Tadashi Kawamata, curator & artist

In 2005 I was doing a story on the Yokohama Triennale and sent some questions to Tadashi Kawamata, an artist who was serving as the Director of the event. 

Colin Liddell: There were special problems with this Triennale: short time and a site that wasn't suitable for every kind of art. How did these problems or pressures help shape your concept of the Art Circus? You had, I believe,  9 months to prepare this Triennale, which is a very short time. Was it stresful? What was the biggest obstacle that you faced?

Tadashi Kawamata: It wasn't a real problem that we had only 9 months to prepare. We have chosen the site specific art work for this tirennale, and lots of artists who participated came to see the site. As soon as I decided to work on this triennale, I went to Europe to see the artists and to ask for their participation. The word "Art Circus" was introduced by Daniel Buren.

Colin Liddell: The theme of involvement threatens to blur the distinction between artist and audience. Indeed, I was sometimes unsure who the artists and who the audience were. The more the audience participates, the more they are the artist.A big part of art's appeal is the pseudo-religious idea of the sacredness or specialness of the artist. Doesn't your concept of the "Art Circus and its spectator involvement threaten this proscenium barrier?

Tadashi Kawamata: I think having no boundary between the artists and the audience should not be a problem. For this triennale, the artists also participate in other artists' work as well as the audience. I think the word "artist" should not be treated as a certain status. The artists are also an audience.

Colin Liddell: With a theme of involvement, it was odd that visitors were not allowed to photograph their involvement, as this would be an ideal way of involving them. Is this restriction because artists don't want their works to be photographed? Doesn't this create a barrier between artist and audience?

Tadashi Kawamata: For this current situation, I personally think taking photographs with the mobile phone has a different meaning from taking photographs with an ordinary camera. People get more familiar to taking photographs. It becomes far more difficult to control the use of cameras. We inform  "no photographs" at the entrance, when they buy tickets, as well as at the information board, but we would like to leave it to each individuals' common sense.