「English」Chieko Kanatani Greetings October 15, 2023
1) Hello everyone. Welcome, thank you much for your coming.
Now that I think about it, I am truly happy to be able to meet all of you who have worked together with me for more than half a century.
First of all, I would like to talk about why I chose “feminism” for this art exhibition. Ever since I was a child, my favorite phrase was `Women are always a loser.” Particularly in the rural areas of Hokuriku, girls were called `Meronko” with a derogatory term, and even if girls were good at studying or exercising, they were told, `Meronko, shut up!”. This is The Ｓimone Ｄe Beauvoir’s ”second gender“. I was always frustrated. However, looking at gender equality in Japan now, it is still the least developed country in terms of gender equality, ranking 125th out of 146 countries in the world. Even though we have worked hard towards gender equality, I often find myself unable to sleep at night when I begin to reflect on whether I have not contributed to gender equality. But I don’t think I need to reflect on it anymore. Because junior women and men are making big moves toward gender equality. For example, in Japan, there are issues with the entertainment business Johnny’s, and in other countries, Iranian women are risking their lives to avoid wearing veils and to gain women’s rights. Yes, this year’s Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Ms. Mohammadi, who is fighting in the veil movement in Iran. She received the award while in prison. It is my wish from the core of my being that feminism moves forward.
2) Ten years ago, in the spring of 2014, we handed over the NPO to the next generation. Tomomi Moroda is visiting us today. The biggest change over the past 10 years is that I became hard of hearing. No matter many hearing aids I change, I can no longer decipher conversations with a large number of people. Also, in February this year, I underwent surgery for spinal stenosis and lower back. This is also due to her caring for her husband. It’s been more than half a year since my surgery, and I still haven’t fully recovered, but thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the orthopedic surgeon, President Murakami, who is joining us today, he’s managed to survive. That’s what I’m saying.
Ｉhave been painting again for 10 years. I have always been a fan of Van Gogh, and my dream was to express my imagination by dabbing paint over and over like Van Gogh’s “cypresses”. Ｉwanted to express myself to the fullest and paint pictures that would make myself and other women feel good.
３）After retiring from my NPO job, I attended a painting class at a nearby Cultural Center. It was fun, but the models were always female and often nude. The compositions of `the woman being seen and the man looking’ and `the woman being drawn and the man drawing’ were becoming very tiring. I also thought that nude paintings were called fine art in the 19th century, but it’s still commonplace today. Female students console me by saying, `It’s just a matter of getting used to nudity’ and `Once you get used to it, it’s fine,” but I think the big problem is that people get used to it and become desensitized. In my case, as soon as I finished drawing it, I changed it to a picture of the person wearing clothes. (That is the woman with the shawl on page 6 4-1 in the picture you have, and this is one of the pictures I changed).
Then there is the issue of racism and discrimination against black people. I once painted a black woman. This is the picture on the cover of photograph. Someone said, `this is THE native.” I once protested that there is no such thing as “indigenous people.” Now that I think about it, Picasso is said to be a genius, but I think there is something in common with Picasso’s discrimination against black people and misogyny. Picasso is said to have gotten a hint of Cubism from African women, and there is a famous painting called `Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” in which the face and body of a black woman are cut into pieces from the side and the front. It was previously titled The prostitutes of Avignon Whores. I think it’s a strong expression of misogyny and discrimination against women that it’s okay to chop up women. This year marks 50 years since Picasso’s death. Not only the “Picasso genius” theory, but also French Feminists say that “Picasso was the anti human right man’
4) Feminist art developed from the American feminist movement. And it spread all over the world. When women enter art as expressors, the framework of art itself changes. For example, the way museums display art and the selection of art instructors and judges will change. Feminism changes not only the framework of art but also the framework of society. Feminism aims to create a diverse, individual, and free society.
The reason I named this exhibition “feminism” is because I want feminism to belong to everyone. There are still some who dislike the term “feminism”, thinking that it is an act to expand only women’s rights, but in order to achieve `gender equality,” and diversity, each woman and man must take action for change. I think it’s my responsibility. I wanted to encourage women and men to become agents of change.
５) Lastly, my wish is for everyone who has worked with me to receive an oil painting as a token of my gratitude. When the NPO first started, I would like to thank all of you who trusted and supported the Women and Work Research Institute, which was still in its infancy both financially and in terms of ability. I was so happy. I wanted to convey my feelings of gratitude in some way, and although this is a poor drawing, but I painted hard on it, so I hope that you will receive it.
I will continue to draw pictures again with a new feeling. However, I don’t know how much time I have left to draw, but I want to put in a little more effort.
Thank you very much for joining us today.