Daikanyama Installation¡¡2005¡¡
What is Daikanyama Installation ?
Daikanyama Installation is a public-art exhibition held biennially since 1999
in Daikanyama, located in the south-west district of Tokyo. Selected works,
chosen by a jury of art professionals, are installed in various spaces throughout
the area. Past installations have successfully transformed the area into a highly
original, yet temporary, new townscape. The objective of Daikanyama Installation
is to place creative art forms in the context of urban architecture in an effort
to question the relationship between ¡Ècontemporary art¡É and ¡Èpublic¡¡or semi-public
space,¡É and to elicit a dialogue among viewers -- both inhabitants and passers-by
-- and within the community.
Where is Daikanyama ?
Daikanyama, a suburban neighborhood near Shibuya, one of the busiest urban zones
in Tokyo, is defined by moderate hills and green spaces. There are two main
streets in the neighborhood: Kyu Yamate Avenue and Hachiman Street. Along Kyu
Yamate Avenue, embassies, churches, schools, restaurants stand side by side.
Further along is Hillside Terrace, an extensive complex composed of residences
and shops, and one of the major architecturally significant developments on
the Avenue. As Hillside Terrace was built incrementally in several phases from
the 1960s¡Ç onward, the area around Kyu Yamate Avenue has been preserved, including
an ancient burial mound known as Sarugaku-zuka dating from the 6th century.
Although Hachiman Street has a history that goes back to the Middle Ages (around
13th century), the road is a rather busier one than Kyu Yamate Avenue. This
has come about as a result of the thoroughfare being a constant target of urbanization.
Today, it is a fashionable street flush with trendy cafe¡s and restaurants.
Daikanyama Address, for instance, is an eye-catching skyscraper completed in
the summer of 2000, which played a significant role in transforming the landscape
and providing housing for numerous new residents.
Daikanyama is both a tranquil and dynamic community. Consequently, it attracts
a wide range of people, especially on weekends. It is in this neighborhood that
the Executive Committee of Daikanyama Installation, the organizer of the event,
finds relevant spots for the installations. Artists who plan to apply to be
chosen for Daikanyama Installation should make certain that a proposed work
of art will stand not only as an independent contemporary work, but will also
suit the chosen installation location within the context of the community.
Eligibility
Any individual or collective group is eligible to apply who are interested in
artistic activity in order to promote communication between the urban space
and the people.
How to apply
To send the following submissions to the Secretary of the Daikanyama Installation:
1)A proposal on an A2 piece of paper (not to be returned) including:
*A visual plan of the artwork, which should specify a site for its installation
(sites A to Y Notice: site V is eliminated
from the list of sites because of the closing of supermarket Tavelt.)
*A concise description of the artwork and the underlying concept behind the
work.
2)An application form (PDF)
Condition of Artwork
Applicants should ensure that the works are technically appropriate and stable
enough to be installed in the public domain. In addition, the works must be
weather proof; cannot present a danger to the public; or produce an offensive
sound and smell that would disturb visitors or members of the community. The
execution of the installation on the chosen site should be carried out within
4 days prior to the opening of the exhibition.
Deadline of Proposals
Deadline: June 20th, 2005
Application fee is 1000 JPY per person to be paid either by VISA card or by
International Postal Money Order.
Screening of Proposals
The jury, composed of
Fumihiko MAKI (Architect, designer of Hillside Terrace)
Yusuke NAKAHARA (Art Critic)
Tadashi KAWAMATA (Artist, Artistic Director of Yokohama Triennale 2005 )
will assess all the applications and proposals, and will then select ten to
twelve projects as finalists. The results will be announp?ced on the Daikanyama
Installation website by 31 July, 2005. It will not be possible to answer inquiries
concerning the jury results.
Realization of the selected projects
Finalists will plan the execution of their projects in consultation with the
Committee. Each finalist artist/group will be provided with 250,000JPY (maximum)
in order to cover the cost of materials. Transportation costs for finalists
from remote areas will be partly covered.
Exhibition period and Announcement of Grand Prize
The realized artworks will be exhibited and open to the public for three weeks
from November 5 to 27th. During this period, the Jury will assess and determine
a recipient for the Grand Prize. The Grand Prize announcement will be made at
the 2005 Daikanyama Installation Ceremoney.
The Grand Prize winner will be qualified to organize a personal exhibition in
the Hillside Terrace.
Executive Committee of Daikanyama Installation
c/o Art Front Gallery
Hillside Terrace A, 29-18 Sarugaku-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0033, JAPAN
FAX: 81-3-3476-4874 (no telephone inquiry)
e-mail: dinsta@artfront.co.jp
The credit of the submitted plans belongs to the Committee. It may publish,
for free, the plans or the installed works on publications, website and press
release. The Committee may also exhibit some plans which are not realized during
the exhibition period.
The Committee will organize the guidance of the installation sites:
April 23rd, 2005, 14:00 at Art Front Gallery, Tokyo
May 22nd, 2005, 14:00 at Art Front Gallery, Tokyo
Exhibitions in the past
The history of Daikanyama Installation is closely related to the transition
of the community of Daikanyama. In 1999, the jury members of the Executive Committee
chose seven works for the first Daikanyama Installation, which were installed
in various locations along Kyu Yamate Avenue. From among these works, the jurors
chose Hillside Terrace Subway Station (photo 1) to receive the Grand Prize.
The work transformed an unp?used ¡Ædead¡Ç space below stairs into ¡Æan entrance¡Ç
for a subway station, a symbol of ¡Æmass¡Ç seen everywhere in cosmopolitan Tokyo
city.
The second Daikanyama Installation, held in 2001, expanded the installation
space to Hachiman Street and the adjacent area, including various public and
¡Æmedia¡Ç spaces such as coin lockers at Daikanyama train station and electronic
monitors installed inside public buses running in the area. Some installations
encouraged interaction between the works of art and the viewers and passersby.
Colors of the City (photo 2) was such an example, which asked passersby to pick
a piece of color board that matched with their own clothes and had them insert
it into a board. This board, in the end, became a unique ¡Æchart¡Ç of the favorite
colors of the participants, and was thus titled.
The latest exhibition in 2003 pushed the interactive element to a different
level. In one work, a group of artists produced a huge image of the building
that existed before the construction of Daikanyama Address and collaged it with
newly taken portraits of the present residents of the mansion block. The collaged
sheet of photographs was then hung over one of the mansion¡Çs high wall (photo
3). This work aimed to elicit a response from both inhabitants and passersby,
forcing them to question their own senses of ¡Ètime and space.¡É There were also
collaborative works between artists and local residents, where artists made
efforts to intermingle with the people of the community in order to explain
their concepts and enable the community to gain a better understanding of their
works. One such work was a ¡Ætapestry¡Ç woven from over four thousand red fallen
leaves gathered from the area and laid over a fence of a public park. Children
from the local school were enlisted to help the group of artists, actively participating
in creating and installing the tapestry. Through this collaboration, a relationship
was established between the artists and participants (photo 4).
Photo 1
Shun Hirayama/Masahiro Shibuya
'Hillside Terrace' Subway Station
photo2
Jin Akashi
Colors of the City
photo3
Tsutomu Sugawara/Tadashi Kato
Face/Phase of the City
photo4
Yukio Minobe/Misato Kubo
'konoha' meeting