2b
九州派
Kyushu-ha

【本文確定】

日本の前衛の作品は今日まで残されていないケースが少なくありません。そのなかでも、「具体」に数年遅れ「ネオ・ダダ」に数年先んじた「九州派」の往時の作品は、ほとんど失われたと言っていいでしょう。というよりは、作品を残そうとする事自体が彼ら自身によって忌避されたのだとも言われています。その意味でも九州派は、当時林立した前衛グループの中でもとりわけラディカルに、反芸術傾向を示した集団だったと言えます*2b1。

１９５６年１１月に福岡市街頭で行われたペルソナ展を契機として、翌１９５７年、九州派が結成されました。主要メンバーは桜井孝身、オチオサム、菊畑茂久馬、石橋泰幸、田部光子ら。武骨な九州の気風は朝鮮戦争以来ますます熱く、殴り合いなどは日常茶飯事、アスファルトを黒々と盛り上げ、パチンコ屋で流れる軍艦マーチを大声で謳いながら制作していたとのことです。１９５７年７月、九州派主催による西日本美術展出品者大会。８月、グループＱ４８人展。９月、機関誌『九州派』発刊。１１月、第２回街頭展「グループＱ／詩科・アンフォルメル屋外展」。

１９５８年以降の数年間は、一方では九州各地でアンデパンダン展を開催してこの地域に前衛芸術を唱道し、他方では「東京へ殴り込み」と称して、主要メンバーの連鎖個展などを銀座画廊や南画廊等「東京地方」で決行しました。台頭した東京のネオ・ダダ・グループに対しては論争試合を申し込み、最後は酒で決着を図ろうとしたそうです。

運動の実質的な終焉は、１９６２年１１月、福岡の百道海岸で一昼夜をかけて行われた「英雄たちの大集会」でした。東京からは風倉匠らが参加し、大山右一はオブジェの塔に放火、宮崎準之助は一晩中穴を掘り続けました。

菊畑茂久馬の手記が明快にグループの気骨を伝えてくれています。彼が桜井孝身らと知り合って間もない頃、公募団体展に入選した自慢の作品を見せたらゲラゲラ笑われたというエピソードでは、「一生懸命、真面目に描くということが、いかに自分に甘ったれたことか、誠実で糞真面目な絵が、いかに自分をかわいがった欺瞞的な行為か、それが、だんだんよーくわかってきたのです」とあります*2b2。

そして１９５８年の読売アンデパンダン展で受付拒否第一号となった（通称）「ゴミ作品」については、次のように語られています。「みんなの作品を荷造りして、トラックに積み込んだ後、海の家のアトリエを片づけたんです。小山のようなゴミが出ました。誰かが、『めんどくさい、これも出品してしまおうや！』とたまげるようなことを言ったんです」*2b3。続く田部光子の回想では、「モクちゃん、あんた、あのゴミ作品ば送り出す時、小便もついでに出品しようや、と言ってあんたが小便ばジャアジャアかけたとば覚えとうね」*2b4。

Works of Japanese avant-garde have rarely survived today. It can be fairly said that the works of "Kyushu-ha" (Kyushu School), which emerged a few years after "Gutai" and a few years prior to "Neo Dada," in particular have been lost almost entirely. On the other hand, it is also said that these artists themselves had rejected the idea of creating works to be preserved over time. In this respect, Kyushu-ha can be seen the most radical among many avant-garde groups of the time that expressed a propensity for anti-art*2b1.

The "Persona Exhibition" on the street of Fukuoka City in November 1956 brought Kyushu-ha into a formal group in 1957. The core members were SAKURAI Takami 桜井孝身, OCHI Osamu オチオサム, KIKUHATA Mokuma 菊畑茂久馬, ISHIBASHI Yasuyuki 石橋泰幸, TABE Mitsuko 田部光子 and others. The outbreak of the Korean War had heated up the rough personality prevalent in the Kyushu region even more, where fist fights were daily occurrences, and they reportedly piled up blackened asphalt to produce works while belting out the same navy march songs as played in pachinko parlors. Kyushu-ha organized "West Japan Art Exhibitors' Meeting" in July 1957 and "Group Q: 48 Persons' Exhibition" in August, published the journal "Kyushu-ha" in September, and held their second street exhibition "Group Q / Poetry, Outdoor Art Informel Exhibition" in November.

For several years after 1958, they had organized independent exhibitions at various places in Kyushu to introduce avant-garde art to this region, and on the other hand carried out series of solo shows of core members at Ginza Gallery and Minami Gallery in the "Tokyo Region," using the term "region" to localize Tokyo, proclaiming "the attack on Tokyo." In an anecdote, they challenged the emerging "Neo Dada" group in Tokyo to a heated debate, which ended up with a drinking contest to fight out the winner.

The actual end to their activities was "Great Assembly of Heroes" held for one day and night at Momoji Beach in Fukuoka in November 1962. From Tokyo, KAZAKURA Sho 風倉匠 and others participated; OYAMA Uichi 大山右一 set fire to a tower piled up of objects, and MIYAZAKI Junnosuke 宮崎準之助 dug a hole throughout the night.

KIKUHATA Mokuma 菊畑茂久馬 left some notes that vividly convey the robust spirit of the group's activities. In an episode around the time he became acquainted with SAKURAI Takami 桜井孝身 and others, the group members guffawed at him when he confidently showed them his works selected at a contest-organization's exhibition, which eventually made him write "I understood, through and through, how indulging myself to paint as earnestly as possible is, and how spoiling and decepting myself to complete ridiculously faithful and serious paintings is."

In another episode about (known as) "Garbage Piece" that became the first case rejected at the Yomiuri Independent Exhibition in 1958, he recalls "We packed all our pieces and loaded them onto a truck, then tidied up our atelier at the seaside. In front of quite a mound of garbage, one surprized me, saying 'What the hell! Let's submit this pile of garbage to the exhibition too!'...... We talked about this recently, then Mitsuko-chan (TABE Mitsuko 田部光子) told me 'Moku-chan (KIKUHATA Mokuma 菊畑茂久馬), you remember you pissed on the garbage piece like a horse, shouting ''Let's submit some piss too!'' don't you?'"