Event Report
MAMC Night: A Members-only Event with a Free-discussion Session with Several Artists!

The latest MAMC Night, held exclusively for Mori Art Museum members, was on Tuesday, 20 April. The event consisted of two parts: a gallery talk by one of the exhibition curators and a free-discussion session in which members could talk directly with a few of the artists participating in the current exhibition, "Roppongi Crossing 2010."

Gallery Talk: The More You Know the More You Enjoy the Exhibition
Mori Art Museum Associate Curator Kondo Kenichi kicked off his gallery talk by giving five keywords useful in interpreting the exhibition. He then moved into the galleries and gave explanations of several of the works.

One of the works he introduced looks like a CD shop at first glance. On closer inspection, however, one realizes that each of the CDs on display is actually a hand-drawn copy. It turns out that this is an installation by the artist Aikawa Masaru.

"Popular music gained widespread acceptance precisely because it could be copied and distributed around the world", Kondo said. "In comparison, a work of art gains respect precisely because it is a one-of-a-kind. This artwork seems to ask us which we rate more highly." This and many other insights provided by the curator helped reveal new approaches and new ways of thinking about the artworks on display.

Halfway through the tour, the group was joined by an unexpected guest. Artist UJINO was making some adjustments to his artwork as the tour went past. Kondo handed him the microphone, saying, "Let's hear from the artist himself�E" UJINO graciously took some time out from his work to talk to the tour members. Later, he thrilled participants again with a live performance.

Free-discussion Session with the Artists
In the past we have received many requests from members who wanted the chance to ask questions and share their thoughts directly with artists. At this MAMC Night, that request became a reality. The artists who attended were HITOTZUKI, Kato Tsubasa and Aoyama Satoru.

HITOTZUKI is a unit consisting of Kami and Sasu, who are partners in life as well as in work. Their "Roppongi Crossing 2010" artwork consists of a 6-meter-high mural and a skateboard ramp.

It is Sasu who determines where the focus of the works will be and then draws the giant geometric patterns that form the basis of the murals. "I try to make the drawings at a size where at first you think they are too big, but in fact they are just right," she said. When the duo was making another work, "Kami was looking after our child, so I managed to climb up to a height of 30 meters to make the drawing myself," she recalled. Meanwhile, Kami had brought his skateboard to the MAMC Night and thrilled the members by performing all sorts of tricks on the ramp.

It was really refreshing to see two artists who are not simply in a good relationship, but who, in creative terms, really seem to be moving in the same direction.

Kato Tsubasa's dynamic projects usually involve him and a group of collaborators pulling down large structures. At "Roppongi Crossing 2010" he is exhibiting one of the structures that he pulled down in an earlier project as well as video documentation of other past works.

A member noted that in one video Kato and his collaborators pulled down a structure that was in the shape of a very long "A." "It must have been such hard work to pull that thing down," the member said. Kato confirmed that it was 12 meters long. "Everyone said it would be impossible, but we tried it," he said with a laugh. "When the structure actually falls down it only takes a moment. But in that moment you achieve a sense of solidarity and all these expressions (of achievement) on everyone's faces. They are the reasons why I do these projects," he said.

Listening to the conversation, there were certainly many members who got a sense of Kato's own big-heartedness and his belief in the power that results when people work together.

Aoyama Satoru's works consist of finely woven embroidery, but at first glance the material is difficult to identify �Ethey might be photographs. But the works have another mysterious aspect: They sparkle when they are viewed in the dark. What is their secret?

Aoyama revealed the answer to this and other questions in the course of his free discussion with tour participants. You can find a detailed report in the Mori Art Museum Official Blog!(Japanese Only.) Please click through to read more.