“Ta chi ta sa_” Exhibition 2017

The two pale verticals standing like sentries on the edges of unseen (secret) squares in Cathedra guard the "place," Makom. By Thomas Hess.

The vast expanse of ultramarine blue initially prompts vague feeling of infinity in the viewer. This feeling is soon dispelled, however, if the viewer then directs his or her gaze at the zip. By Armin Zweite

Barnett Newman's "Cathedra" virtually immerses the spectator in a sea of celestial blue that, like the pervasive blues in the Romantic tradition. By Robert Rosenblum

**

Barnett Newman's "Cathedra," I've brought it at the risk of my life! Please come to see it by the 8th, at the Ningyocho Visions.

Do you guys have enough Sublime lately? I brought the Barnett Newman's "Cathedra" with the act of standing slowly. Please come to see us.

You will surely feel Sublime in Barnett Newman's work Cathedra, and also in the daily activities of standing and standing. Is it good to have such a tingling space and experience occasionally ?

Tweets of Ihoda during the show (July 2-5, 2017)

Tetsuya Miyata (Visiting member professor at Kyoto Saga University of Art )
The way Takako Ihoda created, wove and formed moments "directly" was perhaps more of a dogmatic world than a performance. There are stories to the dances. Dancers must separate from themselves once. Ihoda's continuous performance must be appreciated, like viewing a painting. What moved in the video was Newman's painting, not Ihoda. Then what was Ihoda doing ? As I said before, she wasn't performing. She just created, wove and formed moments directly. Like a painting.

Akihiro Yoshizawa
I saw a documentary video of “Ta chi ta sa” at an art gallery in Ningyo-cho, "Vision's." It was performed in front of a masterpiece by Barnett Newman, "Cathedra," which is on permanent exhibition at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Starting from lying down, face up, Ms. Ihoda slowly moves her body and takes almost an hour to stand up fully.

It was half a century ago when we began calling human beings Homo Movens due to their characteristic feature for being mobile, based on the idea that mobility is what makes human valuable. Nowadays, not only tourists but also athletes, entertainers, politicians, business people, military servicepeople, and even terrorists move around the world.

To the contrary, Ms. Ihoda's performance was anything but mobile. What I saw in the video was the meaning of “Ta chi ta sa,” her pure will to be vertical, "to stand up," the title I could not understand when I first encountered it. There was no eroticism which is often seen in performances expressed by body. The way she stretched upwards, resisting the gravity, seemed like will of plants rather than that of animals.
I am probably not the only one who is surprised and moved by the way vines stretch themselves high in the air without knowing where to go. It is said that the tips of plants twist as they grow toward the sun, following a certain law of nature. The way Ms. Ihoda stood up reminded me of how such plants grow, and a long-forgotten passage from a poem by Rilke came into my mind at the same time. It was the first radiant line from "Sonnets to Orpheus."

"There rose a tree. O pure transcendence!"
At the gallery, I also saw photos of Ms. Ihoda's past “Ta chi ta sa” performances with unique structures and displays. In such performances held in front of an audience, surrounded by many eyes, she seemed to discharge excessive energy.

On the other hand, her confrontation with Newman's work "Cathedra" was performed in a space without an audience and she created a pure magnetic stage of “Ta chi ta sa” in a solemn atmosphere. I did not feel any excessive discharge of energy from the video. Just as plants generate carbohydrates through photosynthesis and grow, she seemed to generate something inside her while taking in the energy of "Cathedra." I would like to take this opportunity to see other "Newman Series" projects.