Kacchu Anatomy: The aesthetics of design and engineering｜21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa.

Information

Period:

2022.5.3(Tue.) - 2022.7.10(Sun.)
10:00-18:00（until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays）

Venue:

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Galleries 6, 14

Closed：

Mondays

Admission：

Adults: ¥750 (¥600)
Students: ¥520 (¥410)
18 and under: ¥260 (¥200)
65 and over: ¥600

*Fees in parentheses are for groups of 20 people or more and web tickets.

For More Information：

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Phone: +81-76-220-2800
E-Mail: info@kanazawa21.jp

From the Sengoku through Edo periods, Japanese armor “Kacchu” developed and evolved as a symbol of a samurai’s pride and strength in battle in a unique way. This development occurred in terms of both the aesthetic that deployed these craft skills and innovative designs seen in lacquering, metalwork, and braiding, as well as the functionality and engineering of these items as protective gear. These fascinating aspects will be exhibited in a space designed by contemporary artists. Through a video installation by Rhizomatiks, which digitally analyzes the details and structure of these items, and the spatial design by Nile Koetting, which connects armor to the reality of the modern human body in a flexible way, armor “Kacchu” begins to speak to us in the present tense.

Installation view

Kacchu Anatomy: The aesthetics of design and engineering, Installation view photo: Muryo Homma (Rhizomatiks)
Kacchu Anatomy: The aesthetics of design and engineering, Installation view photo: Muryo Homma (Rhizomatiks)
(Left this side)Namban(Western style) "Dai(Big) tentsuki" wakidate gusoku armor, Edo Period, Ii Museum
Kacchu Anatomy: The aesthetics of design and engineering, Installation view photo: Muryo Homma (Rhizomatiks)
HATRA × MAGARIMONO《AURA Mid》2022
Kacchu Anatomy: The aesthetics of design and engineering, Installation view photo: Muryo Homma (Rhizomatiks)
Kacchu Anatomy: The aesthetics of design and engineering, Installation view photo: Muryo Homma (Rhizomatiks)
MITER Shinichi, Fragments of a Continuum, 2008, Collection of the artist
(Back) Rhizomatiks, Displayed Kacchu, 2022, Collection of the artist
Kacchu Anatomy: The aesthetics of design and engineering, Installation view photo: Muryo Homma (Rhizomatiks)
(Left)Tameshi-dou gusoku armor owned by Date family,daimyo of Sendai, Edo Period, Ii Museum
(Right)Rhizomatiks, Displayed Kacchu, 2022, Collection of the artist
Kacchu Anatomy: The aesthetics of design and engineering, Installation view photo: Muryo Homma (Rhizomatiks)
(From the left in a turn)Armor ("Gusoku") with a Niou-do Cuirass and Scarlet Lacing, Muromachi - Momoyama period, Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of History
Armor ("Gusoku") with a Two-Piece Cuirass and Navy Blue Lacing, Edo period, Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of History
Armor ("Gusoku") with a Two-Piece Iron Cuirass, Late 17th century, Osaka Castle Museum

Purchasing reserved timed-entry tickets

Book tickets here

Time slots：
[1] 10:00～11:00　[2] 11:00～12:00
[3] 12:00～13:00　[4] 13:00～14:00
[5] 14:00～15:00　[6] 15:00～16:00
[7] 16:00～17:00　[8] 17:00～18:00
[9] 18:00～19:00　[10] 19:00～20:00
※ [9][10] Fridays and Saturdays only
For sale: From 10:00 on the 1st of the previous month

・The number of reserved tickets sold for each time slot is limited (availability on a first come, first served basis).
・Please present the two-dimensional code screen or printout of the purchased page at the entrance of the exhibition venue.
・Please be aware that there may be an queue at the start of each time slot.

