On Kawara

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	On Kawara Exhibition kentaro ichihara


	When one thinks of a Japanese contemporary artist who is most famous worldwide, he must immediately think of the name, On Kawara. We should first of all, frankly appreciate that his full-scale retrospective has been held in Tokyo.
	Vietnam 1965 (photo: Andre Morin)
	The first time I saw the collection of his works was in Paris, 1977, in an exhibition held at the Pompidou Center. From among many Japanese artists, he had been selected as the first (the work featured was 'Date Painting'). However, even in Paris in the '70's, in contrast to pop art, conceptual art, in which Kawara is categorized, was not familiar to the general public. We can remember that there were few people at his exhibition at the Pompidou Center. Since then, more than 7,500 days have already passed (during this time, how many paintings has he made and how many postcards has he sent?), but has the situation surrounding this important art movement of the 20th century been improved?
	'I got up at' series (photo: Andre Morin)
	What are the reasons why conceptual art is considered difficult? Judging from Kawara's works, the look is not difficult at all. The date written on monochrome background, and the words written on the telegrams and postcards ('I am still alive. I got up at...') are insipidly simple, being understandable by anyone at first glance. The reason why people withdraw from conceptual art is because the expression method does not belong to the commonly accepted custom of art, and because the photographs or symbols, which are the motifs, are insipid and monotonous (there is also the aspect that the artist intended not to give any commodity value to the work from a critical viewpoint). However, what about the themes? Conceptual art was a movement in which the artists reconsidered the importance of the theme in art, placing emphasis on it. We may call it the art which used the 'importance of the theme' as the theme. Therefore, one extreme, pure form of conceptual art is a work in which it abstracts all physical materials, and presents the theme by making the meaning and content absolutely empty. One can clearly discern this abstract and vacant character in Kawara's work too. However, from his work, which stoically cuts off all extras, something excessive that cannot be restored to zero, comes through deeply. It is certainly not easy to clearly understand that from the curt arrangement of the components. This is even more so for an artist who does not use words, which are often used in his works, to clarify his intentions.
	Feb.19,1980 - Today series (photo: Hiro Ihara)
	Kawara left Japan at an early stage, creating a unique lifestyle of a cosmopolitan who wanders around the world. His thoroughness appears in his way of relating to the art world too. He never shows up in public such as at the openings of shows held in New York, where his studio is located. Even if one passes by him in Soho, he would probably not notice the artist. I saw Kawara several times when he visited a gallery, and although he had piercing eyes, he had a thin face and an inconspicuous, plain look, and did not seem like an artist. By hiding amongst the crowd, and isolating himself by becoming anonymous, he makes his work an empty signifiant that allows the worldly events to pass by indiscriminately, and at the same time, he tries to make us feel the whisper of the existence wriggling behind it which cannot be erased. In these terms, the fact that his works have returned to his home country, Japan, may give us an opportunity to reconsider not only art, but also the relationship between people and society in the post-war era.

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