We are in charge of a variety of classes and workshops on different genres and approaches of art, including, but not limited to, experimental music, archi-choreography, manga art, theatre, mathematical design, and so on. We operate with a little help from the Art Center of the University of Tokyo.
We are a small department composed of You Nakai who specializes in the research and making of performances, and Kentaro Miwa who specializes in the study of manga art.
We offer workshop-style courses of art-making for first and second year students of any discipline or major.
Under the broad categories of [Cognition/Art], [Body/Art], [Media/Art],
students may immerse themselves in creating things as well as understanding the mechanism behind creating things
through a variety of approaches including experimental music, instrument building,
analysis of manga, expanded dance, and mathematical design.
Some classes are open to the non-official participation of people other than first and second year students
so please contact the department or the respective instructor if you are interested.
《Cognition/Art》＝● 《Body/Art》＝● 《Media/Art》＝●
There is nothing more contrary to the spirit of experimental music than to study "experimental music" as an established genre or knowledge. In this class, we will consider "experimental music" not as a solidified historical genre, but as an open and ongoing network of various acts that question the practice that have been called "music" until now. We will examine past practices, theories, and problems, and by conducting our own experiments, we will conceive, imagine, and fantasize about possible forms of experimental music (works, composers, performers, events, concerts, movements, controversies, research books, etc.) that could have happened but did not. In doing so, we aim to question the very practice that has been called "experimental music" until now, and open it up to what it may become. Theoretically, we wish to explore where the concept of "pseudo-ness" and the concept of "experimental" might intersect.
Side Effects Labhttps://www.selout.site/jp
The Japanese word "kuse (癖)" is a mysterious concept that extends far beyond "habit", its usual English translation. In this class, we will consider the various "kuse" that people have as primordial "choreographies" that have been ingrained in their bodies and thoughts without knowing so, and treat them as extended problematics of dance. Through careful mutual observation of each other's behaviors, students will explore these specific biases of each individual, clarifying the history of each "kuse" and attempting to transfer them among themselves, in order to examine where the sense of "individuality" of each person is fabricated and how it can be transformed. Contrary to the usual approach of creating dance by adding a new choreography to the world, this is an attempt to reveal dance through subtraction, by exposing the choreography that each dancer is already dancing without realizing so.
Side Effects Labhttps://www.selout.site/jp
In this class, we will explore the "komawari (layout)" of manga as a visual art form through lectures and exercises. Among the various techniques used in the creation of manga, such as storytelling and drawing, "komawari" has been privileged in traditional analysis and research as an element unique to this genre. This class aims to deepen students' understanding of the unique characteristics of this genre through hands-on experience of komawari, while learning about related theories. Students are expected to present and comment on their work in class. This class is not intended to teach students how to improve their manga production techniques (previous experience in manga production is not required), as the aim is to think theoretically through practice. Also, since the focus is on frame layout, no drawing skill is required (including those who can't draw at all).
Manga is one of the representative popular cultures of contemporary Japan, but its outlines as a genre and as a medium are extremely vague. In this class, we will explore the nature of manga through lectures and exercises, in an attempt to question the very concept of genre and media itself. Specifically, the class will examine several forms of manga (live drawing, photo manga, web manga, manga as museum exhibits, etc.) that deviate from the classical and typical image of manga——manga artist drawing with a pen in hand, which are edited and printed for circulation and read in the form of a book. The objective is to examine the relationship between manga and other media by actually creating different forms of manga. Students will be asked to present and comment on their works in class. The aim of the course is to think theoretically through practice, so previous experience in manga production or skill in drawing is not required.
In each class, you will make one object that makes a sound. Through this activity, you will also reexamine the way your own bodies work. We put ourselves into the phenomenon of coordination and feedback of the entire body: processing the material with our hands, making sound, listening with our ears, repeating the handwork, making sound again, listening with our ears, repeating the handwork, checking how it sounds, and returning to the handwork. It is a process of rethinking the coordination of the ears, hands, and body through the medium of sound. It is also a process of opening up thought processes that are not normally used. It is a process of trying to understand the mechanism of sound theoretically. At the same time and perhaps even more than that, it is a process of trying the next thing to do by relying on touch and feeling things out, while listening carefully to the sound of the object. The ultimate goal is to objectify oneself.
Rather than looking straightforwardly at musical instruments as a tool for producing sound, we will consider the principles that create and organize sound from various peripheral areas of sound, and approach the nature of musical instruments from this awry angle. Suzuki will provide an introduction to rudimentary electronic construction using breadboards, and introduce examples of sound and intermedia artworks created using each of these mechanisms. Horio will choose one element at a time that will be the basis of sound, and all participants will experiment with it together.
Suzuerihttps://suzueri.org/Kanta Horiohttp://horiokanta.com/ja/
In an academic context, the term "experimental music" often refers to American experimental music since the 1950s. In this class, starting from the ideas of John Cage, we will introduce some of the practices by composers and performers of experimental music, especially those that are considered to be anti-(non)-musical. The aim is to gain an objective and critical perspective on the system of modern Western music by reading the concept and context of each work, learning about notation methods that do not rely on traditional staff notation (such as graphic notation and text scores), the development of new techniques for existing instruments, and the use of non-instrumental methods. Students will also learn how composers and performers in the past expanded the framework of existing "music," and then create and demonstrate scores that can be performed (or not) utilizing various spaces in the campus. In addition to lectures, there will be a lot of time for demonstrations and discussions.
Tomoko Hojohttps://tomokohojo.net/
Through lectures and performances students will deepen their understanding of various post-20th century contemporary music. The goal is for everyone to complete a performance of some composition for each class. Students will then compose their own music based on a given topic, which they will perform themselves. This is a process of prototyping and trial, with time for discussion held in each class. After going through this routine, the students will finally compose and perform an original work from a comprehensive point of view based on all the topics covered during the semester. The hope is that a masterpiece will be born from this endeavor.
Department of Avant-Garde Arts, The University of Tokyo
〒153-8902 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo
Komaba Campus I, Building 18, Room 1221
