Keiji Uematsu

Keiji Uematsu (born 1947) is a Japanese sculptor and contemporary artist.

Keiji Uematsu
2021@Minoo-park
Born	(1947-03-26) March 26, 1947 (age 77) Kobe, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Education	Department of Fine Arts, Kobe University
Known for	Sculpture, Contemporary Art
Notable work	Cutting Axis-Longitude-Latitude
Awards	the 38th Teijiro Nakahara Award, Japan, 2013

Elected	Japan's representative artist of the 43rd Venice Biennale, 1988

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(Narrator) Japan is a nation that has influenced the world in so many ways. Be it there food, their technology, or their contributions to popular culture like video games. For many of us the music of video games played more in our households growing up than any other form of music at the time. Yet for most of us, the composers behind these timeless melodies remain faceless. DIGGIN' IN THE CARTS is about unearthing the men & women who inspired an entire generation while arguably creating Japan's biggest musical export to the world. (beach waves) (beep) (beach waves) (beep) (beach waves) (Narrator) Throughout the ‘80s & ‘90s Japanese role playing games had some of video game music’s most iconic melodies. Little did these composers know, These unique compositions would go on to be performed by some of the most prestigious orchestras in the world. (Man) FINAL FANTASY franchise is, as the name suggests, a fantasy series. It’s an RPG you can enjoy in a fantasy world. It’s a game with very convincing drama, and I feel it’s something you can enjoy almost like watching a play or musical. The composer who's made the lovely music that gives the series its musical element is Nobuo Uematsu. (Man) What a crazy crazy franchise. What a beautiful RPG world that they created. Not quite the final one yet, but… It’s the most fun I’ve had playing a video game was playing Final Fantasy VII. And the music though, THE MUSIC was just… Nobuo Uematsu is the game music guy. Final Fantasy VII, that soundtrack is like "the quintessential music is great" in games. It’s the go to for being like, “this is art” video game music can be beautiful. ♪ (THE SERPENT TRENCH continues) ♪ I’m Nobuo Uematsu. I’ve composed game music for a lot of different games. I’ve been doing it for more than 25 years now. I was born towards the south of Japan in Kochi Prefecture, which is in Shikoku. There are mountains and rivers, and lots of beautiful nature. I love it. (Uematsu) At the time, I was 24 or 25, and I wanted to work in music, but the world wasn’t forgiving enough to allow someone with no connections, ability or experience to get a job like that. My flat was just a small room, but every night, people with different dreams people who wanted to be painters, writers, calligraphers and such would get together there and drink. That kind of thing was happening every night at my place. And one day there was a girl who said she was making games. She asked me if I could make tracks to be used in games, and the place she ended up taking me to was SQUARE. This is the track that’s played since the first FINAL FANTASY, called Prelude. Around the time I worked on that, I’d just finished making all the music and thought everything was complete. Then the boss suddenly came into the room and told me to make one more song for the opening screen. He gave me only 30 minutes. I remember rushing to make it right then and there. I never dreamed that song would continue to be used in the FF franchise. (laughs) People often say that NES or SNES must’ve been so hard to create music on with so few sounds available, but I didn’t really feel that myself. I think that the more limited people are the more ingenious they begin to get, so maybe I actually enjoyed thinking about how I could make rock music with 3 sounds or how I could make classical sounding music. It was like a game to me. ♪ (DUNGEON from Final Fantasy II) ♪ (Uematsu) For example, for playing a sound, a melody, I’d play one sound at a proper frequency, and another sound with the same melody. But I’d shift the frequency of the latter, a bit for that one, and a bit for the timing of it. By doing that, even though they were electronic sounds, it created a kind of shimmer, and a sound that was full of emotion. I tested various things like that day after day. (Uematsu) When we moved from NES to SNES, the biggest change was that we moved from 3 electronic sounds to 8 sampling sounds. ♪ (DANCING MAD continues) ♪ (Uematsu) We could sample a flute, for example, and we could do a violin sound, electric bass or guitar sound. If you say NES music was a black and white TV image, then SNES music was a color TV. That’s how big I felt the difference was. ♪ (Orchestration version of DANCING MAD) ♪ The first time my music was performed by an orchestra was maybe after Final Fantasy I and II. I was really happy, but scared. The reason for that was because I’d never had a proper musical education, and I’m