Walter Seidl

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Walter Seidl

Participating Project	Institutional Recommendation Program
Activity Based	Austria
City	Tokyo
Period	2010.5 - 2010.5

Purpose of the residency

He is one of the curator for the exhibition "PSYCHOANALYSIS -
Gazes on Photo and Video Art from Austria" from May 29(Sat.)
to Aug 1(Sun.) at TWS Shibuya.

Plan during the residency

PSYCHOANALYSIS: Gazes on Photo and Video Art from Austria
TOKYO PORTFOLIO REVIEW VOL. 4


Achievements of the residency
The residency program was meant to prepare the exhibition project Psychoanalysis - Gazes on Photo and Video Art from Austria at TWS Shibuya. The work with this institution was extremely professional and stimulating and allowed to gain insight into Japanese art institutions and the mechanisms with which exhibition projects are realized. Regarding Austrian art from a foreign perspective helps to analyze the art production in one's own country and the ways certain topics are addressed.
In such an international exchange project, it is always important to see and understand different cultural tropes and the way they intertwine and coalesce. Especially the relationship between the body and architecture received widespread attention, as these topics are very important for Japanese culture where living space is very limited and the relation to the body and fashion as well as to the resulting public representation are very important social tools, where architecture, fashion, art and design often go hand in hand. This way, TWS was an ideal place since it not only concentrates on visual art but on a wide range of cultural practices.
At the same time, the residency was a very positive experience as it allowed meeting different Japanese artists working and living at TWS Aoyama, talking about their work and understanding their view on art from a different cultural angle. Thus the residency helped to meet many interesting people working in the field of art in Japan and to discuss certain issues regarding global perspectives on art.
As stated above, meetings with all the staff and directors have always been very accurate, effective and well-organized. In general, I felt a very warm welcome by everyone I had to work with, experiencing extreme helpfulness in all matters concerning the realization of the exhibition.


Outcome of the residency
As it seemed, the outcome of the exhibition has been extremely successful, since TWS presented artists whose work has not been shown in Japan yet or not in such a context. Many visitors could very well relate to the works in the show but were curious to get more insight into the Freudian or psychoanalytical dimensions of the works, whose interpretations triggered new modes of thinking not common to most of the audience. This was also proven by the big number of people during the panel discussion on the opening day. From the Austrian part, the representatives of the Cultural Ministry and the Embassy were also very pleased to have some of the best representatives of a middle generation of Austrian artists presented in Japan, which has rarely been the case up to now. The idea to present something not so much known in Japan has also been a benefit, since Japanese culture is always very keen on experiencing something new. Hence, the exhibition met all the demands from a curatorial point of view, which not only includes the presentation of the works, but also a thematic coherence and a theoretically and visually well-created catalog, which all also is due to the very professional qualities of the involved co-curators, directors and staff of TWS.

Creator Information