Tadasu Takamine, conceptual artist

"Hmmm, why do my hands smell like that?"

In January 2011, I met and interviewed Tadasu Takamine at the Yokohama Museum of Art. Not really my cup of tea, but sometimes when you go outside your comfort zone you learn something interesting (sadly, not this time). Due to a technical glitch or my own carelessness, our conversation was not recorded. I therefore emailed him some additional questions. Although his English ability is rather good, he emailed me back with answers in Japanese, which I then translated into English.

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Liddell: Do you have mixed feelings about exhibiting at the Yokohama Art Museum considering the history? I am of course referring to what happened with your video work Kimura-san some years ago. [Note: this was, I recall, a work that documented Takamine helping a disabled man jerk off. It was not shown due to an understandable public outcry.]

Takamine: Concerning the exhibition of Kimura-san in 2004, wasn't there rather a degree of courage from the Yokohama Museum of Art in trying to display the work? Compared with other art museums not even accepting the original offer, this was very good. Concerning not being able to display, yes there was a feeling of "after all it was useless," but rather than bad feelings remaining, more important than that, there was a good feeling with regard to the Yokohama Museum of Art.

Image from Kimura-san

Liddell: By my definition, your art is concept art. It is not concerned with aesthetics, but with ideas and concepts and making people think. The ideas generated are paramount. But the problem with conceptual art is that unless the ideas are great and the revelations revolutionary, people are likely to be disappointed. At the same time conceptual artists feel reluctant to make their concepts too clear. Do you generally try to work on the audience's mind indirectly or just make them a little confused in the hope that something good will come out of it?

Takamine: This is the first time my art had been called conceptual art, so it is not a bad feeling, but I don't think a conceptual artist would call a work like Baby Insa-dong conceptual art. Kimura-san and works like these, I think, are rather closer to literature than fine arts.

Liddell: God Bless America is said by some to be a criticism of America. But I am not convinced. Any song could be used without changing the nature of the work. What do you think?

Takamine: If we imagine there is a tune other than God Bless America, it is the Japanese national anthem. I think God Bless America is suitable simply because the number of people who sing the Japanese national anthem with tears flowing are few.

Liddell: Freud gave every human action a sexual connotation. With A Big Blow Job you seem to be trying to give a sexual action a non-sexual connotation. You said you had some problems with this piece when I saw it, but as you explained at the time, the basic idea is to desexualize the act of the blow job and to turn it into an analogy of our relationship with the Earth. Isn't this just stretching an analogy to the point where it becomes meaningless? What use is such an idea? Won't people just say, "Oh, I see," then shrug their shoulders and forget about it?

Takamine: When you say A Big Blow Job here, I think you mean Too Far to See. Blow jobs are included in sex, but the piece concerns something different from our usual way of thinking about it. Furthermore, concerning the possibility of connotation, the object of the work is to explore the possibility of images. The Japanese kanji title of Too Far to See means "exhibits in the room for after a meeting."

Liddell: If an art work contains a strongly sexual element – from the point of view of ordinary people – then the sexual element tends to drown out any other element. From Kimura-san people will remember its sexual nature more than its charitable nature. From God Bless America people remember the sex between you and your partner rather than any other concepts, and from Too Far to See people are likely to remember it in a sexual way, too. For this very reason, shouldn't a conceptual artist avoid sex like the plague?

Takamine: Concerning what you call "people"... For example, those looking at God Bless America, if the general reaction is that they only remember the sex action and if that's the way people are, I think it's very stupid. Concerning Kimura-san it is the same. But as I have a lot of experience showing these two works to university classes, I think a further polite explanation is not necessary.

Liddell: I have been reading the exhibition catalogue. I got the impression from the short essays On Not Becoming a Leader, A Hands Off Approach, and Towards Human Existence that you are very self-disparaging. But I also got the impression for some reason that this self-disparaging nature was actually hiding ambition. I got the feeling that you are very ambitious but that you think ambition is a dirty word. What was your motive for writing these pieces?

