THE NODAS AND I

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At the end of the day, what we remember and how we remember things that happened to us is our reality, and therefore our life. In today’s world of social networking, it is very common for us to share our “life” - a picture of our dinner, a gift we received, the new hairstyle we sport ‡ on Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat. All posts are carefully chosen based on what we want others to know, how we want others to perceive us, and how we want to remember ourselves. All photos are carefully cropped, filtered and sometimes altered to fit the narrative we have in our mind.

Tetsuya Noda, however, has been doing the same thing for the last 50 years with more than 500 works. While others may be making statements in their posts, his are reflections. While others may just saw, he noticed and captured moments with mindfulness, wit, mystery and charm. His concept of what I call visual autobiography is the primary reason why I was attracted to his works in the first place.  His creations have the ability to summon a memory lurking deep within the viewer’s mind and heart. Every work is part of a much bigger work, the Diary series, of which is actually a work-in-progress. 

Printmaking is not a means to an end for Noda. Printmaking in his Diary series is an integral process to his overall concept of visual autobiography. Noda endeavours to “remember” with the objectivity of his camera, but then re-visions the resulting photograph with the subjectivity of his pencils and brushes before committing the memory to a print. As if to ensure that a memory is engraved into his mind, he would repeatedly retreat to that memory by personally pulling each print by hand. Whether it is the number of works he created in a particular year, the size of the work or the size of the edition, all contribute to the understanding and appreciation of his “expression”. The result and effect are memories revisited, reassessed, and repeatedly asserted through this labour-intensive process. The results are a unity of process and purpose, concept and content, and form and function.

It was in 2016 that my collection of the works of Tetsuya Noda was first exhibited in the Ayala Museum, Philippines. Since then, I have collected more pieces and even found two works (both of which are exhibited in this show) that were rare enough to not even make it to Noda’s latest catalogue raisonné. We have chosen 35 works out of more than 150 in the collection with three questions in mind ‡ first and foremost was which are the most personal works of Noda; then which will provide a visual map of his life and work; and finally, which has not been shown previously. 

In the process of collecting and understanding Noda’s work, his wife, Dorit, has become a great resource person and a very dear friend. Dorit and I communicated almost as often as I communicate with my mom! She is always ready to tell me what “actually” happened in a work, but always quick to remind me that Tetsuya might remember things differently. As Dorit mentioned, “although Tetsuya will not easily express his feelings in words regarding why he chose a particular subject, he will gladly explain about the process!” This I understand. As a visual artist, his works are Tetsuya’s way of expressing; and as a professor, he is keen and clear in explaining how things are done. I remember receiving a detailed account with photos on how to flatten a print that is good enough to be published in a book!

Members of the Italian band Zooming in Togliattigrad were in their teens when they saw his retrospective show at The British Museum. After that experience, they published a composition entitled Tetsuya Noda. When I asked permission to use it for the 2016 exhibition, they then offered instead to create a one-hour original soundtrack entitled The Diary of Tetsuya Noda. We have the pleasure of receiving their permission to use the soundtrack for this exhibition. Clearly, I am not the only one crazy for Noda’s works.

Noda’s works unify Japanese cultural tradition with international modern aesthetics. Because he has never been part of any artistic or political movement, his works are unique. Even more so, his works are singular because they tap into the very core of individuality that is oneself; that very self-awareness is the universality to which all people can relate. His work is not about making his life public but rather about inviting us into his realm. His works enhance what was there yesterday so that it is relevant today and tomorrow.

Collector Steven Co