The “Inspiration Tour” is an appreciation and creation program that brings together a diverse group of participants to visit museums, encounter diverse artistic expressions and events through surprise and dialogue, and create opportunities for inspiration to lead to new expressions of their own.
Writer Tomoko Ogawa reports on the 2023 program.
Converting the inspiration gained into an individual expression.
On November 5, 2023, still lingering from the experience of the Inspiration Tour conducted at the Artizon Museum, about 40 members gathered at atelier A. Members were divided into those in a large classroom that drew with colored pencils and markers, and those in a craft room in the basement that created with acrylic paints and other painting materials that they normally do not use. Inspiration Tour participants also had the opportunity to freely express on paper works inspired by their viewing experience at the Artizon Museum.
At the exhibition Jam Session: The Ishibashi Foundation Collection x Yamaguchi Akira Drawn to the Irresistible Sensation, Masakazu-san named Paul Cézanne’s “Mont Sainte-Victoire and Château Noir” as “Mansion in the Storm.” He brought postcards, chip brushes, paint brushes, and rollers to create beautiful colors mixed with blue and green.
Yukari, on the other hand, inspired by the fish paintings she saw at the exhibition, sublimated them into colorful and original images of fishes.
Many of the works displayed in the permanent exhibition at the museum also appeared to be a source of inspiration for the members working in the craft room. Shoma-san applied layers of paint to a sheet of drawing paper, based on Saito Yori’s “Tulips” that he reproduced in colored pencil, creating a vibrantly hued flower.
Koki-san liked Yoshida Hiroshi’s “Rapid Stream” and said, “I like the way the water flowing between the hard, rugged rocks of the river look pale pink, as it gives a gentle impression.” He took the careful process of completing through zooming in on the photo taken, finishing the preliminary drawing in pencil, and then coloring it with paints.
It was Yuui who focused not on paintings but on sculptures. She began drawing her favorite sculptures, including a bronze statue of Ishibashi Shojiro, the founder of Bridgestone Museum of Art (current Artizon Museum), created by Shimizu Takashi.
Diverse expressions emerge in original ways.
At the same time, in the large classroom, Yoichiro was working on a vivid abstract painting with POSCA marker, using Tanaka Atsuko’s “Untitled” as a motif.
After finding ten of his favorite works to hang in his home, Tsuyoshi drew original illustrations to match each painting, cut them out with scissors, collaged them with photos of the works printed out, and stored them in a clear file, completing the series of his works.
Ryunosuke, who draws four-panel manga in notebooks based on his everyday life recorded on iPod touch, made lively illustrations that gives viewers the feeling of being at the viewing tour.
While witnessing their creative process and presentation, I felt as if I was seeing a true jam session in which members took the sensations felt with their bodies, not with words, and took them inside their bodies to express them outwardly.
Each member had their own way of expression, emitting completely different colors and light, and by sharing the finished works with everyone, new sensations and ideas were born. It made me think that this may be the way inspiration is circulated.
A space where different people stimulate each other and share their feelings.
Photo by Isamu Sakamoto
After viewing the exhibition at Artizon Museum, one of the facilitators looked at Yuui’s iPad, which had a huge number of photos, and said to her, “You have a lot of photos lined up.” Yuui responded saying “It is better for various things to collaborate, so that various actions can take place.”
These words left a lasting impression on me as they touch on the essence of the Inspiration Tour. Imagining different people being in the same place, enjoying each other’s rhythms and senses, giving each other thoughts, ideas, and inspiration. Such gaze leads to a step toward cooperation rather than division and confrontation – this is the lesson I gained from the experience of Inspirational Tour.
Photo by Isamu Sakamoto
Text : Tomoko Ogawa Photo: Isamu Sakamoto
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Tomoko Ogawa (writer/editor)Born in Tokyo in 1982. She writes interviews, film reviews, contributes columns, and translates mainly for magazines. She is the co-author of "100 Romantic Movies for Everyone" (Okura Publishing).