Video Information Center - Part III
From Dai 1-kai VIC Bikkuri Video Contest (First VIC_Surprise Video Contest) [VIC1060]
From March-May 2024, as part of our Community of Images series and in collaboration with Hitoshi Kubo of Keio University Art Center, we are thrilled to present a three-month feature on the early Japanese video collective, the Video Information Center (VIC). The extensive program is an introduction to the group’s tireless documentation of underground arts and culture in Japan’s 1970s and 1980s. Our May program (Part III) features 8 of VIC’s recordings, including a performance by legendary butoh dancer Kazuo Ohno, the Australian performance and body modification artist Stelarc, and a ‘Surprise Video Contest.’
Don’t forget to check out written resources on the VIC, including a new translation of an essay by Hitoshi Kubo, “Multiple Para-Visions!―― on VIC’s Remoteness and Closeness / Big Events and Small Events,” and an interview with Ichiro Tezuka, VIC’s director.
The program is facilitated by Keio University Art Center’s project, the Agency for Cultural Affairs in Japan Support Program to Promote Archives of Media Arts 2023: Digitizing and Cataloging of Performance and Exhibition Video Records from the post-1970s.
The Video Information Center (VIC), an art collective that worked with video as their main media, was started in 1972 by students of the International Christian University (ICU), Tokyo, as a sub-group of ICU shоgekijо (little-theater), a student-run theater community. VIC was founded by six members—Yusuke Itо, Yasuhiko Suga, Hisashi Noyama, Makoto Uchiki, Sоichi Ishii, and led by Ichirо Tezuka. The group’s activities may be sorted into the following five categories: “creating a collection of recorded events, regardless of high-brow or low-brow,” “experimentation in communication via video technology,” “organizing video-related events,” “communication with artistic groups in and out of Japan,” and “creating a broad platform for video.” Specifically the group’s activities began with their broadcasting in the ICU school cafeteria, and branched out into many fields. Their activities include a conceived proposal for a “soft museum (sofuto musiamu),” various video recording sessions of dance, theater, exhibitions, symposiums, concerts and other odd events such as activities of a mother's volleyball club. Also notably, based out of their residence, a small apartment complex, in Mitaka, Tokyo, the group experimented with cable television, calling the program Cable Paravision Ten. VIC worked closely and often in correspondence with other groups oriented toward video art such as Video Hiroba (hiroba refers to an open communal space such as a plaza or park) run by Fujiko Nakaya, Katsuhiro Yamaguchi, and others. VIC also had connections with overseas artistic groups and participated in the 1979 MoMA exhibition Video from Tokyo to Fukui and Kyoto (April 19–June 19) curated by Barbara London.
The present program will be presented over the next three months in three parts Part I, Part II, and Part III, focusing on the following three categories Category A - Collected records of events, Category B - Experimentation in cable television, and Category C - Video events organized by VIC. Each phase from I through III have been designed as to give a thorough taste of all three categories A, B, and C. The methodical ideals of VIC, that the videos “shall not be edited” have been honored, and in the program each video, now digitized, is shown from beginning to end without manipulation. Physical wear on the original tape footage will appear as occasional disruption. We thank our audience in advance for their graceful acceptance of the states in which these videos have been digitized and archived. Our hopes are to create an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the vast variety of activities encapsulated in VIC’s career.
Category A. Integrated records of events
A-0. Collected records of events from category A-1 to A-4 edited by VIC
A-1. Exhibitions/Performances: Art, Dance, Theater, Music concerts
A-2. Symposiums
A-3. Interviews
A-4. Non-art
Category B. Experimentation in cable television: Cable Paravision Ten
Category C. Video events organized by VIC
C-1. Video Workshop
C-2. Video Competition
We would like to gratefully acknowledge the major support received in presenting this program from the following: the Keio University Art Center, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs in Japan Support Program to Promote Archives of Media Arts 2023: Digitizing and Cataloging of Performance and Exhibition Video Records from the post-1970s.
