Title A Living National Treasure Kitamura Takeshi
Master of Contemporary Weaving
Publication year 2011
Master of Contemporary Weaving
Publication year 2011
This is a rare exhibition catalogue of Kitamuar Takeshi,known as A Living National Treasure.
Foreword
We are delighted to mount this exhibition of the work of Kitamura Takeshi, who has created new horizons in weaving through his superb skills and contemporary sensibility.
Kitamura Takeshi was born in Kyoto in 1935 and began his career in weaving, in 1951, in Nishijin. That Kyoto district, where craftsmen transmit weaving techniques that have been a key part of the traditional culture of the city since it became the imperial capital twelve centuries ago, occupies a vitally important position in the history of Japanese weaving and dyeing as it has responded to changing tastes over the ages. Having trained in Nishijin, Kitamura was equipped with highly sophisticated weaving skills and a wealth of knowledge with which to begin his independent career.
In 1965, his abilities were attested to in the form of the prestigious Chairman of Japan Art Crafts Association Prize in 1965, which he received upon first entering work in the 2nd Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition of Japanese Textiles. In 1995, he was designated the holder of an important intangible cultural property, ra, or complex gauze weaving; in 2000, he was also designed the holder of another important intangible cultural property, tate-nishiki, or warp-faced brocade. Today Kitamura Takeshi is, without a doubt, regarded as one of Japan's leading textile artists.
What fascinates people about Kitamura's work, with its innovative, endlessly fresh revelations, is the quality that arises, despite his solid grounding in tradition, from his refusal to rest on conventional values, his exploration of the fundamentals of weaving, and his stance of addressing our own age, our day, with his demanding problematic and inspiring new propositions. His kawari-ori or fancy embody a perspective that addresses new themes through a combination of diverse weaves and materials. His ra or complex gauze uses a complicated twist structure (intertwined warp yarns, with weft yarns passed through the interstices) to create richly translucent fabric. Kitamura has gone beyond reviving this ancient technique, which had nearly died out after the middle ages, to weave a new type of ra, transparent figured complex gauze or "tomon-ra". In it, through bold new manipulations of the warp yarns, he constructs patterns and shading in ways never seen before. Similarly, in setting himself the task of mastering the weaving of tatenishiki or warp-faced brocade, another classic textile, Kitamura's goal was not mere replication. By integrating contemporary materials, techniques, colors, and motifs, he has elevated his fresh new patterns to an unparalleled level of elegance.
This exhibition presents about 130 works in which the artist's thinking in his search for the formative beauty born of necessity from the art of weaving is expressed in rich textures. We hope that you will enjoy this opportunity to experience the possibilities and the beauty of weaving brought about through the ultimate in weaving skills.
In conclusion, we would be remiss not to express our profound gratitude to the many collectors who have graciously lent their valued works for this exhibition, the many others whose cooperation has helped make it possible, and, above all, to Kitamura Takeshi himself for his unstinting assistance.
The Organizers
