Shiraga was a member of the Japanese group called Gutai, which formed in 1954. (The name means “embodiment” or “concreteness” in Japanese.) In the aftermath of World War II, Gutai artists strove to create a completely new kind of painting. Abandoning the paintbrush and prioritizing action and process, Gutai’s members experimented with techniques that often involved the whole body. Shiraga rolled half naked in a pile of mud or painted with his arms, legs, and feet instead of with a brush. Untitled bears the traces of his many movements, gestures, and actions. As Shiraga said, “I want to paint as though rushing around on a battlefield, exerting myself to collapse from exhaustion.”
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Kazuo Shiraga
Japanese, 1924–2008 2 works onlineAbandoning the paintbrush and palette, Kazuo Shiraga experimented extensively before arriving at a new method of painting that would define his practice. Let me do it with my hands, with my fingers.
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Arthur Jafa—Less Is Morbid
1 NorthOriginally from Tupelo, Mississippi, and trained as an architect and cinematographer, he has become well-known for his collages, montages, assemblages, and installations—combining images imbued with what he calls “affective capacity,” or the emotional power of association.
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