An Artist and Society

Environmental problems and natural disasters, COVID-19 and international disputes. As society lurches forward, the environment in which artists work continues to change. While global art markets grow, interest in the possibilities of art, from social welfare, to science, to advanced technologies, to business situations, are also increasing and growing ever more diverse. How can artists in the midst of this change establish relationships with society and build their own creative ecosystems? This session will explore this through speakers’ reflections on their own practices.

Speakers:
Akira Fujimoto (Artist)
Koki Tanaka (Artist)

Speaker’s Profiles

Akira Fujimoto
Akira Fujimoto (b. 1975, Tokyo) graduated from the Department of Design at Tokyo University of the Arts. Worked at Communication Research Center FABRICA (Italy) in 1999, then completed a MA in Design at Tokyo University of the Arts, became assistant faculty in the Intermedia Art department of TUA, and currently works as an artist planning and implementing projects that question society using motifs that depict uncontrollable phenomena that occur in the environment and society. His works are made up of a combination of various materials and media. Major projects include SONO AIDA, Babel of the Sea, FUTURE MEMORY, 2021, and NEW RECYCLE®︎.

Koki Tanaka
Koki Tanaka tries to specify the multiple contexts concealed within simple everyday actions, among his many artistic practices including video, photography, site-specific installations, and interpolating projects. In his object-oriented early works, he conducted experiments on common everyday items, searching for a way to display the possibilities of escaping from daily routines. Later works had participants carrying out unusual tasks as a group, recording behavior exhibited unconsciously when faced with impossible situations. This was an attempt to reveal the group dynamics that occur within a small society or temporary collective.
Major exhibitions and film festivals include the Berlin International Film Festival (2020), International Film Festival Rotterdam (2019), Skulptur Projekte Münster (2017), Venice Biennale (2017), and more.