In February 1964, Hiroshi Nakamura held a solo exhibition titled "Kannen Kaiga (Conceptual Paintings)." Between 1964 and 1966, in collaboration with Kōichi Tateishi, Nakamura founded the Sightseeing Art Research Institute and engaged in joint artistic endeavors. During this period, they crafted the Kankō geijutsu (sightseeing art) manifesto, where they redefined the concept of "tourism." They proposed that tourism extends beyond mere sightseeing at physical destinations to encompass the inner transformation experienced through observation. They argued that Kankō geijutsu is realized by transposing the transformed observer's internal world onto a painting's physical surface.

During the years the Sightseeing Art Research Institute was active, Japan was undergoing rapid economic growth, highlighted by advancements such as the inauguration of the Shinkansen and the expansion of public transportation. This era also saw the popularization of tourism and school excursions. One of Nakamura's notable works from this time is School excursion (1966), depicting schoolgirls in sailor uniforms engaging playfully with the noise inside a train running along the seaside. The depiction of these girls, often one-eyed or faceless, became a recurring motif in Nakamura's 1960s oeuvre, symbolically reflecting his childhood trauma from wartime experiences.

This painting's surreal, fetishistic, and horror-laden imagery makes a profound impact. The train, typically a mechanical structure, is portrayed as a living organism, with its interior evoking a visceral, almost intestinal space. In contrast, the sailor uniforms' glossy, metallic-like texture mirrors the locomotive's mechanical aspects. This reversal of textures embodies the transformative philosophy of "tourism" as redefined by Nakamura and Tateishi, challenging viewers to reconsider their perceptions of reality.

* See Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (eds.), Hiroshi Nakamura: Pictorial Disturbances 1953-2007, Tokyo Shimbun, 2007, pp. 63-64.
** The translations of proper nouns used in this text are referenced from Yuri Mitsuda, "Trauma and Deliverance: Portraits of Avant-Garde Artists in Japan, 1955-1970," in Tokyo, 1955-1970: A New Avant-Garde (New York, NY: Museum of Modern Art, 2012), pp. 158-177.


Lot.169 NAKAMURA Hiroshi
School excursion
Oil on canvas
72.7 × 90.9 cm (28⅝ × 35¾ in.) (F30)
JPY 2,000,000 - 3,000,000
USD 13,700 - 20,500

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