Why People Draw -A young man's drawing odyssey-

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Why People Draw -A young man's drawing odyssey-

The 1st Art Asephale Project

Exhibition

Information

TitleWhy People Draw -A young man's drawing odyssey- The 1st Art Asephale Project
Date2006.6.14(Wed) - 2006.6.28(Wed)
Time11:00 - 19:00
AdmissionFree   Last admission is 30 minutes before closing.
Organize
Tokyo Wonder Site
Cooperation
Hitoshi Nishiyama
VenueTWS Shibuya
Why People Draw, Vol. 1 "A young man's drawing odyssey"

"Why do people draw pictures?"
Every one of us has surely fantasized at least once and probably rather ashamedly about this romantic yet inescapable question.
Even though it may be impossible to touch on the problem in its totality, against the backdrop of the gradual demystification of our society it seems extremely important to give more than a passing thought to this issue.
It is the present situation of the world that makes it necessary for us to reaffirm the existence of "independence" in connection to the primordial irregularity of the "world", and I believe that the act of asking this question is part of this reconfirmation process.
Answers to our problem cannot be expressed in words.
There must be a whole range of them, but they will not be found through transcendental thinking, but rather through experiences of empathy or nonverbal understanding.
To feel is an essential part of this.
All these numerous drawings here were made by one young man who devoted himself to his work wherever and whenever he could. They show sceneries that each flashed across his mind for just a brief instant.
Tormented day and night by their afterimages, he found the only way to cure his growing obsession in "drawing", and only after many years of drawing he finally managed to recover.
During this drawing odyssey, he came across one possible answer to our question.
I'd like to close by stressing that this exhibition was only possible with the friendship between "him and me" - "our" friendship that was underlying the entire project.
Satoru Okada
Representative, Art Asephale



Photos of the exhibition




Profile

Satoru Okada
Psychiatrist and collector of contemporary art.
While practicing daily at a psychosomatic clinic, for several years he has been putting together annual "magical art exhibitions" to oppose the gradually demystifying, rationalist society that desires to interpret, homogenize, and put everything into perspective through merely superficial understanding, and as a result is being deprived of hope and imagination. Okada curates exhibitions and various other events in cooperation with art bar "Traumaris" in Roppongi, art production team "Art Acephale", "Magic Room?" in Kiyosumi Shirakawa, "magical art room"  in Roppongi, art communication site "LOPAS"(http://www.loaps.com), and others. Presently gives "advices for a magical art life" in a regular column in the quarterly publication "lammfrommer zettel's traum".
Art Production Team "Art Acephale"
It would be false to say that we are living in a good world with a positive society. The constant thread of terrorism, and the chain of alarming incidents triggered by people's loss of hope and imagination are just the tip of the iceberg. It is a time to focus seriously on the question how art, against this backdrop, is supposed to be (concerning the quality of art itself), and what it is supposed to do (concerning its relationship with society). To find answers on these questions is a rather difficult task, however this shouldn't be a reason to just sit there and watch passively. First and foremost, what is important is to think, and to take whatever action.
Art Acephale is a group of people who observe the present state of art in an "age in which art is being strangled to death by commercial consumption", and explore the above issues through the practical organization and administration of exhibitions with an unspecified number of young gallery owners and artists. The name "Acephale" was borrowed from French thinker Georges Bataille's secret society of the same name, meaning "headless", which symbolizes the idea of life that is free and independent from restrictions by the brain.

Related Event

Talk Session
Panelists:
Satoshi Okada(Representative, Art Asephale)
Izumi Kato(Artist)
Tadasuke Iwanaga(Artist)
Yusaku Imamura (Director, Tokyo Wonder Site,Counselor on Special Issues to the Governor, Tokyo Metropolitan Government)
Date: 2006/6/24(Sat)  14:00~16:00
Venue: Tokyo Wonder Site Shibuya Art Café "kurage"
Admission:Free

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