Kaoru Arima

Kaoru Arima conceives of art as a spiritual remedy. He embraces a philosophy of living modestly and making the most of available means in the hope of discovering the "hidden beauty" in life. Deeply connected to this attitude is Arima's choice of drawing as the sole means for his artistic expression. Using correction fluid to make a blank canvas out of discarded newspaper, he draws pictures that are sometimes accompanied by epigrammatic texts. The fantastical figures—ogres, winged sylphs, and animate trees—that populate these delicate drawings have their origin in a variety of sources, including European and Japanese folktales, Christian myths, and contemporary anime. The text, drawing, diagrams, and photographs of the newspapers on which they are drawn create a visual context for his images, resulting in the unexpected pertinence of myth when juxtaposed with contemporary reality. It is as if linear time, the unrepeatable timeline of history, has been invaded by sacred time, which is infinitely repeated in myth and in ritual.

Selected Bibliography:

Hara, Hisako. "Kaoru Arima." Studio Voice (Tokyo) 338 (February 2004): 85.

How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. Exhibition catalogue. Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 2003, 164–67.

"Kaoru Arima: An Interview." Bijutsu Techo (Tokyo) 52 (April 2000): 24–27.

Matsui, Midori. "A Vehicle for an Open-Psychic Structure: Notes Toward the Definition of Drawing." Bijutsu Techo (Tokyo) 52 (April 2000): 63–71.

–––. "The Return of the Pure Self." Studio Voice (Tokyo) 328 (April 2003): 118–23.

Links:

Walker Art Center