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未来を拓いた布
新井淳一の仕事
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未来を拓いた布 新井淳一の仕事
人類は進化の過程で自然の植物や動物の毛皮から生存に必要な糸を紡ぎ、布造りの知恵を学び、今日まで歴史を支えてきました。色々の形で人間の生活に寄与してきた布ですが、その布に新しい創造の理念を吹き込んだのが新井淳一の存在だったと思います。
「夢を織る人」「未だ見ぬ美しい布造り」「進化する布」「布のマジシャン」等と賞賛を受けてきましたが、伝統の中にも最先端のテクノロジーを駆使し、既成の概念を越えて新しい布を誕生させた功績は世界にも認められ、英国王立芸術大学院（RCA）や、ロンドン芸術大学より名誉博士号を授与されています。
天然素材を多用した多重組織の布造りに加えて、金属を使った真空蒸着によるスリット糸の織物やメルトオフの加工等、様々な技法を開発して美しい布を造り出しましたが、その根底には人間の「魂を包む布」としての深い理念がありました。「創生の原点には伝統の鉱脈があり、伝統なくして創生は在り得ない」と語っていますが、自然の力とテクノロジーの融合、人間としての精神の中に彼の創生の理念は存在しているのだと思います。
多摩美術大学客員教授としても、若い学生達に夢を与えて下さいましたが、テキスタイルの創造者である前に、民俗学者であり、哲学者であり、詩人であり、幅広い視野を持つアーティストであったと思っています。この天才的才能が織物の伝統を継ぐ桐生の地から輩出したことは単なる偶然で無く、神の与えた必然の様に私には思えます。若き淳一は小池魚心氏を師と仰ぎ多くの感化を受けていますが、師との想い出の場所、桐生の芭蕉庵での会合の日はいつも少年の様に目を輝かせていました。新井淳一の生誕の地であり、シーラ・ヒックスやコリンウッドとのコラボレートが残る桐生の地で今回の展覧会が開催されますことは、過去幾多の展覧にも勝る意義を感じます。大川美術館はじめ関係者の皆様に心からの敬意と感謝を表したいと思います。
わたなべひろこ
多摩美術大学名誉教授
NPO法人 国際テキスタイルネットワークジャパン 代表
人類は進化の過程で自然の植物や動物の毛皮から生存に必要な糸を紡ぎ、布造りの知恵を学び、今日まで歴史を支えてきました。色々の形で人間の生活に寄与してきた布ですが、その布に新しい創造の理念を吹き込んだのが新井淳一の存在だったと思います。
「夢を織る人」「未だ見ぬ美しい布造り」「進化する布」「布のマジシャン」等と賞賛を受けてきましたが、伝統の中にも最先端のテクノロジーを駆使し、既成の概念を越えて新しい布を誕生させた功績は世界にも認められ、英国王立芸術大学院（RCA）や、ロンドン芸術大学より名誉博士号を授与されています。
天然素材を多用した多重組織の布造りに加えて、金属を使った真空蒸着によるスリット糸の織物やメルトオフの加工等、様々な技法を開発して美しい布を造り出しましたが、その根底には人間の「魂を包む布」としての深い理念がありました。「創生の原点には伝統の鉱脈があり、伝統なくして創生は在り得ない」と語っていますが、自然の力とテクノロジーの融合、人間としての精神の中に彼の創生の理念は存在しているのだと思います。
多摩美術大学客員教授としても、若い学生達に夢を与えて下さいましたが、テキスタイルの創造者である前に、民俗学者であり、哲学者であり、詩人であり、幅広い視野を持つアーティストであったと思っています。この天才的才能が織物の伝統を継ぐ桐生の地から輩出したことは単なる偶然で無く、神の与えた必然の様に私には思えます。若き淳一は小池魚心氏を師と仰ぎ多くの感化を受けていますが、師との想い出の場所、桐生の芭蕉庵での会合の日はいつも少年の様に目を輝かせていました。新井淳一の生誕の地であり、シーラ・ヒックスやコリンウッドとのコラボレートが残る桐生の地で今回の展覧会が開催されますことは、過去幾多の展覧にも勝る意義を感じます。大川美術館はじめ関係者の皆様に心からの敬意と感謝を表したいと思います。
わたなべひろこ
多摩美術大学名誉教授
NPO法人 国際テキスタイルネットワークジャパン 代表
Textiles That Opened up a Future: The Work of Arai Junichi
In the process of evolution, human beings spun the yarn they needed for survival out of natural plants and fleece, learned how to produce textiles, and have supported history to this day. Textiles have contributed to human life in many ways. I believe that Arai Junichi was a person who blew new ideas of creativity into such textiles.
