Works at: Seoul Art Space_GeumCheon
Stays in: 2014
Genre: Visual Arts
Profile:
2013 “Genshiryoku Akarui Mirai no Energy”, Resort, Yokohama
2012 “Project for Community Renovation/Kogane-cho”, Resort, Yokohama
2010 “Dream of the Electric Animals”, H.P.FRANCE WINDOW GALLERY, Tokyo
2007 “LOCKER GALLERY at TOKYO NATIONAL MUSEUM”, Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo
2007 “Ouroboros”, Ginza Art & Concept Laboratory, Tokyo
2006 ‘To whom it may concern; hereby be advised and told,
The present note is worth a thousand crowns in gold.
This sum secured and covered in full measure
By Imperial land's abundant buried treasure;
The same to serve as its equivalent
Upon recovery, as is our intent.’ “Faust” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Guardian Garden, Tokyo
Selected Group Exhibitions
2013 “Enegy for us”, HILLSIDE FORUM, Tokyo
2013 “Hagiennale2013”, HAGISO, Tokyo
2012 “Paper”, Museum of Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing
2012 “2:46 and thereafter”, Pepco's Edison Place Gallery, Washington, D.C.
2012 “Roppongi Art Night”, Tokyo Midtown, Tokyo
2012 “Showcase”, Frederick Harris Gallery, Tokyo American Club, Tokyo
2012 “KOGANECHO BAZAAR 2012”, Yokohama, Curator: Shingo YAMANO
2011 “If the world is over here”, Time Out Café & Diner / Gallery, Tokyo
2011 “Mix in the city”, Shibuya Station, Tokyo, Planning in shibuya1000
2010 “LUMINE meets ART”, LUMINE Shinjuku, Tokyo
2010 “Open Call for Art Project Ideas, Hiroshima moca, Hiroshima
2010 “The Poster Shop”, hpgrp GALLERY TOKYO, Tokyo
2010 “DANDANS at No Man's Land”, Old building of French Embassy, Tokyo
2009 “In Battle, There is No Law”, galeria de muerte, Tokyo
2008 “0 × 100 =”, galeria de muerte, Tokyo
2008 “The House”, Nippon Homes, Tokyo
2008 “KOGANECHO BAZAAR”, Yokohama, Curator: Shingo YAMANO
2007 “GELDSCHEISSER IN VAULT”, Old Branch Office of Nippon Ginko, Hiroshima, Curator: Yukinori YANAGI, Artist / Associate professor faculty of art, Hiroshima City University
2007 “LE MONDE DE COCO”, Chanel Nexus Hall, Tokyo
2006 “For Rent! For Talent!2”, Artium, Fukuoka, Juror: Shingo YAMANO
2005 The 24th GRAPHIC ART Exhibition "HITOTSUBO", Guardian Garden, Tokyo
2005 “Next One Exhibition”, Gallery.unseal, Tokyo, Director: Eiichiro TAKITA
Grants
2014 Seoul Art Space GEUMCHEON(Korea)
2010 The Asahi Shinbun Foundation
Fellowships（Awards/Honors, etc.）
2010 Selected Works in Open Call for Art Project Ideas, Hiroshima moca, Hiroshima
2008 A fine work in Tokyo Midtown Award 2008, Tokyo Midtown, Tokyo
2006 For Rent! For Talent!2 prize, Artium, Fukuoka
2005 Grand Prix in The 24th GRAPHIC ART Exhibition "HITOTSUBO", Guardian Garden, Tokyo
2005 Next One competition Prize, Gallery.unseal, Tokyo
2005 Screening committee recommendation prize in 2005 [9th] Japan Media Arts Festival, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo
2004 2004 ASIA DIGITAL ART AWARD Prize, Fukuoka Asian Museum, Fukuoka
2004 EPSON COLOR IMAGING CONTEST 2004 Prize, Spiral, Tokyo
2004 Screening committee recommendation prize in 2004 [8th] Japan Media Arts Festival, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo
Bibliography
Ren Fukuzumi, “For the Sake a Rich Space of Discouse”, 2013
Mark Jenkins “From Japan’s triple disaster, a wave of images”, The Washington Post, March, 4, 2012
Shingo Yamano “Document catalog: HIROSHIMA ART PROJECT 2007 ‘Former Naka Waste Incineration Plant Art Project’ ”, 2007
Works:
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| Project for Community, Renovation/Kogane-cho, 2012, Day laborer, Security camera, others, Dimensions Variable |
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| Project for Community, Renovation/Kogane-cho, 2012, Day laborer, Security camera, others, Dimensions Variable |
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| Project for Community, Renovation/Kogane-cho, 2012, Day laborer, Security camera, others, Dimensions Variable |
There is a history which prospered as a town of trading rings such as methamphetamine and a drug or a special restaurant district as called blue line zone, in Kogane-cho. The restaurant was called "Chon-no-ma" and prostitution was performed illegally. From January, 2005, in order to attain the environmental clean-up of a town, the intensive disclosure by the police named "good-bye strategy" started. Then, in order to develop city planning continuously and synthetically, the non-profit organization Kogane-cho area management center was founded.
