Fuid, Invisible, Inaudible...
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A new story by Vicente Gutierrez, wmmna's correspondent in Tokyo. "I wanted to distance myself from the curse of time." - Ryuichi Sakamoto
The recent collaboration between composer Ryuichi Sakamoto (a founder of Yellow Magic Orchestra) and cinematographer Shiro Takatani (a founder of the dumbtype art collective) is their effort to escape the constraints of space and time, namely notions of sequence. For Sakamoto, it´s composing without sticking to traditional time signatures or a single genre in a composition. For Takatani, it is allowing a computer-controlled system to select clips from the diverse body of video he produced for this installation. For both, avoiding linear forms of their respective fields is what they had worked towards by looking to generative art as an escape.
LIFE: fluid, invisible,inaudible... started as an opera by Ryuichi Sakamoto in 1999 as his effort at presenting an overview of music and society in the 20th century; for that work, Takatani was brought in to help out with the visuals. From then, the two later collaborated with a short series of experimental live shows, the first being Garden Series Vol.1: Experimental Live at Honen-in Zen Temple in Kyoto where they used laptops to conduct the music and images. Fast forward to 2007 and 'LIFE' was commissioned as a work by the Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media (YCAM) and later exhibited from March 10 to May 28 2007 at YCAM. Now, the newest, slightly evolved version of 'LIFE' is on display at the ICC center in Tokyo. 'Life:' is a journey into the world Sakamoto and Takatani have created from a body of audio and visual work, and as the name suggests, it aims to be fluid, invisible and inaudible. Juxtaposing abstract sounds and distorted visuals with clearer, more sensible sounds and images throughout, two duo virtuously present the unknown, invisible and inaudible as perceptible to us. The sounds and visions in 'LIFE' are stored on the hard disk of a central computer which is being controlled by an algorithmic program so the images are randomly withdrawn from the cache to create an installation which is generative and constantly changing. Although it was largely generative, it seemed that throughout the audio-visual collage there were moments where Sakmoto and Takatani cleverly synchronized their music and film for more dramatic effect.
But first, here's how it works:
Upon entering the room to the tune of layers of blissfully jarring sounds by Sakamoto, the set up is confronting- a room consumed by darkness with the nine hanging cubes, suspended about 3 meters above the floor; all together creating a grid-like set up where laying down accommodates the best view of a single cube; those who felt free slowly paced within and around the perimeter. While laying on my back, I glanced over to see the adjacent cube and noticed that the acrylic boxes had no lids so bits of fog were able to occasionally rise out to a somewhat incandescent effect, as if each cube were its own atmosphere- autonomous. Viewing one of the cube from the sides showed a slow torrent of spiraling smoke within and at times, took on yellow and indigo hues. So with the nine cubes acting as broadcast monitors, the laying viewer is confronted with lights shimmering through the rippling liquid at varying tempos and brightness. Combined with a foreground slideshow of vivid images, at times at blink speed, what seemed like a void, appeared filled with whatever the generative algorithm put forth. When the video went choppy, with clips rapidly sequencing into each other, Sakamoto's music somehow adapted to match the pace. Other intermittent moments by Sakamoto were ambient, minimal electro pulses, layered synthesizers or even a weeping and crescendo wind section and at one highly dramatic point- silent. The projectors and speakers suddenly and completely shut off- leaving the room completely dark and silent except for the crystal clear sounds of dripping water; pure in their surroundings. What followed after and what I found the most dramatic and most exemplary of a dialog between Sakamoto and Takatani was the footage unarchived from the bomber jets that was accompanied by audio samples from a walkie-talkie dialog amongst the pilots. The monotone dialog and their commentary while adjusting their scopes on blurry, almost microscopic targets on the ground was followed by distanced mushroom explosions. All to a dramatic, weary soundtrack that filled the room. With intermittent dramatic moments, whether visually or sonically clear or abstract, there is something to be said for the zen side of this work. Rendering the unknown as perceptible has long been a challenge to us all and in doing so, these two are hoping to arrive at some wisdom through their experimentation. For Sakamoto and Ryuichi, trying to make sense of the inaudible, invisible and fluid, involved meditation. Watching participants laying down, silently, in the cascade of mixed flow of audio and visual signals, each is left to perceive the abstract as well as the actual and in the end, create their own composite as the piece continues to progress. LIFE — fluid, invisible, inaudible is on view until Nov. 4 at NTT Inter Communication Center, Tokyo. |
The decentralized flow of sound and video is established by a 3 x 3 grid of aquarium-like tanks made from acrylic, which are each 30 cm high and 1.2 sqm. The acrylic aquariums, each accompanied by two adjacently hanging speakers on the ends, are hung in the pitch-black darkness of a large installation room. Each of the 9 cubes contains a thin film of water, about a few centimeters deep and inside, within which varying levels of fog and [subsequent] ripples are generated by the ultrasonic waves from (8) silent pumps planted in the corners. A couple meters above are the discreet ceiling-based projectors which channel the images downward into the water, acting as a screen.
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I went to this exhibit/show/installation at the ICC today. This is, undoubtedly, the most fascinating installation/work I have ever seen.
When I got inside, I found a spot on the floor and laid down to look up at one of the glass screens. When I started to see and hear what I thought was a loop in the cycle, I checked my watch and I had been in the installation for over an hour and a half--its that intriuging of an installation.
Although there do seem to be loops of video and sound, I don't think the word 'loop' does justics because the sound and video (as well as the cloudy fluid moving around in the glass screens) is never the same--its always altered, either naturally (in the case of the fluid) or by some sort of algorithm (for the sound and video.) In other words, it appears that no moment in time will ever have the same video/visuals as another moment because of the way the 'intelligence' of the installation was designed.
The sound was a total sonic trip. There were speakers all over the place and the types of sound/timbres and music played would match up to specific images on a given screen. Sakamoto did a great job.
If you are in Tokyo, you -must- get yourself over to the ICC to check this out before the show ends. It is well worth the visit!
i completely agree to nate. this is one of the most immersive art pieces i have ever seen.