Takamine: I'm not certain if it's an error of the bilingual text or a difference of culture, but I think there are many cases of affirming while denying and in addition denying while affirming.

Solmaz Unaydın, Ambassador

OK, I had minimal input into this 2004 interview, but I had some because I did the copyediting, so I decided to include it with my other interviews.

Not sure who came up with the questions or did the actual interviewing, but it was definitely a non-native English speaker which is why I was paid to give my once over. Some of the questions are pure ass-kissing questions also. Anyway, this is the cleaned-up version of the interview which appeared in Club Life magazine, a kind of in-house magazine for a group of clubs for wealthy "gaijins" and their Japanese friends in Tokyo.

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Club Life: The exhibition 'Three Great Civilizations in Turkey' (The Hittite, the Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires) was very popular, and that visitors waitied up to an hour to enter the museum, and then another hour to get to see the fabulous emerald-encrusted Topkapi dagger, which is one of the most famous artifacts from the Topkapi Palace. Congratulations on the great success of the exhibition. 

Unaydin: Thank you very much. The Turkish embassy and Turkish government authorities have made large contributions to the exhibition, however the cooperation of NHK was even greater. NHK aired many programs featuring our country, and, I gratefully acknowledge, even highlighted me along with Turkish culture. I greatly appreciate the extensive cooperation of His Imperial Highness Prince Tomohito, who chaired the executive committee for the Year of Turkey. I am glad that many Japanese people are interested in our country, and very grateful to them. 

Club Life: The Topkapi dagger is considered a masterpiece of craftsmanship. Only one side can be seen when it is on display in the Topkapi Palace, but the exhibition in Japan was innovative because visitors had the good fortune to see both sides of the fabulous dagger. 

Unaydin: I think of it as a Japanese miracle. The dagger first left our country in 2000 to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the Ottoman Empire in an exhibition in the U.S. ('The Palace of Gold & Light' exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., the San Diego Museum of Art, and the Art Museum of Florida), but it wasn't exhibited in a manner in which both sides could be seen, so I was very impressed with the exhibition in Japan.

Club Life: Turkey is a jewel box of a country, with evidence of civilizations ranging from the Neolithic age to modern times apparent everywhere. How do people in Turkey feel about protecting historical buildings and excavating remains for preservation? 

Unaydin: Turkey has an 8,000-year history dating back to 6,000 B.C. The Anatolian region was the birthplace of three great civilizations, and it is believed that there have been 23 other civilizations in the country. As it is difficult to excavate using Turkish people alone, volunteers from around the world pitch in on a daily basis. We have a mission to preserve artifacts as soon as they are excavated, and we hope to have more opportunities to let the world know about the latest historical findings. As part of this, we encorage people from around the world to visit Turkey. 

Club Life:  Last year was a year for Japanese people to get to know Turkey and to learn about the country. Many of those people are looking forward to maintaining this interest on various occasions this year as well. 

Unaydin: Thank you. I have to make further efforts to encourage people to develop an interest in Turkey and to urge more people to visit the country. Today, about 90,000 Japanese tourists visit Turkey every year. The total number of Japanese traveling overseas each year is 17 million, so the figure of 90,000 can easily be doubled. I will try harder to attract more Japanese people and make them feel comfortable visiting my country. 

Club Life: Your career as a woman is admirable. Looking at Turkish history, it was one of the first countries in Europe in which women were permitted to vote and run in national elections, starting in 1934. Japanese women only gained suffrage in 1945, and French women in 1944, so Turkey was relatively advanced. It is also said that the percentage of women who are lawyers, doctors and in other professions in Turkey is higher than the U.S. and other industrialized nations. The position of women in Turkey therefore seems to be very advanced. 

