On the Experience of Artworks and Trends

Each of the jury member’s expertise and taste are inevitably reflected in the selection of works. One juror may
rate a work highly, but if others do not, the work will not
be selected, which is sad, but overall, the jurors were
not so divided in their opinions. Therefore, it is likely that
the selected works reflect a global vision of the state
of Media Arts, rather than just a personal perspective.
One remaining problem is that most of the works
are installation (interactive/participative/performative)
works, and the only way to “experience” them is through
their documentation. The jury has to imagine the “reality”
of the work from its documentation. The quality of the
audiovisual recording and archiving of the work and the
design of the presentation is becoming more and more
important, and artists should consider the recording as
part of the work and work seriously on its archiving, in
order to have their work recognized.
Another problem that jurors need to be aware of
is the need to accurately identify plagiarism or works
that are even partial imitations of other works. As the
number of artists increases year by year and the media
of communication become more efficient, fashions become stronger and stronger. Many works look similar
because they deal with the same themes and use the
same techniques. The lack of originality and the absence of surprise makes it important for us to look for
the differences hidden in forms and techniques that are
too similar. As has often been the case, and especially
nowadays, due to the easy availability of information on
contemporary works and production tools, such fashions have unfortunately led to a leveling off of ideas,
aesthetics, and techniques. In any case, the Japan
Media Arts Festival is a great place to get an overview
of the current state of so-called “media art” worldwide,
and I am very grateful to have been invited to participate
in the jury.