Palimpsest of Phantasm: An imaginary art garden　vol. 4 Taga Shin

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“The countless illusions spun by artists and accumulated since ancient times will coexist in a complex way that overlaps and stimulates each other, and will continue to writhe and transform forever without stopping.
And they will continue to alter reality, shaking our stalemated daily lives.”

〈Palimpsest of Phantasm: An imaginary art garden〉
November 2024　Soma Toshiki (art critic)

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vol. 4　Taga Shin｜多賀 新

Copperplate etcher

｟False Decoration｠

1981　copperplate printing　36.5×24cm　ed.HC
cover artwork for the Edogawa Rampo Bunko series (Shunyodo)
¥104,500

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Even today, Taga Shin continues to create works that are mainly based on elegant line drawings, but it goes without saying that he is known for the many copperplate prints he produced in the 1970s and 1980s that are full of eroticism. His most well-known work is the series of cover illustrations for the Shunyodo Bunko editions of Edogawa Rampo’s novels, but these are not the only masterpieces he has produced. His nervous, spasmodic lines create a bizarre, eccentric, sensual, other-dimensional space that is reminiscent of the German surrealist Hans Bellmer, and he creates astonishing nudes that are pathologically distorted and transformed, and at times seem to be on the verge of collapse.

｟Sphinx｠

2000　copperplate printing　30.5×44.5cm　ed.29/40
¥121,000

A certain inner power, the overflow of eros, will first bring decadence to the given (existing) body, that is, the stereotype of the body, which cannot withstand it. Skin and flesh will be brutally torn apart, internal organs will spill out, and bones will be exposed. Perhaps in this process of writhing and slowly moving towards disintegration, the body will experience a return to the lewd flesh itself. In other words, having passed through the flesh as the body’s homeland and origin, as well as the body’s dark age, before the body’s shape was formed, the body will be remade anew, aiming for a more erotic stage.

｟Three Temporal World｠

1977　copperplate printing　36.5×22cm　ed.HC
cover artwork for the Edogawa Rampo Bunko series (Shunyodo)
¥104,500

｟追憶 (recollection)｠

1981　copperplate printing　24×36.5cm　ed.AP
cover artwork for the Edogawa Rampo Bunko series (Shunyodo)
¥99,000

｟使者 (emissary)｠

1982　copperplate printing　24.5×42cm　ed.42/44
cover artwork for the Edogawa Rampo Bunko series (Shunyodo)
¥104,500

In Taga’s copperplate prints, even if the transformed bodies are temporarily fixed in unknown modes of existence that are grotesque but mysteriously noble, such as sensual angels, otherworldly races, or demonic mother goddesses, the movement of bodily transformation is repeated over and over again. This is because “…sensuality is awakened not only when the desired object appears, but also when that object is transformed” (Georges Bataille), and above all, the fountain of Eros, the inner power to transform and remake the body once fixed, never dries up but always wells up. This can be said to be clearly evidenced by Taga’s vast collection of copperplate prints.

｟Come Flying｠

1977　copperplate printing　48.5×36.5cm　ed.HC
cover artwork for the Edogawa Rampo Bunko series (Shunyodo)
¥143,000

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Artist

Taga Shin｜多賀 新

Born in Honbetsu, Hokkaido in 1946.
Started copperplate printmaking on his own in 1969.
Received the Grand Prix Printmaking Exhibition Award in 1973.
1983-84: Studied in the United States and West Germany as a member of the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ overseas training program.

Art critic

Toshiki Soma｜相馬 俊樹

Born in 1965. Graduated from Keio University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Philosophy, Department of Aesthetics and Art History. Art critic.
Numerous books on the expression of eroticism and fantasy art.