Talk on Kan Yasuda by Peter Murray at the Fitzwilliam Museum, 26 September

On 26 September Peter Murray, Director of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, gave a talk about his friend Kan Yasuda  whose sculpture is currently displayed on the front lawn outside the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge as part of this year’s Sculpture Promenade . The two other sculptors included in the Promenade are Helaine Blumenfeld and Peter Randall-Page. All three artists either work or have worked in the renowned sculpture centre of Pietrasanta, Italy, with the famous local Carrara marble used by Michelangelo.

The Sculpture Promenade is a fabulous way of extending the gallery walls and of drawing people in to this wonderful museum. Kan’s piece, a monumental two part arch sculpture wrought in bronze, is called Tensei Tenmoku. Before going on to speak about Kan, Murray dedicated some time to talk about the influential Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) who had a great deal of respect for Kan Yasuda and offered him much support.

Murray described Noguchi as having really understood the sense of context, scale and location, which is so important for sculpture. Stone, the product of great spans of time, was everything to Noguchi, especially towards the end of his life.

Noguchi Noguchi was born to a Japanese father and American father, raised in Japan and studied in the USA. He returned to Japan after the Second World War, wanting to immerse himself in Japanese life. Kan, on the other hand, went from East to West, relocating to Carrara in Italy, in pursuit of its famed stone quarries and stoneyards. He has lived in Italy for about 35 years now.

Kan’s work has a strong European flavour; it is not overly philosophical, said Murray, and Kan dismisses any references to Shinto. Murray also said that Kan doesn’t like to talk of Japanese influences in his work.

Kan’s work, reflected Murray, is ‘sculpture for all seasons’. Viewed in isolation the work can seem gentle while, confronted by crowds, it appears animated.

Kan approaches his sculptures with rationality and practicality as well as with boundless amounts of skill, physical strength and patience. Each sculpture requires months of work before it is finished. Kan has tremendous respect for stone, which keeps within itself a truth to be uncovered.

 Showing how one can appreciate texture and smoothness in Kan’s work, Murray pointed out that Kan’s sculptures display pockmarked textures which create a tactile quality and reflect light, adding another dimension to the works. This texture not only attracts hands, the pockmarks also act as safe resting places for insects, drawing in butterflies and ladybirds to nestle in the honeycombed surface.

Kan’s work is site-related rather than site-specific so connects to many areas, fitting in equally well in the middle of Milan as in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

As well as needing the interplay of sun, rain and snow, Kan’s sculptures are made to engage with people and don’t work otherwise. His work can be either contemplative or engaging and child-friendly.

The Japanese titles of Kan’s work are not always real words and are ambiguous, making the translations from Japanese to Italian to English quite tricky. The naming of his work in this way gives further meaning to the sculptures.

While Kan denies any religious source to his sculptures they are undeniably spiritual said Murrray.

Murray revealed that Kan is also extremely fond of music and opera. Since 2000 the Puccini Festival has chosen artists based in Pietrasanta to design the sets for the staging of Madame Butterfly and Kan was given this distinction in 2000 and 2004.

Interestingly, Noguchi shared this interest in music, having collaborated with the American dancer Martha Graham.

Yasuda was bon in a coalmining area of Hokkaido in 1949. Wanting to return something to his hometown, he set up a sculpture garden in Hokkaido known as Arte Piazza Bibai. The location of his work appears much more staged, complicated and site-specific here than in other places.

In response to an audience member asking whether Yasuda’s doorways/arches symbolise Japanese torii gates, Murray again reminded the audience that while they may derive from his Japanese background, Yasuda tends to downplay his Japanese influences. He describes himself as half Japanese and half Italian and tries not to fuse the two.

The Fitzwilliam Museum’s courtyard will certainly seem empty when the sculptures from this promenade are removed. Please don’t miss the opportunity to see the sculptures, on display until 31 March 2013.

The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation is delighted to be supporting the Sculpture Promenade.