The ddd gallery is proud to present the work of Issay Kitagawa, known as the creator of a unique graphic world that is both startlingly original and somehow familiar. Executed with elegance and printed with delicate precision, his work seems to raise an alarm over the dehumanization of our society, caused by increasing trends of rationalization and conceptualization, and dependence on computers that has pervaded in recent years.
Communication of an awareness between humans is a cycle of the formation and dissolution of common awareness, where consciousness is shared, yet at the same time we are conscious of a gap between us. The wellspring of creativity lies in the fissure between consciousness and unconsciousness. Based on the idea that individuals’ sensibilities and intuitions, fused with conceptualization, ought to act directly and physically on viewers, installations in this exhibition were designed to exert bodily, physical effects on visitors. The exhibition seeks to let them encounter what lies in the fuzzy, obscured depths of consciousness, or to discover the blank—or is it a glimpse through to another realm?—in the fissure of consciousness.
The intentions of the artist are present in every work of art, yet viewers are also free to take away other thoughts and feelings unrelated to these intentions. In the world of today, diversity and individuality are celebrated on the surface, yet in reality it seems as if society conspires to suppress them at every turn. This exhibition, however, offers a space that welcomes any and all original interpretations of viewers. Kitagawa says, “People should be free to experience art in a wide variety of ways. In the midst of their differences they may find a shared awareness, or what seemed to be a shared awareness may crumble apart. Sensory experiences like these build up within the body of each person. I believe that over the course of time, these amassed sensory experiences become sources of creativity.”
For those who work in creative fields, and also for those who don’t, this exhibition provides an opportunity to reacquaint themselves with the richness and the liberty that comes with being truly human.
The Intuitive Power of Issay Kitagawa
The design work of Issay Kitagawa transcends stereotyped notions, never ceasing to startle with its freshness. At times, his fantastic designs teeter on the verge of imbalance. This is fully intentional and a means of entangling the viewer completely in Kitagawa’s world. It is forward-thinking visual communication using unexpected vocabulary and approaches.
Kitagawa’s is a sensibility backed by objectivity and reason. With an unwavering focus on communication, he has evolved a theory of design, but theory is just a starting point from which to explore and refine free-ranging thought and intuition. This thought and intuition is stunningly executed using a range of highly advanced printing techniques both digital and analog, making for a world of design that’s completely new and yet somehow nostalgic. It is design with a warm touch, and seems to spring naturally from a distillation of the traditional Japanese animistic awareness, reverence for the deities that dwell everywhere in the natural world.
by Kazumasa Nagai
