Contemporary Art Center/Gallery, ART TOWER MITO

Mito Arts Foundation
1-6-8 Goken-cho, Mito-shi, Ibaraki-ken, 310-0063 Japan
Click for transportation directions
Phone: +81 29-227-8111 Facsimile: +81 29-227-8130
E-mail address: webstaff@arttowermito.or.jp



Tatsuo Miyajima | Art in You

 Feb. 16 (Sat) to May 11, 2008 (Sun)
Closed: Mondays (except May 5, national holiday)

Workshop at Teuri Island, Hokkaido 2007
Photo: Masayoshi Masago

Death Clock for participation (screen image), 2005
Courtesy of TGA, Shiraishi Contemporary Art Inc.

HOTO, 2007-08
(Photograph of a
maquette for new work)
Courtesy of Shiraishi Contemporary Art Inc.
The year 2008 marks the 25th anniversary since the contemporary artist, Tatsuo Miyajima, opened his first solo exhibition at a gallery in Tokyo. He has won high plaudits since then for exhibitions held both in Japan and abroad, including the Venice Biennale, and he continues to be quite active on the international art scene. During the past decade, he has been a proponent of the "Art in You" movement, saying, "Art works are nothing more than devices to let people encounter, notice and be impressed by something. Artistic experiences and impressions rest inside the imagination of each human being." Most of his activities now revolve around that theme.

The upcoming exhibition at Art Tower Mito (ATM) introduces Miyajima's thoughts, and offers proposals about the possibilities inherent in art. The works featured in the exhibition include "Counter Skin" and "Death Clock," developed in 2007 at workshop caravans held in four spots around Japan, including Teuri Island off Hokkaido, Iwafune in Nara Prefecture, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, and the Okinawa Peace Memorial Park. The second work contains a clock counting down to the date and time of death, input by the participants in the workshop caravans. Another featured work is "HOTO," a giant LED-laden object 5.5 meters tall and 2 meters in diameter. All of the works relay the "Art in You" message.

This is the first large-scale exhibition that Miyajima has held in the larger Tokyo metropolitan region in eight years. The idea is to provide a space for visitors to palpably feel "life, others, and oneself" through the displayed artworks, inciting their imagination about the various aspects of peace, such as history and the environment.


Major Works Displayed

Counter Skin Action with you
A new work created by Miyajima at his workshop caravan sites in 2007.

Death Clock Life in you
A new work, created by participants in Miyajima's workshop caravan sites in 2007.

HOTO All in you
A giant object studded with LEDs, and measuring 5.5 meters in height and 2 meters in diameter.

Changing Time with Changing Self
New works, eight or so works using mirrors and LEDs.

Death of Time
This is the work that provided the impetus for the creation of Miyajima's representative masterpiece, "Mega Death" (on loan from the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art)

Performance Drawing
Eight performance drawings produced by Miyajima in 1995 (first time ever displayed).



Tatsuo Miyajima | Art in You
Official Site
http://artinyou.jp/
See the site for information about related lectures, the workshop caravans, etc.





Counter Spiral, 1998
Photo: Takashi Ebihara
Courtesy of Shiraishi Contemporary Art Inc.
Tatsuo Miyajima

Born in Tokyo in 1957, Miyajima received a graduate degree in aesthetics from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts & Music (Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku). Later, he produced various artworks incorporating LED digital counters using the numerals "1" through "9," exhibiting those works both domestically and abroad. In 1988, he participated in the Aperto division of the Venice Biennale (a special division for young artists not particularly representing their nation), and that provided the springboard for the display of his works in many important exhibitions worldwide.

In 1999, he was selected as a representative artist for the Japanese Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. His works have since appeared at the Tate Gallery in London, the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, Germany, the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, among others. In addition, he has produced many public artworks, such as the outer wall of the TV Asahi Building in the Roppongi Hills complex of Tokyo, as well as the Tokyo Opera City building.

He is also the instigator of the "Revive Time" Kaki (Persimmon) Tree Project, where he takes tree saplings that have sprouted from seeds taken from an atomic-bombed tree in Nagasaki, and plants them at locations around the world. For information about the latter, please click the following site:
"Revive Time" Kaki Tree Project in Mito -- Prologue 2000

Miyajima also serves as Vice President of the Tohoku University of Art & Design in Yamagata City, several hours north of Tokyo.



Counter Void, 2003
Collection of tv asahi, Tokyo
Directed by Fumihiko Maki
Photo: Kunihiko Katsumata
Courtesy of Shiraishi Contemporary Art Inc. 		Counter Void, 2003
Collection of tv asahi, Tokyo
Directed by Fumihiko Maki
Photo: Kunihiko Katsumata
Courtesy of Shiraishi Contemporary Art Inc. 		Changing Time with Changing Self No.25-W, 2002
Collection of Kirishima Open Air Museum, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
Photo: Keizo Kioku
Courtesy of Shiraishi Contemporary Art Inc. 		Death of Time, 1990-92
Collection of Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art
Photo: Mitauhiko Suzuki / Hiroyuki yazumi
Courtesy of Shiraishi Contemporary Art Inc.





