Jigen (Manifestation)

Kato Gizan is a well-established contemporary Japanese sculptor that works much with Buddhism themes and classical stories. Gizan admires the sculptor Takamura Koun (1852-1934), an Imperial Household Artist and professor of Sculpture in the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. Gizan employs the Pointing Machine using calipers during creation process. Instead of a sketch on a piece of paper, the artist would firstly make a model in plaster or material, then he would use the Pointing Machine to make point-to-point transfer to make the actual wood sculpture. For the time and efforts this technique requites, by choosing this way Gizan reflects his vision to express longevity, and dignity, which is the quality that would never change in human.
Jigen aims to demonstrate the physical form of “the subject” that a person deeply craves. "The subject" might be religious need, or merely secular interest. It supports a human-being to stay with humanity. Even in such accelerated developing age that religion is less concerned and human is less “human” for the sake of technology, the subject will perpetually conserve humanity for thousands of years forward.
This sculpture has been requested for the exhibition at the Hiratsuka Museum of Art and other venues from April 2022 to March 2023.