still not great at reading musical scores. The man who's bad at writing and reading them is surrounded by 70-80 people who’d studied music since they were about 3-4 years old. (applause) (Man) I’m Arnie Roth, I’m music director and conductor of Distant Worlds - Music From FINAL FANTASY. ♪ (REBEL ARMY THEME from Final Fantasy II) ♪ (Roth) "Distant Worlds" is dedicated to presenting the music of FINAL FANTASY as close to the way as it was originally heard in the game as possible. ♪ (REBEL ARMY THEME continues) ♪ Arnie Roth is the conductor of Distant Worlds, I have a complex when it comes to orchestras and classical music, and I thought he’d be a very serious and stiff kind of person, but when I actually met him, he was frank, gentle, fun, and enjoyed a drink. (laughs) He and I are a product of many of the same musical influences. So we constantly are talking back and forth about these things. I’ll never forget the first year. I was doing some of the Dear Friends Concerts and he came out to one of them. We were riding in the car after rehearsal. And I said “You know Nobuo-san, it’s very funny everytime I’m working on ‘One-Winged Angel’ with an orchestra I hear Jimi Hendrix ‘Purple Haze’. And he says “that's what I was thinking of when I wrote this!” (laughs) (Roth) Overwhelmingly the concert feels like a beautiful family gathering, of everyone single mindedly loves Final Fantasy music and wants to be there for that reason. So it’s very embracing of Nobuo-san sitting in the audience with us. ♪ (Sephiroth! Sephiroth!) ♪ There’s a lot of electricity, right from the beginning. ♪ (SWING de CHOCOBO) ♪ ♪ (C H O C O B O) ♪ (Roth) There are some themes that go back, ‘The Chocobo Theme’ or Some of these very early themes that are still in use today, maybe 50 or 100 variations later but we see the same fanatical response to those themes. ♪ (SWING de CHOCOBO continues) ♪ (Roth) Some of the things that he attempted were outrageously difficult back then to do with this computer chip. A little 8-bit character, how do you inject emotion and fear and drama into it? And he was able to do it with music and that it can translate that into full orchestration is also a testament to the way he wrote melody and structure first. ♪ (OVERTURE from the opera "MARIA AND DRACO" of FF VI) ♪ (Uematsu) When my music is performed at Final Symphony and Distant Worlds, there are times when I feel moved and start to tear up. But there are a lot of fans sitting around me, (laughs) so I wipe my tears like this so nobody catches me. (laughs) ♪ (Piano version of THUNDER PLANES from FF X) ♪ My name is Thomas Böcker. I’m a producer of video game music concerts for 11 years now. The idea behind Final Symphony is presenting the music of Final Fantasy in a very, let’s say, classical way. (Böcker) What we are doing is re-telling the stories of the games, with the music. ♪ (THUNDER PLANES continues) ♪ 2003, it was the first video game music concert performed outside of Japan. It was my very first concert which I produced And we got Nobuo Uematsu to attend this concert. So this was his first time that he went outside of Japan to attend a concert with his music performed by an orchestra. He was, I think, quite amazed to see that an European orchestra was performing his music. And there were many fans also asking for autographs. Before I met FINAL FANTASY and SQUARE when I was searching for composing work, I never could’ve imagined this day would come in my wildest dreams. ♪ (Variation with motives of GESTAHL EMPIRE and TERRA'S THEME from FF VI) ♪ (Man) Final Symphony consists of three pieces. Basically, there is the Symphonic Poem based on Final Fantasy VI, and then a piano concerto based on the themes of Final Fantasy X, and finally Jonne’s magnificent symphony based on the music from Final Fantasy VII. ♪ (The Variation continues) ♪ (Wanamo) One of the greatest things with this concert is that the audience really have this very strong emotional connection to the music. And I know it myself also I’ve been playing games as a kid. And not only does it brings back memories of the games but from that whole era of my life. ♪ (The Variation continues) ♪ (Böcker) I hear quite often from Japanese composers that they never could expect that they are so famous and well known outside of Japan. They are telling me that they were just sitting in their small rooms working under very tight deadline to finish this work. And they always thought that maybe a few people would listen to it. And then all of a sudden they are sitting in a concert hall with 2000 people cheering when only his name is mentioned. ♪ (The Variation is coming to the end) ♪ (Uematsu) 20 some years on FINAL FANTASY has helped nurture me. So, game music is kind of like my alma mater. It’s like a school I attended in the past, a school that nurtured me. Whether I like it or not, I think it’ll be with me for the rest of my life. I think it’s a kind of my fate. ♪ (MAIN THEME of FINAL FANTASY FRANCHISES) ♪

