Open Space kicked off as a free admission community space for the showcasing of art exhibits and various introductory materials and video documents of the ICC’s history of activities. The floor was divided into four zones and corners such as Art & Technology, Network, Research & Development, and the Archive. While this configuration for the exhibition space was ended in 2008, each component is carried on until Open Space 2015. As we look back here over the organizational aims of these zones and corners, we see a general outline of Open Space’s development.
ART & TECHNOLOGY ZONE
This area is chiefly devoted to exhibits of media art works. It’s planned to provide a general overview of the state of art expression regarding an information society and related subjects as well as forms of cultural expression in the same age and driving forces in society at that time. Until 2008, such keywords as themes that symbolize the state of current information society and topics that frequently arise in media art would be adopted, and then works of art would be chosen accordingly. In that respect, there was a strong influence at first to exhibit so-called “media art masterpieces,” which was thought as a valuable opportunity to let visitors, especially the younger ones, experience for themselves works which they may only know through books and videos. In recent years, while offering comparatively young artists who may have seen previous Open Spaces a chance to exhibit new works, it also displays older works from the early days of Open Space. By refocusing on works from media art’s early phase like the reproduction of Jeffrey SHAW’s “Legible City” (1989-91), ABE Shuya’s “Abe Video Synthesizer” (1972/2012), as well as FUJIHATA Masaki’s video works produced in the 80’s, we can look back on its history from a modern perspective while trying to reconnect it with art history. In the background to this is a rapidly growing awareness of the history of media art and the problems involved in its preservation.
The “emergencies!” corner within this zone, dedicated to rising creators, changes its exhibits several times a year, and as of 2015 has introduced 27 artists. Similar to Open Space’s entire concept, it covers not only the art realm, but also a wide ranging field including design and research. At first, most contributors were drawn from recent graduates from universities and graduate schools, but lately there’s been an increase in exhibits by young artists with relatively more past records of exhibiting at other places. Because of this, for recent year’s exhibits, many of them are organized as small, solo shows in order to get a general overview of the activities of the artists thus far. From the artists exhibiting for “emergencies!,” such artists as HIGA Satoru, MIHARA Soichiro, SAITA Kazuki, TANIGUCHI Akihiko, and WADA Ei turned out to be exhibiting at the main Open Space, as well as those who suddenly have the chance to exhibit works overseas, it’s regularly acknowledged as a place to touch the fresh expressions of young artists.
NETWORK CORNER
This corner exhibits works of art that are inspired by network technology or emergent technology that promotes new communications and expression. Various networks, with emphasis on the Internet, have worked their way into our lives, forming the background of modern circumstances. The Network Corner has a strong emphasis mainly on introducing projects backed by research facilities like universities and the like, but the Internet is one of the main subjects of the media art. For that reason, since 2006, Open Space has continuously exhibited works with the Internet motif here.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT CORNER
This corner introduces various types of research from industry, government, and education. Along with exhibits expressing future visions from engineers and the education scene, it doesn’t simply aim to show technology innovation, but also focus its attention on the cultural impact and background of technology itself, with the goal of exhibiting research and development from the point of view of technology, human communication, and a sense of a vision of the future. Annually since 2011, by rotating exhibits multiple times during a session, it has established a format in which multiple examples of the latest research outcome by the university labs and research projects are being introduced.
ARCHIVE ZONE
The Archive Zone was established as a multifaceted exhibit of the ICC’s history, with a library (closed since 2011) and a mini theater where one can read documents, view video works, and where the ICC video archive HIVE is organized. In the HIVE, one can view the ICC’s video art collection, as well as peruse video documents of many of the ICC’s past exhibits and events. Additionally, one can see a continuous view of representative examples of media art along with society’s movements since 1989 in the “Media Art Chronology” (2006 through 2008 is exhibited as the Interactive Chronology in the Art & Technology Zone), the content of which is updated on a yearly basis. This forms the main axis of Open Space’s function as archive. Web editions of both the HIVE and the media art chronology are being upheld, and some contents can be accessed from outside of the ICC.
HIVE http://hive.ntticc.or.jp/
ICC×Media Art Chronology http://www.ntticc.or.jp/Chronology/
