167 The Japanese Mingei Movement and Catalan Artists (1) Ricard Bru The mingei movement began to take form in 1926, when Yanagi Sōetsu, together with Hamada Shōji and Kawai Kanjirō, established the foundations of the Nihon Mingei Kyōkai, the Japanese Folk Crafts Association, aimed at collecting, studying and disseminating appreciation and knowledge of mingeihin, Japanese folk arts and crafts. Five years later, the association created the Kōgei monthly magazine, while in 1936 Yanagi founded a specific museum in Tokyo, the Nihon Mingeikan. Thus, in ten years, the mingei movement took shape around a series of people who believed in the aesthetic and spiritual beauty of many functional and everyday pieces that, until that moment, had been excluded from the great museums, from history and from public recognition. Many studies have been published on the mingei movement, most of them stressing the reasons for and the context of its appearance and the impact that it has had on Japanese aesthetics and consciousness. However, the impact that this movement had on foreigners has probably not been completely studied; there were numerous Europeans and Americans who, living in or passing through Japan, were deeply attracted by Yanagi’s aesthetics, philosophy and ideas. Indeed, it was precisely at that time, during the thirties and forties, that two Catalans, Eudald Serra and Cels Gomis, travelled separately to Japan, and just a few years later they were leading the spread of the Japanese mingei movement’s theories and aesthetics in Catalonia. Eudald Serra, born in Barcelona in 1911, studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts, and, while still very young, became one of the first introducers of surrealism into Catalan sculpture. Serra presented his surrealist works, mainly sculptures and drawings, in 1935, the year when he decided to join a university student trip to Japan to explore a different culture. Unlike the rest of the Spanish travellers, Serra arrived in Kōbe in summer 1935 with the aim of staying there for several months, although at that time he could never have guessed that months would turn into years due to the start of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and, later, the outbreak of World War II. The war forced him to remain in Japan for 13 years, until 1948, but at the end of his life he still described his time in Japan as the best experience in his life: there, he worked as an artist, he travelled, he made new friends, he married and he saw the birth of his daughter.
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The Japanese Mingei Movement and Catalan Artists
(1)
Ricard Bru
Themingeimovementbegantotakeformin1926,whenYanagiSōetsu, togetherwithHamadaShōji andKawaiKanjirō, established the foundationsof theNihon Mingei Kyōkai,theJapaneseFolkCrafts Association,aimedatcollecting,studyinganddisseminatingappreciationandknowledgeofmingeihin,Japanesefolkartsandcrafts.Fiveyears later, theassociationcreated theKōgeimonthlymagazine,while in1936YanagifoundedaspecificmuseuminTokyo,theNihon Mingeikan.Thus,intenyears,themingeimovementtookshapearoundaseriesofpeoplewhobelievedintheaestheticandspiritualbeautyofmanyfunctionalandeverydaypiecesthat,untilthatmoment,hadbeenexcludedfromthegreatmuseums,fromhistoryandfrompublicrecognition.Manystudieshavebeenpublishedonthemingei movement,mostofthemstressingthereasonsforandthecontextofitsappearanceandtheimpactthatithashadonJapaneseaestheticsandconsciousness.However, the impact that thismovementhadon foreignershasprobablynotbeencompletelystudied;therewerenumerousEuropeansandAmericanswho,livinginorpassingthroughJapan,weredeeplyattractedbyYanagi’saesthetics,philosophyandideas.Indeed,itwaspreciselyatthattime,duringthethirtiesandforties,thattwoCatalans,EudaldSerraandCelsGomis,travelledseparatelytoJapan,andjustafewyearslatertheywereleadingthespreadoftheJapanesemingeimovement’stheoriesandaestheticsinCatalonia.