In the Puffy passage which is the main street where many "Chon-no-ma" was located, there is a signboard written to be "Everybody's cooperation will aim at bright town planning" in an entrance. I scouted for a day laborer and made him live in the exhibition room in the studio along that street in Kogane-cho. Since I had given laborer a certain amount of freedom, he went out depending on the day and guest couldn't see him.
Moreover, Installed a security camera and monitored the situation in an exhibition room, in another room.
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| Genshiryoku Akarui Mirai no Energy, 2013, Neon tube, The Photograph of Futaba-cho Fukushima that downloaded from internet, Dimensions Variable |
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| Genshiryoku Akarui Mirai no Energy, 2013, Neon tube, The Photograph of Futaba-cho Fukushima that downloaded from internet, Dimensions Variable |
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| Chats with Passersby in Tokyo Midtown, 2012, Table, Chairs, Television monitor, etc, Dimensions Variable |
The sponsor side who expected the object work from me ordered to me preparation of the table which can understand that it differs from others at a glance, in order to show the difference as a "art work". Moreover, although we made accessories derivatively in the midst of chats, they were thrown out by the sponsor side for the reason of the thing which is not in the first plan.
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| LOCKER GALLERY at TOKYO NATIONAL MUSEUM, 2007, Lockers of the possession in the museum, LED, The original bank note which printed the portrait of my own, Dimensions Variable |
In May, 2007, I held an unauthorized exhibition using a coin locker box with a translucent acrylic door in the Tokyo National Museum while the da Vinci exhibition was being held. At the entrance of the room in which the main artwork, "Annunciation" by Da Vinci was shown, a tight security inspection with metal detector was conducted. I realized the name Da Vinci resonates with an art 'that is recognized to possess legitimate and absolute value by the institution.'
In order to make a relative comparison between the value of Da Vinci and that of my art, I created an official website stating my exhibition that coincides with the Da Vinci exhibition, and distributed the exhibition fliers. I then installed my art work, a bundle of fake bills, in the locker in front of the "Annunciation" venue. While I was working across the security guards in the hallway, I was investigated by one of them who had received a report from a bystander. Although they asked to withdraw the work from the locker because it was beyond common sense and caused nuisance to other guests, I tried to explain to them that it was not an illegal act, I did not break any regulation in the hallway, there were still numbers of unused coin lockers, and furthermore, I was just using a coin locker as any other visitor. Nevertheless, they covered the locker with papers and an exhibition poster of the Da Vinci exhibition as soon as they realized that I would not follow their order.
Some days later, I received two reports from people who had seen my exhibition flier and actually visited the museum. One report said the people with a flier asked the security guard where my art was. Although my artwork was still present in the locker at the time, they sensed somthing wrong from the displeased expression of the security guard as they presented the flier. They decided to leave immediately. The other report said that the visitor did not know my exhibition was forced to close on the first day, and went to see the coin locker without anything inside. Later, they said they went to see the locker, but instead enjoyed the Da Vinci exhibition.
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| LOCKER GALLERY at Hiroshima MOCA, 2010, Lockers of the possession in the museum, LED, Luggage of the visitor's, Dimensions Variable |
In Hiroshima MOCA（Museum of Contemporary Art）2010, I created a work using coin lockers with a semi-transparent acrylic door, which were used to store spare equipments at the museum.
