‘The Gutai Art Association and the Gutai bulletin Shoichi Hirai Introduction ‘The Gua bulletin (heer Guta) was a occasional publication produced bernsen 1955 and 1965 by the Gus Art Asocaion thecafer Ge amine inal active group of avant-garde ant bad in dhe Kana who Funconed bring she 19508 and 1960, Thy te aumbel duough 1, buses 10 and 13 were never published and ae mising rom he sees) Before going ious del abour Gi shoul say ew word smmariing, he ature ofthe Gat group! 1. The Gutai Art Association Disinetive ears Guta ws found in August, 1954? when Jr Yoshihara, anaes ving Ashi, Hyjogo Peis, who had been actvesine before Wodd Wael, bought ‘gether group of young aris hse in the Hanein area (between Kae snd (Osha. Thessane ge ar group they formed aye together ntl orion sich March, 1972, when he goup dis, Guerin thee important ways Fm ther avantgarde ar groups Farm in Jpn dung he me prod Fic was group lender Voskihassinsitence that ab a mate of policy the groups members develop orginal forms of expression andthe igor with which ‘orhiharahimelf andl he group's members srugle ro achleve tha von, “Imieate no one” and “Produce unprecedented work" were to of Yosihards fevrite saying nd became the groups moos. Moreover, Inthe second half of ‘he 1980s, jas afer the group was formed, Yoshihara planned outdoor and on tag exhbons Inne co are the etingconceon of ning” and "selpre” and demanded that he goup members rad change thei hink- lng sbouc a ‘Why was Yoshara so insistent about unprecedented and orignal forms of pression? In 1955, jase Gta ws forme he woe he felloing ‘Wehope eo present concrete pref thar ou spire fie, We never cease ‘o pursue eth emotions in all ype of plastic arts. This bulletin is ded cated afi har purpose (On she Octo of he Publication ofthe Ballin, GUTAL) edocs mater ith iso in ot ae. We ate ange for something 12 hich the concep of are doesnot app. We believe that only discovery ital has vale deserving of rerpet. Giving definition 0 Fcing in an creme ee way on aer words, direct inking the pital and ‘the mater to sncitd with Gut both sro in she extme and shoot dight. Ieee (Gis Pople” fom he poscalanucing he Lt Gat sin) theirs Fourie burning In thee rae Find the key word tha deine the ue hare of Gut: “pte az fe” "ie king the pal andthe teri “eh emotion” 1 developing orignal fens of exrenion wa the way for ats toate th pt and to hsp thle and lf” To Yorhibar, destroying existing concepis res burning brightly, o Displaying dha cone sens ofl in gu (concrete (phys (Le embod fed, hence "Guta he name taken by che grou) for, dic tough cols, shape nd materi, would, Yoshihara believed, make the wotks themselves comping tothe ‘osha shioking cll co mind the individual of the Sirk cho, ‘the humanist terry and at group he encounere during his years in middle in other words co achieve a confident sense of elf school (under the prewar system) and the expresonist moverents emphasising pil and vitality tha emg arose the whole spectrum of Jpn ais the 1910s and 1920, Thus, wile Ges was an aan ae group formed fie ic iar the modo pr fostered hy prewar ileal, rs to sustain and develop ha prt mak a defini difeence eewecs Guta nd ‘other aang groups that forme durnghe sme peso. ‘Asecond dference ithe maser pupil atonsipberween Youre and the group members. ll avantgarde groups a thi time dd have leaders, but “Tear fils 0 cape Yorba abulae autor. Yoshihara had the ial word not only onthe grou re ditection bu abo every ase the group ese, fom sat For publiang cher othe ode a which wos Wee lalaed a poup exibition“hac authori als applied wo che groups works. Ie was Yosbihas, whose een antennae give im an encyclopedic knowledge of che es ar movemens oth inside and outside Japa, since before the wat, who decided if works were cssative oF not. Tews Ysa informed fit impression tha determined if orks were coder good or bad hac ascertained sei quay. Leas Yoni hr, who deste the grotesque, the wala, and the href ro other, whose wn cases apd tical pepecive a times Became the group decison making criteria, In this ese all Guta works might be sen collaborations berween bila and the gop menben. “Tha he prop mers given that Guta ideals wre spit iberaion| and individual, nnetheles illwed Voki and worked eine the de under hic act diction, flesh reverence in which Yorkie wa eld. Moat cher avant-garde groups of that prod were fared by young arts seking 3 pce for fee exprension uncontirsined by anyone. They rely rected the Seda crater of the rt groups