Related Events

Talk Session: Shinichi Miter x HATRA x MAGARIMONO
Stylist Shinichi Miter, HATRA, and MAGARIMONO will discuss Kacchu, and their artworks, from a fashion perspective.
Speakers: Shinichi Miter, Keisuke Nagami (HATRA), Ayato Tsumagari and Yuta Akizuki (MAGARIMONO)
Moderator: Yuko Hasegawa, Director, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Date/time: May 3, 2022 (Tue/holi) 16:00-18:00
Venue: Theater 21, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Capacity: approx. 110 people (reservation required, seats to be given in order of reservation)
Entry Fee: Show either unused or used entry ticket for Kacchu Anatomy: The aesthetics of design and engineering
Booking: To be completed through Google Form starting on April 20

Talk Session: Nile Koetting x Rhizomatiks
This talk session presents a conversation between Nile Koetting and Rhizomatiks, who executed scenography and data visualization respectively in the exhibition.
Date/time: May 8, 2022 (Sun) 14:00-15:30
Venue: Theater 21, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Capacity: approx. 110 people (reservation required, seats to be given in order of reservation)
Entry Fee: Show either unused or used entry ticket for Kacchu Anatomy: The aesthetics of design and engineering
Booking: To be completed through Google Form starting on April 20

Main works in the exhibition

Hon Iyozane Marudou Armor ("Gusoku")
Sengoku period
Collection of Ii Museum

Armor ("Gusoku") with a Niou-do Cuirass and Scarlet Lacing
Muromachi – Azuchi-Momoyama period
Collection of Ishikawa Prefectual Museum of History

Armor ("Gusoku") with a Two-Piece Cuirass Bearing Kuginuki ("Nail Puller")Crest and Scarlet Lacing
Azuchi-Momoyama period
Collection of Osaka Castle Museum

Hon Iyozane Marudou Armor ("Gusoku")
Sengoku period
Collection of Ii Museum

Armor ("Gusoku") with a Niou-do Cuirass and Scarlet Lacing
Muromachi – Azuchi-Momoyama period
Collection of Ishikawa Prefectual Museum of History

Armor ("Gusoku") with a Two-Piece Cuirass Bearing Kuginuki ("Nail Puller")Crest and Scarlet Lacing
Azuchi-Momoyama period
Collection of Osaka Castle Museum
HATRA × MAGARIMONO AURA 2022
©MAGARIMONO Inc.

HATRA × MAGARIMONO AURA
On display will be the first collaboration between HATRA × MAGARIMONO, in the form of 3D-printed sneakers inspired by Kacchu’s patterns and designs.
Shinichi Miter Fragments of a Continuum (Armor series made from sneaker parts) 2008

Shinichi Miter Fragments of a Continuum (Armor series made from sneaker parts)
Also on view will be a series of futuristic Kacchu created by stylist Shinichi Miter, assembled from sneaker parts. The artist describes this artwork by saying that “ …I decided to use the footwear that usually protects one’s feet, to create armors that protect one’s body. In doing so, I pursued the beauty of a continuum by assembling numerous sneakers of the same model. ”

Data Visualization and Design

Exhibition view: "GLOBALE: New Sensorium - Exiting from Failures of Modernization"
Curated by Yuko Hasegawa
Courtesy of ZKM | Karlsruhe
Photo by Tobias Wootton and Jonas Zilius

Rhizomatiks

Data visualization is an application of big data, technology that enables the visualization of vast, complex data. Through this technology, relationships and characteristics in data unknown to us before can be recognized intuitively. In this exhibition, this technology is put into practice by Rhizomaks, who has been exploring new possibilities for technology and expressions and cultivated experimental projects with a strong research and development focus. In addition to presenting a digital video work created with an CT scan data of Kacchu, they will also develop these images into key visuals for exhibition’s graphic materials, posters and website.

Scenography

Atmospheric sketch for Kacchu (type 1)
© Nile Koetting

Nile Koetting

Often translated into Japanese as “stage design”, scenography can be translated in a contemporary sense as the “creation of spaces and situations that evoke emotions”. In this exhibition, scenography will be carried out by Nile Koetting, who creates installation artworks through diverse media including sound, video and lighting. The exhibition space will be designed in a way that readily connects past and present, through display design that enables a 360-degree viewing of the Kacchu, as well as the lighting that is at once smart and permeated with a sense of warmth.