First, all five lockers from a small and inconspicuous locker room by the entrance were moved to the main entrance hall of the museum. Then, I installed LED lights in each locker so that the visitors could see inside the lockers. The visitors could use the lockers, now located at the entrance hall, as usual, but their properties in the locker would be lit up like the articles in the showcase.
The audience were invited not only to appreciate the art work which had been displayed by this artist, but to participate in it, and even to be viewed by others. They could either appreciate the lockers as one complete work, or as an individual sculpture-like artwork or the properties in each locker.
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| Showcase, 2012, Glass boards, Shelf Brachets, others, 6600x1480x600mm |
Usually, a showcase is the space for decorating and showing goods. If the word "Installation" means changing the situation in space by processing something, I think it possible to make it materialized as the art work by a certain operation without something goods.
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| O-SAISEN, Ongoing, 39.08min |
I always thought that symbol used for torii*1, the gate of the Shinto shrine, resembles the Chinese character for the Japanese currency, yen*2. I posted the fictitious notes with my self-portrait that created as the measure which measures the value of an art work itself to the offertory box of various places.
I created a video series "O-SAISEN," with a hope to transform the fake value to something that has genuine value. By offering o-saisen, even if it was fake, I tried to make a connection with what people believe as the long lasting supremacy called Shinto shrine, and asked for their support from the authoritative power to authenticate my fake money.
On Works by Futoyu Masaharu -The
institutional theory suggested by metaphors
Oh Jin Yi, Curator(Museum of Art Seoul
National University)
Futoyu Masaharu practiced a performance for
half a year while staying in the Seoul Art Space_Geumcheon. The performance was
executed at a street corner near Hongik University, Seoul. The artist situated
a ladder and then ascended it, and then repeatedly dropped common clothes. It
was not a boisterous performance, with only the artist, and assistant taking
photographs, and some clothes. This project can be seen to be a Seoul version
of “an individual’s expression in a public arena” the artist has pursued. This
Seoul performance is similar to her 2011 performance project <Prototype for
Standard Stoppages> in that both projects displayed the results of dropping
objects repetitively. While the 2011 project referred to what Marcel Duchamp
did in his work and generated a variation, the Seoul performance catches our
interest in that it comprehensively showcased such universal themes as “place”,
“individual”, and “expression” by matching them with
specific situations such as “near Hongdae (Hongik University)”, “artist”,
“passersby”, “clothes” “material property”, and “a
result’s aesthetic traits”. Interlaced in this Seoul performance is a variety
of elements, such as the law of gravity, natural factors involved by chance,
the artist’s act of calculating, the passage of time, the space in the vicinity
of Hongdae, mecca of youth culture, the identity of the artist who came to
Korean not long ago, the artist as an individual and her expression, and
methods of running Korean artistic institutions including the Seoul Art
Space_Geumcheon and street culture before Hongdae. The artist associates the
concepts of “art”, “society”, “role”, and “beauty” as
we understand them to concrete objects and situations. With this we – if we are
dwellers of Seoul – consent to her work when viewing her performance video.
This is possible due to her metaphoric attitude of trying to discover and
paying special attention to existence and relation nobody takes note of, rather
than any radical, innovative, or heroic attitude. Contemporary art has for long
addressed such themes as “institution” and “public area”. Since the 1960s
artists provided momentum to reflect on the custom and convention of the art world,
involving their work in criticizing institutions. Futoyu Masaharu inherits the
legacy her seniors left, such as “currency”, “slogans at a campaign”, and “art
museum”. The artist presents a detour to access the hard-to-solve problem, “All
criticism of institutions cannot help but being institutionalized”, asked by
previous artworks that criticized institutions. Futoyu invites viewers to use
their quotidian cultures in lieu of conceptual strictness, and does not make
them passive participants or become part of her work, sophisticatedly showing
that each individual can be newly defined within an institution without
demolishing it. That is why her methods may have greater potential to work
productively within a system than any keen analysis or cynical approach. (The
Locker Gallery Project performed at the Tokyo National Museum and the Hiroshima
Museum of Contemporary Art displayed this potential) Her work is expected to
have potential to transform the space of public systems into the communal space
encouraging creative concepts.
