Electrifying Art

by Nicole Findlay

Ming Tiampo, assistant professor in the School for Studies in Art and Culture has received international recognition for an exhibition she co-curated.

The Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art awarded Electrifying Art: Atsuko Tanaka 1954-1968 second place for Best Monographic Museum Show in New York. The exhibit was shown at the Grey Art Gallery in New York and at the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery in Vancouver in 2004 and 2005.

While the exhibit was mounted in North America where many are unfamiliar with Japanese modern art, it was the result of a fascination Tiampo had in the issues that surround the translation and transmission of culture between Japan and the West.

In 2000, she relocated to Japan after receiving a research scholarship from the Japanese government. Her fellowship at the Ashiya City Museum of Art and History was devoted to researching Gutai – a Japanese art movement.

“The word Gutai means concreteness of embodiment. The Gutai were a highly inventive Japanese art movement from 1954 to 1972, who created paintings, performances and installations that with the hindsight of history, foreshadowed many artistic developments of the 1960s and 1970s in Europe and America,” said Tiampo. “Not only did they create works that led to international trends in art, they also pioneered methods of using mass media to disseminate work, creating a “world stage” accessible to them from the art world’s periphery.”

It was during her time in Japan that Tiampo encountered and developed a love for the work of one particular artist, Atsuko Tanaka a pioneer of post-war Japanese avant-guard art.

Born in Osaka, Japan in 1932, Tanaka expressed herself through performances, installations and drawings. Throughout her career, she sought to depart from traditional rules of art – including performances staged outside traditional spaces.

“I was fascinated by the fact that her work is both deeply intellectual and delightfully accessible,” said Tiampo. “One example is Electric Dress (1956), a dress made of painted flashing incandescent light bulbs. On one hand it addresses complex theoretical issues such as the translation of aesthetics, the boundaries of art, and the gendered body. On the other hand, looking at it is like going to a carnival – even a three year old can enjoy it!”

This fascination proved the genesis for the exhibit. Over a four-year period, Tiampo worked with Mizuho Kato to curate Electrifying Art, a process that involved assembling and organizing an international team based in Japan, US and Canada. One of the challenges the curators faced was negotiating and translating differing sets of ideas and approaches to the organization of the exhibit.

Their efforts paid off.

“For me the award means that somebody noticed what I was doing, and it made a difference to them! That is very rewarding,” said Tiampo. “This is why I like to organize exhibitions in addition to working on books and articles. Even my parents liked the show.”