EXHIBITION DETAILS

Title: Tatsuo Miyajima | Art in You
Dates: Feb. 16 (Sat) to May 11, 2008 (Sun)
Hours: 9:30 a.m. To 6:00 p.m. (no admittance after 5:30 p.m.)
Venue: Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito
Closed: Mondays (except May 5)
Admission: ¥800 General, ¥600 Advance Purchase, Groups (20 or more)
Free Students through 9th grade, Seniors 65 and older, Persons with certified disabilities along with one caretaker
Purchase tickets at the Ticket Counter in the ATM Entrance Hall
*Pass: One-year passes are also available for purchase at the ATM Entrance Hall Ticket Counter.
The H.T.P. (High-teen Pass) for young people aged 15 to 19 costs ¥1,000, and the Adult Pass for adults aged 20 to 64 can be bought for ¥2,500.
Organizer: Mito Arts Foundation
Grant from: Asahi Beer Arts Foundation
Sponsor: SHISEIDO Co., Ltd.
Support from: Asahi Breweries, Ltd.
Lisson Gallery
SCAI THE BATHHOUSE (Shiraishi Contemporary Art Inc.)
SOUM Corporation
TGA Co., Ltd.
Curator: Tsukasa Mori (Senior Curator, Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito)
Curation Assistance: Mizuki Takahashi (Curator, Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito)





PROJECTS Related to the Exhibition

Why "Art in You" Now?
Tatsuo Miyajima joins the main curator of the ATM exhibition, Tsukasa Mori, in a dialog about the workshop caravans that preceded the current exhibition, and the "Art in You" concept.
Date and Time: March 22, 2008 (Sat), 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Venue: Inside the ATM Contemporary Art Gallery
Admission: Free (but a ticket to the exhibition is required)

Work shop "Counter Skin"
With the advice of Tatsuo Miyajima, participants paint numbers onto each other's bodies, and snap pictures.
Date and Time: April 12, 2008 (Sat), 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Venue: Workshop Room, ATM Contemporary Art Gallery
Capacity: 30 participants (first-come, first-served; applications by telephone accepted)
Fee: Free (but a ticket to the exhibition is required)

Work shop "Let's make a Counter Skin T-shirt"
A workshop to be held on May 3 will let you produce your own silk-screened T-shirt printed with the digital numbers used in Tatsuo Miyajima's art works.
Date and time: May 3, 2008 (Sat) 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Venue: Workshop Room in the ATM Contemporary Art Gallery
Lecturer: Akio Nagasawa
Capacity: 30 (on a first-come, first-served basis; telephone applications accepted on 029-227-8120)
Fee: ¥2,000 (to be paid in addition to the admission fee to the exhibition)

"Death Clock" - Mito Version
Participants will be able to produce their own Death Clocks. The finished pieces will be displayed in the ATM exhibition this time.
Date: During High Schoolers' Week (March 6 to April 6, 2008)
Venue: Workshop Room, ATM Contemporary Art Gallery
Fee: Free (but a ticket to the exhibition is required)




RELATED EVENTS


Curator Talk
Tsukasa Mori, Senior Curator of Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito, will talk about the exhibition.
Date and Time: March 8, 2008 (Sat) 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Fee: Free (but a ticket to the exhibition is required)
Meet the Curator at the gallery entrance.

Weekend Gallery Talk
CAC (Contemporary Art Center) Gallery Talkers will guide you through the exhibition.
Dates: Every Saturday and Sunday between March 1 and May 11, 2008, from 2:30 to 3:10 p.m. (approximately)
Fee: Free (but a ticket to the exhibition is required)
Meet the Gallery Talker at the gallery entrance.

Gallery Tour for Parents with Babies
Staff members will give a gallery tour for parents, with small children, who may normally not have the chance to visit exhibitions. This tour is made particularly for preschool children and their parents.
Dates: March 14 and 28, 2008 (both Fridays) from 9:30 a.m. and from 11:00 a.m.
Capacity: Five groups per session (book in advance; first-come, first-served)
Fee: Free (but a ticket to the exhibition is required)
For reservations, call Contemporary Art Center on 029-227-8120



OTHER PROJECTS during the exhibition period

CRITERIUM 72 Yoshino Iida
Dates: Feb. 16 (Sat) to May 11, 2008 (Sun)
Curator: Toshihiro Asai, Senior Curator of Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito
Venue: Room No. 9, Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito
Grant: Asahi Beer Arts Foundation
Support: Asahi Breweries, Ltd.
Fee: Included in the exhibition admission
The Latin word "criterium" is based on the Greek word "criterion," meaning "standard." The series features artists who are energetically engaged in exploring the possibilities of new forms of expression. Planning is assisted by the ATM Contemporary Art Center curator.

High Schoolers' Week
Aiming to increase youngsters' appreciation of contemporary art, a special month-long "week" is set aside each year in which 15- to 18-year-olds can visit ATM's exhibitions for free. During the period, the Gallery's Workshop Room is used for creative and exchange-oriented activities.
Please show an ID card proving your age at the ticket window.
Dates: March 6 to April 6, 2008



ATM Contemporary Art Gallery's
Pass for Adults
© Hiroko Ichihara
A 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 ¥2,500 The artwork on the pass has been designed by Hiroko Ichihara, an artist who incorporates words in her works. The logo on the pass translates loosely: "Contemporary art -- as easy as pie." The pass is on sale at the ticket counter in Art Tower Mito, located near the main entrance.


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Translated by Paul T. Narum
(official names of exhibitions and artworks are furnished by the artists and planners themselves)

Copyright ©2008 MITO ARTS FOUNDATION. All Rights Reserved. Created by TK.
Mail to: webstaff@arttowermito.or.jp