TAB Talks #13 "The Future Through the Eyes of Media Art"

Izakaya dharma Cafe

Finished

Artists

Tomohiro Okada, Kazuhiko Kameda, Ryota Kuwakubo

In an age increasingly dominated by IT, what sort of role does media art play? Many media art specialists now work with their eyes firmly fixed on the future, in this new field that has yet to acquire a stable definition. Media art creators, compared with their counterparts in contemporary art with an intimate relationship to society and proposals for its problems, are perhaps more concerned with how the latest technology can interact with human emotion.

For this TAB Talk, we are delighted to welcome Creative Cluster founder Tomohiro Okada, bit-generation creator Ryota Kuwakubo, and chief producer of internationally-active video unit WOW, Kazuhiko Kameda, for an evening of complete immersion in the world of media art. Who make up the "creative class" and the occupations contained within it? What is the route to a closer relationship between society and media art, often seen as aloof or difficult to approach? What sort of influence has YouTube exerted on media art? What sort of future is envisioned through the eyes of these creators who stand at the frontier of cutting-edge art and design?

Right after, we'll have a short segment called the 30-second Pitch. Five members of the audience will be invited to introduce themselves to the audience, promote a recent project, or announce a new product, website or company in under 30 seconds. If you're interested, please give your name and contact info at the reception table. Then for another hour, we'll have drinks, chatting, and networking among guests and audience members. Light meals will also be available.

TAB Talks are bilingual Japanese-English and start at 8:30pm, late enough for overworked designers like us. Limited seating of 90, come early.

Profile

Tomohiro Okada
Writer, consultant, business planner and university lecturer, focusing on the development of innovative approaches to cutting-edge art and design. Head of Cool States Communication Research Institute. Founded the non-profit organization Creative Cluster in 2004 and now acts as chairperson and curator, coordinating platforms for unique approaches to art management, the development of society and buisness use, and the dissemination of artists and their work.
Organized the Electrical Fantasista 2008 exhibition at ZAIM in Yokohama, which begins July 18th.
Creative Cluster - http://creativecluster.jp

Kazuhiko Kameda
Chief producer of WOW, a video production company that works mainly on TV commercials. WOW handles not only client work, but is also highly acclaimed for its original self-commissioned video work that is exhibited annually both in Japan and abroad. WOW's book "WOW10" traces its 10 year creative trajectory and includes the work of Shigeki Hattori (graf), Yoshio Kubo, Gwenael Nicolas, Koichiro Tanaka (Projector Inc.), Artless and Masashi Ishiwata (Ikenobo). Participated in Tokyo Wonder in cooperation with Curiosity and Tonerico at the Milano Salone 2008 international furniture fair. Exhibited installation work created by Wowlab at the Cultural Typhoon 2008 in Sendai event at the Sendai Mediatheque in June this year.
www.w0w.co.jp/

Ryota Kuwakubo
Media artist. Started producing and exhibiting devices using electronics in 1998, based around the various phenomena that arise at the borders between digital and analog media, man and machine, and senders and recipients of information. Developed the "Bitman" mobile electrical bulletin board for Meiwa Denki and designed the Rimeikaburu T-shirt for Muji, collaborating with manufacturers on the development of numerous products. Exhibited work at the world's largest media art event, Ars Electronica, the "Roppongi Crossing" exhibition at the Mori Art Museum, and many other venues both in Japan and abroad. Received the grand prize at the 7th Media Art Festival in 2003, organized by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Schedule

Jul 9 (Wed) 2008