Column by the President of Hitachi Research Institute, Mizoguchi
One of the great fortunes of being in Tokyo last year and this year was having the opportunity to experience two Matisse exhibitions. "Henri Matisse: The Path to Color" was held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum last spring and summer, and "Henri Matisse - Forms in Freedom" was held at the National Art Center this spring. I greatly enjoyed the dazzling transition of color expressions by Henri Matisse, who is also known as the "Magician of Color," and the transformation of the way he perceived the world through his paintings, sculptures, and paper cut-outs.
Matisse is one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, but it was not until he was 21 that he became interested in painting. In 1890, while studying law, he suffered from appendicitis, and during a long recuperation, his mother gave him a paintbox to kill time. This turned his life around. After moving to Paris, he studied under Gustave Moreau, and while studying various styles—including Impressionism, and the works of Paul Cézanne—he produced works with dark tones, such as Woman Reading (1895). In 1905, he spent time in Collioure in the south of France and exhibited his works there at the Salon d'Automne. His works, such as Woman with a Hat (1905), were called Fauvism due to his bold and violent use of colors that ignored tradition. However, the period of Fauvism tendencies came to an early end. In the image of the countryside in Luxury I (1907), his use of colors was subdued, but the composition seemed to abandon the traditional concept of beauty. In Harmony in Red (1908) and The Dance (I/II) (1909/1910), he showed different dimensions of space and motion depending on the color.
We could learn the concept of “artistic thinking” from Matisse, who continuously redefined his achievements through new creations. Artistic thinking is about creating something from nothing, using a personal perspective to conceive improbable markets, technologies, and services. On the other hand, design thinking is aimed at solving problems from the user's perspective. Although design thinking enables efficient and original solution proposals, it may only present a singular vision for the future. On the other hand, while artistic thinking can be seen as inefficient and may sometimes largely miss the mark, it has the potential to create new worlds. In the future, it is expected that single-line problem solving will become more commoditized with the help of AI, and artistic thinking will become more crucial in creating value for companies. Artistic thinking workshops will tell you how to find the improbable (things that are unlikely to happen) through the process of contribution, deviation, destruction, drifting, dialog, and expression. Isn't this just like what Matisse did, drifting away and creating expressions not found in previous art?
After World War I, Matisse created even more radical works of art. Depicting windows repeatedly in Interior with a Goldfish Bowl (1914), the blue color that dominates the whole and the red color of the goldfish indicate the conflict between stability and instability. In French Window at Collioure (1914), the outside of the window is painted black, implying a time of war. In 1918, Matisse moved to Nice, where he returned to traditional painting methods in terms of spatial arrangement and depiction of reality. In Odalisque in Red Trousers (1921), the body of the woman and the colors of the room and clothing create a tense harmony. In the 1930s, Matisse traveled to the United States and French Polynesia, then returned to Nice to create a large, 13-meter-wide, 3.5-meter-high mural, The Dance of
Paris (1931-33). During World War II, Matisse remained in France despite the German occupation of 1940. In 1941, his intestinal disease worsened, but he recovered after undergoing major surgery. In his oil paintings, Interior in Yellow and Blue (1946) and Large Red Interior (1948), he showed the unique sensibility of color through light, while pioneering cut-outs as a new method of expression. He released a series of free forms using paper cut-outs such as Polynesia, the Sea (1946), in which white fish and seaweed drift on a blue lattice background; Icarus (1947), in which a black shadow with a red heart dances against a starry sky; Blue Nude IV (1952), in blue on a white background; and Flowers and Fruits (1952-53), which covered an entire wall. He thus continued to propose the fusion of color and drawing.
For four years (1948–1951), Matisse devoted himself to the creation of the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence in the south of France. He designed the chapel’s stained-glass windows, the murals, the doors of the confessionals, the bronze crucifix on the altar, and even the priests' vestments. It was regarded by Matisse as his “masterpiece.” Living until the age of 84, Matisse's sphere expanded greatly, his world of color remained fresh, and his composition and form continued to give a sense of freedom and buoyancy. His influence even extended to Andy Warhol, who, when asked what he wanted in life, he replied, “I want to be Matisse.” If managers and entrepreneurs pursue artistic thinking with the desire “to be Matisse,” they may experience the joy of creating new markets, too.
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