I met Alice's friends at the exhibition of Nagoya-born legendary creator Uno Akiyoshi!

September 30, 2024

How are you all doing? The heat is finally easing up a bit.

The other day (it was hot the day I went...) I went to the "Uno Akiyoshi" exhibition at Kariya City Museum of Art, which is running until November 9th (Saturday) .

("Kariya City Museum of Art Entrance Sign")

I feel like I always write, "I definitely recommend this!"

The individuality of the works and the overwhelming amount of work involved were so impressive that I couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, this is amazing" while watching them.

I'm really glad I went to this exhibition on the first day, so I'd like to introduce it to you today, including its contents.

What kind of person is Uno Akiyoshi?

(Interior decoration for "Coffee Edelweiss" 1954 ©AQUIRAX UNO

It is believed that Uno's mother runs a coffee shop in Naka-ku, Nagoya, and that he had a connection with her, which is why he was asked to make the piece. Edelweiss is the shop next to the TV tower.

Akiyoshi Uno is a 90-year-old illustrator born in Nagoya City (1934). He has been active since the 1950s and is still active today!

I'm sure many of you have probably seen my work somewhere.

He is also the person who popularized the word "illustrator" and the profession.

And what's amazing is the range of work available.

As an illustrator and graphic designer, he not only creates corporate posters and advertisements, but also covers an incredibly wide range of work, including work on music artists such as Tomoyasu Hotei, Shiina Ringo, and SHAKALABITTS, animation, stage art, scripts, illustrations for picture books, and tanka poetry.

For something even more esoteric, he also designed a poster that came with the record of the British rock group Pink Floyd in 1973. So cool.

The works born from this wide range of work are on display on the first and second floors of the Kariya City Museum of Art. I used to work in the music industry, and I was surprised to see some works that I had never seen before (yes, I did say it out loud).

What is Akiyoshi Uno's style?

One thing I should mention about Kariya City Museum of Art is that any serious art fan who has been to the museum may already know about it.

The Kariya City Museum of Art is unique in the works it collects.

That is, I collect a lot of works in the field of graphic design, such as picture books and illustrations. I guess you could say it's my specialty.

In fact, exhibitions focusing on illustrations have been held many times with different artists, and this is the second Uno Akiyoshi exhibition at Kariya City Art Museum (the last one was in 2010).

According to the curator in charge, they had to deal with over 10,000 pieces of art in order to put together the exhibition, and only selected a few pieces to display at the venue. Some pieces were even removed from the exhibition with great regret. The curator's hard work and passion for the exhibition was clear.

The venue is divided into 12 themes, including his time in Nagoya, graphic designer Uno Akiyoshi, and picture books and children's books.

So there are quite a few exhibits.

Taking photos was generally OK. (Note that there were some places where it was not allowed.)

So, what does Akiyoshi Uno's style look like? Let's take a look at some images.

("National Pulp Industry" 1965 Calendar September/October 1965 ©AQUIRAX UNO)

("Christmas Greetings" (Tokyu Department Store) Sugoroku 1967 ©AQUIRAX UNO)

("Renaissance Collection" (Max Factor) Poster circa 1965 ©AQUIRAX UNO This work is used in the exhibition flyer and catalogue.)

(Original illustration from the picture book "Maimai and Nainai" 2011 ©AQUIRAX UNO)

First of all, there are a lot of girls and women.

In a past interview, Uno Akiyoshi said, "I really enjoy drawing women's fashion and hairstyles, and I find myself paying particular attention to details like pleats that men don't normally pay attention to. I think I have a certain kind of female sensibility."

A collection of illustrations that are cute, cool, erotic (underground/avant-garde), and slightly grotesque.

I wonder. I am drawn to the "eyes" of girls and women. And the girls who appear in the film are usually not smiling. I thought that this is a sensibility and expression that I share with the contemporary artist Yoshitomo Nara.

("X-shaped Cross" 2014 ©AQUIRAX UNO)

Let me introduce you to a picture book.

This image is one of the original illustrations from a picture book called "X-shaped Cross". I was curious about it, so I went around a few libraries to find it.

This is a 2014 work written by Hiromu Hormura and illustrated by Akio Uno.

The main character is Dracula.

This Dracula gets a new girlfriend on Monday, eats peperoncino while holding his nose on Tuesday (get it? It's garlic), then Wednesday, Thursday, Friday... and by Saturday the two of them become adults... and finally on Sunday...

The title of the picture book, "Cross," is written as "X-shaped cross."

The protagonist, Dracula, is intrigued by the large cross earrings she wears, and when he tilts his head to one side, he realizes that the "cross" he dislikes looks like an "X" (X is 10, right?). What will happen to the relationship between Dracula and her?

I wonder if she is a kind person for putting up with Dracula's actions. I smiled a little at the adult humor.

It also seems to teach us the importance of changing our perspective in life.

I met a character from Alice. I never thought I'd be able to connect to Alice here...

The works included not only two-dimensional works such as illustrations, but also three-dimensional works.

That's where I met the characters in Alice. I'd only just written about them on my blog the other day!

They were exhibited along with the original drawings in the performing arts section.

Griffin, Mock Turtle, Rabbit, Sleeping Mouse, and Cheshire Cat. All of these are masks that you can wear on your head.

No, I never thought it would lead to Alice here.

I think I'm an old man with good luck.

These were used in stage productions, and the original drawings included not only the masks but also the costume designs.

He has an incredibly wide range of talents.

(Takaizumi Project Vol.1 "Over The Rainbow...? ~Alice's Theory of Incomplete Holes and Falls~" 2008 Griffin Mask ©AQUIRAX UNO

The main character is an elderly Alice. Uno was also in charge of making the actual mask.

What I felt after going to Akiyoshi Uno's exhibition.

It's extremely difficult to remain at the forefront of the creative industry for a long period of time, as new talent is constantly emerging.

In the exhibition catalog, Akiyoshi Uno writes that he is now obsessed with visualizing haiku, using works from Basho Matsuo to his own haiku as his subject matter. He likes to think of visuals from words.

What made me think here was that the broad scope of the work represents a change or evolution.

It didn't stay in the same place.

And above all, I love drawing girls and women.

Love is the driving force .

This exhibition made me realize once again how important this is.

I hope that you will visit this exhibition, encounter these wonderful works, and feel something special about them.

The "Uno Akira" exhibition will be held at the Kariya City Art Museum until Saturday, November 9th .

Goods were also sold at the venue. I bought the catalog. It's a heavy and interesting catalog. I recommend it to people who like catalogs.

What worries me is that the talk event scheduled for September 28th in Tokyo (which was also scheduled to be broadcast at Kariya City Museum of Art) has been canceled due to his poor health. This is a cause for concern given his advanced age.

References

・"Aquila Uno Exhibition AQUIRAX UNO" Catalogue Supervised by Ikuko Matsumoto (Kariya City Museum of Art), Asahi Shimbun, 2024

"Workplace Conversations: Makoto Wada and 27 Illustrators", author Makoto Wada, Kawade Shobo Shinsha, 2001

・"Akira Uno Chronicle", Author: Akira Uno, Graphic-sha Publishing, 2014

・"The World of Fantasy Illustrations by Akira Uno", author Akira Uno, By International, 2016

"X-shaped Cross (Jujika)", text and tanka by Hiroshi Homura, illustrations by Akiyoshi Uno, Geijutsu Shinbunsha, 2014