[Blake_Stimson,_Gregory_Sholette]_Collectivism_aft(z-lib
After the “Descent to the Everyday” 53In the second phase, the “descent to the everyday” began withinthe site of exhibition from around 1958, as Anti-Art artists and individualmembers of collectives—most notoriously, Kyushu-ha, Neo Dada (renamedfrom “Neo Dada Organizers”), Group Ongaku (Music), Hi Red Center, andJikan-ha (Time School)—incorporated junk and everyday objects into theirworks, partly inspired by the fervor of Art Informel. 21The third phase was the “descent to everyday life.” On the onehand, some objects incorporated into works had a tendency themselves tomove about inside the exhibition site and depart from it, as with the famedexamples of Takamatsu Jiro’s string and Nakanishi Natsuyuki’s clothespins(both HRC members), shown at the “Yomiuri Independent” in 1963. 22 Onthe other hand, artists themselves were deWnitely an agency of the descent,taking their actions to the streets, often in order to promote their exhibitions.An unexpected precedent was found in Nika: in 1948, when the reorganizedNika began a tradition of scandalous publicity stunts, sending atruckload of costumed members and semi-nude models to the Ginza districtin Tokyo on the eve of their exhibition opening, with some luridness evendisplayed as a calculated accident. The costume parade to Ginza was subsequentlybanned, 23 but Nika’s “Opening-Eve Festival” preceded Kyushu-ha’sstreet exhibition in 1957, Neo Dada Organizers’ street demonstrations in1960, and Zero Dimension’s crawling and other rituals since 1963, which inturn preceded HRC’s extraexhibition performance works. The Anpo ’60struggle was an undeniable inXuence in their move out of the exhibitionhall: an urgent desire for “direct action” (chokusetsu kodo) lingered, after theprotest movement waned. It should be noted that parallel phenomena of“descent to everyday life” also took place in other cultural Welds during thisdecade. Most signiWcantly, troupes of underground theater (Angura engeki)such as Kara Juro’s Red Tent and Theater Center 68/70’s Black Tent werelaunched in 1967 and 1970, respectively; the playwright Terayama Shuji,who initiated the move out of traditional theater places, exploited the ideaof “street theater” with his Tenjo Sajiki group in 1970. 24In a sense, the departure from the exhibition was another face ofthe dematerialization of art. As practitioners moved from the combat zone ofAnti-Art to the no-man’s-land of Non-Art, object-based works were quicklyreplaced by works based on installation, conceptualism, and performance,the last of which was varyingly called “action” (akushon or koi), “Happening”(hapuningu), “event” (ivento), and “ritual” (gishiki) in Japan. The “descentto everyday life,” epitomized by HRC’s Cleaning Event, meant in real life theinWltration of the public sphere, often performed by collectives with an interventionalintent. Accordingly, the nature of collectivism changed. Althoughthe exhibition remained a key concern, vanguard collectives to a greater
54 Reiko Tomiiextent worked as collaborative units to execute extraexhibition projects. Inthis sense, collectivism after modernism in Japan is closely identiWed withcollaboration. As a result, the quintessentially modern concept of individualismand originality became an issue to interrogate. All these issues—latentin Cleaning Event—would be further explored by collaborative and interventionalcollectives after HRC in a full-Xedged “collectivism after modernism,”which pointed the way toward today’s collectivism. This is an areaof study extremely fertile yet hitherto little examined outside Japan.HI RED CENTER’S CLEANING EVENTHi Red Center, active in Tokyo in 1963–64, was arguably the Wrst “collaborativeunit” to inWltrate the public sphere as its site of operation in postwarJapan. The equal partnership, especially on the conceptual level, among thethree principal members (Takamatsu Jiro, Akasegawa Genpei, and NakanishiNatsuyuki) was the essence of its collective identity. 25Among their projects, Cleaning Event, which was the very last,most saliently demonstrates HRC’s collaborative collectivism charged withsocial critique (see Figure 2.1). Varyingly known as Campaign to PromoteCleanliness and Order in the Metropolitan Area (as billed in their Xyer) or BeClean! (as spelled out in English in their billboard prop), this performancework took place on the bustling district of Ginza in Tokyo on Saturday,October 16, 1964. The three core members and their associates were dressedin the uniform of a healthcare worker’s white coat and, incongruously, a pairof shades and a red armband with the group’s trademark “!” in white. Theyscrubbed sidewalks, and occasionally trafWc lanes, in a highly meticulousmanner using a toothbrush, a Xoorcloth, and other utterly ineffectual andout-of-place cleaning tools. 