TADASHI KAWATAMA -- Daily News (English) / Contemporary Art Center, ATM

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Tadashi Kawamata DAILY NEWS
Nov. 3, 2001 (Sat) to Jan. 14, 2002 (Mon)

Relocation
Annely Juda Fine Art and Serpentine Gallery, London, UK 1997
Photo: David Hubbard/Annely Juda Fine Art
©Tadashi KAWAMATA + on the table, Tokyo

Art Tower Mito (ATM) is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Tadashi Kawamata, an artist active worldwide in the field of formative arts.

The "Daily News" exhibition, encompassing the entire Contemporary Art Gallery at ATM, is presented as a single work composed of four elements:
(1) Newsprint. The most important of the four elements, newsprint weighing more than one hundred tons is used by Kawamata to express the vast amount of information and material consumed in our everyday lives.
(2) News photos. A hundred photos, clipped by Kawamata from actual newspapers, are arranged along the gallery walls in a way to suggest the transitory nature of information.
(3) Paneled project documents. Consisting of material that Kawamata has organized over the past two decades, the documents delineate his personal history and information, incorporating them into the installation.
(4) Materials from workshop projects. Arranged in an archival manner, the materials developed by Kawamata for various projects are stored in book stacks located in seven different places within the gallery. In so doing, he expresses the continuity of time.

In addition to the gallery exhibition, Tadashi Kawamata has authored "Book in Progress: Kawamata Tadashi Daily News," in a so-called artist-book form, presenting it in conjunction with the "Daily News" to be produced at the exhibition site. This production style, labeled "site-specific work," involves a process of project preparation in a loop fashion: on-the-spot research, planning, proposal-making, and implementation. In his book, Kawamata has compiled a diary of his activities starting September last year (2000), when he began preparing for the exhibition. His aim is to focus on his activities as an artist in everyday life. The materials he has collected include his dairy, journals, records of lectures and dialogues, documents, proposals, drawings, memos, and letters. Together, the materials in the book represent the fifth element of the current exhibition.

Haus der Kunst
Staatsgalerie Moderner Kunst, Munchen 1998
Photo: Ferdinand Ullrich
©Tadashi KAWAMATA + on the table, Tokyo

Exhibition Details:

Title:	"Tadashi Kawamata DAILY NEWS"
Period:	Nov. 3, 2001 (Sat) to Jan. 14, 2002 (Mon) *The exhibition will be closed on Mondays, except for Dec. 24, 2001 and Jan. 14, 2002 (both of which are national holidays). It will also be closed from Dec. 27, 2001 (Thu) to Jan. 3, 2001 (Thu).
Hours:	9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (No admittance after 6:00 p.m.)
Admission:	¥800 General ¥600 Advance-purchase tickets, groups (20 or more) ¥1,000 H.T.P. (one-year Pass for 15- to 19-year-olds, available at ATM and JR East) ¥2,000 Pass for Adults (one-year pass for persons aged 20 and above) Free Students (through 9th grade), senior citizens (65 and older), and handicapped persons
Curator:	Tsukasa Mori, Curator of Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito
Organizer:	Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito
Sponsor:	Asahi Breweries Ltd., Shiseido Co., Ltd., Toyota Motor Corp., Hokuetsu Paper Mills, Ltd.
Cooperation:	SOUM Corporation, Takeo Co., Ltd.

Artist Talk
Nov. 3, 2001 (Sat), 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito (talk begins at the gallery entrance)
Speaker: Tadashi Kawamata
Admission: Included in admission fee to the exhibition

Opening Reception
Nov. 3, 2001 (Sat), 4:00-5:30 p.m.
Conference Hall, Art Tower Mito

Profile of Tadashi Kawamata

Born in 1953, Kawamata received a doctorate in art at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (Geidai), where he currently serves as professor of inter-media art at the Fine Arts Department. In 1982, he participated in the 40th Venice Biennale. He later received a scholarship to study in New York. Thereafter, he participated in several artist-in-residence programs around the world, creating site-specific works. He has also contributed to many international exhibitions, including the Dokumenta (Kassel) and the Sao Paulo Biennale in 1987, the Munster Sculpture Project in 1997, and the Sydney Biennale in 1998. Kawamata has steadily worked on site-specific projects abroad, particularly in Europe. As many of his works are installed temporarily, their plans and models have been collected by museums in Japan and abroad. In 2000, he was awarded the Japan Art Promotion Prize. This year, he wrote a book entitled "Artless," published by Film Art Publishing Co.

