art in environment: Melbourne and Tokyo

Melbourne (left)
Elizabeth's practicing her Japanese writing in her office at CFI.
The window view from the former Drawing dep. studios.
Thea's work 2009 on outside wall of VCA Studios.

Tokyo (right)

Gallery Info in Japanese: Work in progress is Open to Public.

A street view, outside of Youkobo Studios and Gallery.

Thea's postcards and video-cards are on test display.

One of conceptual aspects of the project, Living Everyday by Art, is to connect everyday working

environments from different sites in the world. It is to propose the idea that whenever you are, artists make things and can put it on display, anywhere is possible really, if you wish for it to be happened. Artist can not only make art but also put it out in the world. Once it is put in the world, it can communicate with others beyond the makers intentions. That is simply wonderful. Attempting creating such an occasion. I am putting the project up in youkobo gallery, everyday, and opening the process every weekend to the public.

Reading Night #2

The second night of reading 'Makura no Soushi' was held also at lovely early summer evening.

The wind and people came through the gallery space, whose entrance were screened with NOREN, fabricated with Elizabeth Text piece printed at KURIYA Graphic earlier this week.

We had many visitors: a translator and musician who shared thoughts on translation between languages, different cultures and various forms of art; the local theater people, residency artists, neighbor school kids, youkobo staff members, friends, family and so on. Thea also joined from Berlin through skype!

At the end of night, Elizabeth requested participants to read their own poetry by referring to the sub-theme which Seishonagon used. 'Things that is disillusioning."

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to those who joined the night and shared their stories from and observations on their everyday living.

              

 

 

          

Reading Night #1

On the 22nd of June, in the Friday evening from 6 to midnight, the first reading night 'The Pillow Book' with Elizabeth and visitors from the local was held in a intimate atmosphere.

Youkobo Staff members, the residency artist, the local elementary school child and her mother, and youkobo frequent visitors were gathered to share reading of Seishonagon's honest, witty and keen observations on little things in everyday life.

  

 

Printmakers who knows about colours

Printing texts on the fabric, at Silk Screen Workshop 'Kuriya Graphic' in Musashino City, next to Suginami ward where Youkobo is located.

Selecting colour from a book on Japanese Traditional Colour. Elizabeth chose to create an gradation of blue colour for her second text.

The director, Mr. Matsumura and his assistant, Ms. Tanaka. They are printers and artists. Elizabeth says, "Mr. Matsumura is genious." He is, indeed, and Ms. Tanaka gives him an excellent assist. They were willing to play with colours according to what is in the text, and in relation to the colour of fabric.

The piece should be graphically interesting as well as being readable. 

Elizabeth writes and works in Tokyo

Next day, Elizabeth made herself "familiar to these new materials for installation, which Utako brought into the space. She says "you keep working and you know what to do with it."

She also wrote a new story for her work, which Utako then translated, as it follows.
The text will be silk screen printed, by Kuriya Graphic tomorrow, to linen tea towels which Elizabeth brought from Melbourne.

Things that look ordinary but become extraordinary - when feeling sad about leaving for Japan I notice a small black spot on the white sheets of my bed. It turns out to be a little mole shed during the night from the back of a gentleman. When picking it up on my finger-tip and placing it in my pocket before departing for the airport, I remember earlier this monthseeing the planet Venus as a little black spot crossing the sun. How extraordinary that a small black spot should become a sign of love.

「普通に見えるけれど、特別になるもの」 ̶ 日本に行くので悲しかった時、私 のベットに黒い小さな点があるのに気付いた。夜の間に、彼の背中から落ちた黒 子だと分かった。空港に向かう前、指先で拾って私のポケットに忍ばせた時、月 初めに太陽の前を金星が黒い点になって通り過ぎて行くのを思い出した。黒い点 が愛の印になるなんて、何て特別なの。

On the train into Tokyo I notice everywhere bed-clothes hanging over balconies to catch the morning sun. I wonder if in Japan each morning it rains little black spots and other things shed from the bodies of lovers.

In Shinjuku at a book store I notice on the cover of a book, a small black spot on a women’s dress. Utako tells me it is a book about ghosts. Stepping outside, the rain leaves dark spots on my grey silk dress.

