Rainy LIRR

Posted on October 1, 2010 by admin

It was rainy. It was storm. I took a train to go to New York City in order to receive two recommendation letters for submitting an award. It had to have the postmark on the 1st of October. After I collected the letters, I went to the main post office on 34th Street.

Last a couple of weeks, I wrote three statements and applications for applying grants and award. It is not easy for me to write these essays in English. Fortunately, I have a few people who generously help my projects in English. I want to say “thank you” to these people here.

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decipher is up

Posted on September 16, 2010 by admin

Finally, decipher is up. It took long time to complete… from mid August. But, I worked for this installation about 72hours or so. Maybe too much? I am really glad to see it works with 12V naked lamps, which I swapped to LED lights when I had a solo exhibition in the Second Street Gallery, VA. On the other hand, again, the sound quality is not great. I hope I can figure it out by next solo exhibition in December 2010. In order to do so, I should build an environment that I can check speakers of multichannel sound with lights. It will be a quite big project.

By the way, most photos for my posts are taken by iPhone 3Gs. I like the low quality images because it feels more reality than beauty for posts/updates/news.

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Final steps decipher

Posted on September 15, 2010 by admin

I just finished the installing of crossroads, transpose, and breathe in the ISE Cultural Foundation Gallery, but I still need to install decipher in the University Art Gallery at Stony Brook University. This exhibition will open on September 15th.

This photo explains how I attach the bamboo rod onto the 1/4″ round rod in decipher. I often tie objects with kite strings. I learn tying technique while I was creating fishing tackles when I was a kid. It is not only simple butterfly like tying, but also many different types. Tying is somehow important in my work. There are many meanings in tying in Japan. Connection, remembrance, preparation and many other meanings.

I almost finished to install decipher today, except electronic circuit that I made. I says that I am a sound and light installation artist, but sometimes the sound quality is awful after I installed. Maybe.., the noise problem is caused by the power source in a space/gallery. There are many things that I can’t figure out myself.

Here is a experimental circuit for decipher. I try to use 12V naked lamps instead of LED lights like I did in the Second Street Gallery, VA. It seems okay to use up to 3 bulbs, but more than 3 light bulb makes noise and flicker. I changed the capacitors to small non-polarized capacitors. The blinking light looks better, but with 8 of them…. I have no clew to find out. On the other hand, I feel like sound with noise makes more sense to having experience the atmosphere of installation. This is good excuse of my current shows, maybe… But, actually, I had this kind of comments when I showed crossroads in 2007. Anyway, I need to develop more stuff for future projects.

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ISE solo exhibition opens

Posted on September 12, 2010 by admin

My solo exhibition at ISE Cultural Foundation Gallery in Soho was just opened on 9/10. In order to install this works, I had three helpers; Joe Esser, Sachie Hayashida, and my 8 year-old son, also, generous help from the gallery staffs and my family. Thanks to all.

Here is a new work, transpose, in the window display space at 555 Broadway in New York. I have started to create this work since my residency at Vermont Studio Center in June. I am going to explain about this work and others in my artist talk on 10/17, so please come to the event.

I have expected to have some problems in crossroads because of my original circuit, which controls both sound volume and light blinking, since last April when I installed decipher in Second Street Gallery, VA. The system I supposed to use for decipher was same as the one that I am using this exhibition. I thought because of the larger speaker for decipher, I had a flickering problem with the circuit. I kind of understood the problem but couldn’t figure it out, so I switched to a backup system with LED lights at that time.

The flickering problem happened this time again, even with the small speakers. I wonder how I set the system when I installed crossroads at the first time in Stony Brook. I used same system but a larger MAX Amp power converter. I have no backup system this time, so no choice. I spent several hours to figure out the problem. Well.., I couldn’t figure out the problem completely, but I could adjust the volume and light to “acceptable” level.

The opening reception will be held from 6pm to 8pm on Friday 9/17. See you there.

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ISE main floor – crossroads

Posted on September 7, 2010 by admin

Even I prepare well, installing a large scale installation is not easy in a short time. I often take four days to install one large installation. This exhibition, I have five days to install three works; crossroads, breathe, and new work, transpose. Not easy for me. I know what I should do next, but I always say “wait, is this okay?” then stop doing. This is my way to prevent a simple mistake.

I could install more parts last Sunday, but I stopped to do it. I needed time to make sure everything. That’s why people call me “meticulous.” Then some people, even myself, feel that I might be a procrastinator. But a procrastinator is a person who put off something till another day without preparing. I believe I am not, but too much thinking and worry. Whenever I feel I can’t finish a project on time, I recall St. Expedite. I don’t have any specific religious, but…
Well…, too long to write about religious now. I need to prepare the final steps for tomorrow’s installation. Two more day to finish it.

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ISE front window install

Posted on September 7, 2010 by admin

Finally, sit down in front of my computer to update the progress of preparing solo exhibition in the ISE Cultural Foundation Gallery. Here is the back stage of window gallery on 9/4. Joe Esser is helping my installation.

Inside this window, I supposed to have a new sound sculpture, transpose, which was started to create when I was in the Vermont Studio Center residency program in June, but I haven’t finished it yet. I will finish it tomorrow…

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Window – transpose

Posted on August 29, 2010 by admin

transpose is a new work for the window space gallery at the ISE Cultural Foundation in Soho, NY, which is also opened on next Friday 9/10. I finally tested it out the system with real equipment/setup, which works great. Then, now, I want to tweak the visual effect a little bit more. It must be beautiful in some degree.

From top, 12″ subwoofer speaker, subwoofer amplifier, general amp (for mic amp this time), contact microphone (took apart one of the piezo speakers from RadioShack).

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Hanging decipher

Posted on August 25, 2010 by admin

Hanging art work is easy for me. It just takes time. I am probably doing slowly. Somebody said, “You are meticulous.” I hope she meant in a good way.

I hung eight bow-shaped round rods with 6″ mid-range speaker. The sound quality was not that great in the Second Street Gallery, so I need to change my circuit a little bit. Now I am thinking if I insert Art T8 noise canceler or one tiny capacitor between pos. and neg. on the speakers.

The installing for decipher should be stopped today since my other projects for solo exhibition, Emotional Echo: Separation, must be installed until September 9th. I haven’t finished a project for window display in the ISE Cultural Foundation, yet, which I started in the Vermont Studio Center residency program in June. I have to wait the materials a few days more.

The process for decipher will stay until September 10th, then I will start it again and finish it up by September 14th. You will see.

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