chat had consnued fom bef he wa and the icrchicl quit of che at word. Yh abolte autho ding Guta fromm eter avant-garde groups but ic was, ic could be sid, the strong, motional bonds between Yoshibars andthe othr members ofthe group that ‘made posi io uncompromising panic of ete foems of epreion [A thin ference les inthe way in which Guta pursued scl absact, fms of esprsion. Before che wat avant gade arin Japan ad consisted of ‘main seams, sure, and abstraction, tn the Rist half ofthe 19505, when Guts ws fod, many sant pad aries sgh anew means fexpreion chat would integrate surrealism and abaraction or chose palicl and other opi subject in the li hae new ar wa posible only fecasing cay on rei Yoshihara, however, despised work that incorporated mimetic, explanatory oF lnc clements. To Yoshihara ar war no abou reproducing exing forms or ring visual frm to artves, waa diet expen of the at i ‘osha belo ha abarct arwa ivr i lnguage waded by eeryane, the wold ove ving the same times, ven fee could no under- sand dhe cla sol or hire kacground Vesa views onabsrace t ‘rere armed by hi prewar induction va re baks and aginst oot porary Exropen abit piney. In ihe eed a sae ge, ipreton confirmed bya sve of experince afer the war inthe nly 1980s, though encounter wih European nd American abit nt dled, for example at he 1951 Ebitio of Americen and Feh Ame ait? inthe Sl de Mai, and ‘the 1982 Pang Isernatonl Exabion of Contemporary Biting and Selp- ar an discussions of buscton with arte ofthe generations and work in cer genres in GENBI, grup found in 1952 daca conemporry at. Actos “The Gurl grup was ace for 18 years, ring which tind the dine tive ees esrb abo. Daring that athe lng period, wee, the rou Aid undergo thre major st of changes. It's thus, eabisked convention 0 livid Gas history based on those change, ne three perio aly mile, nde "The cay ptid exends fom the group formation in 1954 0 1987. This ‘va the period daring which dc outdor cabins in Ashiya Pak (1955 1956), sod on tage (1957) symbulied te grou’ dese to demolish existing cones and develop previoualy unknown fre ofa. I was in thls period thatthe ‘group members begun to produce not only placings but also works whose ‘heme nla dhe maeriity of thet mate the elasonships of mace and space, ation and physi, emporaiy, andthe wse fight, sound, and move- ment As poner of foams fact expression tha sbsequenty dereoped the Gua group continues o be highly regain Japan, Europe and Americ, he Gutal middle pctiod extend fom 1957 ro 195. In hispid, Ga was discovered by the French ar cic Mishel Tap, ad Gus came to be sen at the embodiment of informs and to gin prominence a an inerstionl evant tarde are group. (Tforel cn be anata citer "ormles” or "unformed," not at is fen minundertod, “informal” According to Tsp, Informel comprised a wide varicry of absrace are movements ha sprang up afer che wat and sharply dings themselves fom prewar art. Taps ascii. topological concep to set the mately ofthe ai materials nd actions and iene works in mich the repetition of Kent Frm comeed the ene curate Tine ina “Topi himself arranged for Gutl work tobe exhibied overseas. Given Inowee, the eee high cot of vere travel in thou day, indie a well money ews impondbleo inca action wor, which requted the rt phys cal preace onthe ste, or what we woud toy cll istallaons. Tapié was bo inven lng the works he ecommended to gle an collectors and chu asked hat Gta produce psitngs chat could be shipped and sold. Yoshihaca hima ace she puhbreking wok ofthe aly pid “experimental” and came eo baie hat the peeeptons and conscousoses stile by outdoors and on stage could exprested more deeply chrough painting, Asa esl, pining became the xls focus ofthe groups workin its mee pig “The final pio stretches rom 1965 ro 1972, when the group dibanded ‘Dring his ase perio, Yoshihara had a sens of impending ris, Bese he Infoomel syle of abstr expresion was beginning tle Freshness. I an «for revive the gop, he avidly inva icin new forms of aac xpasion|‘hat wre beginning to make thir ppestance, Inthe context ofthe buayane ‘mood of apa prio of apd economic growth, coldly inhuman, systematic sbsract expresionism and rechnology-drven ar mang we of sails tes lis, vor and pei lighting became the new fice of Gus Meanie as ‘numerous ude arn were raph ino the grou, thespian eric Yoda and the rou member weakened, Is organization bce more igi sna its membership hierarchical, generating dificlies inthe relationships Ieencen members. The