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201

NORITOSHI HIRAKAWA (Japanese, b. 1960) LA FONTAINE signed and editioned label inscribed with pri...

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NORITOSHI HIRAKAWA (Japanese, b. 1960) LA FONTAINE signed and editioned label inscribed with pri...
NORITOSHI HIRAKAWA (Japanese, b. 1960) LA FONTAINE signed and editioned label inscribed with print information adhered to verso chromogenic color print 15 x 18 7/8 in. (38.1 x 47.9 cm) 2001 this print is number 3 from an edition of 10 (plus 2 artist proofs) from the series LES TEMPS DE RIEN À MONTPELLIER PROVENANCE Serge Ziegler Galerie, ZÜRICH Private Collection, MASSACHUSETTS EXHIBITED GHENT, Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (SMAK), CASINO 2001, October 28 - January 13, 2001 (another example exhibited) Paris , Noirmont Prospect, NORITOSHI HIRAKAWA: LES TEMPS DE RIEN À MONTPELLIER, May 24-July 18, 2002 (another example exhibited) LITERATURE Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, CASINO 2001: 1st QUADRIËINNALE VOOR HEDENDAAGSE KUNST, GHENT, 2001, p. 114 (illustrated, Please note: This was incorrectly described as a video still in the catalogue, when in fact it was taken with a 35mm Contax still camera) This is one of 24 images from the series LES TEMPS DE RIEN À MONTPELLIER, taken as part of a multimedia project with the same name. Another element of the project is a video made in collaboration with the French choreographer, Didier Théron. Originally conceived for the MONTPELLIER DANCE '01 festival, the multi-video installation depicts 11 short stories in which the seven selected dancers perform acts of daily life in Montpellier. Situations depicted occur in the train, in a café, in an apartment, museum, office, public park, etc. Performance is taken off the stage and set in everyday environments. "Even though it is about a choreographic project, all is conceived as a faithful transcript of reality: the movements 'danced' emphasize with the body what the mind feels....If cultural pressure inhibits the body, then it is about making it speak, it controls behavior, to show the subjectivity....Noritoshi Hirakawa unleashes the free movement of the dancers: they are no longer conscious of being watched (contrary to the stage) and therefore act with more liberty, sincerity and innocence" (Boucheron, Noirmont Prospect). The viewer is therefore challenged to find beauty in the mundane and in the idea of life without bodily inhibition, in a release of sensuality. Because Hirakawa is strongly influenced by his Japanese heritage, he explores its cultural boundaries by breaking through the repressed action and speech that is the customary expectation in his native culture. The photographs depicting various moments of these narratives are not video stills (they are incorrectly labeled as such in the SMAK, CASINO 2001 catalogue), but they are taken with completely different framing and different angles, all conducive to creating the best image to capture elements of his overall project. The images are powerful when seen individually, as demonstrated by the striking beauty of LA FONTAINE. Although the photograph is static, movement is so strongly implied that we feel as though we are watching a situation unfold. LA FONTAINE, taken in the Esplanade Charles de Gaulle, a public space in Montpellier, emits a sensual serenity "where the grace of movement and the melancholy of the moment are almost palpable, irradiated with light so special to Montpellier, at the same time white and intense" (Boucheron). Clothing is discarded and undergarments act as "accepted" coverage in a public space. The convincing choreography of the image allows us to believe this is simply another act of daily life.
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