Unaydin: Republicanism has been established for 80 years in Turkey, since the founder of the modern nation, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, released an announcement banning the black "chador" robe that women had to wear. Politics was separated from religion, and men and women were given equal opportunities for education. As a result, the number of women becoming scholars, lawyers, pharmacists, and architects has increased to the same level as men. However, the diplomatic corps has the lowest percentage of women. About half of all women work, with a third of this amount engaged in clerical work and secretarial work, and two-thirds as career workers. 

Club Life: Are there other Turkish female ambassadors like yourself who work on the international stage? 

Unaydin: I was the second Turkish female ambassador. I became ambassador to Sweden in 1992, followed by ambassador to Poland; I was then international trade policy bureau chief at the Foreign Ministry, and I am now ambassador to Japan. It takes only two years for men to be eligible to become ambassadors, but I had to wait for eight years because I am a woman. Currently there are 14 female Turkish ambassadors, and two more will join soon for a total of 16. I personally know Japanese female ambassadors who are very active, and I am sure that the number of female ambassadors will grow in Japan as well. There are 22 female lawmakers in Turkey today, and I think the number of female politicians is increasing in both Turkey and Japan. 

Club Life: Your husband is also an ambassador, isn't he? 

Unaydin: There are several couples in which both husband and wife are diplomats, but it's rare that both are ambassadors. My husband was a diplomat senior to me when I joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When we were in New York, he was consul general and I was counselor. When he became ambassador to Malaysia I went there with him, but when he was ambassador to Serbia in Belgrade I became ambassador to Sweden, so we lived separately. When I came to Japan as ambassador my husband had already retired, so now he goes back and forth between Japan and Turkey. Since we share the same profession, we have a great understanding of each other's work. 

Club Life: Would you tell our readers about the secret of your beauty and your attractive character? You have a distinctive aura, and everyone who has met you says you look like the famous French actress Catherine Deneuve. 

Unaydin: It is true that many people say so (laughs). In addition to paying attention to clothing and skincare on a daily basis, I try to remain very disciplined. I have never forgotten that people look at me as a representative of Turkey. Even if one is competent at work but lacks an attractive appearance, such a person doesn't leave a pleasant impression with others and may give a negative image of one's country. I consider myself to be a role model, so I always try to wear clothing and a hairstyle appropriate to each occasion. 

(Just before the start of this interview the ambassador was on the phone with the Foreign Minister of Turkey. Club Life deeply appreciates her taking this precious time out of her obviously busy schedule to share her thoughts with our readers.) 

Hiroko Yokomizo (横溝廣子), academic

In 2011 I did an article on an exhibition at the Geidai Museum for the Japan Times. I had absolutely no idea about the contents of the exhibition, which were artworks connected to Japan's ancient perfume culture, so I had to dig up one of the curators, an academic lady, and shoot her some questions that reveal my ignorance of the subject and her erudition. The image is an AI-generated image of a serious Japanese lady academic, not an actual image of Yokomizo herself, whom I suspect is not so hot.

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Liddell: How many fragrance boxes are in the exhibition? I counted two. What are the fragrances in them? Are these fragrances different at different times or the same fragrances throughout the exhibition.

Yokomizo: If you are referring to the boxes that you can open the lid, and smell the fragrance, there are three boxes. The fragrance changed from ume plum to orchid this Monday, but the "Kyara" and "Takimono" are the same throughout the exhibition.

Liddell: When we think of perfume we think of "hiding bad smells." This is certainly the case with France, a country that was once notorious for poor bathing habits. Although the origins of Japan's fragrance culture are in Buddhism, it was developed by the Heian nobility. Is it true that they seldom bathed, and that they used perfume in the same way as the old French nobility to "hide bad smells"?

Yokomizo: Yes, it is considered so in Japan also.

Liddell: In Japanese culture you talk about "hearing" aroma. By contrast, this exhibition invites us to "see" the aromas. The connection between smelling and hearing seems natural as aromas are a little unclear and abstract like music, but seeing is precise and definite, so it may seem an unusual idea. How would you compare and contrast "hearing" an aroma with "seeing" an aroma?

