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Tadasu TAKAMINE: Too Far To See (Page 2/2)
Reviews
Written by Maho TANAKA   
Published: June 20 2011
{exhibit="Tadasu TAKAMINE: Too Far To See" place="Yokohama Museum of Art" related="TAKAMINE Tadasu: The SUPERCAPACITOR" artist="Tadasu TAKAMINE" text="Review to the solo exhibition by Tadasu Takamine held at Yokohama Museum of Art (1/21/2010 - 3/20/2011)." image=thumb2011a/review20110620008.jpg writer="Maho TANAKA"}

The method of “story”

fig. 4  "Do what you want if you want as you want"
2001 (reproduced in 2011)
Monitor, DVD(7’00”)[Filmed in Jerusalem, 2001]
View from the exhibition at Yokohama Museum of Art, photo by Tomoki Imai

fig. 5  "God Bless America", 2002
Projector, Computer, Oil-based Clay, Carpet (8’18”)
View from the exhibition at Yokohama Museum of Art, photo by Tomoki Imai

I became more and more perplexed, but anyway went into the next exhibition room. There were two video installations in the room. One of them is an installation of assembled displays. The other is an animation projected on a large screen. I think the two were made with a consciousness over the method of “story”.

There is “Do what you want if you want as you want” (2001, reproduced in 2011) on back left from the entrance (figure 4). The work consists of three small displays with an electric bulletin board. On the displays, they show fragmented figure with voice of someone talking passionately. Simultaneously, the electric bulletin board displays Japanese translation of the talk. This is a video, which was shot in Jerusalem, of a woman talking about her severe experiences on Palestinian problem. In the caption, there are statements such as a friend of hers got mad and went home during the interview, and questions such as whether the writer (the interviewer) thought she was a friend or his, or whether this is really a work of art themed on Palestinian problem. This woman told in the session about the cruelty of the conflict that tangled civilians, and that she exposed it to media but Israeli government interfered it.

The displays show very fragmented views of street corner behind a cafe at which the interview was conducted. I hear the voice of the woman talking emotionally and the writer's detached responses. But suddenly, I came to think that this could be a another trap. I thought the fragmented figure shown on the display was the interviewed woman from the person's rather exaggerated gestures. However, I could not see her face, hair nor her build even if I closely watched. There is no grounds to tell that even the figure is a woman or not. I can even guess that this is the writer himself acting before the camera, after his friend who had to film the interview had gone.*6

Choreographing to emphasize the realness is an unavoidable aspect in filming such interviews and weaving a real story. In that sense, Takamine also wove the woman's testimony into a story. From the title “Do what you want if you want as you want,” I can imagine a risk that there are selfish reasons between two parties that are willing to communicate each other. Aren't we distorting the reality by trying to tell things realistically? It could be the “politics” which could happen in all levels from private relationship to international relationship.

On the other hand, the other video work titled “God Bless America” (2002, figure 5) is about the myth which America once have had but has already collapsed. The display shows a large face made of clay in the center. Takamine knead the clay many times, filmed while he was doing it, and edited the film such as fast forwarding. He eventually created a stop motion animation. The sound of the clay face singing “God Bless America” is like the sound of old gramophone such that it gives me a feeling of an event of the past. The monument-like clay face is not an indefectible monument lasts forever but something made out of plastic clay, and changes its form with the artist's processing. I see the interior of the studio behind the clay face. That is probably this artist's residence as well. Takamine and his girlfriend knead clay in this room, and they sometimes let it lie. They invites their friends here, and probably make love as well.*7 The America's “face” is a part of their daily living. Its form is changed to one after another. It is a heroic rocket and a cowboy one time, and later it is changed to an obedient puppy with waggling tail after the statement “we fight to protect our freedom.” But to be honest, I am more attracted to the couple behind the clay face. Here, holiness and profanity are inverted, and the myth obeys daily life. We are more attracted to the sight behind the story woven out of the justification of “Justice” and “Freedom.”

fig. 6  "Baby Insa-dong", 2004
Cromogenic Print Mounted on Acrylic, DVD, monitor
View from the exhibition at Yokohama Museum of Art, photo by Tomoki Imai

If you proceed farther down the room, you will understand Takamine's focus pertaining to turning reality into a story from his more private point of view. But this “Baby Insa-dong” (2004, figure 6) makes me think if it is correct to use the word “understandable.” Takamine has a girlfriend who is a Korean living in Japan. The work starts from an episode that one day she suddenly asked him why Japanese people disliked Koreans living in Japan. This work is snapshots lined up horizontally with a monologue. Snapshots of their wedding ceremony are the major photographs in those. It is how he gradually came to understand that Korean people in Japan were not like his preconceived idea on them. The snapshots are lined up in a way to reveal the process of the change in his views. The change occurred when he touched complicated inner feelings of those second generation Korean people in Japan who inherited values from their parents.