Biography

From boyhood to Univ.

Keiji Uematsu was born on March 26, 1947, in Kobe, Japan.^[1] His father drew illustrations and lettered in the printing factory. His eldest son died shortly after birth, Keiji was the second first son grew up watching his job, and the next son Eiji later became an artist using soil as a material. Keiji loved painting and making models, and reading the science magazine for the schoolkids also. He became interested in the wonders of science, went often to the museums of the science or the natural history. He thought he wanted to grasp the mechanism of the wonder of the earth or the space from the primitive perspective. This is related to his later artistic work. His father did not allow him to go on to art college, so he entered the art department of the Faculty of Education, Kobe University, graduated in 1969, became a teacher of the arts and crafts at a public school.^[2]

Beginning of artist activity

While teaching at the public elementary school and the technical high school, he created his own artworks and presented Transparence - Iron at the 1st Contemporary International Sculpture Exhibition (The Hakone Open-air Museum, Kanagawa, 1969).^[2] In the same year he held his first solo exhibition at Galerie 16 in Kyoto, presented Tranceparence - H₂O. He also exhibited at the Kyoto Biennale 1972.

Leap overseas

He was selected for Japan: Tradition und Genenwart exhibition (Städtische Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf), sent the work in 1974, October he received the 2nd Kobe City Cultural Encouragement Award.^[1] He also appeared in a small role of the famous indie film I Can't Wait Getting Dark! (directed by Kazuki Ohmori). In September 1975 he went to West Germany for the destination of Düsseldorf, where the activities of artists are active. From December 1976 to 1977 he held the first solo exhibition in Europe Skulptur, Foto, Video, Film (Moderna Museet Stockholm, Sweden). Since then, he has presented many works at museums and galleries in Europe. His first solo exhibition in N.Y. Installation, Axis-Latitude-Longitude was held in 1981 at P.S.1 (the annex of MoMA). He was invited by Fondation Cartier pour L'Art, and exhibited at Sculptures in Paris from 1985 to 1986 the open-air work Situation-Triangle for the first time in 14 years. After this he produced many open-air sculptures in Europe, Japan and South Korea.^[2]

Dual base of artist's life

He established a new base in Nishinomiya, Kobe in March 1986, since then he continued to work going back and forth between West Germany and Japan.^[2]^[3]^[4] Due to the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995 he lost Nishinomiya base, moved to Minoo-city of Osaka.^[5] He was selected as a Japanese national artist along with Shigeo Toya and Katsura Funakoshi, for the 43rd Venice Biennale 1988, presented his work Inversion-Vertical space at the Japan Pavilion.^[6]^[7] In the 1990s he continued vigorous production activities. His first solo exhibition in a Japanese museum Behind the Perception was held at Otani Memorial Museum, Nishinomiya, 1997.

