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The word Nihonga (Japanese painting) carries such a weight of cultural importance in the Japanese painting community as to make the translation of words describing Nihonga problematic. This paper explores reasons this has happened making use of standard texts on the materials and techniques of painting and investigating modern Japanese painting history, concluding that because Japanese art was under such great pressure from the popularity enjoyed by Western styled painting being newly imported in the Meiji Era (1868- 1912) that at its conception the modern school of Nihonga attempted to distinguish itself from this foreign invasion, creating problems that remain with translation of Nihonga terms to the present day.

Wall paintings are an immovable heritage and are therefore rarely subject to controversies regarding their authenticity. Each painting conveys an abundance of information through its materials, which may be both local and distant in origin. In the study of wall painting techniques, it is essential to take account of many aspects, such as the relationship between paint layers and supporting layers; layering techniques and optical effects; the nature and combination of pigment particles; painting application techniques and the tools used by ancient artists; and the state of conservation of paintings. Over the last decade, the scope of investigative techniques has increased greatly. These include the development of new analytical procedures that offer the retrieval of more accurate information from minute samples. The growth of international and transnational research bodies has also promoted more and better multi-disciplinary studies. Nevertheless, establishing a full understanding of wall paintings is difficult, as this may require travelling great distances to view them in rock cut-caves, temples and churches. In situ conservation is also extremely difficult, especially if sites are very remote and their paintings survive in poor condition. In the past, wall paintings were detached for display in museums outside their countries of origin, or they underwent treatments that have since caused further harm. Today, at sites such as China’s Mogao and Kizil grottoes, Yugoslavia’s built churches, and Cappadocia’s rock-cut churches, our single greatest challenge remains how best to preserve paintings in situ, while also keeping their contextual authenticity.

As is well known, Blow-Up (1966) directed by Michelangelo Antonioni is based on Julio Cortazar’s short story; “Las babas del diablo” (1959). In literary terms, it is very difficult to find similarities between both works, except in their outlines. Many critics, therefore, thought Blow-Up was Antonioni’s own film with no special connection with “Las babas del diablo”. But we should focus on the common outlines of the two. Both deal with ‘vision’. The change of seeing through a viewfinder to seeing through a photographic print gives the protagonists a daydream-like experience. Cortazar was not only a writer but also an amateur photographer, and Antonioni a film director. If both auteurs reveal their interest in ‘vison’ in their works, we can say that Antonioni follows Cortazar regarding this theme and further develops it through his use of abstract paintings. Antonioni was concerned with differences between the vision of the naked eye and photographic vision, and with similarities between the photographic vision and abstract painting. So, what is Antonioni’s understanding of vision? I think there is a key to resolve this question in Blow-Up itself. One can focus on not only the change of the protagonist’s behavior in following the story’s development, but also on photographs, abstract paintings, and landscape paintings that appear in the film. Then we would find the possibility that Antonioni thinks photographs and pointillist paintings are based on the same principle; the retinal mesh-like structure. Article received: April 10, 2019; Article accepted: June 5, 2019; Published online: September 15, 2019; Original scholarly paper How to cite this article: Ijuin, Takayuki. "Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow-Up as Abstract Art Theory." Art and Media Studies 19 (2019): 59-68. doi: 10.25038/am.v0i19.307

This paper outlines events from the discovery of the wall paintings of the Takamatsuzuka and Kitora tumuli to their current conservation and management. It also describes the prospects for their conservation and utilization in the future. The brilliantly colored wall paintings of the Takamatsuzuka Tumulus were discovered in 1972. The discovery spurred a booming interest in ancient history and archaeology that continues to this day. During the process of conservation and management that followed the discovery, the wall paintings were found to be damaged. Therefore, the stone chamber was disassembled to allow for fundamental conservation work to be carried out and the wall paintings are now being preserved in a conservation facility. The Kitora Tumulus entered the spotlight in 1983 when wall paintings were discovered during an investigation of the stone chamber using fiberscopes. The wall paintings were removed from the stone chamber and, after 12 years of conservation work, they were put on display in 2016. The paper also describes the state of damage to decorated tumuli caused by large-scale disasters such as the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 or the Kumamoto earthquakes of 2018.