#Aoyama Experimental Workshop

[nobuyukikakigi]

初夏の仕事

大江健三郎の謦咳に一度だけ接したことがあります。1997年、東京オペラシティのオープニングに際してタケミツ・メモリアルの名を冠したそのコンサートホールで行なわれた作家の講演会を聴きに行ったのでした。当時親交を深めていたエドワード・W・サイードの『音楽のエラボレーション』（大橋洋一訳、みすず書房）の音楽論を大江なりに解きほぐしながら、「エラボレーション」の概念を、テーオドア・W・アドルノがベートーヴェンの音楽について論じていた「晩年様式」の形成とも結びつけていく内容だったと記憶しています。大江自身の問題意識を背景に、サイードの「対位法」の概念にも呼応しつつ、音楽と文学を往還する話は、徐々に沁み入り、心はいつしか熱く満たされていました。 それからおよそ四半世紀以上を経て、今春惜しくも逝去した大江の作品を論じる機会をいただいたことに特別な感慨を抱かざるをえません。6月末に刊行された詩と批評の…

[contentmag]

Dinh Q. Lê: True Journey Is Return is the largest solo exhibition of the renowned Vietnamese-American artist’s work in the United States in more than a decade. Dinh Q. Lê features five major video and photography installations, including the installation Vision In Darkness: Trần Trung Tín (2015), which has never before seen in the US, and rarely seen photo-weavings from 2006. The exhibition highlights the artist’s ongoing experimentation in narrative and storytelling through multimedia documentary video and found photography installations. The exhibition is organized by San José Museum of Art’s (SJMA) associate curator Rory Padeken and will be on view at SJMA from September 14, 2018 through April 7, 2019. A 120-page illustrated catalogue, will be published by SJMA in conjunction with the exhibition.

“We are thrilled to bring internationally renowned artist Dinh Q. Lê’s work to Silicon Valley as part of our ongoing commitment to exhibitions that reflect the diversity of our community and the exciting and important work being done by contemporary artists,” says Sayre Batton, Oshman Executive Director at SJMA.

While Lê is best known for his unique photo-weavings—interlaced vertical and horizontal strips of documentary photographs and Hollywood film stills about the Vietnam War—this exhibition highlights his ongoing experimentations in video and photography installation. He explores themes of departure and return, the role of the artist during times of war, and reimagining symbols of American imperialism and recent histories of Vietnam through documentary videos and multichannel cinematic presentations, delicate watercolors and abstract paintings made by his artist/subjects, and architectural structures that comprise thousands of photographs abandoned by families fleeing from the ravages of war. Engaged with other Vietnamese voices and perspectives, Lê reshapes and generates new memories and images of the conflict by giving voice literally and metaphorically to those marginalized by history.

The exhibition includes Light and Belief: Voices and Sketches of Life from the Vietnam War (2012), a multimedia installation of 101 paintings and drawings with a documentary video with animation. Originally commissioned by documenta for dOCUMENTA 13, Light and Belief uncovers how northern Vietnamese artists were enlisted to fight in the war by sketching scenes at the battlefront. Vision In Darkness: Trần Trung Tín (2015), Lê’s sequel to Light and Belief, comprises six abstract paintings and a biographical documentary of artist Trần Trung Tín (1933–2008). The work examines Tran’s disillusionment with repressive government policies and the solace he found in creating abstract painting— resisting established artistic and social norms of the time. The exhibition will also feature Lê’s major architectural installation Crossing the Farther Shore (2014), constructed with thousands of found photographs abandoned by families fleeing from the conflicts of war; his earliest video works The Imaginary Country (2006) and The Farmers and the Helicopters (2006); and a selection of rarely-seen photo-weavings of flowers from the series “Tapestry” (2006).

“Lê entwines unknown narratives of war and migration from people in North Vietnam, the Vietnamese diaspora, and refugees who have recently returned to Vietnam,” says Padeken.

Published by SJMA, the fully illustrated exhibition catalogue will include documentation of the exhibition; a transcribed conversation between Dinh Q. Lê and Moira Roth, Trefethen Professor Emerita of Art History, Mills College, Oakland; and essays by Padeken and by Kieu-Linh Caroline Valverde, associate professor of Asian American Studies, University of California, Davis; and Nora A. Taylor, Alsdorf Professor of South and Southeast Asian Art History, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Dinh Q. Lê: True Journey Is Return is the fourth exhibition in SJMA’s ongoing series New Stories from the Edge of Asia, and the first of the series to represent the art of contemporary Vietnam. A tour of other US venues is planned. ABOUT THE ARTIST

Born in 1968 in Hà Tiên, Vietnam, Dinh Q. Lê and his family immigrated to the US in 1978. He received his BA in studio art from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1989 and MFA in photography and related media from The School of Visual Arts, New York, in 1992. He currently lives and works in Vietnam. Recent awards include a Rauschenberg Residency, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, New York (2016); Bellagio Creative Arts Fellowship, Rockefeller Foundation, New York (2014); Visual Art Laureate, Prince Claus Fund, Amsterdam, Netherlands (2010); and Artist-in-Residence, Tokyo Wonder Site Aoyama (2009). He has had solo exhibitions at such venues as Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2015); Rice Gallery, Houston (2014); The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2010); Bellevue Arts Museum Washington (2007); Asia Society, New York (2005); and The Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky (2000). His work is in the collections of Asia Society, New York; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and San José Museum of Art.