Hitoshi Kubo
Translated by Miyuki Hinton
VIC（ビデオ・インフォメーション・センター）は、1972年、ICU（国際基督教大学）の演劇サークルであるICU小劇場を母胎として開始した。設立時のメンバーは6名で、伊藤裕介・菅靖彦・野山尚志・内木誠・石井宗一、そして手塚一郎が代表をつとめた。その活動は、「ハイ&ローを問わない網羅的なイベントの記録」「ビデオ・テクノロジーを用いたコミュニケーションの実験」「ビデオ関連イベントの企画」「国内外の芸術グループとのコミュニケーション」「ビデオの普及活動」の大きく5つに分類することができる。具体的には、ICUの学生食堂における放送から始まり、「ソフトミュージアム」構想、ダンス・演劇・展覧会・シンポジウム・ママさんバレー・コンサートなど多様なイベントの網羅的なビデオ記録、三鷹のアパートでのCATV実験である《Cable Paravision Ten》などを行った。VICは、中谷芙二子・山口勝弘をメンバーとする「ビデオひろば」など、同時代のビデオを巡る動向と連動しながら活動を行っていた。海外のグループとの交流もあり、1979年にはニューヨーク近代美術館（MoMA）で開催された展覧会「Video From Tokyo To Fukui and Kyoto（ヴィデオ東京から福井と京都まで）」（1979年4月19日-6月19日）にも出品した。
本プログラムでは、以下3つのカテゴリー、A.網羅的なイベント記録、B.ケーブルテレビの実験、C.VIC企画のビデオ関連イベントに基づいて第I期から第III期の3ヶ月間にわたりVICの映像を紹介する。各期にわたり各カテゴリーの映像をおよそまんべんなく見られるように組んでいる。
VICが記録における方法の一つとして捉えていた「未編集」であることを尊重し、残されたテープの最初から最後までをデジタル化したデータをそのまま上映する。テープの経年劣化によって映像の中で見にくい箇所があるがご了承いただきたい。VICの多様な活動の一端が垣間見えれば幸いである。
A. 網羅的なイベント記録：
A-1. パフォーマンス（美術およびダンス・演劇・音楽コンサートなどのパフォーミング・アーツ）
A-2. シンポジウム
A-3. インタヴュー
A-4. 非芸術関連
B. ケーブルテレビの実験：「Cable Paravision Ten」
C. VIC企画のビデオ関連イベント：
C-1. ビデオ・ワークショップ
C-2. ビデオ・コンペディション
本プログラムを実現するにあたり、慶應義塾大学アート・センターおよび令和5年度 メディア芸術アーカイブ推進支援事業 メディアアート分野「1970年代以降のパフォーマンスおよび展覧会のビデオ記録のデジタル化・レコード化」（Support Program to Promote Archives of Media Arts 2023: Digitizing and Cataloging of Performance and Exhibition Video Records from the post-1970s.）の協力を得た。
久保仁志
PROGRAM - Part III
Part III-1. VIC Video Tape File
Part III-2. November 2, 1977 Kazuo Ohno Dansu Risaitaru Aruhenchina Kō (Dance Recital, Admiring La Argentina) (1) Dai-ichi Seimei [Act 1] November 1, 1977, Kazuo Ohno (2), Dai-ichi Seimei Hall, Aruhenchina Kō [Act 2]
Part III-3. Stelarc, Tamura garо̄ (Tamura gallery) Event, January 30 (4)
Part III-4. December 16, 6:30pm, David Gordon (1) Seibu Gekijо̄ (Seibu Theater) [Act 1] December 16, Seibu Gekijо̄, David Gordon (2) [Act 2]
Part III-5. July 12, 1975, Kishio Suga Event No.1 [Act 1] July 12, Kishio Suga Event No.2 [Act 2] July 12, Kishio Suga Event No.3 [Act 3]
Part III-6. VIC Kaji-sawagi (Fire Commotion) November 29, Showa 58, 11:40 pm
Part III-7. February 24, Nama-suta (Live Air), Mr. Ittoku and Tezuka February 24
Part III-8. Dai 1-kai VIC Bikkuri Video Contest (First VIC_Surprise Video Contest)
プログラム・第III期
III-1.《VICVideo_Tape_File》
III-2.《1977 11/2 大野一雄 ダンス・リサイタル アルヘンチーナ頌① 第一生命》［1］《1977 11/1 大野一雄② 第一生命ホール アルヘンチーナ頌》［2］
III-3.《ステラーク・田村画廊イベント 1/30④》
III-4.《12/16 6:30pm デビッド・ゴードン① 西武劇場》［1］《12/16 西武劇場 デビッド・ゴードン②》［2］
III-5.《7/12 1975 菅木志雄イベント No1》［1］《7/12 菅木志雄イベント No2》［2］《7/12 菅木志雄event No3》［3］
III-6.《VIC 火事騒ぎ S58.11.29 11.40 PM》
III-7.《2／24 生スタ 一徳さん 手塚 2／24》
III-8.《第一回 VIC_ビックリビデオコンテスト》
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Program
*【Formatting Notes】
Information is provided in the following order:
Videotape title: This line consists of a faithful transcription of the video’s handwritten label (may include abbreviations and potential errors). The English program provides a translation of the original Japanese. See Japanese program for rendition of original title provided in《》.