Yokomizo: "Hearing" aroma is the term used in Kodo, because the person heartfully "listens" to what the fragrant wood is expressing, as if the wood was a person. "Seeing" aroma is rather an attempt to see what the painter is expressing, in the case of the paintings in this exhibition, the painters have the aroma as a part of the theme in painting.

Liddell: The English philosopher John Locke made a distinction between Primary qualities of sensation (solidity, extension, motion, number and figure) and Secondary qualities of sensation (colour, taste, smell, and sound). The former were regarded as more objective, while the latter were regarded as more subjective. This distinction was a foundation of the mechanistic outlook common in Western culture. Is there a similar distinction in Japanese culture? If not, why not?

Yokomizo: I am not quite sure about this, and will send this question to Mr. Ryo Furuta, the main curator of this exhitibion. I hope he will respond quickly.

Liddell: Japanese fragrance culture is unique and highly developed and an important part of general Japanese culture. What is the foundation of this? Why did Japan develop this strong fragrance culture, while in other cultures, even in France, smell and aroma have traditionally been regarded as mere aspects of other cultural areas, such as cuisine, wine, flowers, and fashion?

Yokomizo: Considering how widely tea is enjoyed in Japan, there is much [in] common with fragrance appreciation, and incense was used in various scenes in the Japanese daily lives. Incense is most the essential item when we pray for the souls of those who have past away, even today. It is essential in all scenes in Buddhist rituals, as offerings to Buddha and other subjects of rituals, widely carried out throughout Japan from ancient times to the present . Since the Heian period, it was considered an etiquette, to create unique incense fragrances. Fragrance was enjoyed with literature, expressed often in poems, and is probably part of the spirit in Japan to enjoy the various different elements of the four seasons, such as the many plants and flowers. It was also used to both rise and calm  spirits, and Kodo developed along with Sado, and widely carried out, first throughout the nobles, and later to the common people.

Angelo Visigalli, Restaurateur

Back in 2010, I was putting together a feature article for Metropolis magazine on art in restaurants. As part of this I ran a few questions past the owner of BICE, one of the restaurants featured. The interview was carried about by email to save on transcription time. Some slight corrections have been made in Visigelli's English as it is not his first language apparently.

Liddell: When did BICE start exhibiting art and why?

Visigalli: Art it is always being a passion of mine, therefore when we were planning the restaurant layout, I made sure that it would be equipped for exposition. We did the first art exposition a week after the opening. Usually we do a different exposition every 2-3 month.

Liddell: What attracted you to Aeravi’s art? [The artist currently on display] How do you normally choose your artists?

Visigalli: I liked the graphics of her design that I find very metaphysical but very expressive at the same time.

Liddell: Do you have any restrictions on the kind of art that can be shown? If so, what are they? What are the reasons for these limits?

Visigalli: Usually I do not have any limitation whatsoever, because art as food, is a matter of taste, you can love it, or dislike it. At the same time, I expose art in my restaurant to entertain, and therefore, in order to respect the first and most important core of my business, serve food with good service in a cozy environment, sometimes I find myself turning down offers from artists that are too explicit. This is to avoid an 80-year-old lady, finding herself in front of a man's nude, which can be acceptable in a museum.

Liddell: How can artists approach you?

Visigalli: 90% of the time I go searching for artists in expositions, internet, or during visits to gallery, but as we have been doing this for many years now, we receive lots of portfolios, and than we take it from there.

Liddell: How are the paintings marketed to the customers? For example, how do they know that they are not just decoration but are also for sale?

Visigalli: Usually our staff informs the costumers regarding the exposition, and if the costumer asks for more details, we always inform them that unlike the art galleries, we do not take part in the sales, therefore we suggest to contact the artist/gallery that represent it directly.

Liddell: What do you think of the traditional gallery system – rental galleries, dealer galleries, etc.? What are the drawbacks? What are the advantages? Do you think this system can survive?

