 Taro Shinoda Buried Treasure In February, artist Taro Shinoda will present a new installation, "Buried Treasure", at CalArts' Gallery at REDCAT. "Buried Treasure" will be the culmination of a three-month long residency in Los Angeles funded by the Asian Cultural Council. The focal point of Shinoda's gallery installation will play off the "engawa", a traditional wooden platform that separates domestic space from a Zen rock garden. This viewing platform is used for mediation and contemplation. The "engawa" symbolizes the border between the real world and the imaginary space of a garden. While the Zen garden symbolically depicts the ideal universe, the artist's goal is to contemplate nature rather than man-made environments. Shinoda is constructing a mobile version of the "engawa" for his project that he will travel to scenic and spiritually resonant locations in California. "I am looking for a perfect landscape," says Shinoda, "and also exploring the meaning of the word perfect". In the months preceding his installation, the artist will enlist the advice of local residents to direct him to significant locations. He will travel with companions who know and understand the spiritual implications and narrative background of an area. Once he finds these powerful landscapes, he will meditate and observe them from the platform. The artist will also keep a diaristic record of his experiences and explorations. This material will be incorporated into his installation at REDCAT. Shinoda believes that contemporary people see nature through the lens of their own needs and have disrespected our necessary relationship to it in favor of economic efficiency. Through his experiences and meditative practice, he hopes to allow the land to suggest the relationship it requires from man. "We have lots of things to learn from nature", he says, "100 years ago no one believed that atomic power existed. My work may sound superstitious, but maybe in 100 years we will see it as the beginning of a new system". "Buried Treasure" is part of an on-going investigation in which Shinoda creates situations that allow him to explore his relationship to nature. For the exhibition "Under Construction", the artist consulted with a Korean shaman in Seoul to locate a perfect location from which to view nature. The advice he gathers from individuals and communities in different localities links his work to the social realm. In the past four years, Shinoda has participated in a number of international exhibitions such as "Time After Time: Asia and Our Moment" at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, "Centre of Attraction: 8th Baltic Triennial of Iinternational Art", 2001 Yokohama Triennial, "Under Construction: New Dimensions in Contemporary Asian Art" in Seoul, Beijing, and Tokyo as well as other major group exhibitions at the National Gallery Victoria, Melbourne; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Art Tower Mito; Tokyo Opera City Gallery; and the Hiroshima National Museum. Shinoda lives and works in Tokyo. "Taro Shinoda: Buried Treasure" is funded by the American Center Foundation. The accompanying catalogue is funded in part by the Shiseido Foundation. Exhibition: February 3 - April 3, 2005 Gallery hours: 12-6 pm or curtain, closed Mondays (always free) REDCAT 631 W. 2nd Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 Telephone +1 213.237.2800 www.redcat.org |
 |