Tatsuo Miyajima at Luhring Augustine, New York

Tatsuo Miyajima: Totality of Life
Luhring Augustine, New York
December 16, 2000 – January 27, 2001

Luhring Augustine presents an exhibition of new work by Tatsuo Miyajima, titled “Totality of Life.”  This major exhibition consists of three installations, each concerned with illustrating concepts of human relations with time and space. The largest installation in the main gallery, called Floating Time, is a site where the viewer can actively perceive time, as counting digital numbers literally float through space, interacting with the installation and the viewer. 

As Tatsuo Miyajima has explained in an artist statement, “Oriental philosophy never recognized ‘time’ independently. ‘Time’ is understood as being in relation with space and environment. The notion of ‘time’ is primarily realized by human beings and life. In the East, life is understood as the repetition of birth and death. Thus, the abstract concept of ‘time,’ parallel to life with continuous transformation, is accordingly unconditional with neither a start nor an end…The ‘time’ shown in my [work] simultaneously represents the existence of the human being and life itself.  My counters indicate 1 through 9 and not ‘0,’ then total blackout (which symbolizes death) and repeat the counting process again.  It undoubtedly suggests the repetition of life.”

Tatsuo Miyajima’s work has been internationally collected and exhibited. Most notably Miyajima was chosen to represent the Japanese pavilion at the 1999 Venice Bienniale.  His work can be found in the collections of the Dallas Museum of Contemporary Art, the San Francisco MOMA, the Museum of Modern Art, Shiga, Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, the MCA Chicago as well as many others.

LUHRING AUGUSTINE
www.luhringaugustine.com