Kansai Bijutsuin: Decades Delving Into the True Nature of “Drawing”
Drawing fosters “observational skills”
The human form is one of the most complex, beautiful structures in the natural world.
In order to reconstruct this three-dimensional presence on two-dimensional paper, sharp observational power and skill honed over lengthy time become necessary.
For example, what position of a shoulder is a head attached to? Are the left and right arms the same length when unbent? When drawing the human form, if these are even just slightly off, it becomes clear to any one that there is something strange. It is for this reason that the human form is the best teacher for accurately capturing and expressing all sorts of angles.
Kansai Bijutsuin has focused on drawing for more than a century now – not just because it is fundamental training tool, but because the institute believes it is the most reliable method for fostering the ability to correctly view things and the ability to express them.
Look carefully at the subject, learn its makeup, and capture it by your own lines. We believe the repetition of this builds a solid foundation for not only painting, but for all sorts of creative activities.
Living breathing person poses right in front
We don’t just capture an image of a human body like a photograph.
We infuse in the image the breath, strength of the bones, and glow of the skin of the model standing before us.
This opportunity to look life straight on and fix its impression on paper by charcoal or paint transcends simple training sessions. Even in this age where digital technology enables instant production of an endless variety of images, time spent looking at an actual body in front of you and drawing it by hand is a deep experience unobtainable anywhere else.
To enable you to develop the basic skills for expressing yourself, Kansai Bijutsuin provides you with an opportunity to study life drawing for three hours a day substantially every day – a feature since its founding and an extremely rare chance in the modern age.
Stand in the center of an evolving world of diverse arts
In today’s art world, there are a myriad ways of expression – videos, installation art, digital art, etc. – almost uncountable.
On the other hand, in recent years, there has been notable renewed interest around the world in “drawing with one’s own hand”. In Europe and the Americas, many of the younger generation are joining studios teaching traditional drawing and oil painting,
This does not mean a return to the old ways of doing things. It is because this is an era of such diverse ways of expression that the simple basics of “drawing while looking with one’s own eyes” has been found to have new value.
Kansai Bijutsuin has protected this “culture of drawing” for over a century.
Precious time in a studio unchanged for 120 years
Kansai Bijutsuin was founded back in 1906. In the ensuing 120 years, artists would gather here around a model and polish their skills while learning from each other.
Even as the times changed, the practice of “drawing by careful observation” has always retained its value. The time here is a treasure by which we pass on our knowledge to future artists.