SHINKICHI TAJIRI
JUNK SCULPTURES
"In 1950 I started my Junk series. Discarded scraps from metal and machine industries were welded and recycled into a new entity." - Shinkichi Tajiri
In 1948 Tajiri went to Paris to study with sculptor Ossip Zadkine. Here he also took painting classes from Fernand Léger and studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière.
His work centered on abstract forms constructed of iron and plaster. He soon undertook what he called his Junk series, sculptures of recycled split bronze from rubble heaps around abandoned factories that he welded together with wire or brass.
text: G. Robinson, The Great Unknown: Japanese American Sketches, University Press of Colorado, 2016
photo above: Tajiri creating his One-day sculptures amongst the heaps of discarded metal along the river Seine, Paris 1949 © Sabine Weiss
Copper, bronze,photo, found objects, 63 x 83 x 34,9 cm Private collection
Iron, 65 cm Private collection
Copper, bronze, 90 cm Private collection
Iron, 61 x 45 x 31 cm Private collection
Iron, 137 cm Private collection
Iron, 88 cm Private collection