Proliferous Chain Reaction in X-style Basic Substance Ｘ型基本体に於ける増殖性連鎖反応

Early in his career, Tetsumi Kudo exhibited "Anti-Art" works in rebellion against conventional concepts of art in "The Yomiuri Independent Exhibition" and other shows. Then in 1962, he moved to France and based his artistic activities in Paris until his return to Japan in his late years. His work consistently revolved around Assemblage, the style of building works with existing objects. This style was inseparable from his lifelong attitude of holding the society's values and common sense in suspicion and keeping protesting against them. Kudo defined his works as "tools for communication." They embody the artist's unique philosophy based on his strong awareness of our existence under the threat of nuclear disasters, the dehumanization taking place everywhere, and the issues in world ecology. This work presents a horde of self-multiplying knots, replicating the artist's image of an artificial multiplication of living organisms triggered by radioactivity, that is, a reproduction without sex, as the title which borrow the phrase "chain reaction" from nuclear physics suggests. Employing such ordinary materials as scrub brushes and strings, this early work creates an impression of organic complexity, and already shows the artist's unique philosophy and world view.