Arai received words of praise such as “dream weaver,” “production of yet to be seen beautiful textiles,” “evolutional cloths,” “textile magician,” etc. Amidst tradition, with perfect command of state-of-the-art technology, he gave birth to new textiles transcending existing concepts. Such achievements were recognized worldwide, and he was conferred honorary doctorates from the Royal College of Art in the UK and University of the Arts London.
In addition to the production of multiple structured textiles frequently employing natural materials, Arai developed a variety of techniques such as metallic slit yarn employing heat transfer or melt off to produce beautiful textiles. What lay at the basis of such efforts was his profound principle of “textiles that enwrap the human soul.” According to Arai, “There is a vein of tradition at the origin of creation, and creation cannot exist without tradition.” I believe that his principles of creation lay in the blending of natural force and technology and the human spirit.
Arai also provided young students with dreams as visiting professor at Tama Art University. In my mind, before being a creator of textiles, he was a folklorist, a philosopher, a poet, and an artist with a wide-ranging field of vision. To me, it was not a mere coincidence that this prodigious talent appeared from Kiryu, where textile traditions have been handed down, but an inevitability bestowed by God. The young Junichi looked up to Koike Gyoshin as his mentor and was heavily inspired by this man. Whenever Arai went to see Gyoshin at Basho-an, a location in Kiryu full of memories with his mentor, his eyes would always be sparkling like a boy. Kiryu is where Arai Juichi was born and where his collaborations with Sheila Hicks and Peter Collingwood remain. I feel the significance of an exhibition being held in Kiryu surpasses the host of exhibitions of Arai’s works that have been held in the past. I would like to express my wholehearted respect and appreciation to Okawa Museum of Art and all others concerned.
Watanabe Hiroko
Professor emerita, Tama Art University
President, N.P.O. International Textile Network Japan
In the process of evolution, human beings spun the yarn they needed for survival out of natural plants and fleece, learned how to produce textiles, and have supported history to this day. Textiles have contributed to human life in many ways. I believe that Arai Junichi was a person who blew new ideas of creativity into such textiles.
Arai received words of praise such as “dream weaver,” “production of yet to be seen beautiful textiles,” “evolutional cloths,” “textile magician,” etc. Amidst tradition, with perfect command of state-of-the-art technology, he gave birth to new textiles transcending existing concepts. Such achievements were recognized worldwide, and he was conferred honorary doctorates from the Royal College of Art in the UK and University of the Arts London.
In addition to the production of multiple structured textiles frequently employing natural materials, Arai developed a variety of techniques such as metallic slit yarn employing heat transfer or melt off to produce beautiful textiles. What lay at the basis of such efforts was his profound principle of “textiles that enwrap the human soul.” According to Arai, “There is a vein of tradition at the origin of creation, and creation cannot exist without tradition.” I believe that his principles of creation lay in the blending of natural force and technology and the human spirit.
Arai also provided young students with dreams as visiting professor at Tama Art University. In my mind, before being a creator of textiles, he was a folklorist, a philosopher, a poet, and an artist with a wide-ranging field of vision. To me, it was not a mere coincidence that this prodigious talent appeared from Kiryu, where textile traditions have been handed down, but an inevitability bestowed by God. The young Junichi looked up to Koike Gyoshin as his mentor and was heavily inspired by this man. Whenever Arai went to see Gyoshin at Basho-an, a location in Kiryu full of memories with his mentor, his eyes would always be sparkling like a boy. Kiryu is where Arai Juichi was born and where his collaborations with Sheila Hicks and Peter Collingwood remain. I feel the significance of an exhibition being held in Kiryu surpasses the host of exhibitions of Arai’s works that have been held in the past. I would like to express my wholehearted respect and appreciation to Okawa Museum of Art and all others concerned.
Watanabe Hiroko
Professor emerita, Tama Art University
President, N.P.O. International Textile Network Japan
