fuyuko matsui interview

impeccably done hair, a silk top and metal heeled ysl cage booties, meet fuyuko matsui, the artist credited with injecting new life into nihonga via a potent mix of macabre and decay. a few minutes into the conversation and a fireball of mischievous, boyish energy bursts through reserved glamor of her appearance, to just as abruptly contract once we step out for a shoot at nearby yasukuni jinja.

we meet at gallery naruyama on a very steamy, very tokyo midsummer day. today is both, friday the 13th and obon.

—are you superstitious?

—not at all.

i'm from shizuoka, my family was governing there. it runs back 14 generations.

yes, since i was a kid. when i paint i never get distracted.

i studied western painting for four years before i went to geidai and felt it was time to try something else. there is a painting, “shorin-zu-byobu,” by tohaku hasegawa. it's our national treasure, japanese mona lisa. prior to that, i didn't know there was a japanese art of such level, which we shall all be proud of. when i first saw it i instantly realized the possibilities of traditional japanese painting. right then i decided to study nihonga.

i admire leonardo da vinci. i'm sure he wouldn't have any problem getting a phd at geidai [tokyo university of the arts]. i want to do everything da vinci could. i don't trust artists without skills. i think one should pursue one's best and learn every skill possible, that's exactly what i do.

it depends. sometimes i have a very vivid image. sometimes i only have a concept and think how to present it.

(laughs) yes.

two lone swordsmen, richie hawtin, andrew weatherall, i'm into intelligent techno, it puts me into trance when i paint.

i never tried.

(laughs) yes, please!

an inspirational idea. it makes me feel like a genius.

everything. books, films, conversations with people.

i liked lars von trier's “melancholia” a lot, my second favorite after “requiem for a dream.”

chris cunningham and darren aronofsky.

yes, but i prefer “requiem for a dream.”

human autopsy is illegal in japan unless you're a medical student, i participated in a calf dissection.

(laughs) my grandfather studied art philosophy and was good at drawing. once, his friend asked him to draw an autopsy. i thought it was very romantic. it had a positive impression on me.

racism and sexism. there is a notion that once a woman has given birth she no longer has any value as an active member of society. i want to eliminate it, men and women should be equally involved in raising kids. japan should address this issue. there should be also more female politicians and presidents.

no no. (laughs) when i was at school there was not a single woman employed. paintings produced by women didn't get any recognition whatsoever, as if there were no such thing in the history of art!

the very beginning was back in the elementary school. when i was a child we were given attendance numbers, first boys, then girls. why? when i got older the class split in two, girls would learn cooking and sewing, boys—wood craft. why?!

bloody knitting and cooking for me.

after the cooking class girls would treat boys with the cookies they just baked...

come on girls! wise up!!!

there are two things i noticed when i came back from abroad—the water tastes good and safety. no one carries a gun. i once lost my precious rolex and had it returned. can you believe it?! the downside is people care too much of what others may think, keeping everything inside. it can get very stressful.

indeed. not only that, but also how to present the work. the more restrictions you have, the better is the solution you come up with.

hmm... i guess i was brought up this way. i love painting. i want to create a great painting and i'll do whatever it takes to accomplish it. i just love doing it. i don't find it hard at all.

no, i take time to think about it.

top priority.

unlike western-style oil painting, which became a standard after the war, nihonga style requires very thin layers of paint over silk. before i started, no contemporary japanese artist painted on silk. i brought the real japanese painting back to the scene. i introduced contemporary themes made in the traditional technique.

there is a subtle change. the number of students who want to learn painting on silk has increased over the years. no one was interested before.

not at all. i thought i was good at everything, but when i took a sculpture class i nearly failed.

a fighter! like the ones in k-1.

i don't know, i've never tried. (laughs)

did you say “men-free?” i like that! i always find it hard to describe, i'll use it next time.i only paint what i can relate to. there are all kinds of differences between men and women, which go beyond physical.

not only my feelings, it's not a therapy. i think there are many people who feel similar to how i do, i always think of that.

sexism. i hate the term “ii onna” [nice woman], which often appears in women's magazines. ridiculous! men's idea of what an ideal woman should be, not what women want to become!

well, it's sad when somebody close to you suddenly dies, especially if there are some unresolved issues left, but it doesn't affect you much when the person is someone you hardly know. actually, i feel the death is coming close. (laughs)

i feel the energy is concentrating in my body. feeling weird lately...

i'm not afraid, but i try to do as much as i can before i die.

to create my masterpiece.

(laughs) exactly, that must be it!