Ryuichi Sakamoto | seeing sound, hearing time
Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo is pleased to present the exhibition Ryuichi Sakamoto | seeing sound, hearing time.
A composer and an artist, Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952-2023) continuously paved the way for his era through his diverse and cutting-edge artistic activities. Since the 2000s, he devoted himself to creating three-dimensional sound installations in exhibition spaces, which he developed and realized in collaboration with various artists. Focusing entirely on large-scale installation works, this first comprehensive exhibition in Japan looks back on Sakamoto's pioneering, experimental creative artworks, including some of his most well-known previous pieces, and new works that he envisioned for this particular occasion before his passing, which will be dynamically constructed in and around the museum building.
Collaboration artists | Shiro Takatani, Daito Manabe, Carsten Nicolai, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Zakkubalan, Toshio Iwai
Special collaboration | Fujiko Nakaya
List of Works
*Images for reference only.
Handout
Exhibition Gallery, 1st floor
Ryuichi Sakamoto + Shiro Takatani, TIME TIME, 2024
Ryuichi Sakamoto + Shiro Takatani, water state 1, 2013
Ryuichi Sakamoto with Shiro Takatani, IS YOUR TIME, 2017/2024
Carsten Nicolai, PHOSPHENES, ENDO EXO, 2024 Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto with Shiro Takatani, IS YOUR TIME, 2017/2023, installation view of “Ryuichi Sakamoto | SOUND AND TIME” at M WOODS (People’s park), Chengdu, 2023 Image courtesy of M WOODS
Exhibition Gallery, B2 floor
Ryuichi Sakamoto + Apichatpong Weerasethakul, async–first light, 2017
Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Durmiente, 2021
Ryuichi Sakamoto + Shiro Takatani, async–immersion tokyo, 2024
Ryuichi Sakamoto + Zakkubalan, async–volume, 2017
Ryuichi Sakamoto + Shiro Takatani, LIFE–fluid, invisible, inaudible…, 2007
Ryuichi Sakamoto × Toshio Iwai, Music Plays Images X Images Play Music, 1996–1997/2024
*Special Exhibit from Archive - New installation work reenacting a performance from 1996–97
Ryuichi Sakamoto + Apichatpong Weerasethakul, async–first light, 2017, installation view of “Ryuichi Sakamoto | SOUND AND TIME” at M WOODS (People’s park), Chengdu, 2023 Image courtesy of M WOODS
Ryuichi Sakamoto + Shiro Takatani, async–immersion 2023, 2023, installation view of “AMBIENT KYOTO 2023”, Kyoto Shimbun Building B1 floor, 2023. Photo by Satoshi Nagare
Ryuichi Sakamoto + Zakkubalan, async–volume, 2017, installation view of “Ryuichi Sakamoto | SOUND AND TIME” at M WOODS (People’s park), Chengdu, 2023 Image courtesy of M WOODS
Ryuichi Sakamoto + Shiro Takatani, LIFE–fluid, invisible, inaudible..., 2007/2023, installation view of “Ryuichi Sakamoto | SOUND AND TIME” at M WOODS (People’s park), Chengdu, 2023 Image courtesy of M WOODS
Courtyard (1st floor, outdoor)
Ryuichi Sakamoto + Daito Manabe, Sensing Streams 2024–invisible, inaudible (MOT version) , 2024
Ryuichi Sakamoto + Daito Manabe, Sensing Streams 2021–invisible, inaudible, 2021, installation view of “seeing sound, hearing time” at M WOODS HUTONG, Beijing, 2021
Sunken Terrace (B2 floor, outdoor)
Ryuichi Sakamoto + Fujiko Nakaya + Shiro Takatani, LIFE–WELL TOKYO, Fog Sculpture #47662, 2024
*Special collaboration
The opening hours of outdoor works are subject to change due to weather and other reasons. Please check the website and venue signage for details.