Reference code provided in brackets.
Black and white/ color
Length
Individuals and groups of relevance
Date
Format：OS (1/2 Open-reel Short); OL (1/2 Open-reel Long); U (U-matic); B (Betamax)
Name of event (Place of event)
Description
Act numbers are provided in brackets
*【Translation Notes】
Proper names are those from the time of the events. Certain names/places currently may be in disuse/no longer exist.
(1), (2), (3), refers to a videotape label number when events are recorded on multiple tapes.
Translations and supplementary information are provided in () after the first appearance of Japanese proper names.
Work titles appear in the following order: Japanese transcription (English translation).
Part II-1. VIC Video_Tape_File［VIC1211］｜black and white／color｜15 min 33 sec｜various｜n.d.｜various｜various (Category A-0 - Collected records of events)
This video was compiled and edited by VIC members as an introduction of VIC. 111 events were selected out of all of VIC’s records, and multiple copies of the video were made; however not all copies have survived. The present digitization was based on a digital copy owned by Sōichi Ishii, member of VIC. The original tape is lost.
VICが記録した出来事の中から111本のテープを選び編集したVIC紹介のためのテープ。何本か作成されているようだが、全てが残っているわけでもなく、こちらはVICメンバーだった石井宗一が持っていたデジタルデータを引き受けたものであり、元のテープは見つかっていない。
Part III-2. November 2, 1977 Kazuo Ohno Dansu Risaitaru Aruhenchina Kō (Dance Recital, Admiring La Argentina) (1) Dai-ichi Seimei [VIC0404]｜color｜46 min 52 sec｜Kazuo Ohno｜November 2, 1977｜OL｜Kazuo Ohno, Dansu Risaitaru Aruhenchina Kō（Dai-ichi Seimei Hall） [Act 1]
November 1, 1977, Kazuo Ohno (2), Dai-ichi Seimei Hall, Aruhenchina Kō [VIC0405]｜color｜31 min 52 sec｜Kazuo Ohno｜November 1, 1977｜OL｜Kazuo Ohno, Dansu Risaitaru Aruhenchina Kō（Dai-ichi Seimei Hall） [Act 2]
(Category A-1 - Performance)
Kazuo Ohno’s solo performance under the direction of Tatsumi Hijikata. Premiered in November of 1977 in the Dai-ichi Seimei Hall. Performed 119 times around the world until 1994. This is the recording of the premier. “La Argentina” originates from the Spanish dance of the innovator La Argentina Antonia Mercé. “Kō,” ode, has the meaning of praise and glorification. The inspiration of this creation was Ohno’s own experience and the deep impression from watching Mercé’s performance in the Imperial Theater in 1929. In 1945 after the end of WWII, the Dai-ichi Seimei Building was requisitioned by GHQ; General MacArthur’s office was also installed here. Ohno’s salute amid the final applause at the end of the curtain call prompted VIC leader Tezuka to say, “I saw a war being summoned through the Dai-ichi Seimei Building of the past.”
