We just finished the 17th issue of "ART iT". This one marks the magazine’s fourth anniversary, which we thought would be a good occasion to introduce the mag’s new look and contents. The new ART iT will feature eveen more interviews with and conversations among artists. Ernesto Neto, Odani Motohiko, Konoike Tomoko, Nawa Kohei + Kito Kengo, Higashionna Yuichi + Ukawa Naohiro, Michael Lin + Ishigami Junya… The upcoming issue also includes an interview with Murakami Takashi on his "(c)Murakami" exhibition that is going to travel from Los Angeles to four other locations in the USA and Europe. You will notice the new layout and logo design that make this newest issue of ART iT look like a totally different publication, thanks to the efforts of designer Sato Naoki and his Asyl team.
The main focus of this issue is on two exhibitions and one art/design event that open in Tokyo this fall. The exhibitions are Roppongi Crossing (10.13-1.14 at Mori Art Museum) featuring works by Nawa, Kito, Higashionna and Ukawa (see above) and Space For Your Future (10.27-1.20 at Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo), in which Lin and Ishigami participate. Finally, the issue previews the CET07 (Central East Tokyo 2007) event (11.23-12.2 at various locations across the CET area), produced by none other than Sato Naoki himself. He is also one of the "Roppongi Crossing" curators, and is responsible for the design of the exhibition’s catalogue and other promotional material. I really wonder whether this man sleeps at all?!? (Well, I do have caught him asleep…)
What’s interesting about these three events is that they share the concepts of "crossing domains", "intersection" and "hybridization". As a matter of course (at least that’s what I hope), at these events we will see more than just of a handful of artists from various fields gathering. Mori Art Museum curator Araki Natsumi explains the idea behind "Roppongi Crossing" as a showcase for "artists that [we] perceived to have potential for 'crossing' actually within their own individual expression." According to Hasegawa Yuko, chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, "Space For Your Future" is "a response to the frivolity of programs that tend towards mannerism within a single system and involves moving away from this and proposing a provocative, incendiary creativity arising out of the positioning of oneself 'in between' systems." About "CET", Sato Naoki claims that, "The idea was to take design, hitherto compartmentalized within graphics, product design, fashion and architecture, and rethink it from a more integrated perspective." (All above quotes taken from "ART iT" magazine). What these events aim to do is highlight and exhibit in concrete works the genre-crossing creativity of individual artists rather than presenting collaborations between different fields. I'm looking very much forward to seeing if this works out.
As you will know, cross-disciplinary exhibitions have been held since ages. As art has tuerned into a domineering monster that constantly strives to expand the territory of its empery by integrating one adjacent field after another, this trend seems perfectly natural. Along with the advancements of technology, like a chimera it has swallowed photography, film, manga, music, digital forms of expression and others, while at once, with the post-colonialistic developments in the real world, absorbing the views and artistic styles of the non-western world like a trading merchant in the Age of Geographical Discovery. In order to mirror such history, though in a somewhat refracted form, in the non-western sphere (especially in Asian an African countries where "ART" hadn't existed) there exist two alternative methods to follow the tradition of one’s head house. The first is to adapt everything to the head house’s way, the second to adopt it only partially, while integrating one’s own history and background. What comes into play there is the question of whether or not the value of a work is to be measured based on its reference to art history.
This argumentation requires a certain presupposition. Less visibly than in the case of appropriation, it is the question of how the "influence" of previous works of art has to be evaluated in cases without intentional direct "reference". While a "reference" is directed from a creator toward his ancestors or history, the vector of "influence" points in the opposite direction. What’s more, it affects the entire environment, and doesn't necessarily have to be perceived by the (future generation) creator. As an example from the realm of performing arts, I once saw a piece in which three witches were gathering around a boiling pot. Upon my inquiry whether it was a reference to "Macbeth", the creator of the piece innocently asked me back, "Mac what???"
From the perspective of a viewer/listener, I would say it all depends on the quality of the work in question. If a work seems to be nothing more than a simple imitation or cheap reptoduction, it is definitely not worth seeing/hearing/talking about, no matter whether the copyism is intended or not. It has to be attributed to either a low technical standard, insufficient knowledge, or a lack of aspiration, and is simply best ignored. All that the viewer/listener can ask the creator to do is to study harder, and, if possible, develop his or her critical faculties in regard to criticism of society, the system of art, others, and oneself. Political criticism is fine as well, but it is surely not necessary to become a political critic in a narrow sense.
Among the works that I've seen recently, a collaboration between Tsumura Kosuke and Higashionna Yuichi that was exhibited at This Play! (9.11-24 at 21_21) was one of the most outstanding pieces. It happened to be a coproduction of a fashion designer and a fine artist, in which Tsumura took mannequins as used in show window displays, undressed them completely or partially, and arranged them in a circle to bar off looks from outside, while Higashionna used chains made of (his trademark) phosphorescent material to tie the mannequins together by their necks. The fluorescent chains looked much more like dog collars than halos. It’s not exactly Aida Makoto, but "all together" is an expression that instantly flashed across my mind.
The piece made reference to op art and pop art, expressed doubts about the functionality and ornamentation that is the work of design, and suggested criticism of the fashion industry and the consuming society. It was an extremely mature work of art with a strong visual impact. I didn't think that an exhibition curated by Tsumura would automatically have to be a successful one, but this was one exquisite piece of art reflecting the state of present day Tokyo.
Ozaki Tetsuya / Editor in chief / REALTOKYO