Of course, I am sure the written monologue is closely linked to the artist's life and it must be very serious. However, it seems that Takamine is very much aware of the fact that by showing the process as a work of art, it becomes a story. For example, some of the photos are monochrome and some are colored, and some are partly colored manually. Also, the mounting acrylic panels are in various colors. In the middle of the monologue, Takamine touches Apoji's (Korean girlfriend's father in Korean language) true feeling that he could not understand until that time. At the location of the text that stating his change of his mind, the photograph changes from monochrome to colored to match up with the change. Later in the monologue, it says that Takamine asked “Naja” a drag queen and a total alien to play a sideshow at the wedding in order for the people of different cultural background to open up to each other. At the point, background acrylic panel's color changes suddenly from yellow to complementary deep purple. That is the point of “turn” in the words of typical story evolution called “introduction, development, turn, conclusion.” Furthermore, the scene of Naja's dance is displayed on a set-in video so it presents very live cheerful atmosphere in the quiet photographs. However, there are a few photographs before that video that are group photographs at the wedding, and although I am not sure, I don't think I see Naja in them. Was she really there? I can't help suspecting that she was added later in this line of snapshots with a photo editing.*8

The monologue, after this, suddenly becomes a bedtime story like the ones that mothers tell to their children. According to the monologue, people at the wedding ceremony opened up once by Naja's dance, but there were people who did not trust Naja and that made two parties separate once again. (The monologue was written in Japanese, Korean and English in parallel, but this bedtime story part in Japanese and Korean is waved and mixed though they never cross. If one character is prioritized over other at a crossing point, the syntax of the other language will become inconsistent).

This clear-cut fairly tale with the full scent of compilation may be a satire of the fact that when a documentary of someone's life is created, people tend to create forced emotional scenes to get catharsis easily. In reality, mutual understanding or empathy are not attained so dramatically and instantaneously. As it is told in the end of the monologue, those are something that people seek out for in their own long life.


“Memory” and “Vengeance”

fig. 7  "Too Far To See", 2011
Ceramic, Computer, Projector, Speaker, Mirror (10'16'')
Sound, Programming: Matsumoto Yuichi/Video: Konishi Kotaro
View from the exhibition at Yokohama Museum of Art, photo by Tomoki Imai

fig. 8  "Kimura-san", 2011
(At Pan Pacific Yokohama Bay Hotel Tokyu in 2004)
(At Pan Pacific Yokohama Bay Hotel Tokyu in 2004)
Cromogenic Print Mounted on Acrylic
View from the exhibition at Yokohama Museum of Art, photo by Tomoki Imai

Lastly, I went into the room where Takamine's main work of art for this exhibition “Too Far To See” (figure 7) was exhibited. The front entrance to this room was intentionally closed so people have to get in from the low side entrance by bending over. There is a large video screen in the center front of this dark exhibition room, and five other small video projections like spot lights are dancing all over the room. Written messages and sounds are in Japanese, Korean, English, Chinese, French and German.

Silhouettes of men and women of various ages are shown on the large screen. They walk in from both left side and right side of the screen, grabble sometimes on the ground, and make subtle up and down motion. It looks like they are sucking some uncountable objects growing from the ground. It is hard to tell the details of those only from their silhouettes, but they are some thin things. Furthermore, those spot light like projections are moving too busily to watch clearly. But I see people with some white thin stuff in their mouth, like the film on the large screen. Messages and narrations say, “Don't try to see everything with your eyes open,” “Open your mouth,” “Don't give up” and “Don't start to resist yet.” The most emphasized message is, “Suck on memory” and “Complete your vengeance.” I wonder what the words “Memory” and “Vengeance” mean in this context.

