MIRUKUSOUKO + THE COCONUTS
PEOPLEText: Noriko Ishimizu
Can you tell me about the artworks that will be exhibited at the Kyoto University Museum‘s exhibition starting April 24th?
Miyazaki: This is a group exhibition, but it doesn’t seem like an artwork that we get our hands on and create.
What is the condition for this time?
Matsumoto: This venue is a museum. The title is “TIMELINE: Multiple measures to touch time“.
Miyazaki: “Time” is the theme of this exhibition.
Matsumoto: One of the highlights of the exhibition is unreleased works by Shoichi Ida, an artist who has been active since the 1970’s, focusing on the lithograph. Mr. Ida produces mixed media works, and the durability of the materials varies. Various time axis of different materials is combined into one piece of work. His works are very sensitive for using body fluids, things get easily moldy, stones penetrated into paper and things easily get smashed. Our artwork will be displayed together with such works.
One of our member is all separated from the real world and having
‘no-body’ for his dying. We constantly think that the actual time axis is tangled up complicatedly with various time scales, which is more complex than it seems; tomorrow will just come as yesterday and that time is simply engraved quantitatively.
Miyazaki: This is like as the Ramelli’s bookwheel of the 16th century appeared in a completely different form, the Internet, after 300 years.
Matsumoto: Those things give us great suggestions, and in that sense, I think that we can also say that things from hundreds of years ago could still alive. The concept is what kind of artwork we can present in a complex time axis.
Does it also include how you will show Ida’s work?
Matsumoto: Since Ida’s works will be co-located, one of the concepts is how to understand the way he displays his works.
Miyazaki: Of course, that’s not all about it. I think other participants have their own thoughts, but we are stuck with the idea.
Matsumoto: For this work, we are trying to juxtapose existing things and see if we can show time difference or identity. So, this time, we are creating a mechanism to show how to put things in parallel rather than getting our hands on to create artworks.
Miyazaki: This is an approach that all of us have never done before. It’s like we’re looking at our artworks from the outside perception and replacing it with something different from existing things.
Is it influenced by the conditions that the organizer has presented?
Miyazaki: It might be an idea that came out of the condition. But since we are doing it, we won’t think that this is more than just an outcome of the condition. I think we all consider it as out of our concept.
Was it the same for AAIC?
Miyazaki: That’s right. That’s always how it goes.
Matsumoto: Strictly speaking, it’s not always that an idea comes from a condition.
Miyazaki: If we don’t incorporate conditions, our artwork won’t stand on its own. Well, it feels like “I’ve just put things in” and the meaning of effort is gone.
Matsumoto: Maybe we are not considering too much of the installation. However, we are also aware of that it cannot be established as a work unless installation-like temporarily elements are incorporated. So, AAIC was the same. But when some say, “How do you think about that as an installation?”
Miyazaki: We get a little bit upset. Lol.
Matsumoto: But when some say that it’s a sculpture, we also feel like “It’s not that I just brought this in…”, it’s complicated. What we want to say is that we are not displaying our artworks for the purpose of temporarily elements only.
Lastly, what was the response from others when you received the award?
Matsumoto: I have a strong memory of people were very pleased with us receiving the award. Lol.
Are they your artist friends?
Matsumoto: That’s right. Akihiko Taniguchi and Michiko Tsuda. Artists are in a way honest rivals although they have a good friendship or share the same theme. So it is honestly nice to be blessed by those people. It is kind of embarrassed. Lol.
Currently, AAIC2020 is calling for artworks. The theme for their second event is “Kioku no Yukue (Where Our Memories Go).” The application due is May 13th. If you are interested, please check their official website for details such as work conditions, and apply.
Gifu Land of Clear Waters “Art Award IN THE CUBE 2020″
Theme: Kioku no Yukue (Where Our Memories Go)
Date: April 18th – June 14th, 2020
Place: The Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu (4-1-22 Usa), The Gifu Prefectural Library (4-2-1 Usa)
Organizer: Executive Committee of Gifu Art Festival Art Award IN THE CUBE, Gifu Prefecture
https://art-award-gifu.jp
Text: Noriko Ishimizu
Translation: Yumiko Miyagawa
Photos: Azumi Kajiwara