Villa of the Mysteries 

Kimio Muraoka


From his long-awaited entrance to the Tokyo University of the Arts to the completion of his PhD, Muraoka pursued his creation and nothing else for nine years. One day during that period he had a shocking encounter - with a photobook of Pompeii, and with the Villa of the Mysteries.


"Today I am aware that my work tends to towards expression in reds, but I was originally fond of blue gray and green gray. After I began to practice Japanese painting and saw mineral pigments, I became moved by shades of red - in particular the bitter and vivid shades of burnt sienna, which has a primitive feel that shakes and excites my heart. It symbolizes earth, blood, life, and fire, as well as a sense of sensuality. The color of the mural in Pompeii was this very burnt sienna shade. The moment I saw that red I was awakened to something new. From that moment on the color has been imprinted deep in my consciousness."


Nine years later, Muraoka actually visited Pompeii.


"The atmosphere inside the villa, with its dim cool air, silent and without tourists, and the world outside it, bathed in strong sunlight, with a chorus of birds, was something I could not receive just from a book. That was when I realized that the Villa of the Mysteries was not just an object of art but an architectural space and a historical ruin. The volcanic ash protected the surface of the mural, strangely concealing its history, and at the same time conveying the accumulation of an overwhelming period of time. I did not understand the content or intentions of what was painted there accurately.

In fact, I don't even know who painted it. I just looked at it and was touched by it. I believe the mural in Pompeii taught me what painting should be, and brought me back to my pure self."


Regardless of place and time, there are many artifacts that inspire Muraoka: Klimt, Romanesque sculpture in Toulouse, La Dame à la licorne ('The Lady and the Uni- corn'), the Bayeux Tapestry, Tatsuo Takayama, the Rimpa school, the statue of Ashura in Kofukuji and so on. However, the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii holds a special place in his heart, and continues to resonate through his work like thoroughbass.[...]


"If people say that what I do is not Japanese painting and therefore I am not a Japanese painting artist, then I am fine with not being one. Finding the landscape I want to see is the most important point, not being a Japanese painting artist. I will not stop creating with my own hands, nor discard painting subjects. It is not that I am trying to express with eccentricity, but that I am finding what I want to see and calculating back to the material I need to express it. That is all I want to do."

Technology progresses inexorably, but will humans entrust everything to it? As things are processed more efficiently and simply, the human hand may at the same time be drawn towards the chaotic, the unreasonable and the mysterious.

For Muraoka, 'questioning' and 'exploring' are probably synonymous. Upon the foundation of the moving moment he experienced in Pompeii, he will continue in his belief that art in its purist sense should stimulate joy and wonder and, transcending genres, he will question the purpose of art and its exploration.


Extracted from the text 《Questioning, while exploring his world 》 

Tomoko Kunugi Representative of Ishin-Denshin



在步入夢寐以求的東京藝術大學後，從本科到博士的九年間，村岡貴美男一

直埋首於創作之中。在這期間，他經歷了一次衝擊性的體驗。那是在書店見到的

一本龐貝古城攝影集，封面上秘儀莊的照片讓他深受震撼。

"雖然現在的作品給人以紅色的印象，但我原本喜歡的其實是灰藍、灰綠這 類色彩。自從開始畫日本畫、接觸到岩彩後，我被紅色系顏料的美深深打動了。 尤其是雅緻、色彩鮮明的赭石色系，有著直擊心靈的原始感，令人心潮澎湃。它 代表了泥土、血液、生命、火，備極絢爛。秘儀莊壁畫的顏色，正是那種赭石。 在看到那種紅褐色的瞬間，我內心中有某種東西覺醒了。自那之後，那個顏色就 深深印刻在了我的深層意識中。"

九年後，村岡實際造訪了龐貝城。

"昏暗冷徹的空氣，空無遊客的寂靜，外面耀眼的陽光和小鳥的鳴囀，都是 從攝影集中無法感受到的。此时，我第一次体会到秘儀莊壁畫是作为 '建築的一 部分' 的 '遺跡'，而非 '繪畫'。火山灰奇跡般的保護了畫面，將歷史封存，與此 同時，我感受到了撲面而來的層層積累的時間。我無法準確理解畫面的內容和意 圖，也不知道作者是誰。觀看帶給我的只有無限感動。那時，我仿佛從龐貝壁畫 中學到了繪畫的本質，尋回了自己的初心。"

克利姆特、圖盧茲的羅馬式雕塑、《貴婦人與獨角獸》掛毯、《貝葉掛毯》 (也稱《瑪蒂爾達女王掛毯》)、高山辰雄(受到高更影響後的作品)、興福寺的阿修羅像、《蒙娜麗莎》等等，無論古今東西，影響了村岡貴美男的作品不在少數。 但其中，龐貝古城的《秘儀莊》是特別的存在，從早期直至現在，它是貫穿了村岡作品的一抹底色。（中略）


"如果有人認為你的創作不是日本畫，那也不要緊。重要的是尋找到自己想看的風景，是否是日本畫並不重要。我希望堅持親手製作作品，也不想放棄描繪對象。我並非追求奇異的表現，而是為了展現自己想看到的世界，使用任何所必需的素材，這是我想要一直做下去的事。"

科技日新月異，但人類是否應該完全委身於其中?雖然事物愈發合理化、简明化，但同時，人類也仍然會被混沌之物與未解之事、被充滿謎團的世界所吸引。

想必村岡的探求之路也正是如此。從在龐貝秘儀莊獲得的感動出發，相信藝 術擁有能予人喜悅和驚奇的原始力量，今後，村岡貴美男將繼續以跨界的姿態， 孜孜於對藝術的探問和求索。


"問中求道的世界"

 功刀知子(以心傳心 代表)


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