2002.8.31 [Sat] - 11.17 [Sun]

The internationally acclaimed young artist, Doug Aitken. Doug Aitken (born 1968 in California, USA), the creator of "video installations" in which synchronized multiple moving images are projected onto three-dimensional structures of multiple screens, is one of the most critically acclaimed artists in international contemporary art today. Aitken's "electric earth" caused a sensation at the Venice Biennale in 1999, where it won the Primo Internazionale. This was followed by consecutive solo exhibitions at leading contemporary art museums throughout the world, with Aitken quickly achieving stardom in the international contemporary art scene.

Prior to his critical acclaim by the contemporary art world, Doug Aitken was involved in a wide range of film projects that featured a contemporary sensibility, such as leading musians' music video clips. Aitken succeeds in taking the highly sophisticated moving images of music videos and effortlessly combining them with the fascination of images far removed from those of ordinary and everyday life, which are only possible within the realm of contemporary art, and then skillfully drawing out the best in both to develop his unique form of artistic expression. The greatest attraction of Aitken's work lies in the fact that his art is extremely accessible while still maintaining contemporary art's "cool" factor.

The "new ocean" exhibition - a single work based on the theme of "water". "new ocean" comprises seven independent video installations with the common theme of "water", the concept of which is that the exhibition is one large work. Therefore, an organic relationship, both in visual, spatial and aural terms, exists between each section of the exhibition, so that visitors entering the exhibition walk through the environment of images created by the artist to actually "experience" instead of simply "looking" at the work. (This Japanese version of the "new ocean" exhibition held in 2001 in London, and is Aitken's first large-scale solo exhibition in Japan).

Photo: new ocean 2001 Produced by the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, presented in association with the Serpentine Gallery, London Courtesy of the artist, 303 Gallery, New York, Victoria Miro Gallery, London and Gallerie Hauser & Wirth & Presenhuber, Zürich photo (c) : Stephen White

Gallery 1 The exhibition first starts with the work thaw that comprises a series of images of glaciers in Alaska depicted on both a macroscopic and microscopic scale and projected onto three screens. These images were actually filmed by Aitken on location in Alaska, and the role of this work is to depict the "primitive" aspect of water in the first part of the exhibition. The next work is one second expansion, a minimalist depiction of falling droplets of water. In this work, circular cut-out images are projected onto two semi-spherical screens mounted facing each other. window 2 consists of two large circular screens that hang mid-air in the large space of the gallery, intersecting at their centers. Onto these screens are projected a collage of images captured by cameras that sequentially focus onto a series of white panels positioned in various locations outdoors. (This is a new work being shown for the first time at the Tokyo exhibition). rise, an enormous light box depicting a bird's-eye view of the nightscape of large citiy that have a close relationship with water is exhibited on Gallery 1's last wall. This work has an important role within the context of this exhibition, where images of nature and cities blend. Gallery 2 new ocean floor, in Gallery 2, features a youth wandering through a desert and then a city as though in search of water, depicted on two 5 meters-wide screens that have been arranged to form a three-dimensional "cross". new ocean new machine, displayed beside "new ocean floor", features images of a young girl swinging on a gymnast's bar projected onto a screen that has been arranged in the same cross shape. The final work in the exhibit is new ocean cycle, in which the entire interior wall of a circular room, approximately 10 meters in diameter, forms a 360-degree curved screen. This is a climactic work worthy of marking the end of the exhibition. The huge impact that this work creates is such that all the other works that precede "new ocean cycle" seem to exist as a prelude to this work. On the 360-degree panoramic screen hung on the wall, synchronized images of light-filled, silent expanses of water from distant seas and massive waterfalls crashing down in a thundering crescendo are projected onto seven screens. A circular screen has been mounted onto the upper section of the gallery space featuring a tranquil and minimalist sound track, and onto this circular screen are projected underwater images of a young girl swimming. Beautiful, sophisticated formative qualities that highlight a traditional aesthetic sense The awe-inspiring images of the vast expanse of nature and the rushing, fragmented images of the city seen in the "new ocean" exhibition are presented to the viewer as collages imbued with a vivid contemporary sensibility. These images, together with the "original beat" produced from within the artist himself are then manipulated three-dimensionally within the exhibition space, and through the highly sophisticated formative qualities reminiscent of traditional art, they succeed in drawing the viewer into the work. These works have been created with thorough and elaborate attention to detail, including consideration of the colors of the moving images and spatial composition. The works then overlap in a complex way with the three-dimensional sound effects of Aitken's original, ambient sound track to result in a magnificent depiction of a contemporary sensibility with which we are so familiar. Aitken's work that has so successfully fused a traditional aesthetic sense with a contemporary sensibility will no doubt add a new dimension to the recently rapidly expanding genre of video art.

Topics Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery's 3rd Year Anniversary! Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery will be celebrating its third year on 9 September. To mark this anniversary, the Gallery is offering visitors a 50% discount on the entry fee as well as a gift - the Opera City Art Gallery original tote! 1) 50% off the entry fee for 8 consecutive days!! Period: 31 August (Saturday) to 8 September (Sunday) (excludes 2 September (Monday) when the Gallery is closed) Entry into the Gallery will be half-price from the first day of this exhibition for a period of 8 days. Adults 1,000 -> 500 yen Senior High School and University students 800 -> 400 yen Junior High and Elementary School students 600 -> 300 yen (Not to be used in conjunction with any other discounts. Free entry for Primary School and Junior High School students on Saturdays and Sundays). 2) The Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery Original Tote Gift Period: 31 August (Saturday) to 16 September (Monday) (excludes 2 September (Monday) and 9 September (Monday) when the Gallery is closed) During this period the first 50 visitors to the Gallery on each day will receive the Opera City Art Gallery Original Tote! This black tote is large enough to easily hold B4 sizes. A great design, you'll want to take this bag everywhere. "Dumb Type - Voyage" exhibition discount Present your admission ticket to the "Dumb Type - Voyage" exhibition being held at the ICC (NTT Inter Communication Center) on the 4th floor of the Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery (23 August (Friday) to 27 October (Sunday) and see the Doug Aitken exhibition at the group discount rate. (Similarly, present your admission ticket to the Doug Aitken exhibition and see the ICC "Dumb Type" exhibition at the group discount rate.)

Information Dates: 31 August [Sat] - 17 November [Sun] 2002 Opening Hours: 12:00 - 20:00 (to 21:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, entry up to 30 minutes before closing) Closed: Mondays (Tuesday if the Monday is a public holiday) Admission: Adults 1,000 (800) yen / Senior High School and University students 800 (600) yen / Junior High and Elementary School students 600 (400) yen * Admission fee includes entry into the Terada Gallery and Project N.; ( ) indicates group admission fee for over 15 people. * Discount for late entry, senior citizens and children on weekends. Please ask for details. Organized by Tokyo Opera City Cultural Foundation Patronized by American Embassy Special Sponsor : Nippon Life Insurance Company Sponsors : NTT Urban Development Co., / Odakyu electric Railway Co.,Ltd. Supported by Japan Airlines Grants from The Kao Foundation For Arts And Sciences and The Japan Arts Fund new ocean 2001 Produced by the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, presented in association with the Serpentine Gallery, London For further information: Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery Tel. +81-3-5353-0756