Visigalli: I believe that the systems works fine. Unfortunately, for the artists, some galleries are very greedy, and therefore leave the artist too little to live on. At the same time, it is a necessary process to eliminate unnecessary art, or inconstant artists. The market is very much saturated with so many different kinds of artists and art, and this highly competitive system, will ensure the survival of the very true, artist with a message, not the one that only have a fantastic concept that needs the instruction book as an appliance to be understood.

Liddell: What are the advantages for the artists of exhibiting in a restaurant setting as opposed to a traditional gallery? What are the disadvantages, if any?

Visigalli: The advantage is that usually there is a lot of people going through this kind of activity than an average gallery. Disadvantage can be that we are not a gallery first of all, therefore the people that visit us do not come to see art, even if I would like to underline that, after 8 years, lots of our guests are always looking forward to the next exhibition.

Liddell: What are the advantages for the restaurants? Are there any problems?

Visigalli: The basic advantage is to ensure a different atmosphere according to the artist's message. Problems none, except the set up. That is time consuming, in an already busy environment with daily operations, but I would not call this a problem.

Liddell: Tell me about some of the artists who have exhibited with you and how it has impacted on their career?

Visigalli: Well, we did lots of solo artist exhibitions, from top Italians, like Mario Arlati a living artist that is considered one of the top 5 (all after Clemente of course), or Massimo Catalani  (www.massimocatalani.com) another already famous painter from Italy, Tetsuro Shimizu, a teacher at Brera art school in Milano for over 20 years, Kentaro Baba, Saito Kaoru, Mr. Dang, and many many more. Of course, the famous did not have any gain from exposing in BiCE except for the revenue on their sales, the younger ones, have a chance to showcase their art to a window on the city of Tokyo, and you never know, one thing can led to another.

Liddell: BICE is on the 47th floor and has incredible views. Other restaurants I have visited are in basements with no windows. Restaurants with no windows obviously need the kind of visual charm that art provides, but why does BICE need art when you have such great views already?

Visigalli: As mentioned before, art is a passion of mine, and I'm always hoping to expose some of the artists that I like, not for commercial gain, nor to fill my pockets with the sales, as I am not a professional in the field, but just an amateur, by exposing new and young artists I hope to make more people interested in art, as much as entertain them.

Kunio Kobayashi (小林國雄), bonsai master

Photo by Colin Liddell

This was an interview I did in 2004 for an article in Tokyo Journal. I had some help from Kobayashi's English apprentice, 26-year-old Peter Warren. Kobayashi was not able or unwilling to answer some questions, which are not included here. 

Liddell: What is the main appeal of Bonsai for those who do it?

Kobayashi: One of the main appeals of Bonsai is communication with nature. Modern life has lost touch with the natural world and Bonsai is a link back to it. Tokyo is full of concrete and buildings, which are ugly, but if you do Bonsai you can have some green in a pot.

Liddell: How did you first become attracted to doing Bonsai

Kobayashi: Life. Bonsai have a long life, longer than me and you. They have been alive in a small pot for hundreds of years and will be alive after I die. They also have their own personality, each tree is an individual with it's own characteristics and beauty. There are no two bonsai that are exactly alike. This makes it different from gardening.

Liddell: Many people think that Bonsai is cruel to trees because the tree is not allowed to grow freely. I have even heard it called 'foot binding' for trees. What do you say to such people?

Kobayashi: A person who does bonsai must love their trees more than anything. You have to look after it everyday, give it food and water, keep it healthy, but most importantly you must love it. How many trees out in nature receive such love and care? How many 1000 year old trees are there still alive and as healthy as the 1000 year old Bonsai? If you do Bonsai with love then the trees do not suffer any more than they do in nature. Nature itself is cruel, that is where Bonsai comes from, trees up in the mountains subjected to the cruelty of nature, strong winds, snow, rockfalls. Those trees are not allowed to grow freely but they still grow. They battle against nature and sometimes they win to become beautiful trees, sometimes they die. That is natural.

Liddell: Bonsai is often seen as an old man's hobby. Does it have something to offer the younger generation?

