Moth Expansion

Moth 

Artist
MURAKAMI, Yoshio
村上 善男
Birth Year
1933
Death Year
2006
Date
1953 
Technique, Material, Format
oil on canvas 
Dimension
173.0 x 70.0 cm 
Donor name
Mr. Murakami Yoshio
Category
Oil or Other Painting by Japanese Artist 
Inventory Number
89-OJ-004 

This was the first full-fledged painting that Murakami Yoshio, who had initially aspired to be a theater artist while at Iwate University, created after switching to fine art. The artist later explained that he did not have the money to buy proper materials, so he stretched the lining of unused clothing over a frame made from stage construction timber to make his canvas. He even made the paints himself, dissolving dyes and whitewash with linseed oil. A second piece of cloth is attached to part of the canvas, he has mixed in course grain to thicken his paint in some spots and elsewhere he has made lines by scratching. In this way, the painting is brimming with evidence of his passionate struggle with his materials and his sheer enthusiasm for the work. With this painting, Murakami was selected for his first juried exhibition. It marks his debut as an artist.
(KATADA Yuko)

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