An interview about Keiko Minami's life.
Below is an interview about Keiko Minami between Spencer Costanzo and Nahoko Kambayashi from the Museé Hamaguchi Yozo: Yamasa Collection in Tokyo.
What drew Keiko to the topics/symbols that she included in her work (i.e young girls, birds, fish, the moon, trees/flowers, etc)? Her works all seem to all be set in the same fantastic/imaginary world.
It is one of the most popular questions that people have about her work. Unfortunately she would not explain about these kinds of questions.
In the Catalogue Raisonné an art critic said as the following. "What made her dream such the world of this fairy tale? Nobody could answer it except her, and I think neither can she."
Keiko Minami is just becoming popular in Japan. As she has not been much researched, lack of materials for study allows anybody to commentary on her works.
We believe everyone can feel something and find his/her own opinion about her works.
Why was she orphaned at a young age? Was she adopted?
Her parents died of illness.
She and her sisters were under the guardianship of her uncle.
Where did she spend her childhood?
Takaoka-city, Toyama prefecture in Japan.
What drew her to Paris?
We can imagine her own motivation, to stand on her feet, to get freedom of expressing art, and to find herself.
After World War II ended in 1945, Japan made a new start as a democratic nation.
The new constitution declared gender equality, gave suffrage to women. The civil law was revised and old family system, in which the father has the controlling rights, was abolished. The Fundamental Law of Education determined the equality of opportunity of the education, and coeducation. Women's rights were extended in this way in Japan. Women’s participation in the workforce began to rise.
Keiko went to Tokyo from Toyama in 1946 and started to find her way to live. However conventional wisdom did not change so suddenly. Not only Keiko but also many independent women at that time faced the difficulty to get the state of being free from restraints. They often gat troubles when they think and express freely like men. Keiko spent long years to find her new life.
In Tokyo she studied under a famous writer of children's story. She also announced the oil paintings for exhibitions. Her teacher of oil painting was Yoshio Mori. She met a painter at his house. It was Yozo Hamaguchi who would become a famous mezzotint artist. He devoted himself to the creation of the copperplate engraving at the atelier. Materials, tools, information about the Western print technique did not spread in Japan those days. Keiko felt the possibility of the copperplate engraving as new art expression through Hamaguchi. Then she began to make herself too.
Hamaguchi gradually felt responses on a copperplate engraving. For getting the good environment for making engravings, he made up his mind to back to Paris where he lived about 10 years. Keiko sympathized with Hamaguchi and decided to go together. Many reasons made her go to Paris, the center of art at that time.
Who were her main inspirations?
She did not refer to the leading artists. She collected the clipping of an illustrated book and the magazine, tourist brochures. She was able to make her kingdom from such a tiny inspiration. It may be said that there was the source in her heart.
Which piece did she sell to the city of Paris in 1961? Why did they purchase it?
It is 1956 that her work "the scenery" was purchased by the Paris city.
The reason was chosen is not written the documents.
We believe some people might find her possibility in that early work.
Why did she choose aquatint & print making vs. other mediums?
Since the days of a high school student, she liked to draw oil painting for pleasure. From 1947 to 1953 she submitted her oil paintings in some big exhibitions in Japan. Her world of oil paintings was basically same to engravings. But her sophisticated individual expression came out more strongly in copper engravings. We think that is why she thought herself as copper engraving artist.
By the way she sometimes released some oil paintings and water color paintings all her life.
Why did she return to Japan in 1996 after spending so many years abroad? Where did she prefer living?
When she got too old to live herself, she returned to Japan.
The copperplate engraving needs the physical strength to make.
I read several great quotes from her personal journal at the Portland Art Museum exhibition. What happened to the journal? Was it ever made public?
...a part of the diary is shown several times by publication in Japan. They might translate some into English from such journals.
Is there anything else that should be known about Keiko Minami?
・She is a partner of mezzotint artist, Yozo Hamaguchi
・She once intended to be a writer of children's story around 1950. Some of her children's stories having been published in Japan in 2014. http://www.chikumashobo.co.jp/product/9784480873736/
But please remember the relations of a children's story and her engraving work is fading than everyone imagine. The children's stories around 1950 in Japan were rather didactic.
・Other books about her http://www.heibonsha.co.jp/book/b217177.html
http://www.littlemore.co.jp/store/products/detail.php?product_id=624
・Her work used as Christmas card of the UNICEF in 1958.
・She is the first person who was interested in a copperplate engraving as Japanese woman.