土方巽の演出による大野一雄のソロ作品。1977年11月に東京の第一生命ホールにて初演され、94年まで世界各地で119回上演された。これは初演の記録である。「ラ・アルヘンチーナ」はスペイン舞踊の革新者として知られるラ・アルヘンティーナ・アントニア・メルセであり、「頌」は讃えるの意。1929年、大野が帝国劇場で見たメルセの公演に深い感動を覚えた体験が創作の源となっている。第一生命ビルは終戦後の1945年、GHQによって接収され、マッカーサー司令官の執務室が置かれた。大野一雄がカーテンコールの最後、喝采を浴びる中で行った敬礼の姿に、「過去の第一生命ビルを通じた戦争が召喚されるのを見た」とVICリーダーの手塚は語っている。
Part III-3. Stelarc, Tamura garо̄ (Tamura gallery) Event, January 30 (4) [VIC0060]｜black and white｜33 min 7 sec｜Stelarc｜January 30, 1975｜OS｜Stelarc: Modulate/Mediate (Tamura garо̄)
(Category A-1 - Performance)
The exhibition Stelarc: Modulate/Mediate was held in Tamura Gallery, Tokyo from January 26 until February 1, 1976. This is a recording of Stelarc’s Event for Modified Man which was performed on January 30, 1976 in relation to the above-mentioned exhibition. The very first body suspension was made during this performance. The recording includes a sequence of actions at the end of the performance and thereafter, involving the removal of sutures from sewn-shut eyelids and lips, as well as unhooking wires attached to the back. Stelarc said the following about the exhibition: “For me (my consciousness), my body is also an environment. My eyes, my hands, my skin, my flesh, and so on. All aspects of my body are my possession and at the same time others to me.”
東京の田村画廊にて「ステラーク：Modulate/Mediate」展（1976年1月26日–2月1日）が開催された。この展示に合わせて行われた1976年1月30日のステラークのパフォーマンス「Event for Modified Man」の記録映像である。ここで最初のボディ・サスペンション（body suspension）が行われた。縫い閉じていた瞼と唇の縫合糸を抜き、背中からワイヤーのついたフックを外すというパフォーマンスの終盤あるいは以後として捉えられる一連の行為が記録されている。ステラーク自身は展覧会に際して次の言葉を寄せている。「私（意識）にとって私の身体もまた環境である。私の眼、私の手、私の皮膚、私の肉等々。私の身体の一切は私の所有であると同時に私にとって他者なのだ。」
Part III-4. December 16, 6:30pm, David Gordon (1) Seibu Gekijо̄ (Seibu Theater) [VIC0117]｜black and white｜1 hr 4 min｜David Gordon, Valda Setterfield｜December 16, 1975｜OL｜Chair and Others / Gendai butō shirīzu posuto modan dansu—Dance Today ’75 (presented with the English title Dance Today ’75: Contemporary Dance Series—Post Modern Dance) (Seibu gekijō) [Act 1]
December 16, Seibu gekijо̄, David Gordon (2) [VIC0118]｜black and white｜8 min 40 sec｜David Gordon, Valda Setterfield｜December 16, 1975｜OS｜Chair and Others / Gendai butō shirīzu posuto modan dansu—Dance Today ’75 (Seibu gekijō) [Act 2]
(Category A-1 - Performance)
David Gordon’s performance with his partner Valda Setterfield, where they danced two pieces together. The first piece is performed with careful synchronization of simple movements, gently oscillating between the boundaries of daily life and dance. In the second piece they performed a dance which explored how two chairs and two human bodies can be connected and intertwined. Gordon said the following regarding the performance: “Life as it plays itself out may at some instant have an arc and an inevitability, but for the most part what the artist does is take the random events of real life circumstance and make some order out of them which re-examines them—not erasing their natural charm and power, while simultaneously taking advantage of it.” (1)
(1) “David Gordon with Nancy Dalva: Beginning of the End of the Beginning Of,” The Brooklyn Rail. Accessed March 7, 2024.
パートナーのValda Setterfieldと2人で2つの演目を踊っている。1つ目は簡単な所作を丁寧に互いがシンクロするように行い、日常とダンスの境界を緩やかに往復する。2つ目は2脚の椅子と人の身体がどのような関係を結ぶことができるのかを探るダンスである。ゴードンは自身のダンスの発生について次のように語っている。「人生が展開する中で、ある瞬間に山場や必然性が生まれるかもしれない。けれど大抵の場合、アーティストが行うのは、実生活の偶発的な出来事を取り上げ、それらをある秩序として作り上げ、再検討することだ。そしてそれらの自然な魅力や力を消すことなく同時にそれらを利用することだ。」(“David Gordon with Nancy Dalva: Beginning of the End of the Beginning Of,” The Brooklyn Rail. Viewed March 7, 2024.)
