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21/12/2012

Tadasu Takamine

Contemporary Art Center - Art Tower Mito, Mito

Curated by Mizuki Takahashi

The Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito is pleased to present a major new multimedia project by Tadasu Takamine. One of Japan's preeminent contemporary artists and theater directors, Takamine is internationally known for a body of work that brims with both humor and a keen sense of criticality in relation to the systems of oppression and control that operate within contemporary society.

Taking the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the recent Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster as two important benchmarks, Tadasu Takamine's Cool Japan investigates popular constructs of Japanese identity. Much of Takamine's work is inspired by doubts and misgivings regarding issues he encounters in daily life.

These ideas are then given substantial form through an accumulation of research, encounters and dialogues with the local residents of the area where he is working. In preparation for this exhibition, he has spent a two-and-a-half month period in a town halfway between Tokai-mura in Ibaraki Prefecture, where a nuclear power plant is located, and the city of Mito.

The interviews he has conducted with people ranging from an elderly woman displaced by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster to a student participant of anti-nuclear protests in Tokyo are developed in the form of a theatrical installation that evolves across each of the galleries in the Contemporary Art Center. Building upon Takamine's frequent and innovative use of text in his works, the installation will also incorporate words, slogans and images that the Japanese have unconsciously promoted, disseminated, and deployed in an oppressive way from the postwar era to the present.

The "Cool Japan" in the exhibition title is a catchphrase devised by the Japanese government as a self-branding exercise to promote Japanese culture to an international audience. This includes superior consumer technology and a customer service ethic with a meticulous attention to detail, as well as Japanese food, anime, manga, and video games. At a time when the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, and various problems surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster have yet to be resolved, a pervasive distrust of politicians, corporations and the mass media has taken hold, and public emotions and sentiments over these issues remain divided. In this context, it seems a bit of a stretch to label anything about the current Japan as "cool."

Offering a taste of Takamine's vision of a "Cool Japan," the newly commissioned interactive works in this exhibition invite visitors to cast an inquiring eye on the value systems and moral perspectives of the Japanese people.

Curated by Mizuki Takahashi, the exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue in Japanese and English, to be published in March 2013.

Tadasu Takamine
Born in Kagoshima, Japan, in 1968, lives in Shiga, Japan. Educated at Kyoto City University of Arts and Music and the Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Science (IAMAS) in Gifu, Japan. His works have been highly acclaimed both in Japan and abroad. Takamine participated in the Venice Biennale in 2003, and his solo show Too Far to See toured three Japanese museums and the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, between 2011 and 2012. He has also exhibited at institutions including the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (2010); MIMOCA, Kagawa (2010); and Sendai Mediatheque (2008), all in Japan.

Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito
Since opening in 1990, Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito has been recognized as one of Japan's leading contemporary art institutions. Housed in a building designed by internationally acclaimed architect Arata Isozaki, Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito is committed to introducing experimental activity by international artists as well as supporting new challenges by Japanese emerging artists. Establishing bridges between art and society, local and international, Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito aspires to produce creative programs in collaboration with artists, musician and performers from across the world.

Opening: December 22, 2012

Contemporary Art Center - Art Tower Mito
1-6-8, Goken-cho, Mito
Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (no admittance after 5:30 p.m.)
Admission
Adult: ¥800, Advanced purchase and Group discount (more than 20 people) ¥600
(Free: child aged under 15/Senior Citizen (over 65)/Disabled pass holder and an attendant each)
Tower: ¥200 (children half-price)

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