A young reader for The Pillow Book

Today as a first day of opening the Work In Progress, we had visitors from our neighbourhood. Such a coincident that she is learning The Pillow Book at her elementary school 'Momoshi', next-door of Youkobo. She may come back with her mother next Friday night for the Reading Night. It would be WONDERFUl!!!

Positioning and Height

Friday night.
During the install... basic positioning are decided.
Top image:From right (Thea, Elizabeth, Gaku, Utako)
Bottom Image: Desk for visitors' note and for something... then things on the wall, and PC on the ground as a information section.
I imagine, everyday, the height of the display will go up....towards 'exhibition' period in July. I still question, the expectation and challenge about how to present artwork in the 'gallery' context... gallery? ground, wall, plinth, ceiling ,installation... without eliminating visitors who might be both not and very well familiar with the experience of being in the gallery.

Visitors who knows about the important

I was hesitating and struggling at the gallery, being nervous about up coming opening days. This March, I completed a big project. It was nearly too huge to keep my sense of being an artist, and what is meant to be having artwork in the public (meaning put art out in the world to be seen, be participated etc). 

So this project was a new beginning of my journey and to find out my own relationship to art, at the youkobo gallery which intends to let artists to experiment. I invited other three artists to share questions, thoughts and actions in each way.

but I was still hesitating to take an action, because I was feeling pressure and hasting to reach the final and resulted answer, about HOW TO DISPLAY or INSTALL or PRESENT artwork in the gallery context. I must had known (and I repeated in my head hundreds times) that Youkobo meaning You=Play (in japanese) , you and workshop. So you are allowed to play. what does it mean by play, though?

My very old and lovely friends visited Youkobo on Thursday night. We used to study at VCA (Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne) in mid 2000s. I asked them for help, what will you do if you were me. I know it is immature to ask, but. 

She looked very much taking the situation serious (she was and is still present same expression when she hears my problems.. she put all her concentration into her eyes. very beautiful), "Utako, often people go through depression after competing big job. Even, Virginia Wolf does. So that is natural to question. About play, well, when children plays, they do have a vision what they want to achieve, not purposeless, in fact. say, building large construction with LEGO or gorgeous tower. what is your purpose?"

I replies... "that is the issue. I have nearly lost the purpose of doing art against art world. I love to recover or reinvent it."

He clarifies, "The theme is everyday. So the process is the key word, isn't it? You process things. You show it. that is it."

She continues, "Utako, you can trust and just follow your guts feeling!".

How simple and correct their suggestions were, but they indeed clicked something in my head and soul.

It was such a gift that they visited me on this timing. First time in 5 years that we gathered together.

Later I took them out to Kichijouji, a nearest large town of Youkobo, and had a nice meal and drink at , so called, Harmonica Street. It was happy and sad, as I knew that I wont' see them together again on the next day. We are no longer students who go to same college everyday. But I felt too that we will stay same tomorrow. She will research and investigate methods for making things in Singapore, and for herself and for others, including her family and students, to share what you can do with art. He will keep searching for his own aesthetic as a Japanese who but has lived outside of Japan for long time.

Moreover, I will love them everyday.

Am I Lost ?

I have just uploaded the first work of "Old Meets New Figure It Out !" on my site.  Check it out !
http://www.gakutsutaja.com/KOTATSU/OLD/OLD.html

It is so interesting to see what's going on over there through this blog!

Testing space and time

I have been testing the mapping the space for the project.
On the floor, I put a black tape (not sticky, so movable) and black rings as a indicator of time and space (Space.....the gallery is  16 Tatami mattress space. Time..... so I can use 2 mattress sized space for 1 week or 1 usage, we have a 5 weeks in total for the work in progress period. the rest of 3 spaces can be used for information space including showing blog on PC screen and info about artists / interaction space where audience may just sit or do something / utako's construction space for installation equipment. The indicators are movable, and the position or size can be changable.

The wall space is now still undecided, It may follow what is happening on the floor but may not. will see..
So far, The pillow book for Elizabeth's reading session, digital photo frame for thea's moving image and a plinth like shelf for Gaku's work are set, temporarily.

Accidents can be fortuitous

On Saturday, after a whole day of working in front of the computer, I decided to take my dinner down to the canal outside our house, so that I could at least enjoy the last bits of sun. My usual seat had been occupied by a sleeping man, so I wandered further down to a quiet grassy spot where I could hang my legs over the water. I unwrapped my salad, and got out a photocopied article which J. sent me recently. It is titled 'Open Eyes', from the last issue of Frieze. How perfect for this project, and my current ideas,  I thought. Wanting to blog about it later and include a nice photo,  I balanced paper on one knee, bowl of salad on the other, fork and phone in one hand, at which point a gust of wind blew the papers and in a mad grab to save them I dropped the phone into the canal. Panicked and without a second thought, I jumped in after it. The camera was still on, showing a watery image of the algae on its screen. It was so beautiful, I wish I could show you a picture.

Now my phone is in a Tupperware container with a packet of rice. (According to the internet, this is what one must do if there is to be any chance of survival. Although, as I watch the screen flickering on and off like a failing heartbeat, I am not so convinced of its chances.) Strangely, though I have contemplated this moment often, I am not as upset as I imagined I would be. In fact, I have a sudden realisation that this might be the answer to my problem - that is, what on earth I am going to make for this project. My camera broke a few months ago, and has been gathering dust ever since. The iPhone was my substitute. Now I have two options left: an old video camera, which I haven't used for ages, and the iSight camera on my laptop. As it would be rather impractical to carry around the computer, I will use the video camera. And of course I will be drawing - the most analogue image recording process of them all!

Not having an iPhone also means I can't consult GPS when I am lost, check the weather from my bed without having to get up to look out the window, or ask Google when I can't remember something. It means (for now, anyway) not having an easy means of communication on the go. Arrangements to meet will have have to be planned ahead and stuck to. Really, it means one less interface between my daily experience of the world. Already this has led to interesting encounters, and changes in habit... Gaku is right - it is important to remember that things are not instant.

Now, I really wanted to write about the essay which was beginning of this whole story, but I am tired and will leave that until next time. Here's a link in the meantime.

not instant

I have just moved, too!
This apartment is far away from the center of NY as same as the ones I had moved four years ago and seven years ago. Although it takes more than one hour to reach the part time job, I love this quiet environment with a lot of greens.
Creation helps my daily life so much, which keeps me in quiet time and space, and also teaches me that the things are not instant.

start of everyday

一日の始まりは、スペースのお掃除から。

１２日の火曜日、少しづつ、プロジェクトの場所を作り始めました。

母がいる風景は私の創作の原点を思い出させました。

幼い頃、夕方よく窓辺で一緒にあやとりをしたり、外から入る光を感じながら過ごしました。

そして、今もその心は変わらずにあるようです。。。

Who We Are, How We Do

Here is our project flyer. It speaks about who we are, how we do.
For more information,
Elizabeth Presa
Thea Rechner

Gaku Tsutaja
Utako Shindo