mission [SPACE×ART]

The first decade of the twenty-first century has already passed and today we find 'space' drawing attention increasingly. Both outer space, into which research and development progresses, and artists' expressions of inner space are rapidly expanding/converging to constitute a parallel world. Coinciding with the 2014 space boom, we will look at the field of outer space that has drawn infinitely closer to our daily lives and also the inner space created by artists as a multiverse, surpassing individual cosmologies.
In Japan, artistic experiments in this field began immediately after the Second World War and contemporary works (particle or cosmic ray works, artificial satellite art, etc.) continue to develop. For approximately ten years JAXA's 'pilot missions in humanities and social sciences'* have carried out numerous ambitious, pioneering activities globally. Furthermore, in recent years have seen the return of the asteroid explorer, 'Hayabusa', to Earth and the launch of 'Hayabusa II', fwhile large-scale expositions and exhibition facilities have opened and pre-events for the Tanegashima Space Art Festival have taken place, demonstrating the extent of the social boom in the space-related field. This exhibition will present art installations; items connected with space exploration, such as parts of satellites and rockets (fairings); material connected with entertainment, such as literature, manga and anime; interactive exhibits; discussions and other events to explore the new possibilities that 'reflect the expanding/converging world'. It will offer the opportunity to experience and consider 'space', not only as some different world or Utopia, but also as something that is 'ordinary' in a true sense.
* Space Art Project = art experiments in the Japanese 'Kibo' module of the International Space Station.

Notice：We will close the work ("Space Dance in the Tube") temporarily if it is necessary to have its maintenance or the preparation for the performance.

Highlights of the Exhibition

• Introducing the Diverse Works/Materals Presented in 'Space × Art'
This exhibition will include various interactive exhibits, allowing it to appeal to a wide range of age groups. It will consist of approximately 50 works/materials on two floors, presenting diverse outlooks on space and art; science and artistic expression; art and entertainment; etc. It will include large-scale installations and videos etc., to explore the unparalleled fascination of 'space' that continues to inspire and influence creativity in many fields, in the present tense

• Real Space and Imaginary Space
The space development project that JAXA inherited from its predecessors, NASDA, ISAS and NAL, has embarked on the age of manned space exploration with the Kibo module of the International Space Station (Koichi Wakata becoming captain of the Space Station on March 9, 2014). With international missions planned to explore the Moon and Mars, Earth's history is gradually expanding to become 'space history'. This exhibition uses 'a non-terrestrial viewpoint' as its keyword, presenting a bird's-eye view/sense of values that is common to both real space and the imaginary space created by artists.

• Depicting the World
The Japanese word for 'space' is 'uchu', 'u' referring to spatial and 'chu' temporal directions. Today, CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) has succeeded in proving the existence of the Higgs boson particle, but we still lack a comprehensive explanation of the 'dark energy', which is said to permeate all of space, or gravity. This exhibition will present a scientific approach to explaining the universe through particles, as well as the artistic approach, which tries to depict the world through dots/particles, the two strangely coinciding.

• Interactive Exhibits and Associated Projects
This exhibition will employ from the series of the super planetarium, 'Megastar' a stadium of stars; 'Space Dance in the Tube', which allows people to move their bodies and achieve an image of zero gravity; and a high-definition video showing Earth as viewed from space, presenting total immersion video and photography to create interactive displays. In addition, talks and workshops are scheduled to be held during the course of the exhibition (star observation/satellites/space debris=environmental problems in space/space architecture/space suit design/space travel/summer-holiday drawing classes/public readings on the subject of space/Tanegashima Space Art pre-events, etc.).

• To Think About Future 'SPACExART'
Space art: 1) Uses the concept of time and space within the universe to create a new worldview or aesthetics. 2) Uses a fusion of art, science and technology to forever question the state of 'space, Earth and life'. 3) The concept of space and the wide range of art regarding space activities that enables us to achieve the above (according to the definition of the research community named 'beyond' [space+art+design]). Astronomer, Roger F. Malina, talks of 'Contemporary art which relies on space activity for its implementation' and suggests seven categories to define it. We hope that you will attend this exhibition in order to witness the inception of a new field of art.

Organized by

Tokyo Metropolitan Government / Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture

Co-organized by

NHK Enterprises, Inc.

In collaboration with

beyond[space+art+design]

Special support

In cooperation with

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency / National Astronomical Observatory of Japan /
Japan Space Forum / Young Astronauts Club - Japan /
Tanegashima Space Art Festival Promotion Council / Japan Broadcasting Corporation /
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. / IHI AEROSPACE CO.,LTD. / Ohira Tech Ltd. /
Inter Stella Technologies / Sony Music Communications Inc. / SPACE FILMS / SPACE TRAVEL / GROUND / Tama Art University + The University of Tokyo/
FIRST, Aihara Innovative Mathematical Modeling Project / ILMIN MUSEUM OF ART /
Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography / Nichia Corporation / Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. / Sony Corporation / NEC Display Solutions, Ltd. / Prism Co.,Ltd./ Mitsubishi Electric Corporation / Mediaturge Inc. /
Fukuoka Prefecture Saga Prefecture/
Waseda Saga Junior High School, High School /SAKURA COLOR PRODUCTS CORPORATION / Chimons / KOYO Inc./ IMAGICA DIGITALSCAPE Co., Ltd. /
ASAHI-SHUZO SAKE BREWING CO.,LTD. etc

Supported by

(ARTSAT: ART and Satellite Project)
ASAHI GROUP ARTS FOUNDATION / The Asahi Shimbun Foundation
Exhibition catalogue scheduled to be published on July 2014

Takuro Osaka
Takayuki Ohira
Keiko Kimoto
Hiroyuki Moriwaki
Kohei Nawa
Yasuhiro Suzuki
teamLab
ARTSAT: ART and Satellite Project
oblaat (Shuntaro Tanikawa, Mizuki Misumi, Tahi Saihate, Hiroshi Homura )
Leiji Matsumoto
SPACE FILMS
NATSUNO ROCKET DAN
Space Dance in the Tube
Young-June Lee
Julius von Bismarck
EPSILON THE ROCKET
International Space Station "Kibo" Education Payload Observation: EPO
NASA: A Quarter Century of Space Exploration
Experimental Geodetic Satellite "AJISAI"
Advanced Land Observing Satellite DAICHI-2, full scale model
Fairing
Space Stamps
Historical Books and material of Space Theme, etc.