Takahito Kimura, an artist of unprecedented style, has developed a series of works with his theme “Playing with the Earth.” Originally his art focused on “Making Visible the Invisible,” but by making visible the “powers of Earth and Nature,” the common language shared by all people throughout the world, cognitive discrepancies are found to exist between what is “known” and assumed to be knowledge held by everyone, and the actual scientifically observed phenomena. In his art, these discrepancies are not only brought to our visual focus, but also presented so that they are felt physically. For example, many people know the word komorebi (sunlight filtering down through trees), and most have seen the phenomenon. But, “what” and “how” people know something differs. No matter what shape the tree leaves are, as long as the sun is round the light that passes down to the ground surface is also a circle. Starting with this Kimura has continued to expand the Komorebi Project, one of his signature installations. Recently, he used a 50-meter crane to raise a giant star-shaped light source above a grove. Visitors are given a “star net” that they can use to “catch” the filtered star-shaped light. The element of play is brought into a setting similar to a scientific experiment.
I have been in contact with the work of Kimura on a number of occasions. Not that we worked together directly, but at Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale, Art Setouchi and Naka-Boso International Art Festival Ichihara Art x Mix where our workplaces were located near to each other I visited and listened to explanations of his art whenever time allowed. His activities focused on revealing natural phenomena in the middle of nature, drew my interest and he is a wonderful artist who, I think, contributes significantly to the “experiential” current of contemporary art. We can’t, unfortunately, envision his contours as an artist, however. Ironically “nature,” the medium most suitable for this artist, is unrelated to galleries and museums where art is “exhibited.” Contemporary art tends to be based in the urban setting. Of course, one can recognize the unprecedented work of this artist, but the experience-based exhibiting and the interactive performance of his style that fuses natural phenomena together for the audience to see is difficult to bring to fruition as a piece of work; even when a phenomenon has taken form in front of our eyes.
For some time I have desired to frame the activities of this artist in the spatial confines of a gallery. To exhibit the apparatuses that he has made, even though the artist is not in the venue; in other words, I wish to exhibit these works of art to present the phenomena.
The purpose of this exhibition is to make the presentation the object, and not the natural phenomena that need to be experienced. The apparatus needed in bringing to view a phenomenon is the object. Art always requires a creator and nature does not accidentally exist as a phenomenon. What is necessary is for an artist of extraordinary strength to bring to the foreground the power of nature for audiences to see. I am thrilled to say that Takahito Kimura’s magnetism is capable of exhibiting this power to us.
Art Front Gallery,Toshio Kondo
