Still from Ko Nakajima, My Life. Ⓒ Ko Nakajima
CCJ Viewing Library LAUNCH!
Discussion & screening with
ko nakajima, barbara london, Alex Zahlten, and fusako matsu
EST / 1/12/23, 7:00 PM
JST / 10/13/23, 9:00 AM
Free with Registration
Guests Ko Nakajima, Barbara London, Alexander Zahlten, and Fusako Matsu will help us celebrate the beta launch of CCJ’s Viewing Library beta testing version with a discussion around Nakajima’s works with screenings. In addition, Nakajima is offering a free screening of his key work, My Life for the month of January!
Plus (!), for members only, we are beginning a 4-month long study of Ko Nakajima’s newly digitized titles, courtesy of Keio University Art Center. In January, we are coordinating with Keio University. Art Center’s “My Life Study” project, and will available for viewing for CCJ Members, the 2019 version of My Life and related materials.
CCJ’s research on Nakajima’s works began with the 2018 Collection Survey.
CCJのViewing Libraryのベータテスト版ローンチを記念して作家中嶋興氏と松房子氏、キュレーター、バーバラ・ロンドン氏、研究者アレグザンダー・ザルテン氏を迎えたディスカッション＋作品上映を行います。さらに1月中は中嶋氏とのパートナーシップで作品、《My Life》を無料配信をいたします。
メンバーズ・オンリーの配信では慶應義塾大学アート・センターが近年デジタル化した中嶋氏の作品を1月から4月に渡ってスタディーをします。1月は慶應義塾大学アート・センターが行う「My Life Study」と関連してメンバーズには《My Life》に関する作品、映像資料を提供します。
Ko Nakajima began his career in experimental animation with the creation of works such as Seizoki (1964). At his solo exhibition at the Sogetsu Art Center, a space for avant-garde art in 1960s Tokyo, he produced Seizoki by painting directly on the film between screenings. His perennial interest in integrating new technologies, exploring the potential of film, video, and eventually computer animation, joined his desire to explore human intersections with nature, as seen in his Biological Cycle series (1971-); he created the first work in the series, Biological Life (1971-), by copying manipulated film footage onto video, then further manipulating the work with a video synthesizer. In 1971, Nakajima established Video Earth Tokyo, the pioneering video-art collective. Nakajima used one of the earliest available portable video recorders to document Video Earth Tokyo performance pieces and teach the new technology. Video Earth Tokyo members created works, broadcast works on cable television, and participated in international exhibitions and emergent CG (computer graphics) conferences. In 1982, Nakajima introduced his Aniputer. Aniputer technology allowed wide access to creation of video animation, as this personal portable computer integrated with a video camera, developed in collaboration with Japan Victor Company (JVC), allowed any user to directly manipulate video and images on a screen, creating animations in real time. Nakajima used his expertise manipulating film, photography, and video with computer technology to create what is perhaps his best known work, Mt. Fuji (1984), a ninety-minute rhythmic meditation on nature, spirituality, and perspective.
Barbara London’s curatorial projects have focused on video and new media. She joined the curatorial staff at the Museum of Modern Art in the early 1970s, where she founded the video exhibition and collection programs. While at MoMA, she organized many media exhibitions and one-person shows, including "Video from Tokyo to Fukui and Kyoto. She led the acquisition of works by Laurie Anderson, Nam June Paik, Shigeko Kubota, among others. Her book, Video Art: The First Fifty Years was published by Phaidon in 2020. She produces the podcast series, “Barbara London Calling.” London has taught in the Sound Art Department at Columbia University, and in the Graduate Art Department at Yale from 2014-2019. Read full bio: About – BARBARA LONDON
Alexander Zahlten is a Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University. His work focuses on popular film and media in Japan and East Asia. Publications include his co-edited volume Media Theory in Japan (Duke University Press, 2017, with Marc Steinberg) and his book The End of Japanese Cinema (Duke University Press, 2017). Recent publications include “Between Two Funerals: Zombie Temporality and Media Ecology in Japan” in positions: asia critique (2021) or “Before Media Mix: The Electric Ecology”, in A Companion to Japanese Cinema (David Desser, ed., 2022).
Graduated from Musashino Art University, Moving Image Division, Fusako Matsu researches photography and animation. Participated as an artist in VIDEOFORMS, a film festival in France with Ko Nakajima. Matsu leads the archives and research of artists Yõji Kuri and Taku Furukawa. https://matsufusako.tumblr.com/
CCJ VIEWING LIBRARY
INSTITUTIONAL SUBSCRIPTION
& RESEARCHERS’ ACCESS
The Viewing Library is a web-based subscription service offered to institutions and researchers through our Viewing Platform. Its goal is to make a range of Japanese experimental works accessible on-demand to an international community of educators, students, and interested individuals.
