Exhibition:
Kunio Tsuji
For Gakushuin University
Museum of History
Exhibition Design, Space Design
The exhibition Kunio Tsuji - Hermit of Paris TSUJI Kunio - Un anachorète à Paris was held at the Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris from November 8th (Tues) to the 12th (Sat), 2016. The exhibition was organized by Kunio Tsuji - Un anachorète à Paris. As creative director, Konoe was in charge with the overall staging of the exhibition, with Studio KOAA taking charge of the design, and Kumiko Hitomi responsible for the printed materials.
Kunio Tsuji
Born in Tokyo in 1925. After traveling from place to place, including Nagoya, Yugawara, and Matsumoto, he studied under Kazuo Watanabe in the Department of French Literature at the University of Tokyo. After completing graduate school, he began teaching at Gakushuin University in 1956. As a writer, he won the Modern Literature Prize in 1963 for "In the Cloister" and the Mainichi Art Award in 1973 for "Julian the Apostate". In 1976, he built a villa in Karuizawa (designed by Arata Isozaki). In 1995, he won the Tanizaki Junichiro Prize for "Saigyo Kaden". He is one of Japan's most famous writers, having left behind many masterpieces that fuse Western and Japanese cultures. Tsuji's memorial plaque is displayed on the rue Descartes in Paris.
Gakushuin University Archives has a collection of about 40,000 items related to Kunio Tsuji.
Kunio Tsuji: "The Hermit of Paris" was the first overseas exhibition organized by the Gakushuin University Archives, and toured to the Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris, where the artist lived for many years, and the University of Strasbourg, which has a relationship with Gakushuin University.
展示室入口は辻邦生が住んだアパートをイメージした
Konoe chose a bold display method: all flat materials such as greetings, chronological tables and correlation charts of people with whom he interacted. All of these are normally be hung on a wall, but instead Konone printed them on a curtain, which was then hung down and used as a wall. Display cases were placed in front to present manuscripts, diaries, illustrations and letters exchanged with other writers, such as Kita Tofu.
Instead of neatly arranging the postcards, they are spread out
To make the audience feel closer to the artist, the artist's favorite items, such as bags, cameras, sunglasses and maps, were displayed without being put in a case. This was a brave attempt in France, where stealing is common, but we succeeded in gaining the understanding of the people concerned. The exhibition was well appreciated by visitors, as they were able to get a vivid impression of Kunio Tsuji's life in Paris and his achievements as an artist.
Maps are displayed to create a sense of reality.
The exhibition was featured in the local media and attracted approximately 500 visitors over the five days. Fortunately, the exhibition was successfully concluded without a single work being lost.
Gakushuin was Konoe's alma mater up to high school and he approached this project with a strong sense of kinship with Kunio Tsuji, someone who he has travelled with back and forth between Europe and Japan. This experience will be one of the most memorable experiences of Konoe's career. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in this project for a wonderful experience.