Nobuo Kubota D.F.A. (born 1932) is a Canadian multimedia artist.

Life

Kubota grew up with a strong Japanese focus in his home and with an early interest in the writings by

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian a ...

and

D. T. Suzuki , self-rendered in 1894 as "Daisetz", was a Japanese-American Buddhist monk, essayist, philosopher, religious scholar, translator, and writer. He was a scholar and author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were instrumental in sp ...

. These two factors partially explain his later attraction to

Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

. He has a degree in architecture from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and practiced architecture for ten years. As an architect, his interest in Zen Buddhism was reinforced by an attraction to Japanese architecture, which was to have an influence on him later as a sculptor. He became a sculptor in 1969, showed regularly with the

Isaacs Gallery Avrom Isaacs, D.F.A. (March 19, 1926 – January 15, 2016) was a Canadian art dealer. Career Avrom Isaacovitch, known as Av Isaacs, was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and moved to Toronto with his family in 1941. Isaacs graduated with a bachelo ...

group in Toronto, and is said to have deliberately adopted a Japanese 'look' in his work whereby he alludes to Japanese aesthetics and art. When Nobuo Kubota was awarded a

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...

grant in 1970 he was able to spend a year in Japan. He went ostensibly to study Japanese art but found his way to

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

where he was invited to live with a Zen master, Nanrei Sohatsu Kobori, in his temple in the famous Daitokuji complex.

Work

His work often combines sound, music, installation and film, a practice that he labels 'intermedia'. A member of the Artists Jazz Band from the late 1960s on (he played alto sax) and the CCMC (Canadian Creative Music Collective) (1974-1991), and as one of the founding members of the Music Gallery, he is known for his extended vocal techniques and sound poetry which can be watched and listened to on You Tube. In 1999, the Kelowna At Gallery held a

retrospective A retrospective (from Latin ''retrospectare'', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in medicine, software development, popu ...

of his work titled ''Nobuo Kubota: The Exploration of Possibility''. A second exhibition titled ''Nobuo Kubota: Hokusai Revisited'' was held at Kelowna in 2010. His current interest involves the development of a calligraphic style of notation for the depiction of sound which he calls 'Sonic Calligraphy'. He has published two books, ''Phonic Slices'' and ''Deep Text'' (both 2001) with Coach House Books. His work is held in numerous collections including the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

. He was made a member of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

. He received the Allied Arts Award from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. In 2000, he received the Victor Lynch Stanton Award from the

. He received the

Governor General's award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

for the arts in 2009. He also received a Doctor of Fine Arts Honoris Causa from the

Ontario College of Art and Design Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...

(2011). From 1970 to 1998, he taught at

OCAD University Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kubota, Nobuo 1932 births Living people Artists from Vancouver Canadian photographers Canadian contemporary artists Canadian multimedia artists Canadian sculptors Canadian people of Japanese descent Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts winners Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Academic staff of OCAD University Canadian abstract artists