Haruo Mitsuta
Born 1980, Tottori Prefecture
Articulated metal figurines have animals as their theme. In addition to being highly realistic, they are distinctive in that their parts can be moved freely, just like actual animals’ bodies. Haruo Mitsuta is the leading articulated figurine artist carrying on the extremely rare technique today. His usual process would be to follow sketching by measuring and dissecting the creature he has chosen, but Pokémon live in a different world from our reality. "However, I can ponder them there.” In between his impression of the subject and the logic of the craft, Mitsuta “goes after the perfect balance.” His thoughts broaden, wondering if the craftsmen of the past who tackled subjects such as dragons and shachi (a mythical animal with the head of a lion and the body of a fish), which are part of the articulated figure tradition, worked in the same way. In this exhibition, he created “ Gyarados, as an articulated figurine, as a Mitsuta dragon.” The whiskers were a problem, but he concluded that it wouldn’t have been cool to have them dangling down from a movable joint. “Actually, in the past, dragons’ whiskers did not move.” Through his creative process, past and present in Mitsuta’s point of view, overlap.
Photo by Tadasu Yamamoto
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