Tadashi KAWAMATA + on the table, Tokyo

Related Projects:

(1) Publication of "Book in Progress: Tadashi Kawamata Daily News"

Kawamata has organized a chronological journal of his activities over the past year in preparation for the ATM exhibition, starting in September 2000 and running through September 2001. He introduces previously unknown aspects to the activities in creating his on-the-spot works .
Title: "Book in Progress: Tadashi Kawamata Daily News" (INAX Library No. 16)
Description: Kawamata's daily journal, records of lectures and dialogues, documentary photographs, proposals, drawings, memos, letters, etc.
Note: English translations are appended for a newly recorded dialogue with the renowned architect, Arata Isozaki, as well as for the calendar of his activities.
Curator: Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito
Editor: Media Design Institute
Publisher: INAX Publishing Co.
Date of Publication: Nov. 2, 2001
Design: A5-sized (148mm x 210mm, or 5.8" x 8.3"), with cover; 496 pp. (48 pp. in four colors)
Price: ¥3,150 (including consumption tax)

(2) Three-day Course about Kawamata (Nov. 23-25, 2001)
The art journalist Makoto Murata, who has been following Kawamata's activities from the early days, has organized a series of eight lectures over three days. Each day of the course will dwell on a certain theme, exploring the meaning, role and potentials of the kind of art that Kawamata produces.
Dates: Nov. 23-25, 2001 (Fri. to Sun.)
Planning and organization: Makoto Murata
Venue: Workshop, Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito
Capacity: 80 persons (reservations required)
Fee: Free, but a ticket to the exhibition must be purchased each day of attendance.
Reservations: Call the ATM Ticket Reservation Center at (029) 225-3555.
Information: Contact the Contemporary Art Center at (029) 227-8120.

Schedule:
Nov. 23, 2001 (Fri)
Theme: Tadashi Kawamata as Art
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. "Introduction to Tadashi Kawamata," Makoto Murata (art journalist)
1:30-3:00 p.m. "The Artistic Nature of Tadashi Kawamata," Teruo Fujieda (art critic)
3:30-5:00 p.m. "From Japan's Kawamata to the World's Kawamata," Shigeo Anzai (photographer)

Nov. 24, 2001 (Sat)
Theme: Tadashi Kawamata as Artless
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. "Tadashi Kawamata's Rear End," PH Studio (artist/architect pair)
1:30-3:00 p.m. "Tadashi Kawamata Outside Museums," Emanuel de Mongerson (cultural attache, French Embassy, Tokyo)
3:30-5:00 p.m. "Participating in 'Work in Progress'," Jun Kato (producer)

Nov. 25, 2001 (Sun)
Theme: From Art to Artless
1:30-3:00 p.m. "Presenting Art in the Streets," Shingo Yamano (general manager, Museum City Project)
3:30-6:00 p.m. Panel Discussion, "On Art and Artless," Tadashi Kawamata (artist), Kazuko Koike (creative director), Takashi Serizawa (representative of P3 art and environment), Tsukasa Mori (curator, Art Tower Mito); moderated by Makoto Murata

(3) Art Tower Talking Tours
Study tours will be conducted on three separate days in November and December as part of the coordinated learning activities of Mito and vicinity. This is the second time such study tours have taken place.
Dates: Nov. 20 (Tue), Nov. 22 (Thu), Dec. 9 (Sun)
Registration and inquiries: Call the Lifelong Learning Section, Mito Board of Education, at (029) 224-1111
Note: Childcare is available at the Goken Community Center, located next to the ATM complex on the eastern side.

(4) Weekend Gallery Talks by CAC Volunteers
During the course of the exhibition, CAC "Gallery Talkers" will conduct 11 separate 40-minute gallery talks starting at 2:30 p.m. on most weekends. Please meet at the entrance to the gallery. It does not cost anything to join the talks, but the exhibition admission fee must be paid. Please be aware that gallery talks may be canceled on certain days owing to circumstances.
Dates: Dec. 1 (Sat), 2 (Sun), 8 (Sat), 15 (Sat), 16 (Sun), 22 (Sat), 23 (Sun)
Jan. 5 (Sat), 6 (Sun), 12 (Sat), 13 (Sun)

Simultaneous Related Events

Nadiff: "Tadashi Kawamata Book in Progress"
Prior to the beginning of the exhibition at ATM, Nadiff, an art shop in the trendy Omotesando area of Tokyo, has been putting on a special event entitled, "Tadashi Kawamata Book in Progress." The project introduces Kawamata's planning and production process leading up to the appearance of his on-the-spot works at particular exhibition sites.
Period: Oct. 12, 2001 (Fri) to Nov. 25, 2001 (Sun)
Times: 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., daily

Gallery Talk at Nadiff
Time: Nov. 16, 2001 (Fri), starting at 6:30 p.m.
Speakers: Tadashi Kawamata and Tsukasa Mori
Moderator: Makoto Murata (art journalist)
Location: Nadiff, 4-9-8-B1F Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo-to, 150-0001
Further Information: Contact Nadiff at TEL (03) 3403-8814, FAX (03) 3403-8819

Tadashi Kawamata DAILY NEWS
¥1,000 (including 5% consumption tax)
Number: Limited edition of 100 to be sold

Museum Shop "Contrepoint"
Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (closing time depends on events)
Closing Dates: Art Tower Mito closing days
Mail to: contrepoint@arttowermito.or.jp

ATM Contemporary Art Gallery's
Pass for Adults

A pass has been designed for adults aged 20 and older, letting the holder make an unlimited number of visits to the Contemporary Art Gallery's exhibitions for one year from the date of purchase.
The price is ¥2,000. The artwork on the pass has been designed by Hiroko Ichihara, an artist who incorporates words in her works. The logo on the pass reads: "Contemporary art -- as easy as pie." The pass is on sale at the ticket counter in Art Tower Mito.

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