The earthquake in March 2011 stressed the vulnerability even of thins that had been considered safe up to that point, including also the collapse of the respective places’ specific functions. What is important now is to not just fix up what has become defective, and refortify the original functions, but we should also reflect on their relevance and appropriateness in the first place.
The primary function of an exhibition, for example, is to “show works of art, ” most of which are usually completed first before being set up in a certain space. However, prioritizing different functions may render it unnecessary to grasp a work of art in its entirety, which would mean that the work itself doesn’t even have to be exhibited. There are always invisible latent potentials hidden underneath the obvious functions.
Multiple synchronized events, in which the piece “Sapporo” is repeatedly performed in and outside the venue over the entire exhibition period, are staged with the aim to enhance the features of the exhibition. The generation of a multi-layered structure in which one act is a performance and at once part of the daily routine is supposed to work as a model for thinking about a place’s various potentials.
震災はそれまで大丈夫だとされていたものの弱さを明らかにしました。これはそれぞれの場が持つ固有の機能の崩壊をも意味しています。いま大切なことは失われた機能をただ元通りにしこれまでの機能を再強化することではなく、その妥当性について再考することではないでしょうか。
例えば、展覧会の最大の機能は「作品をみせること」であり、ほとんどの作品は空間に収まり、既に完結しています。しかし、別の機能を優先すれば作品の全体像を把握する必要はなく、作品自体を展示しないこともありうるでしょう。一つの機能の裏にはみえない潜在的な可能性が常にあるのです。
本展では、会場の内外で一柳慧作曲の“sapporo” (1962)を会期中演奏し続けるという同時多発的なイベントを起こすことで、展覧会の機能の拡張を試みます。一つの行為が演奏でもあり生活でもあるような多層性をつくりだすことは、場の可能性を考える思考モデルになるのではないかと考えています。
See ‘Sapporo’ around Tokyo
