The Parasophia Office has been presenting lectures and other events as the Open Research Program since June 2013.  This program will also include lectures by artists participating in Parasophia: Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture 2015 who are visiting Kyoto for their research trip as part of the process of working toward the exhibition in 2015.  The first event in the Open Research Program to be held since the announcement of the first round of artists on April 4 is a lecture by participating artist Susan Philipsz, co-presented by the Kyoto Art Center.
Philipsz is originally from Scotland and now is based in Berlin.  Her works use sound (often her own singing voice) as a material, and the history of the sites where her works are installed and the memories of individuals are also incorporated as important elements.  In essence, her works can be described as spatial works that are created through the interrelationship between the memories of her audience (her works’ viewers) and the history of the installation site.  Her works, which cannot be limited to the description of “sound installation,” have particularly attracted attention since around the year 2000.  As one of the most important artists in contemporary British art, Philipsz was awarded the Turner Prize in 2010, and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2014 Queen's Honours List in recognition of her services to British art.  For this Open Research Program, Philipsz will deliver a lecture that shares the title of her latest book and accompanying website, “You Are Not Alone.”

Date:

Sunday, April 20, 2014  7:00–8:30PM

Admission:

Free (no application for participation required)

Language:

English (with consecutive interpretation into Japanese)

Venue:

Multi-purpose hall, West Wing 1F, Kyoto Art Center
546-2 Yamabushiyama-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8156
5 min. walk from Exits 22 or 24, Shijo Station, Kyoto Municipal Subway Karasuma Line (Station K09) and Karasuma Station, Hankyu Kyoto Line (Station HK85)
www.kac.or.jp/eng

Doors open:

6:30PM

Presented by:

Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture Organizing Committee, Kyoto Association of Corporate Executives (Kyoto Keizai Doyukai), Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto City

Co-presented by:

Kyoto Art Center

Seats available:

80 seats

Parasophia’s 8th Open Research Program was a lecture by participating artist Susan Philipsz, co-presented by the Kyoto Art Center.
Philipsz’s works use sound (often her own singing voice) as a material, and the history of the sites where her works are installed and the memories of individuals are also incorporated as important elements.  Her lecture opened with Parasophia’s artistic director Shinji Kohmoto’s account of his dramatic first encounter with Philipsz’s work at Manifesta 3 (2000).  The artist spoke about her roots as a sculpture student and how she came to create works that use sound as a material.  Using sound and video clips from her website, www.susanphilipszyouarenotalone.com, Philipsz discussed several of her works in depth, including Study for Strings, which was installed at the Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum für Gegenwart - Berlin from February 1 to May 4, 2014.
In essence, Philipsz’s works can be described as spatial works that are created through the interrelationship between the memories of her audience (her works’ viewers) and the history of the installation site.  She spent her days in Kyoto exploring the city by bicycle, and this exploration has given her inspiration for her new work to be announced at Parasophia: Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture 2015.  During the lecture’s Q&A session, an audience member noted that his experience of seeing her work at the Skulptur Projekte in Münster in 2007 brought the Japanese word kotodama [Wikipedia article: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotodama] to mind.  Philipsz said in response that she finds this word and concept very intriguing, and that she will look into it.  Her lecture seemed to renew the audience’s expectations toward Parasophia: Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture 2015 and to lay the groundwork for her new work.  This is an example of the dialogue and real exchange that is made possible by the Open Research Program, which shares part of our research toward the exhibition with the general public.

92 audience members were present for this lecture.  The lecture was photographed by a student from the Kyoto University of Art and Design, and two students from Doshisha University and Osaka University also provided their assistance.  A record of the lecture will be made available on this website.

(Photos by Yuki Yoneda)

Open Research Program 08 [Lecture] Susan Philipsz “You Are Not Alone”
Date: Sunday, April 20, 2014  7:00–8:30 PM
Venue: Multi-purpose hall, West Wing 1F, Kyoto Art Center
Presented by the Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture Organizing Committee, Kyoto Association of Corporate Executives (Kyoto Keizai Doyukai), Kyoto Prefecture, and Kyoto City
Co-presented by Kyoto Art Center

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