Activities of the new century

In 2003 at Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, he was held solo exhibition of photo works mainly Thinking about the Body and Eyes: Photos, Films from the 70's to the Present. In 2006 at Otani Memorial Museum, Nishinomiya the exhibition Keiji Uematsu, The Garden of Time was held. Even in the 21st century, he continues to hold solo exhibitions almost twice a year. In 2013, he won the 38th Teijiro Nakahara Award for his work Cutting Axis-Longitude-Latitude.^[5] He was selected for Spotlight category of the art fair of London Frieze Masters 2014, presented the 1970's photo works and sculputures. In 2016 he exhibited his works at Tate Modern, London Performing for the Camera and solo at Simon Lee Gallery Invisible Force. In 2021, for the first time in 15 years at the Japanese museum he presented the new works Keiji Uematsu: Ways of Touching the Invisible - Intuition at Ashiya City Museum of Art and History.

Transparence-Iron, 1969.
Studio, Düsseldorf, 1977.
Inversion - Vertical space, 1988.
Studio, Düsseldorf, 1991.
Studio, Minoo, 2006.
Cutting Axis-Latitude-Longitude, 2012.

Style and methods

His works are expressed in a variety of ways, including images (photographs, films, videos), performances (and their image recordings), prints, sculptures, and installations.

The production of the work is called "job (= project)", and the drawing that describes the idea of the project is also presented as an independent work.^[1]^[2]
His work of sculpture or installation is a seemingly unstable structure that combines geometric volumes (cones, spirals) of stone, copper, wood, etc. "I want to express the existence of something invisible, like the universe, with a work in which the entire structure would collapse without one element."^[1]

As materials for sculptures and installation works, cloth, stone, glass, iron, stainless steel, copper, bronze, brass, lumber (mainly Douglas fir), and natural wood in their solid state are often used.^[1]

His style looks like an abstract, but what is expressed in his work is the embodiment of invisible forces such as gravity.^[8]^[9]^[10]

First in 1971, then in 1972, or even in 1991, he wrote: "What I want to do is to make visible existence, visible connections and visible relations appear more clearly. And to cause non-visible existence, non-visible connections and non-visible relations to appear. And to cause visible existence, visible connections and visible relations not to appear.",^[5] "What shall I now do with the world (cosmos) which denies man understanding and where these three relations comprise antinomies? Shall I find a new meaning in the world? How to shape relations between people? These are questions which deeply concern me."^[1]

These words expresses the basic concept from the earliest days of his artist's activities.^[1]^[5]^[11]

