Amano Kazumi: Prints from the Kimm-Grufferman Collection

concentric light gray squares upper half within blue frame with interlocking circles and angles; concentric light gray circles lower, within similar red frame

In 1962/63 Amano started to use embossing (pushing the paper out from behind to create a raised surface) as a design element in his prints. In this case he embossed several circular and rectangular forms with varying amounts of force to achieve the level of three-dimensionality he desired.

Moral (Endurance)

blocky black and white image divided in sections; contorted figure at L with mouth opened, looking up; white tower with black text at R; two figures bottom C holding a pot of metal; stick figures at R stoking a kiln; two figures pulling rope nearby

These prints are part of an album of ten sheets about the Ironmongers’ Marching Song (Yagaefu) related to the Iron Foundry at Kanayamachi district in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, where the artist was born. The song and dance are still performed during the Goin festival on June 19th in honor of Lord Maeda Toshinaga (1562–1614) who died on that day. Around 400 years ago, Lord Maeda had invited seven metal casters to Takaoka and laid the foundation for the metal industry in this area. The album consists of seven sheets, one for each song, front and back covers and an explanatory sheet.

Colophon (part 1)

blocky black and white image divided in sections; block of text at C shaped like a cauldron with line drawings of buildings in background; at top, a figure is bent over an object with silhouetted figure in doorway at R; three scenes at bottom: people working in front of a kiln, carving a mold, and hammering a vessel

Amano’s images depict the ironmongers in traditional clothes and are filled with elements related to the hard labor of working with metal.

Description (part 2)

blocky black and white image divided in three parts; abstracted figure at R holding staff; village in center band with figures in front buildings, two of whom are holding a smelting pot; at bottom, figures fill pots, carve, and open molds; at top, a man pulls a cart at R; figures seated in building with vessels UL

First song (part 3)

blocky black and white image divided in sections; human figure at R holding long object, appears to be yelling; two figures in small building at C, text and workers nearby; laborer at LL hammering a vessel, and one at LR turning an object on a lathe; harvesting scene at top

Second song (part 4)

blocky black and white image divided in sections; figure at R with head tilted; foundry workers at lower portion of image pouring metal and hammering; figures stoking fires at C, and driving poles; text around C; at top, a female figure delivers a box to a seated figure at L

Third song (part 5)

blocky black and white image divided in sections; figure holding staff overhead R of C; text and metal vessels to his L; foundry workers opening molds at bottom; large cast bell at LL; figure walking down dark alley at top, with another figure in a darkened building UR

Fourth song (part 6)

mountains; village in middle ground; boater at bottom center

Untitled [mountains, village, and boater]

black and white image; blocky clouds in sky; mountains in center; groups of shrubs and buildings in in LLC

Untitled [mountain scape with river]

black and white image; group of three musicians rendered in geometric style

Three musicians are performing the Etchū Owara-bushi 越中おわら節, a difficult folk song with dance that is traditionally performed during the Owara Kaze-no-Bon festival, held for the past 300 years on the first three days of September in Yatsuo, Toyama prefecture. The inscription reads “Sing, we play the music” (Utawareyo washa hayasu).

Untitled [musicians performing Owara-bushi]

unsigned and undated; two roosters facing each other against black background

The rooster, apparently Amano’s favorite bird, became his protagonist in at least nine different prints which he created in 1959/60. Most of them were titled Apprehension (Fuan 不安) but in this case, a title is missing.

Untitled [two roosters]

abstract image; yellow form with geometric rays; grey paper

Assemblage (Yellow)

overlapping pipe-like shapes, bars, and blocks with cutouts in blues, green, charcoal, and burgundy against neutral background

Join

large rectangular abstract form made up by various shapes and colors; colors conist of dark blue, teal, black, and uninked area;

Layers

abstract; backwards maroon C at top center; blue lever- or arm-like elements

Inner Motion (Embrace)

teetering column of squares and partial squares with bulbous shapes; brown, black, blue, and teal; small envelope TC; gray offset square lower C

Moral (Responsibility)

abstract; stepped form in black and white with circle and geometric lines; blues, green, brown, and black lines and circle

Moral (Intention)

multicolored bars with squared off hooks at ends in warm colors at top and bottom and cool colors at left at right, surrounding text

A Piece of Poetry, Drawing, Assemblage

large black circle at C in a square frame that is blue and red on L, and shades of gray on R; frame is formed of interlocking geometric shapes

Practically nothing is known about Amano’s creative intentions, or whether he selected his titles to convey ideas about the images he created. The title of this work seems to resonate with the imperfect symmetry of the composition.

Self-figure (Mirror)

Rectangular abstract shape; with half thick red outlineand half blue thin outline; black and grey shape fill in the left side of rectangle; right of retangle is inkless;

Self-figure (Surround) A

grid of four squares, with a swooping red, yellow, and orange form in each square; forms have green outline, and gray gradient

In 1968, Amano deviated from the oblong paper format he usually employed for his prints and sometimes used a square size that he, somewhat surprisingly, rotated by 45 degrees. His series Inside and Outside (Uchi to soto to), to which this print belongs, contains three of these rotated squares. Another two are in the series Color-ring (Shikikan) and five in From Gauge (Gēji no matawa gēji to) which he created in the following year. He then abandoned this format for ten years until he briefly revisited it from 1979 until 1983 for five prints.

