Author: Takashi

Takashi's personal blog。Not just about paintings、What I think about every day、what you feel、I write whatever comes to mind。This blog is the third generation。From the beginning, it has been over 20 years.。 2023From January 1st、For now, I decided to just write on odd numbered days.。I'm going to think about my future direction and other things piece by piece.。

crab sketch

Shimokita Hiragani (Flounder crab) (watercolor sketch of boiled crab)

hot。Today (7/31) it will be ``dangerously hot'' at 38℃ in Kumagaya.。The fact that dangerous heat continues every day in various parts of the Kanto region means that、Kanto is already considered a dangerous zone (in summer).。So hot that people can't go outside to avoid the heat.、The workload of people working outside the home, such as in delivery services, will increase.。their、When I saw him wiping off his sweat and looking at his next delivery destination on his smartphone, he was trotting about.、I can't help but nod when someone says, "Civilization (equipment) progresses, but culture (society) does not progress that easily."。

Recently、In the classroom, I often draw pictures based on photographs.。For one thing、Even if you go shopping with flowers as a motif,、Is it because of this heat and the lack of manpower due to corona?、This is partly because the condition of the flowers is not very good.。It takes several hours to find flowers.。Beautiful flowers are nice too、Avoid flowers that are difficult to draw.。While thinking of each person's face、This person wants to draw something like this、I guess the hurdles are a bit high for this person.、Round off your purchases while thinking about such things.。I don't have time to go shopping every day.、I want it to last at least a few days、Difficult to manage in this heat。

And that、Motifs such as flowers (only flowers are popular) are mostly sketches.。Based on that sketch、Attempts to add your own ideas and sense to create "works"、No matter how much I try, I can't get on board.。Most people started out thinking they could just draw sketches.、That's certainly consistent though。

The time spent actually moving the brush in the classroom is at most 2 hours.。for example、It took me more than twice that amount of time to sketch this crab.、Even if a student desperately draws for 3 hours in the classroom, it is impossible to finish the drawing in one time (although it depends on the drawing method)。Devote your time and energy somewhere other than the classroom、We have to break through the wall of “usual (everyday)”、I can't even make a sketch。This is also the purpose of using photographs.。But、The power to break through the “usual”、I guess it's just a love for drawing after all.。

What does art offer?

Flowers in a pot (watercolor)

Formerly represented at World Championships and Olympics、A sports commentator recently said this:。“The sports world、Even the taxes of people who don't play sports are used.、What can we give back to society?。If we don't think about this, people will turn away from sports."。

I can't understand your feelings, but、What I feel is a little dangerous is that ``Since we are using tax money, we have to give something back.''、Something similar to give and take。This part seems to resonate with many people in Japan these days.、If you think about it a little deeper, it could lead to the exclusion of socially vulnerable people by saying, ``I don't want people who can't (or don't think) to give it back to use it.''、Also for children's education、It may instill a sense of nationalist obligation to "return to the country in the future"、It is a sport that is firmly connected to the essence of current sports.。Of course, he didn't directly say that.、It contains a logic that can be interpreted as such.。When this ``return'' becomes ``something concrete,'' it becomes a statement such as ``It's meaningless unless it's a (gold) medal.''。

If you think like that, then、"What does art give back?"、かつてのロシアや現代の北朝鮮のような「国家に奉仕する」プロパガンダ絵画になる。「芸術は社会のカナリアだ」という人々がいる。確か、むかし炭鉱夫が坑内へ入るとき、酸欠状態かどうかを知るためにカナリアを先に入れたということが言葉の起源だったと記憶している。スポーツや芸術を認める社会がとりあえずは「安全」だ、というバロメーターとしてだけでも、すでに充分意味のあることだ。

世は健康志向だ。But、三流映画に出てくるような、ただただ殺戮するだけのロボット的な軍人ならともかく、運動と栄養だけで人間は健康になれるわけではない。精神的な愉しみ、安らぎが必要だ。心の栄養も不可欠だということ。人間らしさ、という意味では芸術は最も社会還元の大きな分野だ、とわたしはいつも思っているが、同時にそれがこの社会の常識であり続けることを、心から祈ってもいる。

悪魔のささやき

Still life with yellow wine bottle(watercolor)

7月7日にブログにアップしたこの絵のプロセスの動画を、昨日（7/21）YouTube（青いカモメの絵画教室） にアップした。編集にあしかけ３週間（そのうちの1週間以上は何もできず）かかった。画像編集が終わってからのナレーションの方がむしろ時間がかかる。下手なナレーションなど無い方がいいのではないか、と毎回自問しつつ。

「動画は短ければ短いほどいい」のだそうだ。聞くと「40秒」以内が主流になりつつあるという。スポーツやダンスなどでは、40秒あれば確かにそこそこの勝負まで伝えられる。大相撲名古屋場所がコロナ蔓延の中で興行中だが、相撲の結果だけ見たい人にとっては勝敗一覧表の1秒でいいし、取り組みダイジェストを動画で見れば、ライブなら2時間かかる幕内全取り組みを数分で見終える。

けれど絵のようなもので何が伝えられるかというと考えてしまう。完成作を見るだけならそもそも動画にする必要などない。動画にする意味は、まずそのプロセスに興味がある人にたいしてだけ。そういう人がどれだけいるかと考えてみると、膨大な時間を使ってほとんど無意味なことを自分はしているのではないか、そんな暗澹たる思いにとらわれてしまう。

「40秒」という悪魔の囁き。聞かない方がよかったのか、それとも聞いてよかったのか。この暑さの中で、心がキューっと冷えていく気がする。