Artist Profilea

Shinichi Miter

Miter began working as a stylist in 1997 and moved to the U.K. in 1998, before returning to Japan in 2001. He works in diverse fields including fashion magazines, advertising, live concerts, film and TV wardrobes, as well as serving as the creative director for NF, a project led by Ichiro Yamaguchi of Sakanaction. His artistic venture was marked by participation in “NOKIMONO” exhibition as art unit TENKI, collaborating with ink painter Akitsune Tsuchiya and fashion designer Takayuki Suzuki. Miter’s sneaker Kacchu artworks have been exhibited at KiKi inc. Exhibition 2008 (2008, ZEL CAFÉ/GALLERY, Tokyo, Japan); Fragments of Continuity (2010, GALLERY SPEAK FOR/SPEAK FOR SPACE, Tokyo); and NIKE AIR MAX REVOLUTION TOKYO (2017, Hyokeikan, Tokyo National Museum).　
HATRA × MAGARIMONO

HATRA
Centered around the theme of liminal wear, HATRA is a fashion project founded in 2010 that offers clothing as a spatial entity that is both portable and liminal. In recent years, they have been experimenting with new forms of physical expression through the application of digital technologies such as 3D cross simulation.

MAGARIMONO
MAGARIMONO is the unit behind the namesake footwear brand that, under the slogan “Today’s Heresy, Tomorrow’s Orthodoxy”, aims to revolutionize shoemaking processes using digital technology. They have been developing “MAGARIMONO originals”, footwear freed from the restrictions of mass production through 3D printing characterized by unrestricted forms and low environmental impact.
Rhizomatiks

Rhizomatiks pursues new possibilities in technology and expression, working on experimental projects with a strong research and development focus. From development of hardware and software to operations, the company is engaged in all stages of their projects, they conduct R&D projects and create artworks based on the research on the relationships between people and technology. Through collaborations with artists and researchers from outside the company, Rhizomatiks brings to the world cutting-edge expressions and research.
https://rhizomatiks.com/
Nile Koetting

Nile Koetting is an internationally recognized artist who creates contemporary, ambient spaces through a diverse range of media such as sound, video and light. His recent exhibitions include Remain Calm (Air氣) (2021, Tai Kwun Contemporary, Hong Kong); Thailand Biennale
(2021-2022); Remain Calm - Reduced + (2020, Shedhalle, Zürich, Switzerland); Anticorps (2020, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France); 保持冷静 / Remain Calm (2019-2020, Centre Pompidou x West Bund Museum, Shanghai, China); and Liaisons Ambiguës (2016-2017, Maison Hermès Forum, Tokyo, Japan).

Spin-off Merchandise

Drawing by Aisha Franz
© Nile Koetting

© Rhizomatiks

During the exhibition, the Museum Shop will sell three types of T-shirts designed by the participating artists, Nile Koetting and Rhizomatiks, as merchandise related to the exhibition "Kacchu Anatomy: The aesthetics of design and engineering."
*Sold at the Museum Shop during the exhibition period
Price: JPY4,000 + sales tax (per kind)
The T-shirts are also available in our online Museum Shop. *Only in Japanese
Museum Shop
White T-shirts designed by Nile Koetting (2 kinds)
Black T-shirt designed by Rhizomatiks

Catalog Reservations & Sales

"Kacchu Anatomy: The aesthetics of design and engineering" exhibition catalog will be available for pre-order and sale at the Museum Shop.
Scheduled to go on sale in early June 2022 or later.
Reservations: Accepted at the cashier counter at the Museum Shop (no telephone reservations)
Specifications: A4 size, 64 pages (tentative)
Price: JPY2,200 (tax included), Shipping cost: JPY400 (tax included)
*JPY2,600 in total to be paid in advance upon pre-order
Published by: Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd.
*Will be shipped to the address of your choice as soon as it is ready.

Credit:

FY2022 Japan Cultural Expo Project Presented and Co-presented by Japan Arts Council and Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan.

Credit

Organized by：

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (Kanazawa Art Promotion and Development Foundation), Japan Arts Council, Agency for Cultural Affairs Government of Japan

In special cooperation with：

Eastern Culture Foundation, Ii Museum, Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of History, Osaka Castle Museum