Ryota Yagi x Teita Iwabuchi Conversation on “Time Travel”
Interview: Takuya Irie (SETENV) Text: Akiko Inoue Photo: Masamasa Nishino
The largest solo exhibition by Ryota Yagi, a contemporary artist who uses a variety of expressive methods, including works using sound, objects, video, installations, and interactive works, will be held at the Kanagawa Kenmin Hall Gallery. be done. The "Art Complex" series, which began in 2007 at the gallery's special exhibition venue, has achieved many innovative collaborations by experimentally relating expressions from multiple genres centered around contemporary art. It's here. This time, the stage is Ryota Yagi's exhibition ``Science/Fiction'', and a live performance titled ``Time Travel'' will be held by three artists from the same generation: Ryota Yagi, Teita Iwabuchi, and Shuta Hasunuma. It looks like this will be a unique opportunity for the artist Yagi himself to manipulate the video live, and for the video to intertwine with Iwabuchi's real body and Hasunuma's music.
On the first day of formal rehearsals in November, we spoke to Ryota Yagi and Teita Iwabuchi about this work.
The beginning of the project
- First, please tell us about the concept and origin of this project.
Yagi: At first, it was my approach.
One of my works is “Lento – Presto,” which is a piece in which the surrounding environment changes as time is stretched out or shortened, and this time I created a performance with a similar structure. I wanted to do it.
Ryota Yagi《Lento – Presto》 2008
Yagi: For example, when you make a sound slow, the pitch goes down, and when you speed up, the pitch goes up. In Lento – Presto, I expressed this through a video work, but at the time I created that work, I went through the process of shooting, editing the speed, and exporting again. But now that equipment technology has improved and real-time editing has become possible, I thought we could do something live that would incorporate this with physical expression, so I approached Mr. Iwabuchi. For example, I thought that by using technology to control the gravity and time of when someone jumps down, it would be possible to do things that cannot be done with the physical body.
- So, the timing was just right.
Yagi: After receiving the consultation from Art Complex, the direction was decided relatively easily.
- How did Mr. Iwabuchi feel after being approached by Mr. Yagi?
Iwabuchi: After I received your offer, I visited Mr. Yagi's atelier in Kyoto and asked him about his ideas, and I was wondering how my body could respond to that concept. , I thought I might find some interesting ideas. The sense of time can be expanded or contracted using imaging technology, but this is basically impossible with the physical body. However, I do think that there is a sense in which time passes slowly, or conversely, things like ``Today was a really short day'' and ``This year has gone by so fast.'' Therefore, I created this work by thinking about those everyday feelings, what Mr. Yagi is expressing in the images, how my body can relate to it, and how I should approach it. I have a feeling that it will be completed.
About the collaboration between the three
- Today is the first day of rehearsals for both of you, and I'm sure you've been communicating through email and phone calls, but is there anything you're feeling at this point?
Yagi: When Mr. Iwabuchi came to my studio and showed me his work on video, I was really impressed by the way he handled his body and the way he moved as if he were stretching out time. So I suddenly asked him to do it, and I was immediately allowed to shoot the first materials on the wooden deck in front of my studio. There was a lot of data exchange after editing the material and the material taken later at the Kenmin Hall Gallery. Rather than keeping in close contact, we just e-mailed a few words, and then we confirmed the concept with each other, or we sent each other things like our enthusiasm for this performance in 200 characters ( * Published in the November 14, 2014 issue of KANAGAWA ARTS PRESS) , each of them did their own thing while referring to that. I think the most ideal way is for two people to have their own areas and have separate responsibilities, so that both of them can work professionally, rather than creating a single work while consulting with each other. So, this team, including Mr. Hasunuma who is in charge of music, has a very easy balance in that regard.
From the recorded footage of "conditions" (composition/choreography: Teita Iwabuchi / music: Shuta Hasunuma / cast: Teita Iwabuchi, Kaho Kogure)
Iwabuchi: Collaborative work sometimes requires time to get the hang of things, but with this project, it feels like the three of us can work on it in parallel, including the concept. Mr. Yagi is based in Kyoto, and I work in Tokyo and Yokohama, but I don't mind the distance at all.
I'm in charge of real people, so I think this is the softest part of the work. So, what I'm worried about now is how I as a living person can interact with the body reflected in the video, what kind of relationship I can show, and how it will affect what has already been established and recorded. It's about being able to give and receive.
- During rehearsals, you try to move while thinking about such things. Then Hasunuma-san's music is added to that, and both of you have experience working with him. With that in mind, please tell us what you think about this music.
Yagi: When manipulating time, the image stands on its own as an image, whether it's stopped or moving, and I don't think the impression it gives will change much, but when the sound stops... Then it becomes silent, and the impression changes considerably depending on how quickly time passes, such as getting higher or lower. In that sense, the existence of "sound" is an essential element in this work. When it comes to how to compose it, the only person I can rely on is Mr. Hasunuma. Mr. Hasunuma responds flexibly even when I say something outrageous, and sometimes even goes on outrageous adventures, so in that sense I can trust him. I can't predict it yet, but I think we'll play the music Hasunuma-san has created or the sounds he's suggested, and we'll mix and compress them. So I'm really looking forward to seeing how much sound expression will come out of it.
- Mr. Iwabuchi, you were just commissioned by Mr. Hasunuma to compose the music for the performance piece ``conditions'' in October 2014, right?
