MASAKI FUJIHATA (Lecture)
240 Charles E. Young Drive Los Angeles, CA 90095
Tuesday, January 21 at 6:00 PM 8:00 PM
Ends Jan 21, 2020
Masaki Fujihata is one of the pioneers of Japanese new media art, beginning his career working in video and digital imaging in the early 80s. As an early practitioner of the application of new technologies to the process of artmaking, he was one of the first artists to use stereolithography, a technique in which a laser polymerizes a liquid resin as it sweeps its surface. He also created the worlds smallest sculptures by using the manufacturing techniques for integrated circuits (at 10m and 100m, these works are visible only with an electron microscope). However, he is most recognized for his sophisticated interactive network installations and his primary concern has been to employ multimedia technology in order to examine the possibilities for communication within virtual spaces. His interactive works include Removable Reality (1992), which used an infrared cordless phone, and Impressing Velocity (1994), in which he used a laptop computer equipped with GPS to digitally map Mount Fuji, making it available for viewers to explore interactively. He believes that "reality does not conflict with virtuality: it is the complementary aspect of a similar space of life." Fujihata has exhibited extensively throughout Japan and will be participating in the upcoming Yokohama Triennale. Internationally, he has exhibited at the 1983, 1984, 1996, and 2000 Siggraph conferences (USA), Ars Electronica (Linz), DEAF (Rotterdam), "CyberForum" ( Lisbon), VEAF (Vancouver) and his work is part of the permanent collection of the ZKM (Karlsruhe).