EudaldSerra,borninBarcelonain1911,studiedsculptureattheAcademyofFineArts,and,whilestillveryyoung,becameoneofthefirstintroducersofsurrealismintoCatalansculpture.Serrapresentedhissurrealistworks,mainlysculpturesanddrawings,in1935,theyearwhenhedecidedtojoinauniversitystudenttriptoJapantoexploreadifferentculture.Unliketherestof theSpanishtravellers,SerraarrivedinKōbeinsummer1935withtheaimofstayingthereforseveralmonths,althoughat that timehecouldneverhaveguessedthatmonthswouldturnintoyearsduetothestartoftheSpanishCivilWarin1936and,later,theoutbreakofWorldWarII.ThewarforcedhimtoremaininJapanfor13years,until1948,butattheendofhislifehestilldescribedhistimeinJapanasthebestexperienceinhislife:there,heworkedasanartist,hetravelled,hemadenewfriends,hemarriedandhesawthebirthofhisdaughter.
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InJapan,Serraworkedasasculptorandexhibited in individualandcollectiveshows,suchastheNika-tenandtheArtsectionsoftheHankyū andDaimaruDepartmentStores.Fortunately,memories,notes,descriptions,photographs,sculpturesanddrawingshavebeenpreservedasa testimonyofhis life.Duringthefirstyears,hehadto livewithoutmoneywithKorean immigrants inasmallcottageonabeachatKōbebut,ashefoundhisfirstclientsandpatrons,his lifebegantochange,especiallyafterhemarriedEdmondeIba,daughterofaFrenchwomanandaJapanesediplomatwhowasthesonofthepresidentofSumitomo,IbaTeigō.SerrawasgraduallyintroducedtotheworldofJapaneseartandcultureanddiscoveredartistic traditionssuchasceramics,whichbecameoneofhispassions.Atthebeginningoftheforties,Serradecidedtostartexploringotherartistic techniques,notonlyceramicsbutalsoJapanesewoodblockprinting, engravingandeven lacquerwork.Both this technicaldiversificationandtheaesthetic forms thatdominate theworksof thoseyearsconfirm thathequicklydiscoveredandembraced themingeimovement, its aestheticsand itsphilosophy,visitingartists,artisans,ceramists,collectionsandmuseumssuchastheTōyō minzoku habutsukan in Naraand,veryprobably,theNihon MingeikaninTokyo.
Serraalsobecameinterestedinsomeofthethemesexploredbymembersofmingeimovement,particularlyYanagiSōetsu,suchasŌtsu-epaintingsandainuculture.Ōtsu-ewasoneofthesubjectsthatmostattractedYanagi,tothepointthattheywereincludedinmostmingei discourses.Naiveandanonymouspaintings, the Ōtsu-eoftheEdoperiodwereseenasaclearexampleoftheaestheticpurityoftheJapanesecommonpeopleand,assuch,begantobecollectedduringtheTaishōandShōwaperiods.Duringtheforties,Serra, togetherwithJean-PierreHauchecorne (thesonof theFrenchconsul),weretheonlyEuropeansstudyingŌtsu-e inJapan.Asaresult,Serrabuiltupanextensivecollectionthatallowedhim,even, toorganizeanŌtsu-eexhibitioninŌsakain1946.Thecoincidenceof interestswithYanagi isfurther illustratedbythefact that, in thesummerof1947,SerravisitedtheShiraoiandAsahikawaainuvillages,thosesameainuvillagesvisitedsomeweekslaterbyYanagi.SerrawenttoHokkaidōtomeet,hesaid,aforgottenpeoplethatwereabouttodisappear,andaculturethatthemingeimovementtriedtore-evaluate.Hetravelledtherealsotoreproduceseveralportraitsofsomeofthelastainutribalchiefs,suchasMiyamotoekashimatok.
