The Man Who Could No Longer Fly

April 28, 2008 6:28 PM

Tetsuya Ishida 1973-2005. The art of Tetsuya Ishida.

Born in 1973 in Yaizu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Tetsuya Ishida was a Japanese painter who "depicted the importance of individual rights and acutely criticized the problems in the Japanese educational system and the controlled social structure, expressing the problems people carry in their hearts." (From the homepage, rough translation mine.) He died in a train accident at a railroad crossing in Machida, Tokyo in 2005 at the age of 31.

For those short on time:
Tobenakunatta hito (The Man Who Could No Longer Fly, 1996)
Supermarket (1997)
Kaishu (Withdrawl, 1998)
Shujin (Prisoner, 1999)
Moji (Letter, 2003)
And my favorite, Taieki (Body Fluid, 2004) painted a year before his death.

posted by misozaki (15 comments total)

Great post.
posted by KokuRyu at 6:40 PM on April 28, 2008

31 is much too young.

.
posted by R. Mutt at 6:40 PM on April 28, 2008

so much out there that we aren't aware of...

thank god for Al Gore!

great post...thanks!
posted by HuronBob at 7:11 PM on April 28, 2008

Did anyone else think of this guy?
posted by leviathan3k at 7:19 PM on April 28, 2008 [1 favorite]

Wow, this is great. Some people just really *get* the intersection of modernity and the body in a creepy wonderful way that speaks directly to me. Thanks much for this one.
posted by mediareport at 7:47 PM on April 28, 2008

Did anyone else think of this guy?
posted by leviathan3k at 2:19 PM on April 29 [+] [!]

Good to know I'm not the only one.

I love this one.
posted by supercrayon at 7:55 PM on April 28, 2008

Whoops, I meant this one.

Great post, thanks!
posted by supercrayon at 7:57 PM on April 28, 2008

Some people just really *get* the intersection of modernity and the body in a creepy wonderful way that speaks directly to me.

Yeah, it's sort of like Cronenberg in that way.
posted by PM at 8:49 PM on April 28, 2008

Incredible stuff. I'm not usually a fan of work like this, but there is something about these paintings. I really like the way he depicts the people and although the scenarios and people within them are quite cartoony there is something really painterly and a bit timeless about them. They don't feel like illustrations which is what many of these modern, quirky ideas can end up turning into when they go down on paper. Heavily influenced by Frida Kahlo by the look of it. Great post.
posted by fire&wings at 2:38 AM on April 29, 2008

Thanks for your comments, everyone.

fire&wings, it's interesting that you mention that they don't feel like illustrations, because apparently Ishida didn't like to be considered an illustrator and wanted to create solid works of art. So I think he would have been glad to hear you say that.

It's rather heartbreaking to see his works in a timeline like this because the works closer to his death are much bleaker and lack the whimsical sense of humor that can be seen in his earlier works. His death, an "accident," remains a mystery still; his family and friends have denied that he had reason to commit suicide and that he had been optimistic about the future of his career and art, but his final paintings don't really support their claims. But it's all speculation, and nobody will ever know for sure.
posted by misozaki at 5:27 AM on April 29, 2008

Holy shit, I live in Machida! I use that train crossing every day!
posted by GoingToShopping at 6:24 AM on April 29, 2008

These are great. I feel like I've seen them before, but can't for the life of me remember where. They're all so incredibly bleak. When I saw the the date posted I assumed he had committed suicide, and didn't realize what was up till I read the [more inside].
posted by chunking express at 6:54 AM on April 29, 2008

This guy must have had to put up with some rough temp jobs along the way.
posted by adamms222 at 7:10 AM on April 29, 2008

I really get this guy. Why did I have to learn about him through his obituary!
posted by Citizen Premier at 2:58 PM on April 29, 2008

Wow. And wow. I love how the faces are so soft and contoured and relatable, like the faces of characters in children's storybook illustrations. And yet, and yet ... those faces in these odd and bleak contexts. Thank you for this.
posted by melixxa600 at 4:19 PM on April 30, 2008