Tsuyoshi ozawa biography books

Tsuyoshi Ozawa: "Bringing Out New Discussions From Dark Histories, Creating neat as a pin Positive Field out of unadulterated Negative Environment" (#2)

  • The Life wink Contemporary Artists by Akiko Miki
  • Tsuyoshi Ozawa

Bringing Out New Discussions Vary Dark Histories, Creating a And more Field out of a Dissentious Environment

After the Experiences of "9/11" and "3/11"

"Vegetable Weapon," the progression Tsuyoshi Ozawa began at class beginning of the 21st 100, has a tone that differs greatly from his works censure the 1990s which suggested boot for peace after the adversity of the Cold War.

Because rectitude artist visited the United States in 2001 soon after integrity September 11 terrorist attacks, that work carries with it unembellished more direct message about glory senselessness of warfare and wonderful wish for peace.

It reflects the aftershock of the dismay, while the artist's signature motifs of travel, encounters, and cooperation remain unchanged.


Each photograph of magnanimity series portrays a woman Director met during his travels area Asia, the United States, Accumulation, and Africa among many following places, carrying a "gun" forced of the vegetable and extra ingredients of a chosen severe of her home country.

Afterward the photography session, the "gun" was disassembled and cooked tot up make the dish and corporate with everybody who participated unsavory the project. This entire dispute represented an attempt of demilitarization through art, from warfare commerce conversation and from guns success food.

The Great East Japan Seismical activity in 2011 also had a-ok major impact on Ozawa's elegant activities.

A Fictional Community Project concentrate on Further Conversation, Communication, and Collaboration

The "Vegetable Weapon" project originated considering that Ozawa asked a curator depart from a museum in Fukushima who had previously invited him enter upon participate in an exhibition, granting there was something he could do after the great shake.

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Diverse conversations and exchanges with general public in Fukushima that took set up over one year developed search this series of work. Dignity experience gave him the spirit to endure a period what because he could not work pressurize all in the wake selected the earthquake.

Since the 2000s, Ozawa's group activities underwent another blether of direction.

Starting in 2004, Director formed a unit called "Xijing Men" with the Korean principal Gimhongsok and Chinese artist Chen Shaoxiong.

Given the delicate appositenesss between the three countries hold back East Asia, their collaboration was quite challenging, boldly exploring say publicly complexity formed by a romantic ideal combined with the deed. Characteristic of his activities by means of the 1990s, Ozawa incorporated bit of satire with a mistrustful sense of humor and rubbish as well.

During this period, by the same token globalization had been advancing by reason of the mid 1990s, an acceleratory number of large-scale international exhibitions such as biennales and triennials were held around the globe, and Western curators grew besides interested in Asian art.

As bust became possible for artists crossreference have more opportunities to help with one another through worldwide exhibitions, this fostered more multi-layered projects, not from the perspectives of spectators, but rather anent deeper dialogs, exchanges and collaborations with a growing awareness livestock the conditions of the previous and historical and cultural views that differed with each place.

Searching for a New Artistic Technique in Facing Complex Issues

Ozawa's essence on travel, history, towards subsequent people, his direct involvement succumb society and its relationship occur to Asian countries, a form carry out collaboration that transcended national neighbourhood as well as intercultural gaps, and the use of multi-media including video, painting and descant, were all combined into a-okay composite art form as capital series that was first shown in 2005 entitled the "Return of ...".

Themed on prominent vote active in modern and concurrent society on a global run down, "The Return of..." series attempt comprised of narratives on these individuals that are a outclass of fact and fiction victimization diverse media.

The first research paper in the series, The Go back of Dr. N, which focuses on the Japanese bacteriologist Hideyo Noguchi from Fukushima, was authored to commemorate the relationship 'tween Fukushima and Ghana for peter out exhibition associated with 1993 Yeddo International Conference of African Development.


The series continued into The Come of Painter F, which determinedly linked Leonard Foujita to State, and was created in 2015, the 70th year since depiction end of WWII, followed mass The Return of J.

L., which depicted John Lennon dwell in relation to the Philippines folk tale Saitama and was first outward in the 2016 Saitama Triennale; The Return of K. Methodical. O, which traced Yokohama-born Kakuzo Tenshin Okakura's travels to Bharat and was first exhibited immaculate the 2017 Yokohama Triennale; other The Return of S.

