JOIN US IN CELEBRATING the ARTISTS

for 2021’s #Givingtuesday, we presented a new interview with artist Mako Idemitsu. please join us in making projects like this possible in 2024.

View Interview

your donation has a lasting imapct

• vulnerable films and videos will be conserved in archives

• you discover japanese avant garde works through screenings, exhibitions, database, and texts

• we continue to identify collections that are in need

Your donation will make an impact in helping to preserve, create access to, and document Japanese experimental moving image. If this is a cause that speaks to you, please support this tiny not-for-profit organization by giving a tax-deductible donation.

2021 has been another busy year. here are some projects that your contributions supported this year:

Japanese Experimental Animation Research & Preservation Project
We received grants from the Pola Art Foundation and Toshiba International Foundation to research the film collection at Sogetsu Art Center archive and continue the preservation of works by Keiichi Tanaami that were identified in our Collection Survey in 2018. Led by pairs of scholar & archivist groups—Go Hirsawa and Nobukazu Suzuki (Sogetsu Art Center collection), and Julian Ross and John Klacsmann (Keiichi Tanaami)—the project outcomes are:

• Digitization of Keiichi Tanaami, SHE, 1971, 8 min, 16mm, color, sound

• Digitization of Keiichi Tanaami, Look At The Wood, 1975, 12 min, 16mm, color, sound

• Digitization and digital restoration of Ryōhei Yanagihara, Kaisen, 1960, 16mm, b/w, sound

• Online (November, 2022) and in-person screenings (February 2022)

Interrogating Ecology: 1970s Media and Art in Japan, Research & Preservation Project
A grant from the Asian Cultural Council made possible a research project envisioned by Nina Horisaki-Christens, including multiple academic panel discussions, a workshop on conservation and curatorial case studies, an screening program, an artist interview, and digitization of the following works:

• Interrogating Ecology Spring Panel (May 2021)

• Interrogating Ecology Winter Panel (December 2021)

• Workshop event (December 2021)

• Interview with artist Norio Imai by Haeyun Park (Publishing December 2021)

• Online screening of works by Norio Imai organized by Haeyun Park (December 2021)

• Digitization of Fujiko Nakaya, Flood / 洪水｜1981, 12 min, video, color, sound

• Digitization of Fujiko Nakaya, River-View Without View Angle / 川：視角のない視覚｜1978, 3 monitors, 1 video player, 1 video tape; and

  Waterfall—Integrated River / 滝：写像された川｜1981, 8 monitors in four sizes, 1 video tape

• Digitization of Norio Imai, Self Portrait, 1982, 15 min, video, color, sound

• Digitization and film print production of Takehisa Kosugi, TM, 1974, 3 min, color

All preservation projects that have archival-level materials produced, we donate the end-product to archival facilities. Thus far, we have donated works to Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, The Museum of Modern Art, and Keio University Art Center.

Streaming Platform
Launched in June 2020, we are happy to offer our international audience Japanese avant-garde works that are not readily available for viewing by partnering with archives, curators, researchers, and artists. Thanks to the growing number of members, we are now almost able to pay for the platform operation fee (still supported in part by grants). Please consider becoming a member as a way to support CCJ!

What we do: BACKGROUND

Established in 2015, Collaborative Cataloging Japan (CCJ) has steadily tackled the issue around the preservation of Japanese experimental moving image works. CCJ is dedicated to preserving, documenting, and disseminating the legacy of Japanese experimental moving image made in 1950s —1980s, in order to enable their appreciation by a wider audience. Without this effort, the unique sector of Japanese cultural heritage, which historically has been underrepresented and unsupported, would remain available to only a very few. Buried in artists’ studios or independent archives, many works are in danger of literal disappearance as film and video mediums continue to deteriorate. The scope of moving image focus includes: fine art on film and video, documentations of performance, independently produced documentaries, experimental animation, and experimental television. In the short span of time, we have thus far accomplished the following projects:

3 Collection Survey research with full reports
3 International Professional Exchanges with 5 fellows
15 Preservation projects which are now housed at museum and research facilities
1 Database Project
1 Printed Publication (January 2020)
3 Online Essay Publication in English & Japanese
9 Workshops & Lectures
8 Published Interviews & Artist Talk documentations
18 Artists Profiles
39 Screenings & Exhibitions

Increase in Awareness

With the series of projects launched this spring (and also postponed or cancelled unfortunately due to the Coronavirus outbreak), subscribers to our newsletter, social media accounts, and visits to our webpage have all increased. Even at halfway point in 2020, our website visits have gone up 57.2% since the total last year. The recent announcement of our publication launch was well received, with a click rate of 52.2%, and 800 organic reach on Facebook. Since the launch of our online on-demand screening, it has received interest from people from a wide geographic range: U.S., Japan, Germany, and India.

Long-term Impacts

Archive
Films and archival digital master files that have been donated MoMA and Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, are part of their permanent collections. This means that these archival materials will be kept in the best condition possible, at their state-of-the-art facilities. No longer sitting in an artists studio in Japan, where humidity degrades these works year to year, we will have an near-everlasting way to view these important historical works.

Access
The access copies of the works are made available as excerpt previews on our website, allowing anyone to learn about these works and artists. The data we collect from our Collection Surveys are published on our website, as well as on our Database prototype, to be launched very soon.