Mixed media installation
Video, 10 inflatable cushions, vinyl, blue light, chair, shadow of chair
Artist-in-Residence, Aomori-Japan
2004
Photo: Pachtner
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE JAPAN
[4-5] "The hanging chair, too, is designed without a seating part. It is not designed for sitting, either. The small chair and its huge shadow in contrast as well as the white cushions ask viewers a question of the meaning of sitting, through presentations of contradictory aspects in size and ineffectiveness. Furthermore, the projection of the black figure of neuter gender running aimlessly contrasts the difference between running and sitting. That also prompts visitors viewing the work to think about the reason why they run or sit. Do you always run? What for and to where? When do you want to sit down?
Thus, Pachtner introduces incongruities in people's daily lives and acts, and cross-cultural similarities and differences in the context of art. This viewpoint to deal with contradictions and differences at a distance will lead us to recognize the characteristics of our culture that we are usually unaware of. It is difficult, however, to deal with this distance. It takes a lot of time before differences can be revealed in a fixed-point observation."
Makiko Matake. Between Running and Sitting, in the catalogue of the Artist-in-Residence Program, Aomori Contemporary Art Centre, Japan, Pg. 65
Makiko Matake. Catalogue text – japanese version.
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