Theartist’s interest inmingei is further emphasized in an interviewofSerrapublishedintheNihon bijutsu kōgei magazinejustafter theendoftheWorldWarII,in1945.Init,theartistspokeofhisspecialinterestnotonlyinfuroshiki,suchasthosemadebySerizawaKeisuke,butalsoinhandmadecraftssuchaskokeshidolls,traditionaltansu furniture,koinobori carp-shapedstreamersandyatatewritingsets.Serraalso
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mentionedceramicsashisgreathobby,withparticularreference toKawaiKanjirō’sworks.Aswecansee, then,duringhislongstayinJapan,Serratravelledalloverthecountry,becominginterestedinfolkartsandstartingnewrelationshipwithcollectors,sellers,artistsandscholars,somethingthatenabledhimtobuildupaprivatemingeicollectionofmorethanathousandpieces.WearetalkingaboutaninterestingcollectionthatdemonstrateshowSerra followed the selectioncriteria andaestheticmodelsdefendedbyYanagiandtheNihon Mingeikan.Serracollected,for instance,allkindsofceramics,fromhaniwatorepresentativepiecesoftheSixAncientKilns,alongwithanonymousceramicsfromtheEdoperiodandmodernpiecesmadebyfutureLivingNationalTreasures,aswellasbyleadingmingeiceramistssuchasHamadaandKawai.Serraalsoboughtasignificantnumberofema,Ōtsu-e, takuhon,signboards,furniture,weavinganddyeingtextiles,sculptures,reliefs instoneandwood,popularfolktoys,lacquerware,strawgoods,masks,ainupieces,oldandnewJapaneseandKoreancrafts,andallkindsofpieceslinkedtotheteaceremony,whichwasanotherofSerra’shobbies.Wecanaffirmthat,apartfromceramics,Serracollectedmostofthosetypesofpieceshighlightedbythemingeimovement.
ForacompleteunderstandingofSerra’swide interest inJapanesefolkarts, it isimportant to take intoconsiderationnotonlyhisprofessionalcontactsbutalsohisprivatelife.Inthisregard,friendssuchasYamanouchiShinpuandCelsGomisfollowedsimilarpaths.Gomis,borninBarcelonain1912,arrivedinJapaninSeptember1939andafewdaysafterhisarrivalmetSerrainTokyo.Evenso,Gomis’interestinpopularfolkcraftsapparentlybeganseparatelyandinparallel:SerrabeganhisapproachtomingeiaestheticsmainlythroughceramicsandGomisdidsothroughtraditionalfolktoys.Fromtheveryfirstmoment,GomisbecamedeeplyattractedbytheJapanesefolktoys(kokeshi,ejiko,Yawata-uma,aka-beko…),tothepointthat,inonlythreemonthsafterarrivingJapan,hewasalreadyvisitingspecializedshopsandmeetingcollectors.Duetohisenthusiasm,hequicklyenteredintothecircleofkyōdo gangucollectors fromKantōandKansai, suchasKomenamiShōichi,WatanabeKō,FukazawaKaname,YamanouchiShinpu andKumoiSeizan(Fig.1).
In Japan,CelsGomis also became agreat admirer ofSerra’swork andboughtseveral of his sculptures, drawings andceramics.SerraandGomissoonstruckupa
Fig. 1. Cels Gomis visiting the kokeshi collection owned by Kumoi Seizan, 1940. Gomis private archive.
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closefriendship,andbegantosharetastesandhobbies.Thus,althoughfromtheverybeginningGomisandSerrametdifferentcirclesofcollectors,artisans,amateursandscholars, it is important tohighlight that,over theyears,someof thosepeopleendedupsharingfriendships.Notsurprisingly,Gomisbuiltuphisownmingeicollection,includingEdoperiodandmodernceramics,craftsproducedforeverydayuseandanextraordinaryselectionoffolk toys includingmorethan400dentō kokeshiproducedbymostof themanufacturers that livedinNorthernJapanduringthefirsthalfof the20thcentury.Apartfromthosecollections,SerraandGomisalsoformedanextensivelibraryonJapanesefolkarts, includingJapanesemagazinesandbookspublishedbyNihon Mingei Kyōkai.Inshort,overtheyearsthatSerraandGomislivedinJapan,from1935to1948,theybecameintimatelyattachedtothemingeimovement,tothepointthattheystudied,learnedandtookdelightedinthoseattractivenewaesthetictheoriesbasedonunself-consciousness,spontaneity,vitality,ruggednessandharmonyofanonymouscraftsforeverydayuseproducedbyordinarypeople.OnlyfromthispointofviewcanweunderstandthattheirpassionforfolkartsdidnotendinJapan.Onthecontrary,backtoBarcelona,theytriedtospreadthemingeimovementinCatalonia.
