盲目の魚-The Blind Fish-

A wooden marionette carved into a sh that was created by the wooden doll puppeteer, MIKADUKI moves about in this video as if swimming amid green- ery, with a song composed by musi- cian, ISHIKAWA Yasuaki and vocals by HIRAI Ayako from Itomato Ayako in the background. The video by KONDOU Keishi uses an unfocused backdrop, lighting from above, and pale coloring to present a landscape not unlike a neighborhood park that appears as if under water. The segmented parts of the sh, such as the pectoral ns and tail ns, are skillfully moved to articulate a sensation of oating. In addition, the camera captures the presence of fea- tures such as the texture of the wooden scales unique to real wood that entices the viewer to instinctively reach out and touch it. Everything from musical com- position, video, sculpture and the pup- peteering are integrated into a single work, and the summation is an artwork that lends a poetic feeling to the visible.

Carved wooden marionettes have long existed, but here it appears to be something brand new. The nov- elty of expression, independent from form, evokes for the viewer a basic artistic element. There is a sense completely unlike the pursuit of real- ism in CG, which continues to evolve along with increasing information pro- cessing ability, sparking debate over the relationship between media art and entertainment. As a video piece that includes music and song, views differ on production according to im- pressions within the scope of existing forms of expression, but consensus is unanimous regarding the chal- lenge of attempting to communicate the captivation of primitive creations amid the current media environment. (SATO Naoki)