METHOD NO. 23 (JUNE 1, 2003)
Email-Bulletin "METHOD" is a free monthly on "Method Painting, Method
Poem, Method Music (Methodicist Manifesto)." Publishers are three
Japanese artists, Hideki Nakazawa, a (visual) artist, Shigeru Matsui, a
poet, and Masahiro Miwa, a composer. You can read the manifestos of
Methodicism at http://aloalo.co.jp/nakazawa/method/
This issue, METHOD NO. 23, carries a text by Shigeru Matsui and a web
piece by Masahiro Miwa, and word and info by the three Methodicists.
>>>METHODICIST'S TEXT OF THIS MONTH:
The Measure of the True Joy
by Shigeru Matsui, poet
As a Methodicist, I do the appreciation of art on the basis
whether a work has logical inevitability or not. According to the
definition of Methodicist Manifesto, I perceive a painting how a colored
plane has logical inevitability, a poem how the row of letters has
logical inevitability, and music how vibrating time has logical
inevitability. After the logical inevitability got the measure of my
appreciation, I often came to evaluate the work low which I had felt
pleasant, and high which I had felt tedious physiologically before. The
value judgment of "Method" does not insert one's taste into a work.
That is natural because the Methodicism requests stoicism and discipline.
In order for Methodicists to obtain true joy, physiological pleasure is
not only unnecessary but also harmful. We are able to give absolute
evaluation to a work by eliminating physiological pleasure. This can be
called the measure of the true joy independent of physiology.
I am dealing with Ballet as an example. "The Swan Lake" and "The
Sleeping Beauty" are famous ballets. I liked "The Swan Lake" as my
taste better than "The Sleeping Beauty." Because whichever productions
of "The Swan Lake" evoked physiological pleasure. On the other hand,
"The Sleeping Beauty" was tedious to physiological feeling. However,
the work that offers the true joy suited to the Methodicism is "The
Sleeping Beauty."
Ballet is the art that consists of dancing, a tale, and music. I,
as a Methodicist, would like to esteem the work in which the logical
inevitability exists among elements. We can recognize the logical
inevitability in "The Sleeping Beauty" as followings.
Many works of the Romantic ballet were arbitrarily formed by
dancing, a tale, and existent music in the first half of the 19th
century. On the other hand, the Classical ballet, completed by Marius
Petipa in the second half of the 19th century, arranged each stylized
dance in accordance with a stylized tale. They commissioned a composer
to compose music specifying the rhythm, the number of measures, and the
instrumentation suited to a tale and dancing. The Classical ballet
aimed to consist with dancing, a tale, and music, eliminating
arbitrariness as much as possible. The model is "The Sleeping Beauty,"
and there may be no other work in which dancing, a tale, and music
harmonized so perfectly. Contrarily, "The Swan Lake" being performed
today is the one exaggeratedly reconstructed after the premiere breaking
the style, and the appearance of typical Classical ballet is being lost.
The physiological pleasure of "The Swan Lake" is not true joy.
Thus, Methodicists do not consider individual physiological
pleasure as the measure of the value. That is natural because the
Methodicism is a proposal to one's sense of values of art itself.
>>>METHODICIST'S WEB PIECE OF THIS MONTH:
The Matarisama-Doll (Prototype version)
by Masahiro Miwa, composer
http://www.iamas.ac.jp/~mmiwa/MatarisamaDoll.html
The Matarisama-Doll is a member of an 8-robot-player ensemble, a
substitute for an 8-human-player ensemble, which realizes the music
called the "Matarisama" automatically. In other words the doll is an
XOR-operating device driven by water stream with 1 bit memory and
logical I/O. The same as the Matarisama ensemble by humans, each input
of 8 dolls is to be connected to each output of the next doll circularly
so that they may play bells or castanets automatically. Please look at
the brave figure of the Matarisama-Doll!
