Tetsuya Noguchi “From Medieval with Love”
I visited Tetsuya Noguchi’s solo exhibition.
Upon entering the venue, background music was playing at a somewhat loud volume. The track was “Dmitri Shostakovich – Waltz No. 2.” I would suggest reading this article while listening to the piece looped on YouTube.
Immediately as you enter, you are greeted by the sight of a figure clad in samurai armor drawing a heart.
When you move around to check the face from the other side, you are struck by the strikingly realistic modeling of the expression.
From Medieval with Love
From the modern to the early modern, and then to the medieval…
I wanted to look again, from the standpoint of a fellow human being, at civilizations and human figures that grow increasingly fantastical the further back in time we go.Even in dreams whose motifs are the distant past, the far future, or outer space and other worlds, they are not fundamentally different from our own reality in that people live there and form societies.
There is a kind of objectivity and gentleness that only becomes possible in our current, fulfilled age. Gazing at the past, transforming distant history into new art — for me, this is contemporary art.
From medieval with love, I would like to search for the same emotions we ourselves feel within the people clad in armor.
Tetsuya Noguchi
Inside the venue, the familiar white walls have been changed to black, giving the whole space a sharp, taut sense of tension.
Photography was permitted, and the venue was bustling with visitors holding cameras and smartphones.
The figures were protected on all four sides by acrylic cases, and the reflections off the acrylic panels made shooting conditions less than ideal.
The many comical works were quite soothing.
The background music inside the venue was also worth noting. Great taste!
The character-building draws you in emotionally before you know it — masterfully done.