In1948,SerrareturnedfromKōbetoBarcelona.Gomisarrivedinthesummerof1946butafewmonths later leftforEnglandandlater toArgentina.Thetwofriendsdidn’tmeetagaininBarcelonauntil1952.However,oncebackinthecity,theydecidedtoundertakecommonartisticprojects todisseminatethemingei movementthroughanetworkofcommonfriendsthat,previousto1936,hadbeguntocollaboratetopromotemodernandavant-gardeart inCatalonia.Amongthem, therewere thephotographerJoaquimGomis,brotherofCelsGomis, thereputedceramistsJosepLlorensAtigasandhissonJoanGardyArtigas,andJoanMiró,whowasaclosefriendoftheGomis,ArtigasandSerrafamilies.Asanexampleof thisfriendship,over theyearsJoaquimGomisbecamethefirstpresidentoftheMiróFoundation,whileJosepLlorensArtigasandJoanGardyArtigasbecametheauthorsofthevastmajorityoftheceramicspaintedbyJoanMirófromfortiesonwards.Inthiscontext,in1950,justaftertheendofWorldWarII,havingrecentlyreturnedfromJapan,bothEudaldSerraandCelsGomis(fromthedistanceinArgentina)organizedthefirstJapanesefolkartsexhibition(Exposición de arte popular japonés,April1950)indowntownBarcelona.
Fig. 2. Eudald Serra and Joan Miró at the entrance to the first mingei exhibition in Barcelona. Both artists appear in front of the poster reproducing a modern Ōtsu-e by Nichinen, owned by Serra and Gomis. 1950. Gomis private archive, Barcelona.
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that themingei movementhadon theworkofCatalanartists,thefirstevidenceoftheinfluenceofthoseJapanesemodelswasinitiallyborninaprojectdevelopedtogetherbyArtigasandSerra.Thiswasin1953,whenEudaldSerraandJosepLlorensArtigas haddecided towork closelytogether toproduce severalhundredceramicswiththeaimofputtingintopractice,astheysaid,theYanagi’sideasonbeautyandfunctionaldaily-lifeceramics:“inthisinitiative,theyrediscovereda lost traditionandconfernewaestheticdignityonobjectsofeverydayuse,redeemingthemfromtheburdenofmassproduction”,wrote theartcritic JordiBenetAurell
(3).Asa result,between
1953 and 1955, Serra andArtigas organizedthree successful exhibitions to present theircollaborativepieces,all themsignedAR-SE,forArtigasandSerra.Thesewereenamelledpotteriesforeverydayuse,madein thespiritandformalcharacteristicsverysimilar toJapaneseceramictraditions(Fig.4),presentedalongwithikebana,Japanese fabricsand Japanese tansu furniturefromSerra’scollection.
ArtigasworkedalsowithMiró.ThetwometinBarcelonain1912andlaterfollowedparallelpaths, the formerasapainterand the latterasapainteruntil 1944-1945,whenboth friendsdecidedtobegintheirclosecollaboration.Theirfirstceramicsdatefromtheforties,butmostofthemweremade from1953on, afterArtigasestablishedapotteryworkshopsintheoutskirtsofGallifa,inan18th-centuryhouseinthemountainsnotfarfromBarcelona.There,MiróandArtigas
Fig. 3. Josep Llorens Artigas and Yanagi Sōetsu at the International Conference of Craftsmen in Pottery and Textiles held in 1952 in Darlington Hall, England. Fundació Artigas, Gallifa.
Fig. 4. AR-SE bowl (shape by Eudald Serra and enamels by Josep Llorens Artigas) produced in Gallifa in 1953. Private collection, Barcelona.
producedworksrangingfromsmallervases to largemurals,suchas thoseatUnescoheadquartersinParisandthe50metre-longmuralatBarcelonaAirport.