Exhibitions

Select solo exhibitions

1974: Photographs and Films, Gallery Cheap Thrills, Helsinki, Finland^[1]
1975: Galerie St. Petri, Lund, Sweden^[1]
1976: Photographs and Films, Gallery Cheap Thrills, Helsinki, Finland^[1]
1976: Moderna museet, Stockholm, Sweden^[1]
1977: Hetzler+Keller gallery, Stuttgart, Germany^[1]
1977: Situation Interval, New Reform, Aalst, Belgium^[1]
1977: Ausschnitte 1, Städtische Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Germany^[1]
1979: Installation, Vor Ort Arbeitsgalerie, Hamburg, Germany^[1]
1979: Skulptur, Foto, Heidelberger Kunstverein, Germany^[1]
1980: Cultuurhuis de Warande, Turnhout, Belgium^[1]
1980: International cultural Center, Antwerp, Belgium^[1]
1980: Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus+Kunstform, München, Germany^[1]
1980: Installation Axis-Latitude-Longitude, P.S.1, Project Studios 1, New York, USA^[1]
1981: Installations and Drawings, Baudoin Lebon, Paris, France^[1]
1981: Skupturen-Zeichnungen-Fotos, Galerie Löhrl, Mönchengladbach, Germany^[1]
1982: Cathédrale Saint-Trophime d'Arles, Arles, France^[1]
1983: Installation, Baudoin Lebon, Paris, France^[1]
1984: Centrum BeeldendeKunst Rotterdam, The Netherlands^[1]
1985: Project - Drawings and Installations, Galerie Löhrl, Mönchengladbach, Germany^[1]
1986: Installation, Baudoin Lebon, Paris, France^[1]
1989: Project, Kunstraum Neuss, Germany^[1]
1989: Skulpturen und Zeichnungen, Galerie Kiki Maier-Hahn, Düsseldorf, Germany^[1]
1989: Skulpturen und Zeichnungen, Galerie Löhrl, Mönchengladbach, Germany^[1]
1989: GeleZaal, Gent, Belgium^[1]
1990: Sculptures, Waβermann Galerie, München, Germany^[1]
1991: Dortmunder Kunstverein, Germany^[1]
1991: Waβermann Galerie, Köln, Germany^[1]
1991: Baudoin Lebon in FIAC, Grand - Palais, Paris, France^[1]
1992: Baudoin Lebon, Paris, France^[5]
1992: Ursula Blickle Stiftung, Kraichtal, Germany^[5]
1993: The Breathing Space, Waβermann Galerie, München, Germany^[5]
1993: Skulpturen und Zeichnungen, Galerie Löhrl, Mönchengladbach, Germany^[5]
1994: It's Possible, Skulpturen und Zeichnungen, Stadtmuseum Siegburg, Germany^[5]^[12]
1995: Invisible Structure, Galerie Beatrice Wassermann, München, Germany^[5]
1997: Behind the Perception, Edwin-Scharff-Haus, Neu-Ulm, Germany^[5]
2001: Baudoin Lebon, Paris, France^[5]
2003: Axis-Latitude-Longitude, Waβermann Galerie, Munchen, Germany^[5]
2004: Falling Water - Rising Water, Baudoin Lebon, Paris, France^[5]
2005: Axis-Latitude-Longitude, Kunstlerverein Marlkasten, Düsseldorf, Germany^[5]
2008: Yearning for What is Floating, Baudoin Lebon, Paris, France^[5]
2009: Yearning for What is Floating, Le Cafe Francais Art Gallery, Brussels, Belgium^[5]
2011: Baudoin Lebon (with vladimir skoda), Paris, France^[5]
2014: Frieze Masters: Spotlight, Regent's Park, London, UK^[5]
2016: Invisible Force and Seeing, Jacobihaus, Kunstlerverein Malkasten, Düsseldorf, Germany^[5]
2016: Invisible Force, Simon Lee Gallery, London, UK^[5]
2016: Seeing/Measuring/..., Baudoin Lebon, Paris, France^[5]
2018: Invisible Force, Galerie Löhrl, Mönchengladbach, Germany^[5]
2019: Keiji Uematsu: Invisible Force, Simon Lee Gallery, New York, USA^[5]

Works

Transparence-H₂O, 1969.
Cutting, 1971.
Horizontal position, 1973.
Axis-Latitude-Longitude, 1980.
Corner piece I - Inversion vertical space, 1988.
Situation - Floating space, 1989.
Axis-Longitude-Latitude, 1999.
Floating form - Red, 2000.
With a tree - Touch of Spiral, 2003.
Touch of Spiral, 2007.
In between - form II, 2009.
Floating form - Invisible axis, 2015.
Cutting triangle, 2017.
Floating stone, 2017.
Invisible axis - Horizontal /Vertical inclination, 2019.
In between friction - Gift from cosmos, 2021.
Invisible force - Axis-Longitude-Latitude, 2021.
Invisible Force - Between Heaven and Earth, 2022.
With a Branch - Touching the Energy, 2022.
Invisible Energy - Between Heaven and Earth and Sea, 2023.

