Saitama City, The Railway Museum "Passing Things"

Stained Glass

Artist's Message

Yoko YamamotoCopperplate etcherIn creating "Passing Things"

I was assigned for the artwork for The Railway Museum which will open in Saitama City on October 14th, 2007, so I produced a stained glass with 3 meters in length and 10 meters in width on the theme of railway, based on an original painting I made with coloring copperplate.
When I got this offer, I was annoyed at how to approach the world as I was not familiar with railway. At that time, the works which I have read by the writers, such as Kenji Miyazawa, Soseki Natsume, Hyakken Uchida, Shunzo Miyawaki, revived to my brain. Couldn't I make use of that reading experience? - So I came up with the following idea.
In producing stained glass, first of all, ask contemporary writers to write essays about railway. And then draw the world inspired from there - it is a form of collaboration.
Although railway has various attractions, I get a great impression on the original mechanism that iron boxes move with people's use of the energy which fire and water create. Based on Mr. Shuntaro Tanigawa's poem "Passing Things - SL Elegy", I tried to draw the whole as a picture, although each of the ten individual works is an independent work.
With ten essays and ten pictures, I hope that a vivid form will be given to the railway in your memory.
Stained glass increases its brightness with the power of the sun. It would be greatly appreciated if you visit The Railway Museum and have a moment to be surrounded by a shining picture.

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Yoko Yamamoto Other Works