Akiko Kasuya

The author discusses the relationship between art and the body, as exemplified by the similarities and differences in the works of: two Japanese artists, Matsui Chie (b. 1960) and Higashikage Tomohiro (b. 1978); and the Polish artist, Mirosław Bałka (b. 1958). These examples are referred to in the context of a unique project recently conducted in Japan — the Tatsuno Art Project 2013. Held with the support of the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan, the project aims to present contemporary art to people from across Japan and around the globe, and to capitalize on the region’s unique cultural heritage, creating opportunities for people to communicate with local residents and making Tatsuno a more dynamic and popular place to visit. This paper considers various connections between art and the body by focusing on a selection of works included in the Tatsuno Art Project 2013: Arts and Memories. Known in past centuries as the ‘little Kyoto’ of Harima Province, Tatsuno is an atmospheric old castle town. It is mild and relatively warm all year round, with the climate of the nearby Seto Inland Sea region, said to be similar to that of the Mediterranean. Thanks to the support of numerous people, the organizers were able to hold the 2013 event which represented the culmination of their efforts over the past few years, being the largest ever in terms of scale with nine invited artists, eleven other participating artists, and one contemporary musician, for a total of 21 creators contributing works. With new spaces added to create a total of 16 venues, the community‑wide project truly achieved its goal of presenting the ‘historic castle town as a museum’. The project curators were also able to strengthen Tatsuno’s international ties by inviting artists from France and Poland to take part, as well as Japanese artists residing in the UK and Spain.

In this paper I approach one aspect of contemporary art, using "memory" and "ecosophie" as keywords. I especially focused on the work of Miroslaw Balka, who was born in Poland in 1958. He began with figurative sculpture, but from around 1990 he changed his style to create metal or wooden objects based on the size of his own body. His works tell us about his life history and make us to remember our own memories. Although they seem to be private, we can feel that their feelings are all common to us. They attain universality by probing deeply into their own experiences. Unlike many avant-garde artists, who always seek to find something new, Balka adds to his works traces of the past. With the relationship between art and culture, the idea 'ecosophy' is broadly proposed to consider how the human spirit should be. We could call Balka's works ecosophycal, being able to dissolve the alienation between nature and culture and producing a passage between art and the environment They take root in the spiritual landscape of each person and restore mutual confidence in people. They have an active power that can bear the deepest chasm in our heart and its shadow