Confronting Barnett Newman

In 1995, I started an series of act in nature and in various environments with taking records of them and named these activities “Ta chi ta sa”, and along with these I have collaborated with artists, musicians, photographers, and dancers to produce and represent the works. Takako Ihoda, who has been executing these performances, is trying to confront the paintings of Barnett Newman, who influenced me the most as an artist and gave me the starting point of this activity, with the act of standing slowly. I will visit Newman's works all over the world, stand in front of them, and record the performance with video images and photographs. Besides the performance, the tour holds my one-man show that displays the records so far as an integral work.
After tens of minutes taken to stand up finally, how does the vertical line standing through the body resonate with space and time created by each Newman's painting and its vertical line? Can you feel what Newman called "Sublime" in this act of "stand" and "standing" that most people do everyday?

About " Ta chi ta sa ," late Kunio Motoe (former professor of the Tama Art University) described the performance as a process becoming a vertical line called a zip that appears in Newman's paintings, saying that while the "space is essentially public," the "time is utterly private" for Newman, who emphasized the "work of the physical sensation," and asked if Ms. Ihoda's indigenous and physical gestures are wonderful realizations of that. "
What physical changes occurs depending on his work I face, country, and location? How do they accept Newman's work in each country? How do you feel and understand the act of “Ta chi ta sa”? What do you see that?
My goal is to travel to other countries and finally to perform in front of "Queen of the Night I" (1951) in the collection of the National Museum of Art, Osaka. Especially in Japan, where there are few works of Newman, I wanted to let Newman and his work be appreciated by broader public, so I intend to go abroad and collaborate as if in order to bring Newman back.

Barnett Newman (1905-1970): American painter and sculptor.
He is a key figure of abstract expressionism and color field painting. Born in New York
http://www.barnettnewman.org

My art began with painting and now I use my body to express art. However, as it is neither dance nor butoh, it is a form of art difficult to categorize.
Ever since I studied painting, I have been strongly intrigued by paintings and two-dimensional art- works that seem cut off from gravity, solely with vertical presence, and that stir the minds and senses of museum visitors, while possessing wide and deep space and time. To me, nothing fits this mold more perfectly than Barnett Newman paintings. Nothing impacted me more than this experience where I could feel resonated physically, sensibly, and mentally with the work in front of me that was parallel to my weakened body, barely standing with nothing to focus on, stained in the color of the painting, as well as with Newman himself.
From that time, and even now as I practice activities using my body it has always been a light like measure by my side.

After finishing the 2014 exhibit and “Tachitasa” performance I received questions from people such as "Is Newman present behind you?" and "Does your motivation toward your performance originate from there?" If I, as of today, should confront Newman's works in a more serious way from a more equal standpoint, even by mustering enough courage to do so, I could possibly never think other way than appealing to the performance of this “Tachitasa” itself. Gradually I have come to convince myself that I must have been engaged in my activities to face Barnett Newman. The great artist Newman is the very person who has motivated me to start my performance.

Continuing on the "Confronting Barnett Newman Tour",
Requests to museums around the world that collect Newman's works!
I am currently receiving positive responses from Canada and Germany.

Confronting so far