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“Resolution” The
beautiful, intricate wood designs on the
walls of the Assembly Conference Room in
the New Jersey State House illustrate how
artist Hiroshi Murata adapted his painting
style to the time to the time-honored art
of marquetry. The work is Murata's first
effort in marquetry, a technique in which
elaborate patterns are formed by
laminating small pieces of thin wood
veneer onto a prepared base. "For many
years my artwork has been involved in
tiling patterns composed of interlocking
shapes," Murata explains. "These painted
patterns are readily adaptable to the
technique of marquetry." The work,
entitled Resolution, consists of
three murals, each 7.5 feet high and
totalling 60 feet in length. It depicts
architectural subjects in and around the
State House complex, including
the Artist
Hiroshi Murata in the State House
Assembly Conference
Room. The precise
geometric order of Murata's paintings was
transformed into the blocks of colored wood veneer
forming the marquetry panels. After preparing an
illustration for the mural, Murata used a grid to
define the pattern of interlocking shapes which
creates the images. The pattern was reproduced on a
larger scale and specifc wood types were assigned
to each piece. Murata worked with 87 types of wood
veneer to create a color scheme showing both
natural harmony and visual variety. He and his
assistants labored for ten months in his
Frenchtown, New Jersey studio, painstakingly
selecting the exact piece of wood for each element,
cutting it to size and fitting it into
place. The walls consist
of 14 panels, each four to five feet wide. Once all
the pieces for a panel were cut, they were bonded
by applying veneer tape over the entire front
surface of the wood. This thin sheet was carefully
transported to a workshop where it was laminated to
a prepared fire-retardant composition board. It was
then sanded to remove the thin layer tape and
sealed and finished with clear lacquer. Resolution
was made possible through the Public Building Arts
Inclusion Act of 1978*, which provides that up to
1.5% of construction costs on new or renovated
state buildings may be allocated to fine artwork in
the building. The goal of this program is to
enhance the quality and aesthetic effect of state
buildings by incorporating works of art into the
architectural design. Artists are given unique
opportunities to create visible and publicly
accessible works. Murata is a
professor with the art department of Trenton State
College. His training includes undergraduate
studies at the Rhode Island School of Design and a
Master of Fine Arts from the Yale University School
of Art and Architecture. Murata's works are
exhibited throughout the United States and
Japan. |
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