2/22/10

寺山修司 『あなたは、、、』



2/28 (Sun) 16:00-18:00
Shuji Terayama's "Anatawa..." (You are...)
Free Screening
Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography 

Shuji Terayama's "Anatawa..." consists of street interviews, in which he asked various passers-by the same 17 questions. With its innovative methodology, the program, which was broadcast in 1996 created a stir and exerted tremendous influence on documentary television programming in Japan. "Anatawa..." will be screened with a discussion to reconsider the contemporary state of television and the possibilities of visual culture.

東京の街頭で、17の同じ質問を人々になげかけ、同時録音形式で撮影し構成されたドキュメンタリー番組《あなたは…》(1966年放映)。その斬新な手法が当時大きな反響をよび、以降のテレビ・ドキュメンタリーに大きな影響を与えた。本作を上映、シンポジウムを通して再考することで、テレヴィジョンの現在、映像文化の可能性について再検証する。
※トークイベント付/桂英史×松井茂×高山明

more info here

2/11/10

Antony and the Ohnos


We went to go see the Antony & the Ohnos performance at Sogetsu Hall last night.

My expectations were pretty high. The convergence of Antony; the butoh dancers Kazuo Ohno (who is 103-years-old and only appeared in video form) and his son Yoshito Ohno; and Sogetsu Hall, where some of the most important avant-garde artists of the 1960s, including Yoko Ono, Takehisa Kosugi, Teiji Ito, Merce Cunningham and John Cage have performed, sounded like a once in a lifetime event.

Our seats were on the stage, behind the piano, which meant we didn't see the show as it was meant to be seen. Instead, we were treated to what I thought were moments of intense intimacy, afforded by our proximity to the performers. I watched Antony as he smilingly watched the projected images of Kazuo Ohno sucking on a pig's nipple. I also saw quivers in Yoshito Ohno's body and how he continued to dance off stage, out of the audience's sight.

By the time Antony performed "Hope There's Someone" as his encore, I was nearly in tears.