intendedto be shownalong with the performance.As individuals, he Gutaipainters ursueda policyof un-self-consciousnessbut as a group,publicitywas necessary n orderto expand themagnitude fthesingle,or series ofactions. n contrast o Pollock who found t difficultopaint n front f a camera,Shiraga nd Shimamoto, mongothers, nvited hepress to watch their actions in which they made their works a site ofperformance,s in Shiraga's1956 recreation f Doozo ntendedfor nclusion nLifemagazine.58t was also necessary o releasewhat Toshio Yoshida noted asthe 'artistic nstinct o want to show one's picturesto as manypeople aspossible.'59This was true even if ome Gutaimembers uchas Shimamoto ndMurakamididnot concernthemselveswith whether hepublicitywas positiveor negative.The natureof thepublicitywas irrelevant:what others ellyouispreferable o do is not important.The important hing s to liberate one'sdesire into a form of freedomthroughone's own mode of expression.'60Seekingpublicity ccordingly ecame a sortof catharsis or he Gutai nwhichthe search for an audience throughtheir elaborately staged exhibitions,providedthem with an outlet forthis nstinct.Many photographs fthe earlyexhibitions, uch as those takenof the actions-in-progressre blurred,whileothers uch as Murakami's six holes' work were actuallyposed photographstaking lace after he occurrence f the action.61 he active earchforpublicityand an audience corroborates he Gutai emphasisupon process. In addition,the elaborateexhibitions ndperformancesonnotea processofspectacularis-ingaction ntended o drawgreater ttention o theprocessas opposed to thefinishedpainting.Ironically nough, t would be theGutai's desire of exposure, particularlyinternationalexposure,thatwould facilitate definitivehiftn theirpractice.After 1957, the Gutai gradually abandoned their actions in favour ofconventionalmodes ofpainting s per Tapie's influence nJiroYoshihara,whofelt that the Gutai could obtain increasedrecognition hrough onventionalpainting.As Yoshihara nd theother membersbecame more concernedwiththe act of exhibitionfor a consciouslyacknowledged audience, the Gutaipaintings rguablyfell nto the constraintsimposed by societal and audienceexpectations hattheytriedto escape in the firstplace. In spite of this,theGutai paintersdemonstrated heirbrillianceby fusing myriadof strategiesthatgave theirworkscomplexity rom conceptualperspectivebutmanagedto be disarminglyimple in appearance. They accomplishedthisthroughstrategy fplaywhichwas predicatedon the disavowal of self-consciousness,selfishmbition, ndpretencewhich nabledtheyoungpainters o concentrateon action ratherthan the finishedproduct. This focus on whimsy nd playparticularly istinguished he creativeprocess from which the early Gutaiworks were made from other stylisticallyimilar,but ultimately ivergent,

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movements.Rephrased, n following heirself-imposedmandate to pursueoriginality,heyoungGutaipainterswere chargedwith theresponsibilityoinvent new strategies f expression,the pursuitof which resulted in thedevelopment f a distinct oice within hepanoplyofavant-garde ractice, nJapan nd elsewhere.60. Saburo Murakami, 'Koi no gomibakko' [TheWastebasketfAction],Gutai, o. 4, p. 13.61. I amgratefulo MizuhoKatoforpointingthis ut to me.

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kee.early gutai painitng.1954 to 1957

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