Sacred Hands 1965; Ikeda Masuo

Japan is the land of woodblock printing however Ikeda Masuo followed in the footsteps of master like Hokusai, Hiroshige, Kiyochika, Hasui and went on to leave his own mark on Japanese printmaking. Ikeda Masuo( 1934 to 1997) is known for his simple style and delicacy in woodblock printing. He used the technique of drypoint method among other printmaking in all its forms on this work.. There is a beauty in it’s simplicity that echos the beauty in Noh( Classic Japanese dance-drama with masks) He won the grand prize at the Venice Biennale in 1966. “ Sacred Hands” is one of the awarded works. He was a so-called multi-talented artist; painter, printmaker, illustrator ,sculptor , ceramist, novelist and film director. Unlikely he had never had any academic education in art. He was a self-taught artist. He admired Picaso very much. It is clear that he learned drawings and sketches by reproducing Picaso works. No matter how much Ikeda copied Picaso, he cannot help representing himself as an artist. On this work; Sacred Hands, there are two set of jointed hands in different colours. You could feel the prayers of the lady. It is said that there is an original paining; Portrait of a Lady by Rogier Van Der Weyd at National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. The original paining was painted in 1460. Dignified atmosphere and solemn expression has been mostly well-known lady portrait. On the contrary, Ikeda’s hands are like design like pop art. He expressed the change of the society and rather more people’s prayer itself. I could imagine that he was keen on knowing hands. Because whatever he created used hands. He was a award-winning novelist too. He surely was the first-class artist. It is a shame that he was not evaluated when he was alive as good as he deserved as an artist in Japan. People in Japan thought of him as a multi-talent not an artist. Towards his sudden death at 63, he taught young artists at art colleges( though he never attended himself!) He often questioned the students “Why do you want to be an artist?” His self-answer of this question was “ To establish my own style though life.”

Nippon Art channel : Collaborated with NAGAI Art Gallery