PROGRAMS

Lunchtime Lecture WED, OCT 3, 2018 | 12–1PM

Artist Dinh Q. Lê, featured in True Journey Is Return creates mesmerizing floral photo-weavings that entrance the viewer in a manner reminiscent of Zen-like meditative mandalas.  Our guest speaker further explores the emblematic flower by looking at the proven health effects of flowers in offering positive emotional and behavioral benefits to humans.

Lunchtime Lectures take place on the first Wednesday of the month at noon in the Charlotte Wendel Education Center. Visitors are welcome to bring food and beverages. Free with Museum admission and to SJMA Members.

Gallery Talk: Dinh Q. Lê: True Journey Is Return  THU, NOV 8, 2018 | 12:30PM

Tour the exhibition Dinh Q. Lê: True Journey Is Return with Rory Padeken, associate curator. Free with Museum admission.

DIY Art: Festive Fun SAT, NOV 17, 2018 | 1–3PM

Experiment with collagraph, a fun and simple printmaking technique, in this drop-in workshop. Design a striking, mixed media composition inspired by the work featured in Dinh Q. Lê: True Journey Is Return. All materials are provided. Free with Museum admission. All ages welcome.

DIY Art: Festive Fun SAT, DEC 8, 2018 | 1–3PM

Experiment with collagraph, a fun and simple printmaking technique, in this drop-in workshop. Design a striking, mixed media composition inspired by the work featured in Dinh Q. Lê: True Journey Is Return. All materials are provided. Free with Museum admission. All ages welcome. Stories from the Farther Shore: Southeast Asian Film March 2019 Coinciding with the exhibition Dinh Q. Lê: True Journey Is Return, SJMA and the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco co-present Stories from the Farther Shore: Southeast Asian Film, a free program of approximately twelve films that will screen over a four-day period in March 2019. Showcasing recent documentary, short, artistic, and feature-length films by Southeast Asian filmmakers, topics range from transgender identity to the complexities of the diasporic experience. SJMA is also commissioning Robin Lasser, photographer and San José State University professor, to create a series of site-specific outdoor video projection mapping installations as part of her ongoing project Migratory Cultures. Titled Vietnamese Diaspora: San José Stories, Lasser is working with individuals from San José’s multi-generational Vietnamese-American community, video-recording their stories of migration to reveal a more nuanced narrative of the largest Vietnamese diaspora in the United States. Beginning in March 2019, her video portraits will be projection mapped at night onto SJMA’s building facade; onto trees in César Chávez Park in downtown San José; and at community gathering sites throughout the city. At a time of growing hostility to immigrant and refugee experiences in the US, the films and commissioned project in this program will join the exhibition in giving voice to complex, humanized stories of identity and homeland, loss and survival, and negotiating tradition and modernity.

This project is made possible with support from California Humanities, a partner of the NEH.

Organization and Funding Dinh Q. Lê: True Journey Is Return is made possible in part by grant support from the Henry Luce Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Asian Cultural Council, and the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation. The exhibition is sponsored by The Lipman Family Foundation, the Richard A. Karp Charitable Foundation, Tad Freese and Brook Hartzell, Lucia Cha and Dr. Jerrold Hiura, and Evelyn and Rick Neely. Additional support comes from Lisa and Keith Lubliner. In-kind support for equipment is provided by Genelec, NEC Display Solutions, and BrightSign. About San José Museum of Art The San José Museum of Art celebrates new ideas, stimulates creativity, and inspires connection with every visit. Welcoming and thought-provoking, the Museum rejects stuffiness and delights visitors with its surprising and playful perspective on the art and artists of our time. SJMA is located at 110 South Market Street in downtown San José, California. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 AM to 5 PM and until 8 PM or later on the third Thursday of each month. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6 for students, and $5 for youth ages 7–18. Members and children ages 6 and under are admitted free. For more information, call 408.271.6840 or visit SanJoseMuseumofArt.org.

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Programs at the San José Museum of Art are made possible by generous operating support from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Yvonne and Mike Nevens, a Cultural Affairs grant from the City of San José, and the Richard A. Karp Charitable Foundation.

  SAN JOSE MUSEUM OF ART (SJMA) PRESENTS

Dinh Q. Lê: True Journey Is Return The largest solo exhibition of Dinh Q. Lê’s work in the US. September 14, 2018 through April 7, 2019

Written by San Jose Museum of Art

Dinh Q. Lê Dinh Q. Lê: True Journey Is Return is the largest solo exhibition of the renowned Vietnamese-American artist’s work in the United States in more than a decade.

