Saturday, May 13, 2006

PERSONALITY PROFILE

By VIVIENNE KENRICK

In 1937 Spanish artist Pablo Picasso immortalized Guernica, symbol of the Basque nation, which suffered ruthless bombing during the Spanish civil war. For the Spanish pavilion in the Paris Exposition, Picasso produced a large black-and-white mural that protested the destruction of Guernica. It was said to be a "document of intellectualized pain."

Shin Maeda opened her own children's art school, the Kids' Art Factory, "to cultivate children's creativity."

Here in Tokyo at Shibuya, a project calling itself Kids' Guernica is under way and inviting participation. "Kids' Guernica is a symbol of hope for peace," said director Shin Maeda. "Children are always victims of war. Kids' Guernica is against any war." This project was initiated by Art Japan Network in 1995, the 50th anniversary year of the end of World War II.

Shin is an independent, forthright woman who emerged early on as the only artist in her family. As her father was in the building trade, the family frequently moved. Strong-willed even when she was much younger, Shin was able to get herself to Paris, where she had her awakening during the three years of her study at the Academy Julian dei Debbio.

She said: "While I was in Paris, I met a large family who were war refugees. We were living in the same small hotel. Then I met several families from other countries, and they too as displaced people were experiencing extreme difficulties. Those families made me think about what I wanted to do, what was important in life."

Back in Tokyo, Shin knew she wanted to produce art for its own sake but, ambitious, she wanted "to leave something, for example, a message to the world. I wanted to communicate the message by art, and to have it long-lasting." She opened her own children's art school, calling it the Kids' Art Factory. She said: "My objective was to cultivate children's creativity and imagination. I value the individuality of every child."

As a result of her work, and as she looked around, Shin found the Kids' Guernica Project. She said: "In this project, children play leading parts. I already had a strong conviction that I wasn't teaching art to children. What I wanted was to produce together with them, under the theme of peace. Children have wonderful power."

Shin maintained her own art work, exhibiting in both Tokyo and Paris. A subsequent study trip to Europe took in Spain and Morocco as well as France again. Her grasp of the French language strengthened. In Japan, in her public-spirited way, she joined art associations and societies that in many cases were gallery owners interested in inviting international artists to exhibit. She made herself available as an art lecturer. Having linked up with the Kids' Guernica Project, she enrolled volunteers and young artists with international connections to help promote it.

"Kids' Guernica," she emphasized, "is a peace project for children through art. In different places of the world, children create peace paintings on huge canvases the same size as Picasso's, 3.5 meters by 7.8 meters. More than 100 paintings have already been completed in 30 countries."

The young artists enrolled by Shin in this year's group effort in Shibuya work with the children, hoping to achieve "attractive art that will astonish adults." One artist, from Bangladesh, is a specialist in textile design, dyeing and weaving. The others, including Shin, are Japanese, each with his own special interest and innovative concepts. All adult helpers want to encourage the children to think and produce independently.

Kids Guernica, with the sponsorship of Shibuya Ward, is geared to children in primary and junior high school. For several Saturdays in May and June, programs are planned in different venues. Participating children are asked to provide their own palettes, brushes, buckets, towels and smocks. The children are expected to paint for about two hours, then discuss their work. Kids' Guernica especially hopes to have non-Japanese children take part.

"The overriding aim is to spread a perception of peace through art," Shin said. "The beauty of art cannot be only in the picture. It is also in the message conveyed."

Phone and fax (03) 3377-9805, Web site shinmaeda.air-nifty.com

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