Part III-5. July 12, 1975, Kishio Suga Event No.1 [VIC0073]｜black and white｜31 min 45 sec｜Kishio Suga｜July 12, 1975｜OL｜Tabunritsu (Law of Multitude), Ma no Shūseki (Accumulation of space and interval) (Maki garō (Maki Gallery)) [Act 1]
July 12, Kishio Suga Event No.2 [VIC0074]｜black and white｜33 min 36 sec｜Kishio Suga｜July 12, 1975｜OL｜Tabunritsu, Ma no Shūseki (Maki garō) [Act 2]
July 12, Kishio Suga Event No.3 [VIC0075]｜black and white｜33 min 9 sec｜Kishio Suga｜July 12, 1975｜OL｜Tabunritsu, Ma no Shūseki (Maki garō) [Act 3]
(Category A-1 - Performance)
Recordings of Kishio Suga’s solo exhibition Tabunritsu (July 7–13, 1975, Maki Garō, Tokyo) and the event Ma no Shūseki held in conjunction with the exhibition (July 12, 1975, Maki Garō). After recording the surroundings of the Maki Garō and its entrance signboard, the tape proceeds to document Suga, the guest book, and Tabunritsu The recording proceeds in this way, one thing is shown after the other. Inside the gallery, rectangular concrete blocks, vinyl sheets, and stones are stacked sequentially across the entire floor. The vinyl sheets are secured to the walls with wires at the edges, creating a continuous tension sandwiched between the blocks and stones.
Subsequently, the event called Ma no Shūseki, seemingly indicating the volatile relationships between various objects expressed in Tabunritsu is held. Suga remarks, “While a single tree is an ‘object,’ it could also be considered as a ‘place’ through a different perspective.” (Kishio Suga, “Dialogue,” Kishio Suga, [exhibition catalog] , edited by Hitoshi Dehara and Hideya Warashina, Yomiuri Shimbun-Sha / The Japan Association of Art Museum, 1997, p. 278). The exhibition, which appears to be a static assembly of “objects,” is perceived through the concept of Ma no Shūseki, as a dynamic interplay of “places” and layers of relationships, demonstrated through the process of performance.
菅木志雄の個展「多分律」（1975年7月7–13日｜真木画廊 東京）および、展示に合わせて行われたイベント「間の集積」（1975年7月12日｜真木画廊）の記録。真木画廊周辺の様子、真木画廊入口の看板を撮影した後、入口にいる菅、芳名帳、《多分律》を次々に記録していく。展示室の床全体に直方体のコンクリート・ブロック、ビニール・シート、石が順番に上へ積まれている。ビニール・シートは端をワイヤーで壁へ固定され、ブロックと石に挟まれてひと続きのテンションを感じさせる。その後《多分律》が表現する様々な物同士の揮発的な諸関係を示すかのようなイベント「間の集積」が行われる。菅は「一本の木は『物体』だけれど、しかしこの一本の木というものを別の認識でそれは『場』と考えてもいいだろう」（菅木志雄、藁科英也「対話」『菅木志雄』［展覧会カタログ］、出原均／藁科英也編、読売新聞社／美術館連絡協議会、1997年、278頁。）と語る。一見静的な「物」の集合に見える展示が、実は動的に変化する「場」の諸関係、積層であることを「間の集積」という概念において捉え、パフォーマンスのプロセスによって示している。
Part III-6. VIC Kaji-sawagi (Fire Commotion) November 29, Showa 58, 11:40 pm [VIC0911]｜color｜24 min 46 sec｜Ichirō Tezuka and others｜1983.11.29｜B｜ [Kaji-sawagi (fire commotion)／Bōnenkai (end-of-year party)]
(Category A-4. Non-art)
The tape begins with a recording of the fire that broke out at the parking lot of the building used for the VIC’s office. As the first one on sight, Ichirō Tezuka recounts that the incident escalated into a commotion with fire trucks and police cars gathering. However, it is also revealed by Tezuka and others that the smoke was not caused by a fire but by the discharge of an installed fire extinguisher.
