Kodama Sokō (1890-1966)
Drying Seaweed, late 1920s or early 1930s
Signed: Sokō Saku (Made by Sokō)
Sealed: Sokō
Two-panel screen: ink and color on silk
67 ½ x 74 inches (171 x 188 cm)
Kodama Sokō was born in Nagano prefecture. Wishing to study art, he went to Tokyo in 1900 but had to return home due to illness. Six years later, he moved to Tokyo again and became a pupil of Shimomura Kanzan (1873-1930), a founding member of the Japan Art Institute led by Okakura Tenshin (1862-1913). After Kanzan’s death, Sokō received instruction from Kimura Buzan (1876-1942), a distinguished painter who had graduated from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1896 and become a full member of the Japan Art Institute in 1915. From that time Sokō exhibited his paintings at the annual Inten exhibit sponsored by the Institute, winning an award in 1926 and continuing to participate in many of the succeeding Inten shows.
Drying Seaweed reflects an early Shōwa sensibility as Sokō turns to a typical seaside subject of a pair of women dressed in traditional cotton kimono at work. The fragile blossoming plum of late winter denotes the season, while the busy women draw viewer’s eyes to the foreground. A strong sense of geometry, prevalent in many works of the Taishō and early Shōwa periods, is achieved here in the horizontal and vertical lines of the drying racks as well as in the striped or kasuri patterns of the textiles. The economy of color reinforces the design. The same tones of green wash are seen in the wet seaweed squares and horizontal band of grass, the deep brown of the dried seaweed is echoed in the stripes of the kimono, and the delicate skin tones of the women form a muted bridge between the sand in the foreground and the drying rack behind. Sokō brings the green and brown seaweed sheets to life by texturing his pigments with sparkling mica. In this work, repeating contrast and balance throughout the composition, Sokō transforms a commonplace scene into a bold modern statement.
Sokō’s paintings are in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, Ibaraki.
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