METHOD NO. 37 AUG 1, 2004
Email-Bulletin "METHOD" is a free monthly, being published
by the three Methodicists in Japan, Nakazawa Hideki
(artist), Matsui Shigeru (poet), Miwa Masahiro (composer).
Manifestos of Methodicism: aloalo.co.jp/nakazawa/method/
A new corner, "A LETTER FROM THE METHOD MACHINE OF THIS
MONTH," has been launched from the previous issue. See Nos.
34 and 35 issues to learn The Method Machine.
>>>METHODICIST'S TEXT OF THIS MONTH:
One, Two, Thousands
by Nakazawa Hideki, artist
Art works exist as tangible "things." I think they
can be classified under three categories by the number of
the "things": singular art, plural art, and multitudinous
art. For example, Michelangelo's "David" is singular,
Picasso's collage plural, and Seurat's pointillistic
paintings multitudinous. In this thread, "things" mean not
only "objects" like sculptures but also "components" like
pixels of paintings.
Michelangelo, a Neoplatonist, founded the aesthetics
of sculpture as "non-colored singleness." He said, "The
mission of a sculptor is to create a human." For him, one
idea (meaning) and one eidos (form) must have been the same.
"One" would be important there, because the truth would be
only one. In music history, Gregorian Chant could be
called singular music. It was monophony (having only one
melody line), because the God's voice should have been one
voice in the world of monotheism. "One" is an ontological
and idealistic number.
Picasso made "Bull's Head" by collaging a handle of a
bicycle onto a saddle. Meeting of the two things brought
forth a new relation between them, breaking away from their
own original meanings. Lautreamont's verse, "the chance
meeting on a dissecting table of a sewing-machine and an
umbrella," is a famous example of depaysement. In music
history, Bach's polyphony (made of two or more melody
lines), and a simultaneous performance of Cage's pieces
could be called plural music. "Two" (or "three," "four,"
...) is a violating and sexual number.
Venetian school's paintings, Seurat's pointillistic
paintings, and bitmap CGs could be said as sets of thousands
brushstrokes, points, or pixels. Pixels were originally
disconnected each other, and so jaggies would appear in some
forms approximated. However, difference between the
adjacent pixels caused pleasure of color. In music history,
blues with typical chord progressions could be called
multitudinous music; one chord already contained many
sounds. "Thousands" is a hedonistic and atomic number.
Of course, there were many examples of that pursuing
singular art generated multitudinousness, or the other way
around. That aside, I have been making art works being
aware of the above three categories each respectively, even
also "The Same Two Frames," the web-piece appeared in the
previous issue of this bulletin.
Supplement: I developed the above theory in an article
"Takamatsu Jiro And the Number's Universe" appeared in the
August issue of the Bijutsu Techo (BT), which included not
only Takamatsu's works but also all nature. Read it also.
>>>METHODICIST'S WEB PIECE OF THIS MONTH:
"July 2004, Tokyo," etc.
by Matsui Shigeru, poet
http://www008.upp.so-net.ne.jp/methodpoem/QuantumPoem.html
"July 2004, Tokyo" is a Method Poem based on the text of
"Quantum Poem" written in July 2004. The plural lines in
the graph shows the poetic concept more correctly than
reading. I also updated "Quantum Poem No. 14 - 33,"
"Quantum Poem No. 54 - 73," "Quantum Poem No. 74 - 93," and
"Quantum Poem No. 94 - 113." They are the ones that were
exhibited in 2003. Please refer to the text "To Quantum
Poem" appeared in "Method No. 15" and the web pieces
appeared in "Method No. 18" and "Method No. 28."
>>>METHODICIST'S GRAVURE OF THIS MONTH:
At IAMAS
Miwa Masahiro, Composer
- Attached file's name: method37_miwa.jpg
Rehearsal of an imaginary folk entertainment "NA-ME-JI"
composed by students at IAMAS. Photo by Ina Uki.
>>>A LETTER FROM THE METHOD MACHINE OF THIS MONTH:
From Sugiyama Monami, member
http://method-machine.com/
I (aged 72) am called Tansu, not Dance, but Tansu, which is
equivalent to a dresser in Japanese. Machine (aged 0) is
stored in Tansu. In other words, Machine is stored in me.
Machine asks, "Am I outside or inside?" "Outside." I
answer and our conversation happily ends here. When Machine
stays in one of the drawers of Tansu, it is outside the
world. "Why outside?" A bit longer conversation like this
reminds us that a prolonged tragedy will result in a comedy.
When this is phenomenologically interpreted, Machine is
truly inside the world.
(Members are still invited for The Method Machine. See the
above URL to learn more about the group.)
>>>METHODICISTS' WORD & INFO OF THIS MONTH:
Nakazawa Hideki, artist:
nakazawa@aloalo.co.jp
http://aloalo.co.jp/nakazawa/
- I will hold a reading performance and a talk event with
dancers at the phantom college without buildings organized
by ICANOF. The 13th Hachinohe Art College "Nakazawa
Hideki's Alphabetical Paintings and Reading Dance -
Palindrome and Pharmakon" 7:30 pm, Sat, Aug 7, 2004,
Hachinohe City Museum of Art. www.hi-net.ne.jp/icanof/
In addition, I will participate in a show "SCALPLESS
LLANDSSSCAPE" organized by ICANOF (Sep 4 - 20, Hachinohe
City Museum of Art). The catalogue "ICANOF Media Art Show
2004" now on sale is carrying a detailed interview on me.
- My lithographs will be exhibited at "Nine Pillars" Act. 2,
curated by Matsuzawa Yutaka (Aug 20 - Sep 12, 2004, NADiff,
Tokyo). Itami Hiroshi and I will hold a talk event at 6 pm,
Sat, Aug 21. www.nadiff.com/fair/mainpage.html
- My activities older than ten years were commented in
detail by Sawaragi Noi in his text written for the catalogue
of "The Copy Age," an exhibition now being held at The
Museum of Modern Art, Shiga, though I am not a participant.
Written with English translation.
- I am writing a book "Contemporary Art History: Japan."
Matsui Shigeru, poet:
shigeru@td5.so-net.ne.jp
http://www008.upp.so-net.ne.jp/methodpoem/
- August 28, 2004. "Striped Stripe" will be performed in
Osaka. homepage.mac.com/tsulu/workslist/2004/simasima.html
- On the webpage of the magazine "Tanka Versus" (Fubaisha),
I will write an essay every week from August for half a
year. If you want to write an essay using the name of
Matsui Shigeru, please contact me. www.fubaisha.com/
Miwa Masahiro, composer:
mmiwa@iamas.ac.jp
http://www.iamas.ac.jp/~mmiwa/
- 8/29: "Bolero by Muramatsu Gear Engine" for Orchestra
(2003) will be performed as one of three nominated works of
"The 14th Competition of Akutagawa Award" at Suntory Hall,
Tokyo.
www.tokyo-concerts.co.jp/concerts/summer2004/040829.html
- 9/2-7: I will be in Linz during the Ars Electronica
Festival with many other participants from IAMAS!
www.aec.at/en/festival/programm/overview_campus_2004.asp
>>>POSTSCRIPT:
- METHOD Website: http://aloalo.co.jp/nakazawa/method/
- To read the back numbers, visit the above website.
- To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: nakazawa@aloalo.co.jp
- If you want to read in Japanese as well, let us know.
- You can send on this bulletin to others freely, but
corruption and appropriation are prohibited.
Bulletin METHOD NO. 37 English Version
Published on August 1, 2004
(C) Nakazawa Hideki, Matsui Shigeru, Miwa Masahiro, 2004
