© 2010 Ryota Kuwakubo
photo: KIOKU Keizo
photo courtesy: NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC]

14th Art Division Excellence Award

The Tenth Sentiment

Interactive art

KUWAKUBO Ryota [Japan]

Outline

A model train equipped with a light source slowly navigates through various household objects lined on the floor, and projects their shadows. Dancing on the walls, floor, and ceiling of the room, the shadows of the objects keep changing like a landscape seen through the carriage windows, surrounding viewers with images as if they were passengers riding on the train. By exposing them to a repetition of conflicting experiences–immersion and bird’s eye view, déjà vu and jamais vu–this work sharpens audiences’ senses and inspires them to share impressions.

Reason for Award

Unveiling of a new world that transcends the boundaries between art forms and redefines the origins of media
This attractive work has a simple system that puts the spotlight on spatial exposure. Unlike cliché interactive art works that tend to depend too much on technology, The Tenth Sentiment is a realization of “interaction” seen as a direct and versatile acceptance of the work by its viewers.
Furthermore, it can also be interpreted as part of the history of imaging machines and a step into developing new horizons. The work is related to the ancient shadowgraphs, the 17th century magic lanterns, the moving pictures, and the experiments of László MOHOLY-NAGY (Hungarian photographer, painter, and art educator) with light and shadow, and at the same time attains an innovative spatial and dynamic first-person sensitivity by allowing audiences to project themselves into the composition and to attain the perspective from the train, through the movement of the light source, in addition to look down the world.
By creating a unique universe through this example of self-made “Device Art”, KUWAKUBO reveals a new world that transcends the boundaries of installation, interactive art, visual images, and performance and redefines the origins of media.