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Date: 11/29/98 1:14 AM
Received: 11/29/98 1:16 AM
From: Philippe Vergne, philippe.vergne@walkerart.org
To: louis.mazza, louis.mazza@walkerart.org |
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I
woke up pretty early and decided to go for some traditional sightseeing
in the morning. To see temples. I was kind of feeling bad and a little guilty
still to find time to do more. So I took the subway and after taking some
stupid images of a poster
because it mentioned the word "Entertainment". I got out at Asakusa station
to visit the Kaminari-Mon temple.
Of course, I started with a digression when I saw the place I was supposed
to visit in the distance. A building--I mean THE
building--built by Philippe Starck for, if memory serves, a beer company.
It a nice building
if you like Philippe Starck. A black bunker with a golden flame on the top.
I wonder...I like the "economy" of his work in general and I like his design.
As an architect, I do not know. Be your own judge. |
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Anyway, at
the foot of the building along the river I was able to witness a charming
moment of street
karaoke. A woman singing, with a band playing records and some drums.
Kind of strange. A mix of low-tech electronics with traditional drums.
I tried to
go back to my first goal of the morning and find my way to the temple.
But wanted to document for you these posters that one can see everywhere
on the streets of Japan. They are "Wanted"
posters with the face of the person that the police are seeking, with
a description. I like on this
display that in the middle, in between the "Wanted" images someone installed
a poster for the movie Zorro. I wonder what is the level of irony
of the person who created this little "collage". It looks like art. The
one with the measurements of the person does as well. It could have been
a conceptual work from the seventies. I know that the way curators look
at things is a little twisted.
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I
finally reached the temple. In order to access it one has to go through
a very busy market street with very small booths crowded with objects and
people. You can find there everything you need, from a kimono to a plastic
Godzilla with Japanese donuts. Of course as soon as I reached the temple
my eyes were attracted to some other ritual place on the west side of the
temple. A very little area with small busy streets, kind of kinky shiny.
No doubt I ran into it. It happened to be Hanayashiha
(if memory serves), one of the oldest attraction areas in Tokyo or Japan.
Very interesting. First it looks totally like an old Japanese movie.
It is not really shiny. It is old, the attractions are outdated and the
space itself is tricky. It is in between little streets, like a backyard
Disneyland. I like it. It smells Fellini. I finally went back to the temple
where I really like the way people clap their hands to call the god.
No photos inside. I always feel uncomfortable to witness someone else's
religious beliefs. |
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Then
I realized that with my digressions I was almost late for my meeting with
Mariko Mori, Sugimoto, Mrs. Koyanagi and Sophie Calle for the tea ceremony
that Mariko wanted to perform for us. I met them in the lobby of La Forêt
Hotel, close to the Hara Museum. And I think that the tea ceremony house
belongs to the museum. It is a wonderful place designed by Isosaki. I was
a little impressed. My first tea ceremony. We waited a little while in a
small beautiful waiting space. Then we washed our hands in a little bamboo
fountain. Of course I have shoes with laces. So I started to make a fuss
of myself taking off my shoes to enter the place and trying not to put my
feet on the floor. Then we sat on our knees on the tatami in a very religious
spirit. Sugimoto, who is a very, very nice person (you might know him through
his photos of movie screens, or wax sculptures) explained to us the history
of the tea ceremony, starting in China, imported, appropriated, aristocratic
and then popular (this is a very scandalous short cut). |
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He also told
us that the way we sat might become a torture after half an hour and that
it is allowed to shift positions. Since I was comfortable at the minute
I told him that I wanted to do it the right way and would try to remain
in the traditional way of seating. He also explained to us that since
he knows the ritual of the ceremony, he was the "first guest" and we would
have to copy everything he did. Good. He makes me feel more comfortable.
Then Mariko
appeared in silence, dressed in a very traditional kimono. A very beautiful
apparition I have to say. She started the process with the hot water,
the different cups, the tea that she is doing over again for each of us.
One after the other. Cleaning the cup after each guest and making another
tea for the next one. While she was preparing the tea she offered us some
sweets because the tea is very bitter. Then she would put the cup in front
of you. You have to bow to her before taking it. Once you hold the cup,
you have to bow to the space. After that you hold the cup in your left
hand, in the center of your left hand. With your right hand you turn the
cup 3 times, clock-wise.
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You drink 3 times and then you turn the cup 3 times backward. You put it
on the floor, you bow and the tea mistress takes the cup, cleans it and
starts again with her next guest. We did it twice. It is very slow and precise.
Everything is choreographed. Every move. It is very fascinating. You do
not move and you reach a really strange feeling of calm and rest. Until
the moment you realize you cannot feel your legs, your knees, your feet
anymore. You try to move a little bit to make the blood circulate. Not too
much because you do not want people to notice your pain. But of course they
notice. And then you move and sit on the floor with tears in the eyes because
the moment you sit it really starts to hurt. I mean, I speak for myself.
The tea ceremony was over and we started a more casual conversation.
Sophie told us about the way she met Leo Castelli the same year Sugimoto
met Sonnabend.
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It was very a very nice afternoon in Tokyo. I was also happy to spend some
time with Sophie Calle. We knew each other not very well. And met in Marseilles
when the Museum screened her movie No Sex Last Night. But we've never
really taken the time. She told me about her experience in Minneapolis,
a little more than 10 years ago when the First National Bank (or the City
Bank) commissioned her to do a project with surveillance--photos of the
hands of people manipulating money all day long. The project never happened,
but she still has all the material in Paris. Next time I go to Paris I will
check it out. She also gave me the name of the police woman who was her
best friend and contact in Minneapolis. |
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Took an image
of Mariko in her Kimono.
I left them
for a studio visit at Johnny Walker's place or residency space. The artist
was from Taiwan and she is doing self photography, self representation
of her partially naked body and facing all the trouble that it created
to do that in an Asian culture. Did I mentioned that this residency will
be part of the Tate Gallery residency program, starting next year?
Went back
to Roppongi. To the little place I like to have dinner and where the cook
laughed at my "chance eating".
Bed.
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