Saburo Murakami


Saburo Murakami was a Japanese artist. He was a member of the Gutai group and was known for creating performance pieces where he would stick paper to wooden frames and burst through them.

Biography

Murakami was born in Kobe, Japan in 1925. He entered Kwansei Gakuin University in 1943. He also entered the art department's "Gengetsu-kai", became a disciple of Hiroshi Kamihara, and began studying oil painting. He graduated from Kwansei in 1948 with a degree in philosophy, and in 1950 with a degree in fine art. In 1952 Murakami formed the "Zero-kai" with Kazuo Shiraga, Atsuko Tanaka, and Akira Kanayama. They all joined the Gutai, which was led by Jiro Yoshihara, in 1955.
In 1960, Murakami was appointed the official delegate of Japan at the International Centre of Aesthetic Research in Turin.
Murakami taught at the Kobe Shoin Women's Junior College from 1990 until his death in 1996.

Personal life

His son is Tomohiko Murakami, a professor who researches manga and pop culture.

Artwork

Murakami was best known for kami-yaburi , a performance art in which he would stick paper to wooden frames and burst through them. The remaining ripped paper is also considered a form of visual art. In one performance photographed by the Guggenheim Museum, he tore through 24 paper screens. These performances were viewed as a collision of mind and body, as well as an expression of his free spirit. Unrestrained by medium, he also used glass and paint in his works. Murakami's work spanned the abstract expressionism, fluxus, and conceptual art movements.
After his death, Murakami's kami-yaburi works are sometimes destroyed as part of exhibits to extend the artist's message of creation through destruction.
Murakami was also a renowned painter, whose highly conceptual methods and presentation led to experimentation with a variety of painting gestures inspired by children. A central premise of his work was the playfulness of the creative act of painting.
In 2014 the Art Court Gallery in Osaka held an exhibition of his work. Chiba City Museum holds some of his artwork.