The scene shifts after a statement from the camera operator saying, “We need to prepare for tomorrow,” and later in the video’s second half, the process of cooking on the eaves of the same building is captured, indicating from the conversation that it is an end-of-year party. People are seen filleting tuna and cooking in pots on the roadside where cars and pedestrians pass by, while chatting and advancing the cooking process together. According to member Sōichi Ishii, similar events related to food, such as tuna cutting shows like this, were held about once a month. These can be considered records of extraordinary events in everyday spaces.
ビデオの前半には、VICが入居するビルの駐車場で発生した火事騒ぎの様子が記録されている。手塚一郎が第一発見者であり、消防車やパトカーが集まる騒ぎに発展したが、煙は火事によるものではなく備え付けの消化器が噴射されただけであったという顛末が手塚らによって語られる。「明日の準備をしなければいけない」という撮影者の発言があって場面が転換し、ビデオの後半には同ビルの軒先における調理の様子が撮影されているが、会話内の言葉からそれが忘年会であることがわかる。自動車や歩行者の往来がある路上でマグロを捌き、鍋を火にかけ、皆で談笑しながら調理を進める様子が撮影されている。メンバーの石井宋一によると月に一度は、このようなマグロの解体ショーなど食に関わるイベントが行われていた。これらは日常的な空間における非日常的な出来事の記録だといえる。
Part III-7. February 24, Nama-suta (Live Air), Mr. Ittoku and Tezuka February 24 [VIC1010]｜black and white｜12 min 21 sec｜Ichirō Tezuka and others｜ [February 24]｜OS｜Cable Paravision Ten (Sawano-sō (Sawano apartment))
(Category B. Experimentation in cable television：Cable Paravision Ten)
The first part is a recording of the live broadcasting of Cable Paravision Ten. VIC leader Ichirō Tezuka announces the start from 23:00 and conducts a brief interview with the photographer “Ittoku-san” about this CATV and the meaning of his name. Following that, along with Tezuka’s words, “Here is a report on a passionate heart,” his own short film featuring his appearance is presented. Accompanied by a close-up of his face emphasizing his eyes, he continues, “Today, let’s go with an up-tempo. ... Today’s motto: isshōkenmei (Devoting one’s entire life diligently). Laugh wholeheartedly for two minutes…...” Calling out the names of the residents of Sawano-sō one by one, asking, “Are you watching?” while saying “For a lifetime, diligently. Devoting one’s entire life diligently. Does it mean living diligently in one place? What does ‘diligently’ mean?” and repeatedly stressing the word “Isshōkenmei” (the word isshō which means whole one’s life is derived from “一所 Issho,” originally meaning “one place”). Within that repetition, as the words are dissected while touching upon their etymological meanings, there is an accumulation of something resembling an atmosphere related to the vitality that the words carry. Finally, the recording ends within an atmosphere torn between humor and seriousness.
前半は「Cable Paravision Ten」の生放送の記録。VICリーダーの手塚一郎が、23時からの開始を告げ、写真家の「一徳さん」へこのCATVと彼の名前の意味についての手短なインタヴューを行う。その後、「熱い心についてのレポートです」という手塚の言葉とともに、手塚の出演による自身の小作品が流れる。眼を強調する顔のクロース・アップとともに「今日はアップテンポでいきます。［…］今日の格言。一生懸命やればいい。一生懸命2分笑う……」と続いていく。沢野荘の住民の名を次々に呼び「見てますか？」と問いながら「一生、懸命に。一生を懸命にすること。つまり一所を懸命に生きることなのか。一生懸命とは。」という形で「一生懸命」という言葉を何度も繰り返す。その反復の中で、語源的な意味に触れながら言葉が解体されるとともに、その言葉が持つ命に関わる雰囲気のようなものが蓄積されていく。そして滑稽さと真剣さに引き裂かれた雰囲気の中終わる。
Part III-8. Dai 1-kai VIC Bikkuri Video Contest (First VIC_Surprise Video Contest) [VIC1060]｜color｜42 min 7 sec｜Ichirō Tezuka and others｜ [1988]｜B｜VIC Surprise Video Contest
(Category C-1. Video Workshop)
This tape is a collection of the 10 entry submissions for the First VIC Surprise Video Contest which was held in the autumn of 1988. According to the outline recorded in the video, the contest called for video works created under the theme of “1. A commercial about yourself” or “2. A commercial about ‘Video Information Center 2’ ” that are less than 5 minutes long. The submitted entries include a wide variety of videos, such as those shot on the streets of Kichijōji and inside VIC stores, introductions to the stores by employees including Ichirō Tezuka, as well as self-introductions by applicants in interview format. Additionally, there are videos that utilize home videos featuring children who appear to be the applicants themselves during their childhood.