Kobayashi: Bonsai can teach you many things about life.  Everything I have learnt is from Bonsai! It has taught me about the importance of life and to respect nature and other people.  You also need a lot of time and patience to do Bonsai, starting young is the best because you have a lot more time to do it and can grow your own Bonsai from the start, but only if you are very dedicated.

Liddell: What kinds of trees do you like to work with? Why?

Kobayashi: Black pine and plum trees.  Black pines are very strong trees and I understand them, they are like strong men, majestic and powerful.  My favourite tree is The plum tree because it represents the true heart of Bonsai. It embodies many of the ideas and concepts of Bonsai and Japanese culture. It has wabi-sabi. The trees have very interesting shapes, they are twisted and hollow, the bark is gnarled and rough.  They are also very dark.  When they flower, the brilliant white flowers make a beautiful contrast against the cruel shape of the tree.  Even though this tree is old and twisted and to many people it might look ugly, it is still very beautiful, but the flowers will soon pass and fall off.  This is important in Bonsai. It has character.

Liddell: What trees do you dislike?

Kobayashi: Needle Junipers. They are painful to wire, that's why I have apprentices! Each tree has it's own good points and bad points, it is up to the Bonsai artist to see these and have the talent and the vision to bring them out and make it look beautiful. Each artist is an individual and can understand some trees better than others, I understand black pines whereas another person understands maple trees. To be the best Bonsai artist in the world you must try and understand and work with every type of tree.

Liddell: What is the hardest thing to teach in Bonsai?

Kobayashi: Love. You either love Bonsai or don't. That cannot be taught. Artistic sense. You either have it or you haven't, a teacher can only help you to bring it out, he cannot teach it.

Liddell: You travel a lot to promote Bonsai in other countries. Could you tell us a little about how Bonsai is received overseas?

Kobayashi: They love it. At the moment there is a big bonsai boom in Europe. It is really taking off. There are some very good Bonsai artists in Europe at the moment and they love bonsai. They have good material and are making some very good trees. They are also very young and enthusiastic. This is good.

Liddell: What is the main difference between Japanese and foreign Bonsai styles?

Kobayashi: Each country has it's own style, because each country has it's own native trees. Most countries are still finding their own style. Non-Japanese bonsai has also been influenced by a few successful Japanese Bonsai artists who have become popular over there so that style is popular. It is changing as more and more people do it and do it for longer.

Liddell: What are the current trends in Bonsai?

Kobayashi:  Maple trees are not popular because there are too many on the market, it is too easy to make them now.

Liddell: How do you see Bonsai developing in the future?

Kobayashi:  International. It is becoming world Bonsai now. Taiwanese Bonsai is at a very high standard and some European Bonsai, particularly Italian Bonsai is close behind.  In terms of technique, everybody is at the same level, buti n terms of understanding and the artistic side, Japan still has a longer history. Japanese Bonsai thinking hasn't changed much at all and is only very slowly opening up to the world. This has to change or Japan will lose to the rest of the world

Liddell: How important are the pots to you? How do you choose the right pot for the right plant?

Kobayashi:  The pot is very important to the Bonsai. It is 50% of "Bonsai" in Kanji! Having the wrong pot can destroy the tree's beauty, it will take everything away [from] the tree.  There must be a good balance and harmony between the pot. It must also help to create an image, for example a shallow pot for deciduous trees like maple, looks like a field.  A tall deep strong pot for a cascade style tree looks like the side of a mountain, which is where the tree would be growing. The age of a pot is also very important.  Young pots have no character, they are like clones, one of a hundred. Old pots might be chipped or discoloured by weathering or chemicals or just the type of clay used.  These have character, they are not perfect but that is better. Perfect is boring. An old tree should go in an old pot, a young tree in a young pot. this way you have good balance and harmony between the tree and pot. Colour, age, shape and character.  These are all important.  I have lots and lots of pots to chose from because I love pots, this way I can always get the right pot.