Whilestillyoung,healsobegantodevelophisownfascinationforEasternceramicsandthemingei aestheticinparticular,tothepointthatin1961heappliedforascholarshiptostudywithHamadainJapan.Asaresult,in1962,GardyArtigastravelledtoJapan,tocontinuehistrainingandpracticeatHamada’spotteryworkshop,establishedinMashikoin1924.Needlesstosay,theJapaneseexperiencewaspivotalforJoanGardyArtigas,notonlyprofessionally,asaceramist,butalsopersonally,sinceduringhisstayinJapanhemarriedIshikawaMasako(Mako-san).Thephotographsof thewedding,held inTokyoin1962,showclearlyhowthemingeimovementhadtakenroot intheArtigasfamily:HamadaShōjiandBernardLeachactedaswitnessesat theceremonyandalltheceramicsat thebanquetweremadebyHamadahimself.Referenceto thesemoreprivateaspectsofArtiga’slifeisimportantsincehelpsustounderstandtowhatextenttheadoptionofcertainpracticesfromthemingei movementwerequicklyacceptedandsharedbyCatalanceramistssuchasArtigasandSerra.Indeed,asinthecaseofSerra,ArtigasandHamadaalsogotonwellinJapan,formingaclosefriendshiptothepointthatbothceramistswroteessaysofmutualadmirationinthepress.ThoseyearswereoneswhenArtigaswasworkingonMiró’sfirstlargemurals,suchastheMurals of the Sun and the Moon (1957), theMural of the Harvard Graduate Center (1960)andtheMural of the Handels Hochschule of Saint Gall(1964).Inotherwords,weshouldtakeintoconsiderationthat,atthattime,requestsandcommissionsfornewworksbyMiróandArtigaswereincreasingand,inviewofthis,Artigasneededalargerkiln.Insomeway,wecansaythateverythinghappenedattherightmoment,becauseArtigaswantedaJapanesekiln.Asaresult,onlyoneyearafterthemeetinginTokyo,HamadatravelledtoGallifa,whereaJapanese-stylewood-firedclimbingkiln(noborigama)wasbuiltusingHamada’skilninMashikoasthemodel.Fromthenon,mostoftheceramicsbyMiróandArtigaswereproducedintheso-calledMashikokilndesignedbyHamadaandbuiltinGallifa.
After theadditionofMako-santothefamilyin1962, theArtigas’admirationforJapaneseculturebecameevident in thehouse.Duringthefollowingyears, theybuiltseveralnoborigamaandanagamakilnsinGallifaneartheoldhousevisitednotonlybyMiróandSerra,butalsobyHamadaandBernardLeach.Thehouse,withart ineverycorner,embracedthefusionofCatalanandtheJapaneseculturesquitenaturally.Olddoorsweresubstitutedbyotheroldshōjislidingdoors;inthefireplaceakatazomemingei potterymapofJapanbySerizawaKeisukewaspermanentlyhung,whileeveryMaythemountainous landscapewasaccompaniedwithkoinobori.Furthermore, thefamilycreatedanotherprivate, emotivemingei collection formedbyhundredsofceramics,furniture,folktoys,lacquerware,strawhats,scrolls,katagamiandsoon.
Manyof the referencesalreadymentionedsofardateback to thesameperiod.
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Fromthispointofview, it isnoteasy tosynthesize theprocessof introductionanddisseminationofthemingeimovementwithouttakingintoaccounttheparallelactivityofmanyof itsprotagonists.Theclearestexampleof this is thefact that,parallel tothetripsofArtigastoJapanandHamadatoCatalonia,EudaldSerra,whowasaclosefriendofArtigasandHamada,undertookotherambitiousprojectstopromoteculturalandartistic interchangeswithJapan.Amongthem,themostoutstandingwashis longcollaborationwith theEthnologicalMuseumofBarcelona tocreateamajorpubliccollectionofJapanesemingei.