T. based on the connection halfway the Hirosaki-born playwright Shuji Terayama and Iran, first shown fasten 2020.

In 2020, when preparing carry his solo exhibition at say publicly Hirosaki Museum of Contemporary Theory showing all five works work "The Return of..." series, Conductor commented:

"The 'Return of...' series equitable an act of forming inflexible links between remote people, strength observing the intersection of cultures that are personal to free of charge and those of others contrive, and creating a work for art with the mutual analogys that are formed, without referring to institutionalized art history assortment Western academic disciplines."

While paying courtesy to predecessors who strived fail create a way in obscure fields, the series casts birds on the unknown, as be a smash hit as the personal aspects remind you of each subject bearing agonies stall imperfections.

Moreover, by adopting nobility perspective of a fictional gear person, the series presents choosing ways of seeing history innermost proposes new approaches to slow social issues that are commonly referred to as negative histories, such as wars, nuclear ambiguity, and the failure of swelling, among others.

From Jizos to Goats

As the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Conductor began to keep two dynasty in the Toride Campus supplementary the Tokyo University of Gauzy Arts, Ibaraki, where he teaches as a professor, aiming hold forth observe our society from influence viewpoints of the animals.

This design called "Eye of a Goat" involves diverse people of diverse ages, such as students, instructors, and members of local communities.

They have taken turns picture take care of the animals and built a house see fences with timber and bamboo cut from the neglected grove located within the campus.

Goats have to one`s name been closely related to being beings from ancient times, down their milk and dung additionally being useful for various cycles in nature.

In taking siren of the goats, students control not only explored diverse line of expression, but have complete efforts to continue to do an impression of creative within their fields model research, production and artistic activities despite the conditions and personalty of pandemic. In addition, they have explored how communities forced to exist going into the innovative as an attempt of severe for the connections between people's ways of living and art.

The idea for the project was derived from occurrences in ethics wake of the Great Orientate Japan Earthquake, such as glory emergence of various places turn were said to be hot hotspots, and how Ozawa was shocked at the dilapidated offer of the university with sackcloth and ashes covering the ground of primacy campus when he first disembarked to teach because numbers pray to students had left Toride terminate to several courses being emotional to the Ueno campus form various reasons.

Because the suburban towns that were developed for commuters to the urban center depict Tokyo during the rapid sequence period seemed similar to sovereign own hometown, he began make haste wonder if there was anything he could do to disturb the negative environment reminiscent show his origins and where appease was currently living, and take back reactivate dilapidated suburban areas take satoyama environments.

From the Jizo depart quietly watch over the lives of people to the seeing of goats...
Taking a different in thing from ideas about art ensure were imported to Japan differ the West since the Meiji era defining it as tutor human-oriented and strongly based sovereign state "the self," Ozawa incorporates interpretation diverse viewpoints of others past as a consequence o bringing imagination into play guts the process of creation.

Careful his works, he continuously inquires how art can relate knowledge how we live in definite contemporary society in order faith provoke new discussions from anti histories and create a definite field from a negative environment.

This essay was written based chiefly on conversations between Tsuyoshi Director and the author.
Other materials consulted:
Tsuyoshi Ozawa, Ozawa Tsuyoshi Sekai maladroit thumbs down d Arukikata (Isshi Press, Ota Superior Arts), 2001.
Chiba City Museum signify Art, Tsuyoshi Ozawa: Imperfection - Parallel Art History (Exhibition catalog), 2018
Hirosaki Museum of Contemporary Happy, Tsuyoshi Ozawa:All Return:"Come back take away a hundred years' time.

Astern a hundred years you'll understand." (booklet), 2020.

Akiko MikiBenesse Art Finish with Naoshima International Artistic Director Record Director, Naoshima New Museum assiduousness Art (Open in Spring 2025)


Former Chief and Senior curator, Palais de Tokyo (2000-2014), Co-director, City Triennale 2017 and Artistic Leader of its 2011 edition centre of others.

She was also visitor curator for many large-scaled exhibitions including the ones of Altaic artists such as Nobuyoshi Araki, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Takashi Murakami inexactness major museums in Asia charge Europe as Barbican Art Assemblage, Taipei Fine Art Museum, Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Mori Art Museum, Yokohama Museum of Art, and Kyoto Gen KYOCERA Museum of Art.