Studio Visit - I visited Kaihatsu Yoshiaki's studio!

TEXT: Akiko Inoue PHOTO: Masamasa Nishino Published on June 18, 2015

I visited contemporary artist Yoshiaki Kaihatsu at Bankart studio NKY.
Currently, 49 artists and creators are in residence at Bankart.
From June 20th (Sat.) to June 28th (Sun.), ``BankART Artist in Residence OPEN STUDIO 2015'' will be held, where the artists in residence will show off the results of their three-month stay.

The developer's studio is located on the third floor of BankART, at the back of the stairs on the right.
I went to visit it right away.

Panoramic view of the studio and developer Yoshiaki

With Mr. Yoshiaki the developer...

I think many of you already know...
Kaihatsu's works, such as the ``Daily Art Circus,'' an exhibition held while traveling around the Japanese archipelago with art works packed into trucks, and the ``Politician's House,'' which he opened in Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture, have become part of the work itself. Our actions often become part of the work itself, such as communication being included in the work, or the work itself inducing communication.

Left: Daily Art Circus Right: Politician's House

Regarding the work currently being produced by the developer...

We immediately asked him about the work he is currently working on.

Objects and planes lined up all around the studio

These are objects and two-dimensional works made using materials such as wood and vinyl, and surprisingly, all of these works can be purchased for as little as 200 yen.
As long as it's over 200 yen, you can set it to whatever price you like, but what's nice about it is that you can purchase it directly from the artist.

A sticker handwritten by the developer

When you purchase a work, you will also receive this card.
And this card has a certain number and email address written on it...

This number is one more than the 147,800 works produced during his lifetime by Pablo Picasso, who is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most prolific artist.

In other words, in the project that Mr. Kaihatsu is currently working on, he has set a lifelong goal of ``creating one more work than Picasso.''

By the way, it is up to the artist to decide what constitutes a work as complete, but this work alone is an unfinished object or two-dimensional work. After we purchase it, we display it in our room and send a photo of it to the developer, and then it becomes a work of art. In other words, our actions are an absolute prerequisite for the completion of the work.

[Flow until the work is completed]
Purchase works directly from the developer
↓
Display it anywhere you like.
↓
Take a picture of the decoration and email it to the developer.
↓
Now all that's left to do is wait for a reply from the developer.
When the developer sends you the product number via email, write that number on the back of the card.

With these four steps, your purchased work will be completed.

I also decided to display it in my room.