[lifeasaconsumerandarchivist]

exhibitions i saw today

I headed over to Okuno building in Ginza-itchome to see a few exhibitions.  I started off at Gallery Nayuta to see nihonga by Aya Shiina.  Here is an image of one of my favourite works from the exhibition.  I love her detailed rendering of wood textures in her paintings.  I got a chance to also talk with Aya Shiina whom also studied biology at university and then made the transition to fine arts a number of years afterwards.  The exhibition "Atami" runs through tomorrow, December 9th.

From there both Gallery Nayuta's and Gallery Camellia's gallery directors recommended heading to the 3rd floor to see the etchings by Nagoya-area based printmaker Mayuka Wakui at Gallery Kobo.  She takes an experimental approach to her printmaking as she explained all the different ways she created the series of different prints for the exhibition.  She also mentioned that she spent two months in France for printmaking.  There were quite a few pieces that resonated with me and my Daily Drawings and made me think more and more that etching is probably the best approach for me to translate my work to printmaking.  This is an image of the work that is on the exhibition postcard, although the digital image does not quite do the actual print justice as the orange is much more luminous.  You can see more of her work at her website's gallery page.  Her exhibition at Gallery Kobo also runs through Saturday, December 9th.

From Gallery Kobo, I headed back up to the fifth floor to see Makoto Umemura's exhibition "The MECHANICALs - High grade cells" at Gallery Camellia.  I met Makoto Umemura during my "Everyday Circuits" exhibition at Gallery Camellia and I remember seeing images of his hand-rendered mechanised/steam-punked animals and buildings.  It was great to see the work up close to see the detailed work he makes on washi.  His exhibition runs through Sunday, December 10th.  Below is the exhibition postcard with an example of his work.

From there, I headed back on the subway and all the way back across Tokyo to Nishiogikubo to see Ryoko Sugizaki's solo exhibition at Galeria Aoneko.  I met her at hasu no hana this past summer when she came to the Endless Dialogue exhibition to pick up some newspapers from hasu no hana director, Kazue Fukuma, for her work.  I saw Sugizaki's work in person for the first time in August at a group exhibition at Galeria Aoneko and I was immediately enamoured with this piece.

She uses the text and photographs of the newspapers to create amazingly detailed sculptures of various dinosaurs.  She does not use paint, but rather uses the color that comes from the newspaper's text and photographs to create color in her works.  The exhibition is filled with so many different species of dinosaurs and her work takes me back to my childhood when I was also fascinated with dinosaurs.  There is a gallery talk and reception on Saturday from 4 pm which will features a guest collector who is 11 years old, but quite an expert on dinosaurs.  He saw Sugizaki's work in August and used his savings to buy one of her pieces.  It sounds like an fun event, but I wanted to get to the show as soon as possible so that I could have my pick of pieces.  I knew back in August that I wanted to buy one of her pieces and I can happily say that I now own the piece you see above.  I am looking forward to having it on my studio desk so it can look on as I make new works.  Ryogo Sugizaki's exhibition recently opened and runs through Sunday, December 17th and I highly recommend seeing the exhibition!

After this exhibition, I wanted to head to the Tama Art University Alumni Small Works exhibition to see the works of Junko Kikuchi.  I met her earlier this year in the Okuno building and she was responsible for introducing me to the Koganei Artfull Action NPO this summer.  Through her introduction, I was able to conduct an extensive workshop on the memory of smell and sounds in collaboration with Artfull Action at the Musashikoganei Middle School.  More on that in a later post.  

I had it in my mind that the exhibition was in the Omotesando / Aoyama area so I would head there through Shinjuku.  But once I looked up the exhibition information, I realised it was back on the other side of Tokyo nearer to Ginza.  So, I hopped back on the train across Tokyo to Jinbocho and the Bunpodo Gallery.  This is the 20th exhibition of small works by Tama Art University alumni.  There were a wide variety of works to see from paintings, functional objects, printmaking, and sculptures.  Overall, the printmaking works were the most interesting for me as some of the works' sensibilities resonated with me.  I finally got to see Junko Kikuchi's work in person after seeing her works and works-in-progress on social media.  I have acquired a deep fondness for apples over the last few years and I could not resist picking up one of her handcrafted apple accessory straps.  There was one green apple left and I immediately gravitated to that one as it reminded me of a frequently used remedy for alleviating migraine pain.  This exhibition also runs through Saturday, December 9th.

After seeing the exhibition, I took a look around Bunpodo and picked up some notebooks and also discovered new colours of the super thin 0.03 Copic Multiliner pens to use for my drawings.  There was a maroon, olive green, and denim blue which I immediately bought to add to my collection.  I ended up spending enough money at Bunpodo to receive an advent calendar from a Belgian chocolatier.  So I ended the day with new drawing tools, chocolate, and another artwork to add to my collection.

There will be some more gallery hopping on Sunday for the Tamagawa Open Atelier weekend event and hopefully enough energy and time to see the Akiko Ikeuchi exhibition in Jiyugaoka.