・There is a scientist called Jokichi Takamine, her grand-uncle, he worked in U.S.A. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jokichi_Takamine
Under his influence she did not seem to have resistance to go abroad.
It is one of the most popular questions that people have about her work. Unfortunately she would not explain about these kinds of questions.
In the Catalogue Raisonné an art critic said as the following. "What made her dream such the world of this fairy tale? Nobody could answer it except her, and I think neither can she."
Keiko Minami is just becoming popular in Japan. As she has not been much researched, lack of materials for study allows anybody to commentary on her works.
We believe everyone can feel something and find his/her own opinion about her works.
Why was she orphaned at a young age? Was she adopted?
Her parents died of illness.
She and her sisters were under the guardianship of her uncle.
Where did she spend her childhood?
Takaoka-city, Toyama prefecture in Japan.
What drew her to Paris?
We can imagine her own motivation, to stand on her feet, to get freedom of expressing art, and to find herself.
After World War II ended in 1945, Japan made a new start as a democratic nation.
The new constitution declared gender equality, gave suffrage to women. The civil law was revised and old family system, in which the father has the controlling rights, was abolished. The Fundamental Law of Education determined the equality of opportunity of the education, and coeducation. Women's rights were extended in this way in Japan. Women’s participation in the workforce began to rise.
Keiko went to Tokyo from Toyama in 1946 and started to find her way to live. However conventional wisdom did not change so suddenly. Not only Keiko but also many independent women at that time faced the difficulty to get the state of being free from restraints. They often gat troubles when they think and express freely like men. Keiko spent long years to find her new life.
In Tokyo she studied under a famous writer of children's story. She also announced the oil paintings for exhibitions. Her teacher of oil painting was Yoshio Mori. She met a painter at his house. It was Yozo Hamaguchi who would become a famous mezzotint artist. He devoted himself to the creation of the copperplate engraving at the atelier. Materials, tools, information about the Western print technique did not spread in Japan those days. Keiko felt the possibility of the copperplate engraving as new art expression through Hamaguchi. Then she began to make herself too.
Hamaguchi gradually felt responses on a copperplate engraving. For getting the good environment for making engravings, he made up his mind to back to Paris where he lived about 10 years. Keiko sympathized with Hamaguchi and decided to go together. Many reasons made her go to Paris, the center of art at that time.
Who were her main inspirations?
She did not refer to the leading artists. She collected the clipping of an illustrated book and the magazine, tourist brochures. She was able to make her kingdom from such a tiny inspiration. It may be said that there was the source in her heart.
Which piece did she sell to the city of Paris in 1961? Why did they purchase it?
It is 1956 that her work "the scenery" was purchased by the Paris city.
The reason was chosen is not written the documents.
We believe some people might find her possibility in that early work.
Why did she choose aquatint & print making vs. other mediums?
Since the days of a high school student, she liked to draw oil painting for pleasure. From 1947 to 1953 she submitted her oil paintings in some big exhibitions in Japan. Her world of oil paintings was basically same to engravings. But her sophisticated individual expression came out more strongly in copper engravings. We think that is why she thought herself as copper engraving artist.
By the way she sometimes released some oil paintings and water color paintings all her life.
Why did she return to Japan in 1996 after spending so many years abroad? Where did she prefer living?
When she got too old to live herself, she returned to Japan.
The copperplate engraving needs the physical strength to make.
I read several great quotes from her personal journal at the Portland Art Museum exhibition. What happened to the journal? Was it ever made public?
...a part of the diary is shown several times by publication in Japan. They might translate some into English from such journals.
Is there anything else that should be known about Keiko Minami?
・She is a partner of mezzotint artist, Yozo Hamaguchi
・She once intended to be a writer of children's story around 1950. Some of her children's stories having been published in Japan in 2014. http://www.chikumashobo.co.jp/product/9784480873736/
But please remember the relations of a children's story and her engraving work is fading than everyone imagine. The children's stories around 1950 in Japan were rather didactic.
・Other books about her http://www.heibonsha.co.jp/book/b217177.html
http://www.littlemore.co.jp/store/products/detail.php?product_id=624
・Her work used as Christmas card of the UNICEF in 1958.
・She is the first person who was interested in a copperplate engraving as Japanese woman.
・There is a scientist called Jokichi Takamine, her grand-uncle, he worked in U.S.A. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jokichi_Takamine
Under his influence she did not seem to have resistance to go abroad.