26Set on the seventh day of the Tokyo Olympic Games, which showcasedJapan as a respectable member of the international world and a boomingeconomic miracle two decades after the defeat in World War II, HRC’scleaning mocked the concerted effort of the city’s hasty modernization andbeautiWcation for the occasion. (One example was a newly built network ofmetropolitan highways.) Their ofWcial-looking disguises—their white labcoats and the billboard prop—were a perfect cover for this clandestine actin broad daylight. In fact, hardly any passers-by questioned their ridiculouscleaning. One policeman even thanked them for their diligent work, perhapsmistaking it for a ubiquitous Games-related beautiWcation effort.Paramount in Cleaning Event in particular and HRC’s works ingeneral was the notion of “direct action,” informed by radical politics of theanarchist martyr Kotoku Shusui in the early twentieth century. 27 The activist
- Page 22 and 23: Introduction 3to increase their pro
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- Page 30 and 31: Introduction 11collectivism brings
- Page 32 and 33: Introduction 13artists on Chicago
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- Page 40 and 41: Internationaleries 21Rooskens, Euge
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- Page 46 and 47: Internationaleries 27create a democ
- Page 48 and 49: Internationaleries 29of the fourth
- Page 50 and 51: Internationaleries 31Debord’s 196
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- Page 54 and 55: Internationaleries 35be demystiWed
- Page 56 and 57: Internationaleries 37printing a ser
- Page 58 and 59: Internationaleries 39NOTES1. Harold
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54 Reiko Tomii
extent worked as collaborative units to execute extraexhibition projects. In
this sense, collectivism after modernism in Japan is closely identiWed with
collaboration. As a result, the quintessentially modern concept of individualism
and originality became an issue to interrogate. All these issues—latent
in Cleaning Event—would be further explored by collaborative and interventional
collectives after HRC in a full-Xedged “collectivism after modernism,”
which pointed the way toward today’s collectivism. This is an area
of study extremely fertile yet hitherto little examined outside Japan.
HI RED CENTER’S CLEANING EVENT
Hi Red Center, active in Tokyo in 1963–64, was arguably the Wrst “collaborative
unit” to inWltrate the public sphere as its site of operation in postwar
Japan. The equal partnership, especially on the conceptual level, among the
three principal members (Takamatsu Jiro, Akasegawa Genpei, and Nakanishi
Natsuyuki) was the essence of its collective identity. 25
Among their projects, Cleaning Event, which was the very last,
most saliently demonstrates HRC’s collaborative collectivism charged with
social critique (see Figure 2.1). Varyingly known as Campaign to Promote
Cleanliness and Order in the Metropolitan Area (as billed in their Xyer) or Be
Clean! (as spelled out in English in their billboard prop), this performance
work took place on the bustling district of Ginza in Tokyo on Saturday,
October 16, 1964. The three core members and their associates were dressed
in the uniform of a healthcare worker’s white coat and, incongruously, a pair
of shades and a red armband with the group’s trademark “!” in white. They
scrubbed sidewalks, and occasionally trafWc lanes, in a highly meticulous
manner using a toothbrush, a Xoorcloth, and other utterly ineffectual and
out-of-place cleaning tools. 26
Set on the seventh day of the Tokyo Olympic Games, which showcased
Japan as a respectable member of the international world and a booming
economic miracle two decades after the defeat in World War II, HRC’s
cleaning mocked the concerted effort of the city’s hasty modernization and
beautiWcation for the occasion. (One example was a newly built network of
metropolitan highways.) Their ofWcial-looking disguises—their white lab
coats and the billboard prop—were a perfect cover for this clandestine act
in broad daylight. In fact, hardly any passers-by questioned their ridiculous
cleaning. One policeman even thanked them for their diligent work, perhaps
mistaking it for a ubiquitous Games-related beautiWcation effort.
Paramount in Cleaning Event in particular and HRC’s works in
general was the notion of “direct action,” informed by radical politics of the
anarchist martyr Kotoku Shusui in the early twentieth century. 27 The activist