Hitoshi NOMURA (English) / Contemporary Art Center, ATM

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NOMURA Hitoshi -- Genesis of Life: The Universe, The Sun, DNA
August 5 (Sat) to October 15 (Sun), 2000

In 1996, the artist Hitoshi NOMURA -- whose works in the 1980s incorporated photographs that he took of solar and stellar movements -- created installation works based on the theme of meteorites. One included an airplane tail, while the other was combined with the double helical structure of DNA. Meanwhile, three years later, in 1999, he succeeded in driving across the continental U.S. in the vehicle Sun Structure '99 (a sixth-generation solar car) in the HAAS Project, having engaged in the production of a solar car with members of the Solar Power Lab. since 1993.

Those actions go to show that Hitoshi Nomura -- known for his photographic expressions since the 1970s -- has conclusively demonstrated that he is no mere photographer. The current exhibition at ATM aims to find out how his dynamic activities in the '90s originated, and explores possible directions he may take in the future. One can thus regard the current exhibition as an intermediate overview of Nomura's activities over the last three decades.

The exhibition comprises a total of 80 works, including the dynamic installations mentioned above. They also include Nomura's 1980s works, which served as the basis for the works that followed. Bracketing the collection are an important work from the 1970s, as well as a new work -- "Universe, Sun, DNA" -- created particularly for the ATM exhibition. The latter work, reminiscent of the exhibition's name, connotes Nomura's strong interest in the origin of life. Indeed, visitors are welcome to enjoy romantic images of the origin of life, a theme that consistently pervades all Nomura's works.


Soft Landing Meteor '97 1990-97	Sun Structure '99 in Florida 1998-99 © SPL

Closed Mondays and on October 10 (Tue), but open on October 9 (Mon).
Hours:	9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (No admittance after 6:00)
Organizer:	Mito Arts Foundation
Sponsor:	Shiseido, Co., Ltd., Toyota Motor Corporation
Cooperation:	SOUM Corporation, Takeo Co., Ltd., Air Water Inc.
Curator:	Tsukasa Mori, Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito
Admission:	¥800 General ¥600 Advance-purchase tickets, groups (20 or more) ¥1,000 H.T.P. (one-year Pass for 15- to 19-year-olds, available at ATM and JR East) ¥2,000 Pass for Adults (one-year pass for persons aged 20 and above) Free Students (through 9th grade), senior citizens (65 and older), and handicapped persons

Overview of the Hitoshi Nomura exhibition:

Two core themes pursued by Nomura -- the equation of the macro cosmos with the universe, and the micro cosmos with DNA -- are both presented throughout the eight rooms of the Contemporary Art Gallery, illustrating the integrity of his works. In the third room, the center of the exhibition, the two installed works seem to confront one other. The first, labeled "Soft Landing Meteor '96," presents a combination of an airplane tail fixed on the wall with a meteorite. The second is called "Cosmic Sensibility: Super Helix," and combines part of a DNA molecule with a meteorite.

Room 1 of the gallery shows Nomura's "Soft Landing Meteor '97" along with photographs that visualize the locations of the sun and comets.

In Room 2, then, are displayed glass models of the genesis of the universe, as well as photographs of stromatolite, fossils of the very first life on earth that produced oxygen.

In Room 4, visitors wearing 3D glasses are treated to a view of Mars photographed by NASA spacecraft, along with photos of the entire Martian day. The latter is set within a diorama based on the NASA photograph, picture, along with photographs of deserted and neglected rockets.

The next room, Room 5, presents the 6th-generation solar car, "Sun Structure '99," which Nomura drove across the continental U.S. last year with members of Solar Power Lab. in the HAAS Project.

In Room 6, then, lettuce is presented growing on a hydroponic device, simulating plant cultivation in space. Also shown are photographs of the cultivation, and a work simply portraying the beauty of the light blue color of liquefied oxygen. In addition, visitors can read his book "Ten-year Photobook, or The Brownian Motion of Eyesight," describing Nomura's everyday life over a decade.