Public collections

Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Germany^[1]
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany^[1]
Kunsthalle Bremen, Germany^[1]
Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany^[1]
Museum Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany^[1]
Daimler Art Collection, Berlin, Germany^[5]
Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art, Paris, France^[1]^[9]
Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France^[5]
Musée Reattu, Arles, France^[1]
Maison Elsa Triolet Aragon, St-Arnoult en Yvelines, France^[5]
LA CHAPELLE art contemporain, Clairefontaine, France^[5]
Collection Pinault, France^[5]
Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden^[1]
Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar, The Netherlands^[5]
Bvlgari Collection, N.Y., USA / Rome, Italy^[5]
Museum of Modern Art, New York City, New York, USA^[5]^[13]
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA^[5]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai ^aj ^ak ^al ^am ^an ^ao ^ap ^aq 1969-1991 Keiji UEMATSU (catalog of works), 1991.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e the Japanese text of interview with Keiji Uematsu, Oral History Archives of Japanese Art; http://www.oralarthistory.org/archives/uematsu_keiji/interview_01.php
^ 50 years of galerie 16: 1962-2012 pp.67-74.
^ Fotografie in Düsseldorf: die Szene im Profil, 1991.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag Keiji Uematsu, Ways of Touching the Invisible - Intuition (catalog of the exhibition), 2021.
^ XLIII Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte la Biennale di Venezia, Il Luogo Degli Artisti, General Catalogue 1988.
^ The Venice Biennale: 40 Years of Japanese Participation, 1995.
^ Contemporary Japanese Sculpture, 1991, pp.82-84
^ ^a ^b La Collection de la Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, 1998.
^ Dictionnaire Bénézit, Dictionnaire des peintres,sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs, vol. 13, 1999, p. 892.
^ Von der Natur in der Kunst, Eine Ausstellung der Wiener Festwochen, 1990.
^ It’s Possible, Skulpturen und Zeichnungen, 1994.
^ "Keiji Uematsu". The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Retrieved 2021-11-16.

References

Books and Catalogs

Keiji Uematsu: Skulptur Foto Video Film. Sweden: Moderna Museet. 1976. ISBN 91-7100-112-3.
Gottfried Jäger (1988). Fotografik - Lichtgrafik - Lichtmalerei, Bildgebende Fotografie Ursprünge, Konzepte und Spezifika einer Kunstform (in German). DuMont Buchverlag Köln. ISBN 3-7701-1860-X.
Edizioni La Biennale Realizzazione Fabbri Editori (1988). XLIII Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte la Biennale di Venezia, Il Luogo Degli Artisti, General Catalogue 1988. ISBN 88-208-0346-1.
Wiener Festwochen, Künstlern, Leihgebern und Autoren (1990). Von der Natur in der Kunst, Eine Ausstellung der Wiener Festwochen (in German). ISBN 3-901027-01-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Helga Meister (1991). Fotografie in Düsseldorf: die Szene im Profil (in German). Schwann im Patmos-Verlag. ISBN 3-491-34227-9.
1969-1991 Keiji UEMATSU (in Japanese, English, German, and French). Nomart Editions. 1991. ISBN 4-931270-03-4.
Janet Koplos (1991). Contemporary Japanese Sculpture. Abbeville modern art movements. ISBN 1-55859-012-9.
Keiji Uematsu: It's Possible, Skulpturen und Zeichnungen. Stadtmuseum Siegbulg. 1994. ISBN 3-925551-75-1.
The Venice Biennale: 40 Years of Japanese Participation. 1995. ISBN 4-620-80314-6.
Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemprain (1998). La Collection de la Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain. Actes Sud. ISBN 2-7427-1577-0.
éditions Gründ (1999). Dictionnaire Bénézit: Dictionnaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs vol. 13 (in French). ISBN 2700030230.
From Postwar to Postmodern, Art in Japan 1945-1989: Primary Documents. MoMA. 2012. ISBN 978-0-8223-5368-3.
50 years of galerie 16: 1962-2012. Kyoto: galerie 16. 2014.
Keiji Uematsu, Ways of Touching the Invisible - Intuition. Ashiya City Museum of Art and History. 2021.

Web

Oral History Archives of Japanese Art (2018-05-25). "Interview with Keiji Uematsu".

Authority control databases
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