東京に向かう電車の中から、そこら中で寝具がバルコニーに朝の光を浴びて干さ れているのが見えた。日本では、毎朝、恋する者達の体から零れ落ちる皮膚が黒 い雨となって降るのかもしれない、なんて想像しちゃう。

新宿の本屋で、表紙の女性の服に黒い小さな点がある本を見つけた。詩子が、幽 霊についての本だと教えてくれた。外に出ると、私のグレーのシルクのドレスに 雨が黒いシミを残した。

Translation matters

Elizabeth and I worked on the materials for Reading Night on Tuesday.

Kuriya Graphic, a silk screen workshop since 80s, in Mitaka, the neighbour city of Zempukuji, is supporting us creative Text on Fabric, written by Elizabeth and translated by Utako. The director of Kuriya Graphic worked for making a lecture poster for French Institute for 20 years. He has even a record of Derrida giving lecture on languages. As a sculpture who pays attention to any detail in the world, including a warm on the street, what will she translate from everyday ordinary to extraordinary... from language to object. Only I could do might be weaving my little thoughts as I translate languages.

 

Elizabeth in Tokyo!

On Monday, Elizabeth arrived Tokyo early in the morning for the first time in her life to be in Japan! but she fit into Tokyo in a instance and began to organise her one-week of just doing her own work as an artist!

We started dialogue by exchanging what have been happening in our life as people.

Her teaching period in Melbourne has just finished last year for the semester. It seems always precious to secure studio hours for artist who are also educator. 

Anyway for this week, she will live for her own art, for who she is.

 Nishiogikubo Craft Shop and Shinjuku Craft by Gucci

Works in progress: Week 1

Thea's work (post card sent from Berling to Youkobo. Video work filmed at Berline to be shared through Drop Box with Utako). The time lag and the intervention of someone's time in distant are merged in the gallery. Let me now the special thanks to my partner who fixed the problems with playing the movie at Digital Photo Frame.

    

Elizabeth has sent me her own text inspired by Seishonagon's Pillow Book. She sends a photo associated with her text via email. She will also bring her sculptural piece into the work. She will have Night Reading at Youkobo this Friday and Saturday. 

Gaku up-loaded her Art Manga at her website. She also give a receiver the instruction how to construct her Mange into a sculpture. While she keeps working on her weekly Art Manga in New York, I will work on figuring out it this Wednesday. it is like a separate gift appended to a cartoon magazine which I used to buy every month in my youth :)

  Utako records what is happening in and outside of her studio. Drawing trace the shadow of her corrected nature inside associated with someone she knows while the photo captures the movement of nature with which someone unknown interact without conscious.

A clear day in rainy season

On Sunday morning, I traveled to Oyama City, to see an exhibition Cantos Familia by Jun Itoi at Kurumaya Museum of Art. I was wonderful indeed for both work wise and exhibition wise. As a city museum, which has a mission in may ways, to present art for citizens while engaging the context of contemporary art. The museum curator, I work with last year for my project which was hosted by the museum, considers and experiments as much she can at any situations for the museum, and beyond. (it is shame that I don;t have a picture with me here, I was too focused to see things there... but probably it is really good for people to actually visit there. The show ended already, but her next curated show will start in September.)

The visit was a great reminder for myself that there are people in the art world who challenge everyday what they can contribute to art, by re-evaulating things and rethinking approaches constantly. They are indeed always in the process.

The owner of the land where the museum is located love flowers. She gave me her favourite seasonal flowers. The bunch made a sweet link between where I traveled in the morning and where I returned in the afternoon, where I had other travellers visiting Youkobo.

My friend curator from Melbourne is now traveling Japan with her daughter. We were once belong to a group of researchers who related a scholar at Melbourne University. She pays wonderful attention to the process which an artist takes to get some achievement or finalised artwork, in considering the social and artistic contexts where the artist was/is. Now that she has moved on, from being national museum curator to an freelance curator, her focus is now creating pathway for artists to archive their processes to the level or public cultural heritage (if I can express in this way)

I wonder how she saws the process in the gallery and also the support which youkobo provides for artists to spend hours in studio.

Her daughter, who gave an kind and caring company to her visiting my work, is in early 20s, has very long way to process her life.

Just before they were off to the next destination, coincidentally they paused in front of the wall paint done by school kids at 'momoshi' elementary school next door. 

At any stage of our life, you can always find the dream toward which we live a life as a journey, everyday there will be a new encounter, I hope to think so.

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.