production of the Guta Ar eal at che 1970 Ost apo mathe group st majors. Following Ysa untimely deh, the pop mete asudlen end Acesment Gal cies and works recived lle sxous the group was active. Paull ate time dl seonas lacking cle themes 8 empy” and “without content” They were viewed pup wat fared works wee as noting bur apie of Daas emp o demolish existing concept ofa ‘Given the poverty and cho of the pera following Jp + defeat, the groupe Ace. By contest the fst sue of Gut, while handmade, wa produced wing, exept pining a igh-qualy at paper Anos pin to note the captions onthe lastations. These plein ‘he exceme, ‘The wots a wntld and ll ha appears is heats name roman eer. Ashe end of On the Occasion ofthe Publication of he Ballin, GUTH! ‘find ihe word "With rhe cooperation of many people in deen ids whe ‘casing ninly on new at we hope o werk clsely wih ae genes in cote porary are suc s children rand erature muse, dance, ea hae, ead ashen. We welcome photograph of your works and conubutons.” Ths, om she very star, we se Yshiara posing Gia aan are again, bth pace 1 dspley Guta arin? works and yslctng mance fr publcton in 8‘ray woud the group noenee Hideo Yesihara. who was oe of th group founding member, real, Acthe party cleat he publstion of Gat no. member aging wid ‘eo Yoshihara, Was ic ely righ for usa group or an at assoclation, to he publishing «book? 1 had no inenton of working ina bookstore, I snapped a him, Couldnt we have announced ourshe in some other way? He repli chat only a book would do (ideo Yshiar, “Sain 9 sone aike—Democutatokyokal no koto ado (Act and Background she Democrat Assist)" Gnd gee he te lvtaton ro modern a). Too Shappn, gst 199, p 138) “The fist news repor ofthe publication of Gut no. 1 appeared inthe Shine SBirbun newspaper (Fig 1. Hepat wat Yshibar, the group’ ade, ha si abou the estos fr plication allows ‘Most apace ant magasne do nothing but nodes from overs. Since he spor only an art fm outs pa, there opine in hoping or overage far producel in Japan, apc avancgatde are. We ped the, thar im onder ‘o esive rita attenton fom around the world we couldn ious 2 ccbitions, We gen hat we ada a mogatin to pea our work bot inside and case Japan, So we have bee ving up snc layer to dota” (Bj ri wo sl, Hanshi wae gaa gurap (Group of young, “Hanshi artes produces at maga) Shin Simbu, anny 2, 1955) “The power cha Tho eid, who war graphic designer ar well aa found Ing meme of Guta though o have designe to pbc te lunch of Ga 1 iets Gita a ava garde ae magisin” and ee meres of Gta as crete (F9.2) “The magatne began ro look more He 2 cui magain, including esays a nslicous ows wel illueraions of works, with dhe second sue. Following che publicition of Guz no, neal half of dhe seventen founding embers whose works appeared in thie ef Ga, since dhe perpective 00 cw difeen rom cha of Yoshihara. They were replaced by Zero ka meets Kazuo Shira, Saburo Murskami, Aki Kanayama, and Ato Tanaka, ps; fier he Ashiya abibion, Sadamast Moronags. Saban ses, seating with 0.2 publihed in Octobe, 195, ila more text, but he asratons were the major focus inthe you, the works remained wid, and att names and the colophon coninaed ro he bilingual. Then, sareag with no.8, which was published in September, 1957, Gute returned oa prouped-works format that tarde ess ‘What is clea from thi history chat, while here were ome changes in objectives and charac, Gat ws, constr, an illustrated magazine with & ‘primary focus on she vel. Here we ce ha, om Jo Yoshiar’s perspective, sbsract are war 2 vial and shared internal language in which the works spoke fr themselves tha ony bate ain fone information none no be provided, iol Conese (Guts vs emphai fei in 0 sl pat {Dele Yoshie prewar experience. Jno Yoshihara was born in Osaka in 1905, After eaching hinsel ‘Westrnsyepsiming, he made his debuasan avantgarde ars by showing Sureis-inlunied wos the 210 Nike Anacation Ebon, then the pst Jimporan ute fr avancgande ayn 1934, Tee sme yeas ate, 1937, ‘that he exhibited abst pntngs atthe 246 Nike Awan hibition ad recived apc award, Although he wat native in exhibions rom 1934 0 1937, dhe were, has bon thought the yearn which he awiched own Sut iam to Abstraction, though prcialy when chat change occured had long semuned under In the cy 1990, however, muscum sndy examined the ge numberof rough sketches and books sored Voskhars home. Asa result ofa ceil amy sis of his date sheches, we nw knoe ha Vriharsifto abseat pinging A ao occur in 1934, a ad