Minoru Sasaki 佐佐木 實: Calligraphy, 2010–2013

I call my drawings calligraphy. Although they do not have the traditional look of East Asian calligraphy, characterized by a monochrome rendition by strokes of an ink brush, I deliberately adapt this term since I do apply the structure of this traditional form of art to my creation: I draw words.

To be precise, however, I draw the process of verbalization and that of writing.

Verbalization is a kind of molding: putting primitive, pre-verbal fragments of emotions or ideas, chaotically moving around in our minds, into the mold of socially formatted language. Writing is another molding process: putting words into the molds of characters, the socially formatted linguistic signs. As I draw these two molding processes, the overflow fragments which cannot be successfully transformed into language are also captured in my drawings.

When we write, many factors are involved. For example, we need our hands to write. However, my hands, like yours, sometimes betray my intention and draw something else. My brain is not always faithful to my intentions. At times, I think about something else, escaping from the context of the script I am writing. . . . My calligraphy drawings reflect all my writing behaviors.

www.minorusasaki.com

Minoru Sasaki, WORDS 言葉 (detail), 2012

Graphite, colored pencil, charcoal, pastel, ink, and sticker on paper, 64 × 92.9 cm

Minoru Sasaki, BODY 身體 (detail), 2013

Graphite, colored pencil, charcoal, pastel, watercolor, gouache, ink, powdered calcium carbonate, and sticker on paper, 140.8 × 75.7 cm

Minoru Sasaki, SEX DIFFERENCES 性差 (detail), 2010

Graphite, colored pencil, ink, charcoal, pastel, and watercolor on paper, 65 × 100 cm

Minoru Sasaki, IN SEARCH OF MY HOMETOWN 故郷をさがして (detail), 2012

Graphite, colored pencil, ink, charcoal, pastel, and watercolor on paper, 63.5 × 99.3 cm