Room 7 is set up to display Nomura's sculptures that liken meteorites to various other things, as well as works on the theme of DNA. Visitors can also hear scores using symbols of the moon and birds, and three works assuming that trees and plants in the Jurassic period are still alive.

Room 8 presents Nomura's new work -- "Soft Landing Meteor 2000" -- designed especially for the current exhibition, along with a set of nine photographs showing the location of the sun as seen from planets over the period of a year.


Spin & Gravity: for the Sea of Potalaka 1982-84 Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama	Stromatolite: 435 Days in the Year 1992	The Sun on Lat. 35^oN 1982-87 Collection of Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art Generated the Universe like Mushrooms 1987 Collection of Toyota Municipal Museum of Art


Time Arrow: Oxygen -183^oC 1988-93	The Analemma: Saturn 1996-99	Mars: Sun & Stone 1999

Profile of Hitoshi Nomura:

Born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1945.
Professor and Chief Supervisor at the Graduate School of Kyoto City University of Arts. Nomura first drew attention on account of his March 1969 work, "Tardiology," showing how corrugated cardboard collapses under its own weight. Since then, he participated in the 10th International Art Exhibition (Tokyo Biennale '70) with his "Between Man and Matter", the 9th Paris Biennale in 1975, and many other group exhibitions. At the same time, he has held several solo exhibitions. Other international exhibitions presenting Nomura's works include the 5th India Triennale (1982) and the 9th Sydney Biennial (1992). Nomura's "score" series was performed at ATM's 1995 exhibition, "Rolywholyover A Circus by John Cage," A collection of his works, "Time-Space," was published in 1994 by Korinsha.

Catalogue:

Text:	Ken-ichi Iwaki (Professor, Graduate School of Kyoto University)
	Satoru Ikeuchi(Professor, Graduate School of Nagoya University)
	Eijiro Hiei (President, Meisei University)
	Tsukasa Mori (Curator, Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito)
Interview:	Hitoshi Nomura, Masahiro Aoki (Chief Curator, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art)
Format:	A4-size (184 pp., 56 in color), DVD-Video (HAAS document, 45 min.)
Illustrations:	70 color and 40 monochrome plates
Price:	¥4,200

Related Projects:

# Talk and Talk

1) Artist Talk:
Date: August 5 (Sun)
Venue: Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito
Hours: 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Speaker: Hitoshi Nomura
Admission: Included in admission fee to the Hitoshi Nomura exhibition
The talk will start at the entrance of the Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito.

2) HAAS Project: Report and Discussion
A detailed account will be given on the HAAS project, in which the members rode a solar car 5,000km (3,000 miles) across the continental U.S. continent in 33 days.
Date: August 6 (Sun)
Venue: Workshop room of the Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito
Hours: 2:00-4:30 p.m. (Seating begins at 1:30 p.m.)
Panelists: Hitoshi Nomura, Solar Power Lab., Kaori Makabe (writer, editor)
Seating: 80 (first-come, first-served basis)
Admission: Included in admission fee to the Hitoshi Nomura exhibition

3) Curator's Talk
Date: August 19 (Sat), September 16 (Sat), and October 7 (Sat)
Venue: Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito
Hours: 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Speaker: Tsukasa Mori, curator, Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito
Admission: Included in admission fee to the Hitoshi Nomura exhibition
The talk will start at the entrance of the Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito.

# Science for Life Seminar
The earth, life, and human beings will be discussed in terms of the universe's 15-billion-year history. Two scientists, active both in their own specialties as well as in extracurricular fields, will talk about the birth of the universe, formation of the solar planets, generation of the earth environment, the advent of life, and today's environmental problems, in simple terms that anyone can understand.

