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Clothespins Assert Churning Action

NAKANISHI Natsuyuki

1963

A great number of clothespins swarm in chaotic motion upon the seven canvases large and small. This strange work was first shown at the last "Yomiuri Independent Exhibition" in 1963. In the show, the swarms of clothespins flowed out of the canvases to cover the underclothes and egg-shaped objects placed nearby. Sometimes a viewer would pick up a clothespin, try it on his jacket, and leave the exhibition still wearing it. Placed in an art museum, clothespins were pieces of art, but they created a churning motion and found their way into everyday life without being noticed.
Natsuyuki Nakanishi, who formed "Hi-red Center" with Genpei Akasegawa and Jiro Takamatsu, attracted wide attention in 1962 for his “Yamanotesen Incident.”In this odd artistic performance, Nakanishi, with his face painted white, stood licking an egg-like object on the platform of a station in Tokyo. It was an attempt to introduce art into everyday life and space where it is innately alien. On the other hand, this work introduced into the art museum, whose artistic space is disconnected from the outer reality of life, household tools that were very familiar and ordinary. With this work, Nakanishi attempted to break down the boundary between art and daily life and churn the two together into a boisterous mixture.

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NAKANISHI Natsuyuki
1935-2016

Infomation

Genre	Paintings
Material/technique	Strings, clothespins, etc. on canvas
Dimensions	7点組：左右6点各116.5×91cm、中央 41×31.5cm
Acquisition date	1985
Accession number	1975-00-0344-000
Photo Credit	Photo: Keizo Kioku
Copyright	© NATSUYUKI NAKANISHI