Nakaya Fujiko, London Fog, Fog Performance #03779, 2017, Installation view from “BMW Tate Live Exhibition: Ten Days Six Nights,” Tate Modern, London, UK Collaboration: Min Tanaka (Dance), Shiro Takatani (Lighting), Ryuichi Sakamoto (Music). Photo by Noriko Koshida
Profile
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto was born in Tokyo in 1952. Making his debut in 1978 with the album Thousand Knives, Sakamoto's diverse résumé includes pioneering electronic works in the legendary techno group Yellow Magic Orchestra, producing pop albums and numerous classical compositions, two operas, and nearly 45 original film/TV scores. His film soundtracks have won prestigious awards, including an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, a Grammy, and many more. As an activist for many decades, Sakamoto's efforts focused on environmental conservation and world peace, including founding the forest preservation organization “more trees”, and the "Tohoku Youth Orchestra" to support the victims of the Tohoku Earthquake through music. Sakamoto also made considerable contributions to the art world with his work exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide. Recently, M WOODS, in China, presented the largest and most comprehensive collection spanning 30 years devoted to Sakamoto's artworks in various media, centering around 8 large-scale sound installations (Beijing, 2021; Cheng-du, 2023). He continued to cross borders into the art world even after death, with the ground-breaking mixed reality concert piece, "KAGAMI," touring New York, Manchester, London, and many future locations. Sakamoto passed away in March 2023 at the age of 71.
Information
- Exhibition Period
Saturday, 21 December 2024 - Sunday, 30 March 2025
- Closed
Mondays (except 13 Jan and 24 Feb), New Year's Holidays (from 28 Dec to 1 Jan 2025), 14 Jan, and 25 Feb
- Opening Hours
10 AM－6 PM（Tickets available until 30 minutes before closing.）
- Venue
Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo Exhibition Gallery 1F/B2F
- Admission
Adults - 2,400 yen / University & College Students, Over 65 - 1,700 yen
High school & Junior High School Students - 960 yen
Elementary School Students & Younger - free
*20% discount for a group of over 20 people.
*Ticket includes admission to the MOT Collection exhibition.
*Persons with a Physical Disability Certificate, Intellectual Disability Certificate, Intellectual Disability Welfare Certificate, or Atomic Bomb Survivor Welfare Certificate as well as up to two attendants are admitted free of charge.
Online Ticket Sales Start December 18 (Wed) 10:00-
Online tickets allow one visitor per ticket to enter an exhibition once during the period without requiring a date/time reservation. No cancellations or changes can be made after purchasing a ticket. Same-day tickets will also be sold at the museum ticket counter.
[Students Day supported by Bloomberg]
Free entry for students on February 1 and 2, 2025. Valid ID required.
[Welcome Youth 2025]
Free entry for those under 18 ( born after April 2, 2006) between March 1 and March 30. Valid ID required.- Organized by
Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo operated by Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture / The Asahi Shimbun / TV Asahi
- Sponsored by
Kakaku.com, Inc. / Digital Garage, Inc. / TOHO LÉO Corporation /
Nissha Co., Ltd. / New Balance Japan Co., Ltd. / Yamada Bee Company, Inc.- Specially cooperated by
KAB Inc. / KAB America Inc. / Dumb Type Office Ltd. /
Avex Entertainment Inc. / K Garage LLC / TAKENAKA Co Ltd /
TOHO LÉO Corporation / HOT STUFF PROMOTION Co., Ltd. / UNIQLO- Cooperated by
J-WAVE
- Supported by
The Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan in the fiscal year of 2024
- Special cooperation with equipment
EASTERN SOUND FACTORY CO., Ltd.
- Technical cooperation
HEXOGON JAPAN INC.
- Cooperation with equipment
ARTWIZ Inc. / Color Kinetics Japan Incorporated / Bricks & Company
Official Exhibition Catalog
The catalog includes numerous photographs of the exhibition space. It is structured to resemble the atmosphere of the exhibition, making it possible to re-experience the exhibition after closing. It also incorporates essays and comments from the collaborated artists. The catalog will be published in February 2025.
The catalog will be available at the Ryuichi Sakamoto special exhibition shop and online. Further information will be announced on this website.
Main authors (Alphabetical order) Essays: Yukiko Shikata, Sachiko Namba, Tomoe Moriyama/ Contribution: Akira Asada, Shinro Ohtake, Kenjiro Okazaki, Masaya Chiba, Rurihiko Hara, Shinichi Fukuoka, Yutaka Yano, Lee Ufan/ Dialogue: Minoru Hatanaka×Shigeru Matsui.
Ryuichi Sakamoto special exhibition shop
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The special exhibition shop will feature original merchandise, such as T-shirts, reusable-bags, ‘Tenugui’ hand towels, as well as collaborative products from EN TEA, Fuglen Coffee Roasters, and BABBI, all of which were beloved by Ryuichi Sakamoto. It will be a unique opportunity to purchase rare original merchandise from the “Sakamoto Library”, a library where visitors can read Sakamoto's personal book collection at a hidden location, and many other related products, such as CDs and books.
Location: 1st floor foyer (behind the museum shop)
Exhibition Flyer
