Shinkichi Tajiri l Machines

MACHINES

"I am anxious over the frightening technological developments that aid men in evolving and perfecting the means and machines of executing legalized murder under the name of war."
- Shinkichi Tajiri

In 1964 Tajiri decided to update the Warrior theme and made a series of eight large Machines inspired by Formula 1 racing cars, jet planes and space travel. He meant them to be a protest against the excessive amounts of money spent by governments to wage hot and cold wars. Unfortunately, due to their elegance they were often misinterpreted as glorification of the military.

text: S. Tajiri, Autobiographical notations, Kempen Publishers, 1993

photo above: © Erhard Wehrmann, Baarlo 1966

Made In USA, 1965

Messing, bronze, h. 180 cm Collection: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Machine no. 2, 1966

Brass, aluminium, 325 x 180 x 77 cm Collection: Museum Het Valkhof Nijmegen

Machine no. 3, 1966

Steel, aluminium, plexiglas, h. 343 cm Collection Cnap (Centre national des arts plastiques), Paris

Machine no. 5, 1966

Steel, aluminium, plexiglas, l. 90 cm Private collection The World of Manga, World Art museum, Rotterdam 2013

Machine no. 7, 1967

Steel, aluminium, plexiglas, iron 175 x 78 x 225 cm Collection: Instituut Collectie Nederland Long-term loan Museum Het Valkhof, Nijmegen

Machine no. 8, 1968

Steel, aluminium, plexiglass, l. 300 cm Collection: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam

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Machine no. 4, 1966

Steel, aluminium, 376 x 62 x 185 cm Collection: Museum Het Valkhof, Nijmegen

Machine no. 6, 1967

Steel, aluminium, h. 320 cm Collection: Shinkichi Tajiri Estate

Machine no.9

Steel, aluminium, h. 458 cm Collection: DAF Museum, Eindhoven Long-term loan Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht

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SHINKICHI TAJIRI