[AVANT GARDE] MURAYAMA Tomoyoshi - Hentai Geijutsu-Shi

1926. [AVANT GARDE EROTICA] MURAYAMA Tomoyoshi. HENTAI GEIJUTSU-SHI. Taishou 15 [1926] Bungei Shiryou Kenkyuukai, Toukyou, Frontis. 2pp, 2pp, 52+pp. 22.0 x 15.0 cm. bound Japanese-style, string- bound, fukuro-touji, with a printed paper title label on the cover. There are many plates, b+w and color, selected to demonstrate Murayama's essay on the erotic in world art, with many examples from the West. Murayama was, of course, one of the most influential thinkers in Japanese avant-garde literary and artistic circles of the time. He had co-founded the seminal art group MAVO in 1923 and was just leaving them to become more involved in drama, art criticism, and, soon, the Proletarian art movement. It seems significant that Murayama, having spent time in Germany and being quite familiar with European approaches to the avant-garde, was now confident enough to write about eroticism in world art and his own art history, as well, as several Japanese artists receive mention. It bespeaks an art world that, by the 20s, felt quite capable of dealing with world art as a subject of study, not a cultural imposition. Something very contemporary about it all.. One of his essays could be translated as The Joys of Terror.. interesting concept between two vast world wars.. Murayama would live through the militarist 30s and on past the war, dying in 1977. He had spent many years in detention during the war years and before for his left-wing sympathies and never abandoned them.. This book is quite scarce and not usually encountered in summaries of Murayama's work. A valuable bit of data from a vital period in Japanese cultural history. Overall, very good condition, with original errata sheet still laid-in. Written in Japanese throughout. .

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