Hitoshi Nakazato Cerebrating of His Art and Life: 2

下記、多摩美NYクラブのメンバーで読んだスピーチです。

Hello. My name is Miki Nagano and I’m the current president of the Alumni Association
of Tama Art University, New York Club. We have 40 members in the New York area, and 20 members outside of New York, including Japan.

As a tribute to Nakazato-san, several members of the Tama Art University New York Club will take turns reading this speech in his honor. Our New York Club was established in 2003 after Nakazato-san was asked by the University’s Alumni Association to establish a branch in New York.

It was an ironic request for an artist who graduated in 1960, taught there from 1968 – 1971, and then fired for siding with the student during the student uprising.

But after all, he is one of the successful graduates of the University, and an established Japanese contemporary artist. The list of his works in public collections is proof of that.

We discussed what to call the Tama Art University Alumni Association here in New York, and chose to call it the New York Club, not a Branch because we came all this way to New York to pursue our careers.

We celebrated the establishment of our club here in Nakazato-san’s studio, had our annual general meetings here, as well as many of our monthly meetings.

He welcomed us here on so many occasions.

We expected him to be here to support us always, to listen to our concerns, and to encourage us, giving critiques, helping us organize seminars, going on gallery runs, and making dinner for us.

He prepared gravlox, prepared sashimi, blue fish, pork roast with dried fruit and rosemary, brown rice with red beans, and large salads.

Nakazato-san nourished us in so many ways.

He was always passionate and positive in his outlook, accessible and friendly (although a bit scary at first) pushing us to think beyond our confines, The Line Outside as he called it which was just a pun when he decided to develop it into a concept for a series of works.

He encouraged us in our annual HAFH show (an acronym he made up – Home
Away From Home) now in its 6th year.

The upcoming HAFH show will be held at NY Coo Gallery from January 4th to January 22nd, 2011. The opening will be on Thursday, January 6th. The address is : 1133 Broadway, Suite 335, New York. Please stop by to see our show. Nakazato-san’s masterpiece will be showing in this exhibition.

Nakazato-san encouraged the Tamabi New York Club to reach out to graduates of other Japanese art university graduates in New York. He felt the need for us to have a voice and to communicate using words, emphasizing the importance of that together with visual communication.

The Alumni Association of Tama Art University, New York Club is working to create just that, and we thank Nakazato-san for this vision.

We are so sad, he should be here with us today.
-Tamabi NY Club-