1) "Changing Aqua-planet -- the Earth"
Date: August 26 (Sat)
Venue: Conference Hall, Art Tower Mito
Hours: 2:00-3:30 (Seating begins at 1:30 p.m.)
Speaker: Dr. Takafumi Matsui, professor of comparative planetary studies at the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, the University of Tokyo
Seating: 80 (first-come, first-served basis)
Admission: ¥500, ¥300 for Pass for Adults and H.T.P. holders
Phone Reservations: 029-225-3555

2) "Bubbling Universe and Solar Power
Date: September 23 (Saturday)
Venue: Conference Hall, Art Tower Mito
Time: From 14:00 to 15:30 (Doors open at 13:30.)
Speaker: Dr. Satoru Ikeuchi, professor of space physics at the Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University
Seating: 80 (first-come, first-served basis)
Admission: ¥500, ¥300 for Pass for Adults and H.T.P. holders
Phone Reservations: 029-225-3555

Kids' Program:

1) "We Are Stardust -- View of Today's Cosmology"
How was the universe born? Where are we from? The universe and art are described in simple terms, accompanied by the recitation of poems, and pipe organ music. Depending on the weather permits, astronomical observation may also be conducted using four telescopes with a 20-30cm diameter.
Date: August 9 (Wed)
Venue: Workshop room of the Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito, and other areas
Hours: 1:30-4:00 p.m.
Speaker: Dr. Haruo Saji, professor at Miyagi University.
Cooperation: Mito City Educational Research Center
The program is intended for fourth to sixth graders, with seating for 30. The fee is ¥500. To apply, please use a reply postcard to write your name, address, grade, telephone number, and where to contact your parents or guardians during the day, and send it to "Kids' Program," Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito, 1-6-8, Goken-cho, Mito City, 310-0063.
Applications will be received starting on July 10, and applicants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the limit of 30 attendees has been reached, no more applications will be accepted.

2) Gallery Talk for Kids
Date: August 20 (Sun), September 17 (Sun)
Venue: Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito
Hours: 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Speaker: Staff member of the Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito
Admission Free
Please gather at the entrance of the Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito.

Concurrent Events during the Exhibition Period:

Criterium:
"Criterium" means "standard" in Latin, and in this series, young artists who are active in Japan, and curators of Contemporary Art Center collaborate to hold exhibitions mainly of their new works.

Criterium 43: Kimura Takahito
Period: August 5 (Sat) to September 10 (Sun)
Venue: Room 9, Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito
Curator: Toshihiro Asai, curator, Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito
Admission: Included in admission fee to the Hitoshi Nomura exhibition

Criterium 44: Makishi Nami and Kim Mijeong
Period: September 16 (Sat) to October 15 (Sun)
Venue: Room 9, Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito
Curator: Mitsuru Mizutani, curator, Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito
Admission: Included in admission fee to the Hitoshi Nomura exhibition

Kimura Toshiro Jin-Jin "NODATE" (open-air tea ceremony)
The ceramicist Kimura Toshiro Jin-Jin will make the rounds of Mito City with "cafe on wheels," which contains a kiln to create raku-ware. At each of his stops around the city, he will present an outdoor tea ceremony. Please enjoy a cup of Japanese tea while viewing raku-ware being glazed in the kiln.
Dates: September 30 (Sat), October 1 (Sun), 3 (Tue), 4 (Wed), 7 (Sat), 8 (Sun), 9 (Mon), 12 (Thu), 14 (Sat), and 15 (Sun)

It's NEW!
ATM Contemporary Art Gallery's
Pass for Adults

A new pass has been designed for adults aged 20 and older, letting the holder make an unlimited number of visits to the Contemporary Art Gallery's exhibitions for one year from the date of purchase.
The price is ¥2,000. The artwork on the pass has been designed by Hiroko Ichihara, an artist who incorporates words in her works. The logo on the pass reads: "Contemporary art -- as easy as pie." The pass is on sale at the ticket counter in Art Tower Mito.

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