Presentation at International Conference ‘Art/Research/Practice’ 2021 @ GA, Tokyo University of the Arts 2021/10/02
On October 2nd, I gave a presentation at the international conference, titled ‘Art/Research/Practice’, at The Graduate School of Global Arts (GA), Tokyo University of the Arts. The workshop “draws attention to the unique developments in the respective fields of contemporary art and the humanities and social sciences, while also exploring the potentialities of the intersections, similarities, and differences between these two fields.”
It was a two-day-long conference consisting of many panels.
I gave a presentation about my engagement with platforms and people that I got to know during my fieldwork and on the way of my doctoral research on King Houndekpinkou; how people contributed to my research not only as sources of information but also as my “supervisor”, how the platforms in research sites played roles as “seminar” of my doctoral research, and how I’ve done art/academic projects together with them to give back what I learned from them to their communities.
I could have a panel with two doctoral students whose research interests are near to mine, and I learned a lot from their presentations. We had lunch together and we could share a lot about our researches and activities, which was really exciting for me.
What impressed me most was how the MC of our section, Dr. Yamamoto Hiroki organized the time for questions and answers. His questions and suggestions are very insightful and his attitude towards us was so respectful. He made the whole discussion time really meaningful. I’ve heard of his name because his book “Contemporary Art History: Euro-America, Japan, and Trans-National” is quite famous and that he has done a lot of interesting projects to accelerate the circulation of the art ecosystem as a cultural researcher, curator, and art critic. But it was the first time to talk with him, and I was deeply moved by his intelligence.
Yamamoto sensei’s main area of expertise as a researcher is post-war British black art, art and society of post-colonial East Asia, or social engagement in contemporary art. However, as he got his doctoral degree under the supervision of Kikuchi Yuko, who is a researcher on modern art and craft, he has extensive knowledge of the history and trends of the craft.
He helped me to find what to address in my future research, and I think the first thing to do is to read the book “Japanese Modernisation and Mingei Theory: Cultural Nationalism and Oriental Orientalism” written by Kikuchi sensei.
