Masaru Igarashi, Curator

In 2004 I was working on an article about two Picasso exhibitions happening in Tokyo at the same time. I decided to email a few questions to Masaru Igarashi, the chief curator of one of the museums involved, Sompo Japan. Mr Igarashi kindly responded, although possibly a little late, as I did not use any quotes from him in my article. Publishing his comments here, 18 years after the event, thus presents me with a chance to right this historic wrong. 

Liddell: What are the similarities and differences between the exhibition at Sompo and the one at the Museum of Contemporary Art?

Igarashi: As you know, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo covers only Picasso works between 1925 and 1937, i.e. Surrealist time. All works are from the Picasso Museum, Paris and most of them came to Japan before. Our works cover from early time to the late time. Ours are new to Japanese audiences. Almost all works are first showing in Japan.

Liddell: What is the concept or main themes of the exhibition at the Sompo?

Igarashi: Works in Jacqueline collection are hidden for long time and nobody knew the contents of that so far. This time is the first to show works to the general public. Jacqueline had received 35% of works when Picasso died. This is the epoch-making chance.

Liddell: The title of the exhibition, "La Metamorphose de la Forme," refers to Picasso's constant changing of forms. What do you think drove Picasso to constantly change forms?

Igarashi: He is very obsessed with the idea of pioneer in the 20th century art. He believed in his leadership, superiority to Matisse, Chagall and other artists. Therefore he had to change the artistic style constantly to be the leader.

Liddell: Nowadays, for normal people, Picasso's name has become a symbol of the 'crazy artist' who paints ridiculous, distorted forms for no apparent reason. Isn't Picasso too famous, so that people just laugh at such pictures and say "Picasso" without really looking at his paintings properly? In other words, he has become a cliché.

Igarashi: No comment on this. I believe he is a genius. People can't follow him, because he is too big to digest and understand.

Liddell: Picasso always liked to paint subjects he was close to emotionally and sexually. How do you think this effected the perspective (and the form) he used in his paintings?

Igarashi: As you point out, he was influenced by women and those women were influenced by Picasso as well. Without the women he loved many works would never have been born.

Liddell: Some of the Picasso sketches are rudimentary and basic, for example [Catalogue numbers] #108 to #111, don't show any great talent. Are these pictures included simply because they are drawn by Picasso, or is there some less obvious artistic merit?

Igarashi: I don't think as the way you look. As an art historian, I think all works by Picasso are the subject to research meaning worthy ones.

Liddell: Picasso was an extremely prolific painter so that there are a great many works by him, some of them brilliant and some mediocre. Also a great many sketches, studies, fragments, and unfinished works are presented as valid artworks. With so many mediocre works in existence in galleries and exhibitions, doesn't this devalue his great works

Igarashi: All original works by Picasso are worthy ones to research, but some estamps or commercially made prints are not worthy. Specially the framed prints made out of a book with Picasso illustration are too easy to get money for galleries.

Liddell: Which works at this exhibition do you think are particularly good or interesting? Why?

Igarashi: I wrote the essay for the catalogue titled "The relationship between Picasso and Women: from the view point of gender." Looking at Picasso works, it is very interesting to think that how Picasso thought about women he loved and painted.