Iwabuchi: I have worked with Mr. Hasunuma at a fashion show for ``conditions'' and Miya Nishio's fashion brand ``Form on Words.'' Even during the fashion show, I could feel my body swell easily, and the same goes for the Shuta Hasunuma Philharmonic's activities, which gave me the impression that the music was easy to reach people. But on the other hand, in the recent ``conditions'' series, I was presented with a work that required a lot of work and challenges for me, so I felt that depending on which aspects I pushed strongly, I could come up with a work that was quite different. I'm excited because I'm anticipating that this time's "Time Travel" will not be easy to get into, but something that will give me a lot of inspiration.
- Kei Ichiyanagi, general artistic director of Kanagawa Kenmin Hall, said that the Art Complex is a ``place for experimentation'', and I think that is what the organizers are hoping for. In that sense, I would like you to talk a little more about the significance of having everyone co-starring this time in the vein of the "Art Complex" series .
Yagi: Mr. Iwabuchi and I were born in 1980 and Mr. Hasunuma was born in 1982, so we're from the same generation, but because we're doing it with people from those generations, we don't use words more than necessary. I feel like there are some things we can relate to. As for the production style, I was in Kyoto, Mr. Iwabuchi was in Kanto, and Mr. Hasunuma was in New York, so this opportunity will be very interesting in the sense that it will connect three locations, and each one will be different from the other. They are active in different genres, but rather than focusing on the center of that genre, all three of them are doing cross-over activities outside of that genre, so it seems like it would be an interesting collaboration. right.
- What about Mr. Iwabuchi? About expression in the gallery and collaboration with Mr. Yagi and Mr. Hasunuma.
Iwabuchi: When it comes to co-creating Art Complex 2014 with these three people, I personally don't feel like saying ``collaboration!!'' out loud. Rather than looking forward to the framework, it felt like we were naturally interested in each other's expressions and came together to create, and I feel like it will have a great influence not only on this project, but on our future activities as well. I'm doing it. The feeling of coming together for something that needs to be done right now feels very comfortable and feels very necessary.
- As expected, I feel like you are searching for something like a ``breathy way'' from the form of creation, including the sense of distance between everyone's interactions, which is an experiment in itself, and I wonder how far it can go before this performance. It's also a challenge. While various elements are occurring in a guerrilla manner, I feel very confident that we are progressing calmly. I'm looking forward to seeing how things change in future rehearsals.
Yagi: I think there is a possibility that things will change drastically. I'm really looking forward to it because I think it's possible that what we're talking about in the rehearsal room will suddenly take shape.
Things you can only experience at a live performance venue
Iwabuchi: This is a little off-topic, but when it comes to art, music, and performance, I think my stance is a little different from the two of you in the sense that in the end, it doesn't exist without you. . When creating and exhibiting a work of art or composing music, the creator may not be present at the site where the work is being exhibited or performed, and the music may be delivered to people who listen to CDs at home. Sho. In my case, on the other hand, if I'm not there and the customers come, I can't make it happen. In that sense, I'm really looking forward to having the two of you involved in the live performance this time. Preparation work can be done at each location, but the work ``Time Travel'' will only be seen at the Kanagawa Kenmin Hall Gallery on December 23rd (Tuesday, a public holiday). right.
- Moreover, this time there is only one performance, so it really only appears as a one-time experience.
Iwabuchi: If people who don't normally watch performing arts can enjoy the joy of going there and seeing it from a different perspective, then I think that's truly an art complex.
Yagi: I believe that there is something strong about the body. For example, we live in an era where even if your body is only here, information can travel far and wide, and I feel like that's why the value of watching live performances is increasing rapidly. In the days when riding a horse was the fastest way to move, that value may have remained the same, but as information continues to expand, the value of live performances has also increased. In that sense, I hope many people will come and see it.
- I want people to actually experience it on the spot and get a feel for it. In addition to what you just said, please tell us about the main appeal of this project and if there is anything you would like to convey to the customers who come to see the show.
Yagi: Going back to what Mr. Iwabuchi said at the beginning, when talking about subjective time and objective time, there is a difference between measurable time, like video time, and one's own body clock. One of the things I would like to try this time is to see how much we can mess up the subjective sense of time that cannot be measured, so I hope that people will notice such differences when they watch the performance. I think it's great.
Iwabuchi: I too would like to be able to express things in which measurable time and subjective time are reversed, or more scattered. The question of how to get to the point that Mr. Yagi just mentioned will depend on future rehearsals, so I would like to pursue it all the way to the actual performance. I think it would definitely be interesting if something like that happened.
-Finally, I would like to add a few words about the future flow of Art Complex 2014 "Time Travel".There will be a public rehearsal midway through the rehearsal, and I am looking forward to communicating with the audience at that time. In addition to the performance, we are planning an after-sales talk on Saturday, December 27th, inviting Kei Hirakura, who specializes in art theory. In fact, I would like to end our conversation by adding that this entire process, including rehearsals, public rehearsals, performances, and after-talk, is what Art Complex 2014 is all about, and is called "time travel." thank you very much.
Event details
▶ Ryota Yagi Exhibition “Science/Fiction”
2014.12.21 (Sun) - 2014.1.17 (Sat)
Kanagawa Prefectural Hall Gallery
▶Art Complex 2014 “Time Travel”
2014.12.23 (Tuesday/Holiday) Doors open at 19:00 Performance starts at 19:30
Kanagawa Prefectural Hall Gallery
*Public rehearsal (free, reservations not required, entry and exit allowed)
2014.11.30 (Sunday) 14:00 – 15:30 (planned)
Steep Hill Studio Hall
*After talk (can be seen with exhibition ticket/no reservation required)
We will look back on this performance together with the video and discuss the relationship between physical expression and art.
2014.12.27 (Sat) 14:00
Kanagawa Prefectural Hall Gallery
Cast: Kei Hirakura (Yokohama National University), Teita Iwabuchi, Ryota Yagi, and others
