ART CITIES:Tokyo-Christian Boltanski

Christian Boltanski is a leading figure in contemporary art, considered as France’s most influential living artist. Since 1967, he has developed an artistic style that embraces writing, film, sculpture and photography. With a focus on remembrance and time, he works with biographical milestones and references, from both his own life and the lives of unknown or unidentified persons, and combines true and fictional tales in an attempt at “reconstitution”.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: National Art Center-Tokyo Archive

The exhibition “Lifetime” is among the largest retrospectives ever held in Japan of the work of Christian Boltanski, one of the most prominent contemporary artists, and encompasses work from throughout his career. This exhibition introduce the diverse world of his art with a scheduled total of 46 pieces, including his latest work. Christian Boltanski follows the twisting paths of individual and collective destinies using personal and impersonal elements of great evocative power – photographs, newspapers, archives, clothes, designing installations with formal and emotional intensity. The theme of memory and its corollary, an obsession with avoiding forgetfulness and oblivion, is central to his vision, as is the ability to invent legends and myths. In “Monument” (1986), Boltanski takes photographic portraits used in past works and reconfigures them in altar-like assemblages. Illuminated by light bulbs, the arrangements of children’s photographs take on the atmosphere of religious icons. In “Réserve Canada” (1988) the wall is covered with old clothing, was first produced in Canada. The title alludes to both disappearance and the need for memory. The clothing, clinging from the top to the bottom of the wall in thick layers, evokes the body only to indicate its absence. With the enormous quantity of discarded clothing, Boltanski conveys the staggering number of individuals involved. In “Speaking Up” (2005/2018), 8 figures stride forward, clad in black coats and seemingly wrapped in thought. They consist of simple pieces of wood and black reading lamps in lieu of heads. Although stationary, the tilt of their “bodies” and breadth of their “step” suggests movement: these figures seem to be rushing – to somewhere, or away from something? The recorded “thoughts” we hear as we get nearer indicate that they are engrossed by questions of life and, especially, death. In the late 1990s, Boltanski took a break from his work with photographs and turned to sculptural installations. Although they are extremely simple and spare, rather like harried scarecrows, these may be the only examples of full three-dimensional figures in his art. Used to warm people who have escaped calamity. In recent years, we have seen them on refugees who were pulled from the sea as they desperately made their way across the Mediterranean from Africa or the Middle East. The golden mountain, then, is a physical manifestation of redemption and the start of a new life. In “Eyes” (2013), dozens of pairs of eyes – made-up, wrinkled, young, old – stare at us from translucent curtains. Their gaze may be probing and direct, or it may be blank, and as we walk through these eyes, we may engage with them or we may avert our own gaze. The images come from Greek passport photos, since Boltanski made the work while preparing an exhibition in Athens, but their origin is of no importance. In the most universal way, eyes and the gaze convey the essence of being human – the self. The gaze of others forms our own sense of self as we walk through this labyrinth of looks. The three-channel video installation “Misterios” (2017) shows footage shot in Patagonia, a remote region of South America. Boltanski collaborated with a local sound engineer to create huge metal horns that sound like whale calls when the wind blows through them, seeking to communicate with whales, which in Patagonia are believed to know the origins of the world. The artist explores these origins by conversing with whales through haunting metallic sounds.

Info: The National Art Center-Tokyo, 7-22-2 Roppongi Minato-ku, Tokyo, Duration: 12/6-/9/19, Days & Hours: Mon, Wed-Thu & Sun 10:00-18:00, Fri-Sat 10:00-20:00, www.nact.jp