In January 2023, we will launch the beta version of the Library. In this early stage, the platform will be accessible only to a few trial users - but with their feedback, in the coming year the full version of the Viewing Library will be launched and open to application by all, along with a re-vamped online viewing platform.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Kohei Ando
Nobuhiro Aihara
Keiji Uematsu
Morihiro Wada
Norio Imai
Tsuneo Nakai
Ko Nakajima
Masanori Oe
Keiichi Tanaami
Shuzo Azuchi Gulliver
Arakawa & Madeline Gins
OFFERS
Institutional Subscription - Semi-Annual / $1,500
This semi-annual (6 months) subscription service offers access for the subscribing institution’s authorized users (students, faculty, & staff) to view the works in the CCJ Viewing Library for class and research use. Please inquire with us using the form above for further details.
Thematic Packages - 3-month / $800 per package
Thematic packages will be made around the topics of experimental film, video art, visual artists’ works, and expanded cinema. Please inquire with us using the form above for further details.
Experimental Films Package:
Kohei Ando, Oh My Mother, 1969, 16mm, 10 min
Kohei Ando, Like a Train Passing, 1978, 16mm, 3 min
Masanori Oe, Head Game, 1967, 10min, film transferred to video
Masanori Oe, Salome’s Children, 1968, 7min, film transferred to video
Tsuneo Nakai, Paludes / パリュウド | 1968
Tsuneo Nakai, Alchemy / 錬金術 | 1971
Ko Nakajima, Anapoko / 穴ポコ｜1963, 7 min, 16mm film, color, sound
Ko Nakajima, Seizoki / 精造機 ｜1964, 4 min, 16mm film, color, sound
Nobuhiro Aihara, The Extinction of Landscape / 風景の死滅｜ 1971, 8mm, color, 14:40 min. ©️Nobuhiro Aihara
Nobuhiro Aihara, Fairy Flower / 逢仙花｜ 1973.4, 16mm, bw, 12:30 min. ©️Nobuhiro Aihara
Nobuhiro Aihara, Shelter / シェルター｜ 1980, 16mm, color, 7:20 min. ©️Nobuhiro Aihara
Nobuhiro Aihara, Stone / ストーン｜1975, 16mm, color, 7:30 min. ©️Nobuhiro Aihara
Keiichi Tanaami, Human Events / 人間模様 | 1975, 5 min., 16mm, color. ©️Keiichi Tanaami
Keiichi Tanaami, LOOK AT THE WOOD | 1975, 12 min., 16mm, color. ©️Keiichi Tanaami
Keiichi Tanaami, Yoshi Kei (Another Rainbow City) / 幼視景（もう１つの虹色都市）| 1979, 17:17 min., 16mm, color. ©️Keiichi Tanaami
Arakawa and Madeline Gins, For Example, 1971. Written by Arakawa and Madeline Gins. Directed by Arakawa. Courtesy Reversible Destiny Foundation
Visual Artists’ Experiments:B
Keiji Uematsu, 23.5｜1970, 4:20 min, Single 8mm, color, silent
Keiji Uematsu, Compression—Relation of Matters / 圧・態―構造の関係性｜1971, 14:39 min, 8mm, b&w, sound
Keiji Uematsu, Earth Point Project—Mirror｜1972, 9:40 min, 8mm, color, silent
Keiji Uematsu, Image of Image—Seeing / 映像の映像―見ること｜1973, 15:50 min, video, b&w, sound
Keiji Uematsu, Action, Stone—Nail—String—Light｜1976, 14:30 min, open reel video, color, sound. ©️Keiji Uematsu
Shuzo Azuchi Gulliver, Switch｜1966-67, 20 min, 16mm, silent, b&w
Shuzo Azuchi Gulliver, Watch｜1966-67, 20 min, 16mm, silent, b&w
Shuzo Azuchi Gulliver, Box｜1966-67, 6 min (film portion), 16mm, silent, b&w
Norio Imai, The Braun Tube｜1974, 18:21 min, sound, bw. ©️Norio Imai
Norio Imai, Video Tape Performance—Kyoto / ビデオテープ・パフォーマンス-京都｜1977, 31:51 min, sound, color
Morihiro Wada, The Recognition Construction №Ⅳ: Recognition Construction in Film / フィルムによる認知構造№Ⅳ ｜1975, 16 min, 16mm, color, silent. ©️Morihiro Wada
Morihiro Wada, The Recognition Construction №XIII Variation’85 / 認知構造№XIII 変奏’85 ｜1985, 15:48 min, video, color, sound. ©️Morihiro Wada
Morihiro Wada, The Recognition Construction・Hyojyutsu (Against application or mimesis) / 認知構造・表述｜1975, 20:07 min, video, color, sound. ©️Morihiro Wada
Researcher’s Access - All-Access One-Week Viewing / $100 per week, limited to individuals with clear research purpose (*Members receive a $20 discount)
Individual researchers may apply to receive a one-week viewing access to the collection listed below. Please use the form to tell us your affiliation and purpose of your research.