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| Symposium report |
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Prior to the opening of its new
facilities at Tokyo Opera City in April 1997, each year the NTT InterCommunication
Center (ICC) has held a range of events focusing on the theme "Art
and Technology." On October 21st (Monday), 600 people attended
ICC's International Symposium (part six of NTT InterCommunication's
series of annual events) at the Yurakucho Asahi Hal l to hear leading
thinkers from the cutting edge of science and the arts exc hange views
on the topic "Multimedia Society and the Transforming Culture
: The Meeting of Science and Art."
Moderator Akira Asada opened the symposium by outlining the context
and primary thrust of the symposium in the following terms: "The
range of new electronic information technology that has made multimedia
possible is not only bringing about rapid changes in the socioeconomic
infrastructure of our world, it is also having a huge impact on our
art and culture as well. Technology and art were once part and parcel
of the same thing. Subsequently, they became sharply divided into
the clear-cut world of technology and the more subjective world of
the arts. The advent of multimedia technology, however, is once again
reuniting these two worlds, albeit in a different form. For this reason,
the object of the current symposium is not simply to present the views
of technoart specialists but, rather, to call on a range of speakers
both from technoscience and also from the arts to engage in a meaningful
exchange of views on a wide variety of subjects."
At this point, each of the panelists was called on to make a short
speech from the standpoint of their field of specialization. (For
further details, refer to the short speech
summary).
On completion of the short speeches the panelists joined together
for a panel discussion. During the course of the discussion, Arata
Isozaki posed the question: "To what extent does art space used
for the exhibition of media art such as video installations and virtual
installations necessitate changes in the essential nature and mechanisms
of art galleries? What sort of changes is this bringing about in the
very structure of our art galleries?" This provoked a lively
exchange of views on the question of new style art galleries. First
of all, Asada offered the following opinion: "From here on, new
museums should be multilayered and compact single centers that incorporate
the previously distinct functions of art galleries, museums, libraries,
and databases. This sort of cultural center, which constitutes a venue
for the collection, conversion, and dissemination of dense concentrations
of information will be an essential feature of life in the 21st century.
Projects such as ICC that have been designed to make this vision a
reality are currently in progress around the world, and the notion
of creating a communications system that will tie various centers
into a single network is no longer a pipe dream." Roy Ascott
responded with the comment: "Museum design could in the future
almost be akin in its complexity to the designing of a human brain."
Jeffrey Shaw, who is actually involved in the establishment of museums
of this sort, pointed out in this connection: "The franchise
approach, whereby various mechanisms, systems, and institutions are
brought together at the outset, is the best way to get the concept
stage of a project of this sort off the ground. However, the rationale
underlying these museum construction projects, which are currently
being pursued the world over, could well be out of date already with
the result that it will not be enough simply to complete these projects
as they stand now. Rather, we are in a situation in which we must
be ready, whether we like it or not, to take account of conditions
as we find them today and as they may be in the future."
During the second half of the discussion, Shigehiko Hasumi posed the
following question: "Currently there is a strong tendency to
present the term 'interactive' or the concept of 'interaction' as
a key concept of 21st century art. Is it not the case, however, that
interaction has been with us from the 19th century onwards in that
the very act of reading or viewing works in media of every kind itself
changes, converts, and/or otherwise directs the works in question?
I should like to know, therefore, why the concept of interaction is
thought to be so definitively new and such an essential feature of
our lives as we face the 2 1st century." Asada responded: "I
don't think that the sense of 'interactio n' as a new concept as so
widespread." He went on to add: "In an interactive system
of the so-called audience participation type, users simply select
from a few preset menus. T he question being raised is whether it
will be possible to move beyond that sort of interaction and achieve
interactivity in a true sense." Next Shaw co mmented: "One
of the main factors underlying the growing popularity of the t erm
'interactivity' has to do with the rapid advances being made in technolo
gy. A host of new technologies are making it possible for users to
reassemb le and restructure aural and visual data and in so doing
to interact with su ch data in unprecedented ways. It is this huge
difference that has opened up a new field of possibilities."
Marvin Minsky went on to point out: "As art forms, there is interest
not only in those things that provide the user with an experience
but also in those things that present the user with new modes of thought.
Surely, at bottom there is no need for us to enjoy precisely what
the artist intended."
Winding up the symposium, Asada noted: "ICC will be opening in
April of next year and early exhibits will include works by Jeffrey
Shaw and an exhibition of Arata Isozaki's architectural plans. Future
features w ill include a range of network events, live events, and
symposiums of this sort. I should like to invite everyone present
here today to play an active part in what we have planned for the
future. Let's make the most of this interactive opportunity and take
this trial dialogue down paths not even dreamed of by those who laid
the original plans."
The present symposium was important because it welcomed opinions from
expert s in different fields. It succeeded in approaching the question
of multimedia from a fresh point of view, treating it not so much
as an "industry concern" but rather as a matter of "cultural
concern" for the 21st century. But this is only the start of
the debate. From here on it is crucial that questions of this sort
be discussed not only at ICC but in many different forums.
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Monday,October 21,1996 13:00-16:00 [Finished]
yurakucho Asahi Hall