1988年秋に行われた「第一回 VICビックリビデオコンテスト」への応募作品10本を集めたテープ。映像内に記録された要綱によれば、同コンテストは「①あなた自身についてのコマーシャル」あるいは「②『ビデオインフォメーションセンター2』についてのコマーシャル」というテーマで制作された5分以内のビデオ作品を募集した。応募作品には吉祥寺の街頭やVICの店舗内で撮影されたもの、手塚一郎をはじめ従業員が店舗について紹介するもののほか、インタヴューの形式で応募者の自己紹介をするもの、幼少時の応募者自身と思われる子供を撮影したホームビデオを素材としたものなど、多種多様なビデオが含まれている。
Translated by Miyuki Hinton
Community of Images: Japanese Moving Image Artists in the US, 1960s - 1970s
Community of Images: Japanese Moving Image Artists in the US, 1960s-1970s will be an exhibition of experimental moving images created by Japanese artists in the U.S. during the 1960s and 70s, an area that has fallen in the fissure between American and Japanese archival priorities. Following JASGP's Re:imagining Recovery Project and its mission to support and engage diverse audiences through Japanese arts and culture in collaboration with local organizations, this project aims to discover, preserve, and present film and video works and performance footage by Japanese filmmakers and artists to the wider public.
We have partnered with the University of the Arts, and will present this exhibition at the Philadelphia Arts Alliance in June - August 2024.
The project and its online programming is generously supported by the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage & the Andy Warhol Foundation, the Toshiba International Foundation and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts’ Preserving Diverse Cultures grant.
Hitoshi Kubo 久保仁志
A man who was born in Tokyo, 1977 and now lives in Kanagawa. An archivist at Keio University Art Center, among other activities. Departing from certain archives or specific referential materials and montaging various spatiotemporal perspectives that they encompass, many of his projects shed light on not only events that occurred but also those that could have occurred, fundamentally as a way for him to explore possibilities to redesign conditions of human experiences as variable circuits by means of observation, analysis, and construction of montages employed in films and other artistic works, driven by his trust to the world, which in his eyes essentially stands as a process of self-generation and flickering. Recent writings include Montaging Penumbra: on a Motif of Archive (report for JSPS Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research 26580029 | 2017) and “A Case of a Studio: Shuzo Takiguchi and a Laboratory,” NACT Review, no. 5 (2018 | National Art Center Tokyo). At Keio University Art Center, he has directed a project to reconsider archives, called Pleating Machine (2018–).
1977年に東京で生まれ現在神奈川で暮らす。慶應義塾大学アート・センター・アーキヴィスト他。プロジェクトの多くはあるアーカイヴおよび具体的諸資料から出発し、それらが包含する様々な時空間的パースペクティヴを編集（モンタージュ）することで起こった出来事だけでなく起こりえた出来事を照射してみせるのだが、その根底にあるのは映画をはじめとした芸術作品における編集の観察・分析・構築を通して人間の経験の諸条件を可変的回路として設計し直す可能性の探求であり生成明滅しつつも過程としてあるこの世界への信にほ
かならない。近著に『〈半影〉のモンタージュ：アーカイヴの一つのモチーフについて』（「JSPS 科研費 26580029」レポート｜2017年）、「ある書斎の事件記録——瀧口修造と実験室について」『NACT Review 国立新美術館研究紀要』5号（2018｜国立新美術館）慶應義塾大学アート・センターにてアーカイヴを考えるための企画『プリーツ・マシーン』（2018-）を行っている。
