WATARU SUGIYAMA
About the Artist
1956 Born in Tokyo, Japan 1980 Graduated from Kokudo Kensetsu College 1980-86 Civil engineer, Tokyo, Japan 1989 Bachelor of Arts, Speech Communication, Southern Oregon University Ceramic sculpture exhibit, Central Gallery, Southern Oregon University 1990 John Humberg Dicky Award 1991 MFA, Haniwa Sculpture Exhibit, Stevenson Gallery, Southern Oregon University Recipient of OMICRON DELTA KAPPA Award (The National Leadership Honor Society) Japanese Foundation of Los Angeles Grant for traveling exhibit of Haniwa show 1992 Ceramic sculpture show, Hanson Howard Gallery, Ashland, Oregon Master's Degree of Fine Arts, Southern Oregon University Recipient of Guanajuato Award for outstanding graduate student Guest artist of California Ceramic Guild Exhibition, Japanese American Culture Center, Los Angeles Traveling Haniwa exhibits, Corvallis Arts Center and Coos Art Museum 1993 Bronze showing, Lotos Club, New York 1994 Guest Haniwa instructor for Youth World 21 in Japan Guest artist, "The Great Land of Freedom," at Southern Oregon History Center, by American and Japanese National Museum 1995 Ceramic sculpture show, Hanson Howard Gallery, Ashland, Oregon 1997 Ceramic sculpture show, Hanson Howard Gallery, Ashland, Oregon 2000 Ceramic sculpture show, Hanson Howard Gallery, Ashland, Oregon 2005 Ceramic sculpture show, Hanson Howard Gallery, Ashland, Oregon 2006 Ceramic sculpture show, Hanson Howard Gallery, Ashland, Oregon
ORIENTAL MAGIC
Elements of Japanese history and mythology are almost the exclusive focus of Wataru's creations. He interprets imaginary and existing objects and gives them a modern twist by bringing his personal vision to these subjects. His sculptures are truly inspirational and have a powerful presence and a sense of humor, and make a strong impression on his viewers. Besides historical elements, extremely fine detail and exquisite facial expressions are featured on his sculptures.
He lives in Ashland, Oregon where there is an outstanding Shakespeare theater. People there are highly art-oriented. He wants to continue living and working in the Rogue Valley, a beautiful environment he finds encouraging to the creative spirit.
THE ART OF HANIWA
Haniwa, the ancient Japanese funeral art form, is little known or understood by the West. Wataru Sugiyama, who earned a master's degree at Southern Oregon State College in Ashland, has profoundly examined the Haniwa in their historical context and has taken them as his creative inspiration.
Wataru Sugiyama originally came from Japan to Southern Oregon as a Speech and Communication major, to fulfill a long-held dream of teaching English. By chance, he took a class in ceramics to fulfill a course requirement. It changed his life. Suddenly, he found that he could bring his personal vision and form to what had been a rigid Japanese esthetic. He could combine the traditional and the contemporary in new and exciting ways -- ways that he would not have been able to do in the structured artistic world of Japan.
Immersing himself in a study of historical Japanese art forms, Wataru Sugiyama discovered the Haniwa.
Haniwa -- ceremonial terra-cotta figurines of various sizes placed in and around the tombs of nobles -- date from the 4th to the 7th century. They represent the last pure cultural expression of Japan before Buddhism from China and Korea irrevocably influenced the islands. It is estimated that at least 200,000 Haniwa tomb sites exist in Japan.
Haniwa are classified into two groups: cylindrical Haniwa that serve to mark the borders of a keyhole-shaped consecrated area, and representational Haniwa, including models of houses, animals, military equipment, and human figures of varying sizes, that shelter the deceased's spirit, mimic his temporal world, and legitimize the passage of his political power.
Wataru Sugiyama has created these figures in the traditional way, by piling clay coils up from the base. Haniwa, in fact, means "clay ring." Haniwa figures are highly stylized, deceptively simple. Even the laughing figurines that have been excavated express derisive laughter not as an emotion, but as the last strategic resort of the gatekeeper. But the formation of the final facial features of each figure was done spontaneously, freehand. Thus, each figure represents both individual and group values. In recreating the excavated Haniwa figures, Wataru Sugiyama has combined their historical construction and his own contemporary creative characteristics.
Growth of a mutual understanding of the culture and the art of Japan and of the United States has become increasingly more important as the two nations become more interdependent in the last decade of the 20th century.
--- by Roberta Kent