In order to think about it, I would like to get back to the work I saw at the entrance. It was very plainly presented that I did not notice it till I finished going around the whole exhibition. However, in reality, this photograph titled “Kimura-san” (2004, at Pan Pacific Yokohama Bay Hotel Tokyu, figure 8), corresponds to “Too Far to See” and these are the two chief works of this exhibition. The photograph is not framed and is just glued on a pillar. It's caption is even put on the floor. Takamine used to volunteer nursing-care Kimura-san who was severely disabled. He filmed and visualized the way Kimura-san was sexually cared. The work was scheduled to be exhibited at Yokohama Museum of Art in 2004 but it was forced to cancel.*9

“The Law of The Wild” at the entrance which I mentioned earlier is covered with a fabric, and fanned from the inside. The sound coming from the inside was like a call of animal or a groan of human. It made me feel the vitality and the organic nature. The fabric swells beyond the venue, wriggles like it is trying to get out of the venue. It is like the force that is trying to escape from limitations and constraints. The picture of Kimura-san only portrays him lying on a bed smiling with flowers surrounding his head. His body is hardly captured. It isn't easy to say that a work that was stopped from exhibiting in public is right or wrong. Nevertheless, this picture poses the fact that there are works that are controlled and hid under the art museum system.

Given this, I would like to get back to “Too Far To See.” Those thin and long things and the act of groveling and sucking them shown on the screen and the spot images were very sexual that it evokes an image of “taboo.” To literally apply Takamine's message “Suck on memory,” those white protruding objects are the “Memories.” The people sucking on it appear to be smeared with disgrace and surrendered, but the truth may be that they are plotting to destroy the sense of omnipotence of “Memory” by that very act and overthrow the master-servant relationship. Takamine has probably put the same ardor which he has over the history of art and story to “Memory” too.*10

The entrance of this exhibition was surrounded by the images of captured vitality and zoo. However, structuring of art museums began only about 200 years ago just like zoos. Takamine seems to portray, in this exhibition, the potential of his vengeance to melt down the taboo in the history of art (*10). It was done by presenting his works of art that do not fit in the genealogy of discourse on art that has been handed down from the past and seems to have grown up to be a big tree.

When you exit the last room, that white protruding objects are displayed and you will see what they are. They are dozens of pottery in the shape of outright male genitalia, mushroom, stalactites or squirrel. Also there are ones in some abstract shapes like a mixture of two shapes. There are ones with extra ceramic glaze to make it look like it is melting. But if you actually try to melt these pottery by licking, it would take well over 200 years. I think it will not be possible. Takamine knows that the genealogy tree of the story of art is too “far away” to be defied.

There is a black board at the exit which is where the potteries are displayed. Again the message in the “Too Far To See” is manually written on the board. The contradictory words “Don't give up” and “Don't resist” suggest that we need to revisit the history of art and the plot to demise it. While he tells us to “Suck on memory,” he also tells us to stop it when “In your sleep” and says “Save it for next time.” It reminds us that it takes a long time to be able to See it well.”

While this exhibition itself presents a contradiction, a sarcasm and a frustration of not being able to understand each other, Takamine's works has the power to entertain viewers and have them proceed forward. To put it differently, when you want to view and understand Takamine's works, either you agree or you disagree, you actively see them by relating them with your own problems. Furthermore, though strange, it holds the contradiction of imposed activeness.

From the convincing tone of the text written on the blackboard at the exit, the artist seems to be aware of the educational aspect in his own message. By exposing the magic trick of this exhibition as just another discipline, Takamine again puts people in the final trap. As he intentionally comply the rules he was satirizing in his works, he exposes the essence of the satire that inevitably turning back to himself. By all these activities, Takamine stimulates viewers and also push them with a hope that they will become autonomic actors.


Back12


Notes;

(*6) It is my personal assumption. There are other interpretations like the article in the following web page.
http://www.art-it.asia/u/admin_ed_itv/6I4KAvaUQ3BrWup58yPc

(*7) It is rendered as a couple but they are not real a couple.

(*8) According to the diary in Takamine's book “My Korean Girl Friend” (Kawade-Shobo-Shinsha 2008), Naja was actually invited to the wedding ceremony, and was very much welcomed from both parties. On the other hand, “Baby Insa-dong” exhibited in this exhibition evokes an exclusivity in formal gatherings. In this work, Naja is emphasized as an existence that do not belong to either parties, and such that she dissolves the tension between them. Additionally, just like a plot of fairy tales, the accommodation brought to the party by the complete alien Naja was only temporary. It was symbolically depicted.

(*9) And exhibition titled “Nonsect Radical, Contemporary Photographs III”
http://www.yaf.or.jp/yma/archive/2010/849.php

(*10) According to Takamine, the title “A Big Blow-job” means a big fellatio. Takamine was interested in the words of Sartre “Passivity is not perfect.” He was attracted to the fact that the words actually contain activeness and aggressiveness. Please refer to the brochure of this exhibition in page 104 to 105.


Reffered exhibition;

"Tadasu TAKAMINE: Too Far To See" held at Yokohama Museum of Art, January 21 - March 20, 2011 (go around to Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art)

Last Updated on October 13 2015
 

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