Sensei Catalog

A SENSEI AND HIS STUDENTS:

BABA SHODO, FUJITSUKA SHOSEI A N D YA K O H O D O

BABA SHODO (1925 –1996 ), a pioneer of sculptural bamboo art, remains unknown outside Japan. I also knew nothing about Mr. Baba until January of 2001 when Yako Hodo took Robert Coffland and me to meet Baba Kazuharu, the artist’s son. As soon as we entered Baba Kazuharu’s home, we encountered Baba’s eight - foot - tall blazing fire sculpture. I was impressed by its size and moved by its visual power.

A portrait of Baba hanging in his son’s living room showed the artist stitching his work while holding a fine, long strip of bamboo between his teeth, his facial expression revealing the confidence and determination of a samurai warrior.

Baba was the second son of a farming family living near the city of Niigata. He served in the Imperial Navy during World War II and returned home disabled. He studied basket making under Kosuge Shochikudo, Nakajima Hoso, and Okada Setsuya before apprenticing with Hayashi Shogetsusai. His first important sculptural work was made for a local art exhibition in 1956 (pages 10 –11), the same year Shono Shounsai made his famous Doto (Surging Waves).

Beginning in 1961, Baba showed many sculptural works in Nitten exhibitions. By the late 1980s, he was semi- retired and teaching hobbyists. He resumed his artistic career in 1993 and this time began exhibiting in the Traditional Craft Arts Association.

Yako Hodo and Fujitsuka Shosei, Baba’s two most important students, were inspired by Baba’s free spirit and encouraging nature.

When they talk about Baba, it is with reverence and warmth.

Fujitsuka Shosei

Proportion, 1988, 7 x 5 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches (left)

Cover: Baba Shodo

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Mountain, 1993, 10 1/2 x 81/4 x 14 1/2 inches

“I had four masters during the 15 years I trained in my art, but Baba was the strongest influence,” Yako says. Baba always respected his students’ personal visions. When Yako encountered technical problems making exhibition pieces, he felt free to consult his teacher who always urged him to follow his instincts. “Make your own art,” Baba often said. “Don’t be influenced by what other people say.”

Baba limited his instruction to technical and practical advice. He might tell a student to enlarge an area so he could fit his hand inside an artwork and gain more control over the form. But he never told a student what form to make.

“Everything I know and do in bamboo art, I learned from my master, Baba,” says Fujitsuka. Even though Fujitsuka had no previous experience in bamboo art, Baba encouraged him to make his first exhibition piece just six months after he began his studies. Fujitsuka recalls Baba saying, “Learning many techniques can limit your imagination and creativity. You know nothing of techniques now so you can be very creative.” Fujitsuka made a parallel-construction design, heeding his teacher’s advice to look to the design itself for guidance.

His very first piece was admitted to the Kanagawa Prefectural Art Exhibition. “Be proud,” Baba told him, “you are the only man I know who has been admitted to a prefectural exhibition only six months after beginning to work with bamboo.”

In 2006, Baba’s students suggested an exhibition pairing their art with their teacher’s. Baba Kazuharu generously agreed to part with some of his father’s most important works from the 1950s through the 1990s. Everyone at TAI Gallery is deeply touched that he has entrusted us with this historically significant art.

Koichiro Okada 4

Yako Hodo

Spring Light, 2007, 12 x 31/2 x 16 inches

A R T I S TS ’ S TAT E M E N T S

Master Baba Shodo transformed me into a professional artist. “The clock won’t lie to you,” he told me when I was in training. “If I can make ten lampshades a day, so can you.” He didn’t consider me a professional basket maker until I matched his speed. Toward the end of my training, he gave me a great gift: he paid my salary while I created a piece to submit to the Nitten. That piece was accepted. Back then, the title “Nitten Artist” was a sign of professionalism, which helped me to make a living after becoming an independent artist. Both Fujitsuka Shosei and I feel that, by exhibiting our work with our teacher’s at TAI Gallery, we are bringing him some of the honor he deserves.

Yako Hodo Master Baba’s art and personal integrity inspired me so deeply. I believe I wouldn’t have become an artist if I had never met him. He passed away ten years ago, and even in Japan, his art has not gained the recognition it deserves. He returned from World War I I without one of his legs, and that is in part why he studied bamboo techniques. I never heard him speak ill of Americans or complain about his war-time experiences. I am sure he would be pleased that his art is part of a dialogue with American audiences. For me, this show at TAI Gallery represents peaceful reconciliation.

Fujitsuka Shosei

Baba Shodo

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Fire, 1977, 13 x 12 x 46 1/2 inches

Baba Shodo

Sukashi Ajiro - ami Offering Tray, 1992, 20 x 15 1/4 x 3 1/4 inches (below) Baba Shodo

Infinity, 1975, 16 x 42 inches with stand (right)

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Baba Shodo

Susutake Offering Tray, 1956, 36 x 26 x 9 1/2 inches

Fujitsuka Shosei Fujitsuka Shosei

Bamboo Boat, 1997, 19 3/4 x 11 x 2 3/4 inches Big Wave, 2008, 20 x 10 x 25 1/2 inches (right)

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Fujitsuka Shosei

City, 1994, 10 1/4 x 4 1/4 x 15 inches

Fujitsuka Shosei

Spiral Hexagonal Flower Basket, 2007, 9 x 15 inches (left)

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Yako Hodo Yako Hodo

Sound of the Tide, 1980, 27 1/2 x 27 1/2 x 231/2 inches

Stream of Sunlight in the Forest, 1983, 20 x 91/2 x 23 inches (right)

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Yako Hodo Yako Hodo

Left by the Waves, 2007, 18 x 12 x 16 inches

Warmth of Spring, 2007, 14 x 4 1/2 x 9 inches (right)

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