Ei-Q

Ei-Q (瑛九 Real name 杉田秀夫 April 28, 1911 – March 10, 1960) is a Japanese artist who worked in a variety of media, including painting, printmaking, photography. There are many avant-garde works, abstract works (abstract paintings). Ei-Q famous as a Urawa painter.

Ei-Q was influenced by the Surrealist aesthetic and also published essays promoting photography as an art form independent of painting. He formed the Demokrato Artists Association. He played a pioneering role in postwar Japanese art.

Born in Miyazaki City, Miyazaki Prefecture. Eijin’s birthplace runs an ophthalmologic clinic in Miyazaki city, but because of extreme myopia, I could not succeed my family business. Graduated from Nippon Art School.

In 1934 he meets Yamada Mitsuharu (a teacher at the time), a painter who will be a lifelong friend. In 1935 he was first elected to the Central Art Exhibition. Yamada and others formed an artist club Furusato company. From this time deepening friendship with art critic Uzaburo Ukiyama and painter Hasagawa Saburo.

In April 1936 he published the photogram’s work “Reasons for Sleeping” in the name of Ei jima for only 40 copies. It is the one with ten pictures sandwiched between the covers, and the order and the top and the bottom are unknown because there is no application of the page number · work number etc. Unlike that of Mann Lei, Ebina’s photogram was referred to as a photographic drawing because of using a pattern paper based on drawings. Also, I was good at photo montage.

However, in 1937, the first Free Artists’ Association exhibition, rather than photo-drawing, collage work group “Real” was exhibited. It is said to be due to dissatisfaction with the rarity of the technique rather than the expression of photographs and the fact that only European avant-garde art was subject to criticism.

After World War II, he focused on the production of paintings and prints (copperplate, lithograph).

In 1948 he conducted activities such as cutting gully of the magazine of the Miyazaki Esperanto Club and printing.

From 1951 (1951) he moved to Nakamachi, Saitama Prefecture, Urawa city (present · Saitama shi Urawa Ward) and made vigorous production activities. In the same year, formed the Democrat Artists Association with Izumi Shigeru and Hayakawa Yoshio and others. Participated in Free Artist Association, Creative Gymnastics Association and others. I have a deep friendship with Onosato Toshinobu.

Eiji was not good at high place, so when I made a large work “Tsubasa” of 2.5 meters or more in length, I made my own steady stepladder.