Inside and Outside (Combination) Stress

figure 8 shape at center with emobssing; red, orange, and grey curving forms in outline; inner outline of 8 in green

Inside and Outside (Mold)

abstract; circle made of various forms in predominately red

Inside and Outside (Round) A

large peanut-shaped form with organic black, red, and green curving forms inside; white circle upper C within form; gray bracket on R side with circles and swooping lines

Mold (Life) A

red, black, grey, and yellow abstracted image; overall image is rectangular; large black oval in the center

Fabrication (Inclusion)

colorful abstract; blue and green upside-down "P" shape at ULC with yellow and orange circle at its center; curved green and blue shape and curved blue and black shape, both on diagonal, with orange and yellow outlines near C; gray circle URQ; framed by black border at L and top, and orange border at R and bottom

Disjoint

three horizontal rectangles, each with colorful U-shaped form and circle inside; top form has green shape with yellow circle; center rectangle has orange shape with white circle; bottom rectangle has black and blue shape with green circle

From Gauge (Phase) C

red, blue, and green abstracted image; red and green earshaped obects at the center of image with each obect repeat off the side in different colors

From Gauge (Return)

colorful abstract image; black and white penguin-like form; swooshing bands of yellow, orange, red, green emanating from form; green form swirls from UC

From Gauge (Rise)

wavy swirl in three shades of red emanating from C, alongside similarly shaped gray form; green and blue color blocks parallel bottom of red and gray forms; white plane UL

From Gauge (Spread) A

grayish organic shape with rounded wide bottom, narrower top, and swoops at R; black, green, and blue shapes echo the shape at L; red and light orange bands at R

From Gauge (Spread) B

black, green, blue, red, and dark blue abstract image; over all image is comprised of circles and waves to create an overall rectangle shape;

An extremely high level of precision is characteristic for Amano’s prints starting in 1963. The geometric patterns seem to reference the nuts, bolts, and other machine parts that the artist grew up with; his family ran a machine shop and he studied furniture design in college. Solely working with wood printing techniques, he used birch-faced plywood and usually a combination of oil-base, lithographic, and screen-print ink.

From Gauge (Trace) A

Chorus

Amano Kazumi 尼野和三 (1927–2001)

Print artist Amano Kazumi grew up in the industrial prefecture of Toyama on the Sea of Japan. His family ran a machine shop, full of tools for grinding, sawing, and drilling metal. After graduating from college, he studied under Munakata Shikō (1903–1975), Japan’s best known contemporary print artist. Amano’s earliest works resemble those of his mentor—roughly executed black and white designs—and they take on local subjects like the dances associated with Toyama’s iron mills.

By 1962, Amano had broken from his teacher’s style. Strong, bright colors replaced black and white, and abstract forms take over from figural, if stylized, subjects. He also introduced techniques that gave his prints sculptural dimensionality. In these later experiments with color, form, and composition, it’s possible to detect references to the metalworking tools of his childhood. Amano himself characterized his work at times as “dynamic opposition and disorder” and “constant metamorphosis.” 

In 1968, Amano came to the United States for four months to teach and later moved his family to New York City in 1971, where he continued to work until his death in 2001. This exhibition focuses on Amano’s time in Japan and presents prints from the extensive collection of Sue Y. S. Kimm and Seymour Grufferman.

Amano Kazumi 尼野和三 (1927–2001)

Print artist Amano Kazumi grew up in the industrial prefecture of Toyama on the Sea of Japan. His family ran a machine shop, full of tools for grinding, sawing, and drilling metal. After graduating from college, he studied under Munakata Shikō (1903–1975), Japan’s best known contemporary print artist. Amano’s earliest works resemble those of his mentor—roughly executed black and white designs—and they take on local subjects like the dances associated with Toyama’s iron mills.

By 1962, Amano had broken from his teacher’s style. Strong, bright colors replaced black and white, and abstract forms take over from figural, if stylized, subjects. He also introduced techniques that gave his prints sculptural dimensionality. In these later experiments with color, form, and composition, it’s possible to detect references to the metalworking tools of his childhood. Amano himself characterized his work at times as “dynamic opposition and disorder” and “constant metamorphosis.” 

In 1968, Amano came to the United States for four months to teach and later moved his family to New York City in 1971, where he continued to work until his death in 2001. This exhibition focuses on Amano’s time in Japan and presents prints from the extensive collection of Sue Y. S. Kimm and Seymour Grufferman.

In 1968, Amano deviated from the oblong paper format he usually employed for his prints and sometimes used a square size that he, somewhat surprisingly, rotated by 45 degrees. His series Inside and Outside (Uchi to soto to), to which this print belongs, contains three of these rotated squares. Another two are in the series Color-ring (Shikikan) and five in From Gauge (Gēji no matawa gēji to) which he created in the following year. He then abandoned this format for ten years until he briefly revisited it from 1979 until 1983 for five prints.

Moral (Endurance), 1963

Amano Kazumi