>>>METHODICISTS' WORD & INFO OF THIS MONTH:
Hideki Nakazawa, artist:
nakazawa@aloalo.co.jp http://aloalo.co.jp/nakazawa/
- Seven months has passed since I came to the U.S. The circumstance
that nobody knew me gave me a golden opportunity to remember my original
purpose of methodicism, because, while in Japan, I almost tended to
enjoy offending against methodicism. That might have been reflected in
my new works shown at the open studio. You are welcome to visit my
studio if you are in NY but have not seen them yet (appointment needed).
- METHOD NIGHT VOL. 6 by Hideki Nakazawa:
Talk with Reiko Tomii on 'Method Art Festival'
7 pm, Fri., June 20 at ISCP #610, 323 W 39th St., (btw 8th & 9th), NYC.
... I will talk with Reiko Tomii, PhD, an art historian and curator,
watching the documentary videos of "Method Art Festival No. 1 & 2" held
in Japan in 2001 and 2002. COME AND WITNESS TODAY'S TRUE RADICALISM.
- Fumie Hihara, a koto player, will play contemporary music pieces by
Shigeru Matusi et al., including my "After Hanon No. 1-3 for Thirteen-
String-Koto in Five Parts," at "WINDS CAFE 78" on Sat., June 14 at Winds
Gallery, Kichijoji, Tokyo. Collaboration with her sister, Mizue Hihara,
a sumie painter. Info in Japanese: www.st.rim.or.jp/~mal/Cafe/
Shigeru Matsui, poet:
shigeru@td5.so-net.ne.jp http://www008.upp.so-net.ne.jp/methodpoem/
- "Pure Poem" with fixed pitch and value was premiered in the concert by
Reisiu Sakai on May 25. As it proved successful, I am producing a new
work for reading in which I will designate pitch, value, timbre,
intensity and language. The work will be the one that gathers each
element according to the principle of Pure Poem as minimalism. This is
an experiment for reading ruled by the thought of total serial music.
- Performance of my works for koto, "Summer in Tokyo" and "Pure Poem,"
by Fumie Hihara at WINDS CAFE on June 14, 2003 (Tokyo).
Info in Japanese: www.st.rim.or.jp/~mal/Cafe/
- Performance "marathon READING 2003" on June 28, 2003 (Tokyo)
Info in Japanese: http://plaza24.mbn.or.jp/~naku/mr.html
Masahiro Miwa, composer:
mmiwa@iamas.ac.jp http://www.iamas.ac.jp/~mmiwa/
- When you read this issue, I will be in Cairo for the world premiere of
the piece "Bolero by Muramatsu Gear-Engine," my first work for orchestra.
... 9 pm on June 5, at Cairo Opera House. (Please come and enjoy it!)
- In May I was crazy about making the Matarisama doll. The doll
simulates the Matarisama-play by a human who simulates logical (boolean-)
operation in a computer (that is, the simulation of the "reverse
simulation music")! From this prototype version of the Matarisama doll
I will make the final version (8 dolls) using bamboos and show them at
XEBEC hall in Kobe in October. This project is my personal trial on the
ultimate algorithmic composition and at the same time my first work in
the form of sound installation.
Group "METHOD":
http://aloalo.co.jp/nakazawa/method/
- Those who want to work with us will be invited from any positions such
as advisors, assistants, brains, critics, doll-makers, editors, managers,
observers, patrons, performers, photographers, planners, publishers,
programmers, promoters, sponsors, theorists, translators, volunteers...
>>>POSTSCRIPT:
The next issue, NO. 24, will be published on July 1, carrying a text by
Masahiro Miwa and a web piece by Hideki Nakazawa. There are two
versions of this bulletin; one is only in English which you are reading
right now, the other is accompanied by Japanese translation which we can
send you at your request. To read the back numbers, visit the above URL
of "METHOD." To subscribe or unsubscribe to this bulletin, email any of
us at the above email addresses. You can send on this bulletin to
others freely, but corruption and appropriation are prohibited.
Monthly Email-Bulletin METHOD NO. 23 published on June 1, 2003
(C) Hideki Nakazawa, Shigeru Matsui, Masahiro Miwa, 2003