Seekers 行人

This work, "Seekers," gives off a heavy, rigid impression. The melancholy colors remind us of landscape paintings from the Sung to Yuan periods in China; but they can also be regarded as the result of a careful representation of space with varying shades. The postures of the two figures suggest their determination, but are also rigid. In particular, the way the crouched figure crosses her legs looks unnatural. Also, compared with the size of the trees in the background, these figures are disproportionately large. These contradictory elements are not conspicuous at first glance because the figures are skillfully incorporated within the painting. The curves of the knee and the toes correspond to the lines of the meandering river, leading it toward the foreground. The right angle formed by the legs of the crouched figure, along with the upright posture of the standing one, emphasize the vertical and horizontal lines, and are in perfect harmony with the rectangular configuration of the paper. The background that rises like a wall, and also the figures, are on planes that are parallel to the paper surface. Such use of colors and emphasis on planes suggest that this work has been produced under the influences of Cubism and abstract painting, in addition to the obvious ones of Gauguin and the Nabis. The restrained and abstruse impression found in the works of Tatsuo Takayama, in fact, derives from his effort to translate the shapes and colors of "Nihon-ga" into elements of modern painting.