Site specific Installations - Commissions - Projections and Video Tapes
I will be making a presentation about my early video work at the National Film Center at the Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo next Weds, Oct 6th from 4:00-6:00 PM, so I must leave Kyoto on Weds morning. This will give me a couple of days in Tokyo in which to interview Michael Goldberg and Itsuo Sakane about early artists’ video in Japan, before returning to London on Sept 9th.
National Film Center, Tokyo
Its hot again today, and my pace along the Kamo-gawa was definitely slower as a result. I cycled north, down beyond Kyoto train station to the Temple at To-Ji. There is a five-storey pagoda there- the tallest in Japan!
After lunch I crossed the river to see the Zen temple at Tofuku-Ji. This temple complex was peaceful and contemplative and quite deserted, as the season is too early for the spectacular colour changes which apparently draws huge crowds to this temple in November.
It gets dark early in Kyoto now, and although it is still warm during the day, the air cools down fast once the night falls. I passed this beautiful light shop in the Higashiyama area of Kyoto on my way home this evening, and I doubt I will pass this way again, so I took these two images.
Today the rain has set in, and thinking this would deter visitors to the temples at Ginkaku-Ji and Honen-In, I cycled across the river to Northern Higashiyama early this morning. Ginkaku-Ji was already quite busy despite the rain, but it was still possible to get an unimpeded view of the stroll garden and the carefully raked white stones of the kogetsudai. Honen-In was, however, completely deserted and although I got thoroughly soaked-through wandering in the gardens, it was a treat to enjoy it in complete solitude.
This afternoon I made a presentation about my early videotape and installation work in the Media Centre at Kyoto-Seika University. Professor Shinsuke Ina provided an introduction and Isanori Oha made a live translation of my presentation for the students, as well as handling a question and answer section at the end. During the two-hour session I tried to provide an overview of my work, but made a careful selection of material to avoid difficulties with the language, as some of my works do rely to a certain extent on the spoken and/or written word.
Last night Shinsuke took me out to Ume-N0-Hana, a traditional Japanese restaurant, to sample the delights of Japanese haute cuisine. Tofu-Kaiseki, which was originally developed as an adjunct of the tea ceremony, is served in a private room and presented as a series of small courses, and is a visual as well as a culinary feast- with the food carefully arranged on a variety of dishes, plates and small pots, and chosen to compliment the season.
Fighting the throngs of school children (who far outnumbered the tourists!) I visited the gold-clad temple at Kinkaku-Ji today. It is a stunning sight, and waiting patiently for an opportunity to photograph it, I found time to have a bowl of green tea and a sweet cake in a little grove under the trees nearby.
Heading south beyond the Higashyama area of Kyoto this morning I explored the vast shrine at Fushimi-Inari-Taisha, which is spread out across a wooded mountain area to the east of the city. The most extraordinary feature of this huge shrine is the incredible number of gates (called Torii) which snake through the landscape in numerous directions, forming tunnels through the surrounding trees.
After lunch I stayed on the east side of the Kamo-gama and cycled back north in the direction of central Kyoto into southern Higashiyama to visit Ninen-Zaka and Sannen-Zaka, two delightful streets in a neighbourhood of old wooden houses, restaurants and shops. Although I expected the area to be bustling with tourists, most of them were content to stay in the most popular shopping areas.
This weekend I visited Nagoya to explore the Aichi Triennale 2010 with Akiko Hada, a Berlin-based artist, who spent some of her childhood in Nagoya. The theme of the Triennale for 2010 is “Arts and Cities”, and the venues for the event are spread across the city on four main sites, although the majority of the works were grouped in the two main city art galleries at the Aichi Arts Center and the Nagoya City Art Museum. There were many site-specific and specially commissioned pieces, and many of the works were installations and/or featured moving images. One of the main highlights of the Triennale was Ryoji Ikeda’s monumental outdoor light and sound installation at Nagoya Castle, but other installations that also impressed me included Tsang Kin Wah’s text-based video installation, They Are Already Old, Oliver Herring’s witty triple screen video, Huang Shih Chieh’s delicate and playful electronic constructions (see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5LztEM-5Is), Yang Fudong’s ambitious ten screen 35mm film installation Dawn Mist, Separation Faith and Tim Etchell and Vlatka Horvat’s performance/installation Over the Table.
This evening I attended a concert performed by “Ipso Facto”, an ensemble of four musicians featuring Kishin Hunada on the Theremin. An enjoyable and unusual concert, and fascinating to be able to experience the extraordinary and haunting range of sounds the Theremin can produce!