een shoagh, bin abou 1937. "The study also rove dh shar had alse nly 30 ar books tt magne and et ‘icon caaogucs bled he UK, France, an the Unie Sates nthe 190 and thst he ame vary of ices Forms of expression fom che illsrasons of Buopean and American abaya Fourd in hese plications “ohare war hor wll aware ofthe etn of usatons as asource of visual information, The high quali fae ableton in Europe and she ‘Unie Sees made him aware of global sandal for book dei. His concept or Guz wat an applcason af tha experience. ‘We shoul parsculaly note Yoshihas prewar involvemen with ote publications, In February 1997 juss Ju Yoshii wason te cspof witching te abract ar, eleven atts, ncading Saburo Hasgaes, Yooo Hemaguch, Rokro Yabo, Maaart Mura, Kaoru Yamaguchi, and EO, bande together te form an avantgade rt group the J bit Io (Pree ari asc tion, s promote new dretons in ar. To the Nika Astocation, which was fon in 1914 seaton agaist the academic ofthe acl goverment atsssociation and had found its aon tein promoting sch new European ‘wend 2 Fauve, Cabs, and Sure, de pperanc ofthis new group of young, lente avane garde acs wis perched x thret.Vashard’s being, awarded a special prize in 1937, whe, for only the seond time and afer an absence of thc ers, he exhibited wor a the Nika Anca Eston and is bing nominated for membenkip inthe anocition ony yar aes, n 1938, vere acy med 2 yng Yoshihara, cheavane- gad’ best hope, to he Nika Association, promoting the aocaions on avancgae characte, and counter ing the teat pos bythe yu bjs yok Before long, Yesihara and oer avant gad member of the Nika Asi tion began wo tke ps tomar foming hirown group within tin oppston ‘he Jiu bjusula kyla Thaeishow se Kyuss, Ninth Roo Asocton ‘ame tobe formed with Si Togo and Taguhara Fuji, ro Nika Asocation ersten, a isadvors. The unusual rp name cme fron Room No.9 3 Tokyo- Are Museu (now the Tokyo Metropolcan Art Museu, the 90m in which avant gue wot wee dplyed daring che annul Nika Asoc ‘on Fshibtions. As one ofthe eorinaors, Yehihara ws leading guia the Ninth Room Associaton movement. He cxablished the Oa branch of the :asciation in is omc and work hard bring peter members inthe Kans Theft isu ofthe cote magazine Kit (Ninth Room) was ed to ‘oincide wth the Fit Ninth Room Asoiaon group ein at the Sitka zine bao the posers for Gurl exhbion andthe psd announcing them are brlinely designed and communicate the distinguished design hile of members of Gua. A background fics thar cher ad een rom before the ‘war, considerable demand for design work, particularly ia Osaka, major ‘commercial cig. That artists hae lf noteworihy workin dhe eld af rape -daign may bone ofthe ways osc an aticlnate unique othe Kan ac, "ania wth great pleasure ha chs isin of Gia wil cima Tae easesment ofthe asic units ofthat publcton isl and hi xam- ining Guta rom the pospecie ofthe ior of book desig and raphe design 1d ow valet te pj. (ansaed by Ruth S. Meee) Gr boss no apn es Gut oak: Cat iss ra 18a eaten nmi 1976: Guts ah Dejunert ut 94-172 eure, 164 1370 Pana: aa Fon of tm, 19H Sia ets GUI si Surge 2000. 2 Gatanra ripen) young ae at pang appr ta Wa ‘ha ator eve ct ate twtfomet. Se mee ef way pnt stage Gn ater hy mae a enh Se ae ht ed overestimate a wate ama Sep Ue, nd 00) ‘ey ping (eb Kyo Spa Tp. 12 3 Aneto any 15,0 the Oaks Md amano Tater agi ht of ern ad ee orem ee esd ne hn pet se 19 shina eh “Sno hen Se and "198 reno ano ncn ne 15) nant etn)” Sg ol oa ne ester (bye SiS 9865p 60-8 135207 faunetinaa 182 Anata tor ep, Lea eras sen1957, fr eis se 1, “ei us focal (Gee th oye (ecantenparay a estion eu GBA aN aM)” TSUTACA Wa te cieange Date Hegel scum Men 185 61-15. ‘5 Mea Zeta, 2 Grp ene ann Sigh bus Maan Ak Fan oh inka and ater yarg srg nts Oa abe wee Tors inet it ae he Shvels At Seca. Terre tacos fom Cnc So Go Gu ton I ae by Farnell, 1988, 203, 1 foe Shh Hr “othr ion 1208 no ao aioe 280 9 ‘nop ooo Yoshino abe parags om he 83—rar i sees nd aye Yan rotenone i Reh sseson ya. ode yA owe 2) 582-0. 2. natn, tn Yana ren srl pid pe, 192) he gs res hn, an nm ge potapghy gupta ha Wee oY a 5 realy sr arsed" Au Yara, "Gu 951972" Gata wo (Gauci Aig Fw Cae, 1980 9.1. 1 an cming, "Grea Fad A tee fm Gua” Ue Each Obes Spek Gua tne eet Sty bk, So kaa, 00 pp 1316. Teemu carmen” Lael en 3 pasos merece 10 Nand Reereluhoy, “kata shor ese Ongena ‘esotropia opynyouSrig lab cnet 5 208 1 Pte he peed ened ey pet Ging 3. eee eto Ings "Mabou no Gaal Para Gt ble," Sach Hi ats Gia ec, p 12 “Gather tae On ern uf se”