Itwasin1948when,havingrecentlyreturnedfromJapan,andbeforetheopeningoftheEthnologicalMuseuminBarcelona(1949),EudaldSerracontacteditsdirector,AugustPanyella.Although the initialproposal to stageamingei exhibitionat theMuseumin1950didnotprosper,a fewyears laterSerraandPanyellamanaged topersuade theCityCouncil to financeseveralexpeditions to Japanwith theaimofcreatinga Japanese folkcrafts collectionwithequivalent categoriesand typesofpieces to theones in thesuperbNihon Mingeikancollection.EudaldSerra returnedtoJapanmanytimesover theyearsand,from1957to1968,wasresponsibleoffourexpeditionstoJapan(1957,1961,1964and1968)thankstowhich2,462pieceswerecollected.Asa result, in thesixties, theEthnologicalMuseumwasenrichedbyanextensivemingei collection includingOkinawanbingata,Ōtsu-e,votivepaintings,sculptures,reliefs, furniture,papers,prints, takuhonhandscrolls, traditionalfolk toysandallkindsofoldandmoderneverydayhandcrafts.Equally,SerraboughtmodernpiecesrecentlyproducednotonlybyanonymouspeoplebutalsobyNationalLivingTreasures, includingAbeEishiro,someof themkeyfiguresinthemingei movement,suchashiscolleagueSerizawaKeisuke(Fig.5),whovisitedSerrainBarcelonainApril1966.Finally,Serra’spassionforceramicsencouragedhimtotravelalloverthecountryto build up a spectacular collectioncontainingavast rangeofpieces fromall regions, styles and forms, fromanonymousprehistoricandEdoperiodworks to contemporary pieces byHamada,ArakawaToyozō, FujiwaraKei,KaneshigeTōyō,Miwa Jusetsuandmanyothers.All theseacquisitionsgreatlyenrichedtheformerlyratherpoorJapanesepubliccollectionsinCataloniaandenabledBarcelonaCityCouncil toorganize threenewmingei exhibitionsfrom1959to1969.
Fig. 5. Katazome stencil designs by Serizawa Keisuke at the Ethnological Museum of Barcelona. Designs on paper bought by the Museum to Eudald Serra in 1958.Ethnological Museum of Barcelona.
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Havingpresentedalltheseinitiativesandrelationships,allthesenamesandprojectsthatwehaveseenseparatelycanbe taken together toenableus to fullyunderstandthe impactof themingeimovement inCatalonia.Thiscanbe illustratedbyseveralrepresentativeexamples,as is thecaseofnumerousMiró-ArtigaspiecescomparedtoworksbyHamada(Fig.6): thevaseswood-firedbyArtigasandMiróinGallifain1962,theyearwhenArtigasandHamadametinJapan,canbecomparedwithsomeoftheHamadaceramicsboughtbySerrainMashikoin1964thankstothethirdmingeiexpeditionpromotedbytheEthnologicalMuseum,oneyearafterHamada’sfirstvisittoGallifa. Inaveryclearway,both thecoloursof theenamelsbyArtigasand theirapplicationto thesurfacesof thevases,randomlydecoratedwithseveral texturesbyMiró, follow thesameaestheticofHamada'sworks,Mashikopottery’sandmingei aesthetics, justastheAR-SEceramicsdid.Afewyearslater,ontheoccasionofJoanMiró's firstvisit to Japan in1966, theartistvisited theNihon Mingeikan.There,accompaniedbyArtigas,headmirednotonlyceramicsbutalsoŌtsu-efolkpaintings.WithoutgoingfurthernowintothefieldofthegreatimpactthatJapanhadonMiró,itisnotsurprisingthat,asaresultofhistwovisitstoJapan,in1966and1969,andduetohisfriendshipwithSerra,Gomis,ArtigasandseveralJapaneseartistsandpoets,MiróalsobuiltupasmallcollectionofJapanesefolkart, includingtheSpanisheditionofthefamousbookFolk-crafts in Japan,publishedbyYanagiSōetsuin1939,andotherstudiesonhaniwa, togetherwithprints, takuhon,shodōhangingscrolls,ceramicsandfolktoys,someofthemgiventohimbySerraandGomis.
Fig. 6. On the left, Hamada Shōji’s enamelled plate bought by Eudald Serra in Mashiko during the third expedition of the Ethnological Museum in Japan, in 1964. On the right, Artigas-Miró stoneware vase dated 1962. Ethonolgical Museum of Barcelona / Private collection, Barcelona.