Takako Saito
Encyclopedia
Takako Saito is a Japan
ese artist, born in Sabae-Shi, Fukui
Province in Japan in 1929. Closely associated with Fluxus
, the international collective of avant-garde artists that was active primarily in the 1960s and 1970s, she currently lives in Düsseldorf
in Germany. She is most famous for her Silent Music piece and for her disrupted Chess
sets.
Whilst studying psychology
at the Japan Women's University
, Saito became involved with Sōzō Biiku undŏ, the 'Creative Art Education' movement. Founded by Teijirŏ Kubo after World War II
, the movement focussed on encouraging creativity through free will. Whilst attending a summer camp organized by the movement, Saito met a Tokyo
member Ay-O
, an artist actively engaged in encouraging avant-garde
groups in Japan. Ay-O became an important source of information for Saito about the avant-garde, first in Tokyo, and then, later, in New York
, where he moved in 1958. Intrigued by the reports being sent back by Ay-O, Saito also travelled to New York in 1963 ostensibly to work as an assistant to textile wholesaler. It was through Ay-O that she was introduced to George Maciunas
, founder and organiser of Fluxus, and one of the central members of the New York avant-garde.
Saito remained part of the Fluxus movement throughout the 1960s and 70s, producing performance, still, multi-media, installation and sculptural work in collaboration with other artists such as George Maciunas and Yoko Ono
. Saito has contributed pieces to many Fluxus collaborations, including Fluxus 1
(1964) and the Flux Cabinet (1975–77). She is perhaps most well known for her "Silent Music" piece. Her output was diverse and she is also remembered for the various disrupted chess
sets including Smell Chess and Spice Chess
, that she manufactured to sell in the Fluxshop, SoHo
, New York
, and that were often included in the Flux Boxes from 1964 onwards, which was part of a Fluxus series of game variations of Chess
.
Saito left New York in 1968, leading a peripatetic lifestyle until 1978. Saito lived in France, Germany, England and Italy, working with George Brecht
, Robert Filliou
, and with the Beau Geste Press, publishing artist's books. From 1979 to 1983, she taught at the University of Essen. Later pieces have maintained the fluxus ideal of eroding the boundaries between performer and viewer;
Aside from solo exhibitions in Düsseldorf
, Cologne
, Fukui
, New York and Kansas
, she has featured in recent exhibitions including Fluxus retrospectives at the Chapel Studio in Balatonboglár
in 2002 and at Tate Modern
London in 2008 and the Re-Imagining Asia at the House of World Cultures in Berlin
.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese artist, born in Sabae-Shi, Fukui
Fukui Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Fukui.- Prehistory :The Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry, on the Sugiyama River within the city limits of Katsuyama, has yielded the Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis and Fukuisaurus tetoriensis as well as an unnamed...
Province in Japan in 1929. Closely associated with Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
, the international collective of avant-garde artists that was active primarily in the 1960s and 1970s, she currently lives in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
in Germany. She is most famous for her Silent Music piece and for her disrupted Chess
Spice Chess
Spice Chess is an artist's multiple by the Japanese artist Takako Saito, whilst she was resident in the United States. Originally manufactured winter 1964-65, and offered for sale March 1965 , the work is one of a famous series of disrupted chess sets referred to as Fluxchess or Flux Chess, made...
sets.
Early life
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
at the Japan Women's University
Japan Women's University
is the oldest and largest of private Japanese women's universities. The university was established in 20 April 1901 by education reformist .The university has around 6000 students and 200 faculty...
, Saito became involved with Sōzō Biiku undŏ, the 'Creative Art Education' movement. Founded by Teijirŏ Kubo after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the movement focussed on encouraging creativity through free will. Whilst attending a summer camp organized by the movement, Saito met a Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
member Ay-O
Ay-O
is a Japanese artist, who has been associated with Fluxus since its international beginnings in the 1960s.-From Democrato to Fluxus:Probably, the best reference to understand the early years of Ay-O is the autobiographical retrospective book in the references "Ay-O, Over the Rainbow, Ay-O...
, an artist actively engaged in encouraging avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
groups in Japan. Ay-O became an important source of information for Saito about the avant-garde, first in Tokyo, and then, later, in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where he moved in 1958. Intrigued by the reports being sent back by Ay-O, Saito also travelled to New York in 1963 ostensibly to work as an assistant to textile wholesaler. It was through Ay-O that she was introduced to George Maciunas
George Maciunas
George Maciunas was a Lithuanian-born American artist. He was a founding member of Fluxus, an international community of artists, architects, composers, and designers...
, founder and organiser of Fluxus, and one of the central members of the New York avant-garde.
Fluxus
George Maciunas was fascinated by Japanese craftsmanship, and asked Saito if she could make a few boxes for him in the same style as a number of Japanese boxes he already owned; He was so impressed with her craftmanship that he asked her to contribute a series of disrupted chess sets to sell in his new Flux shop on Canal Street, SoHo, New York. Maciunas was so delighted by Spice Chess in particular that he 'even took credit for it on occasion.'. Saito remained a close friend and fluxus collaborator until Maciunas' death.
"After a while, Maciunas proposed having dinner together every evening. In his opinion, buying food for many was more economical than buying for one... He called it Flux Dinner Commune. So George, PaikNam June PaikNam June Paik was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the first video artist....
, Takako, Shigeko and I started this part-time collective life. For the first few days, the men went shopping and the girls cooked. However we found it inconvenient, because George came back rather late from his office and then often didn't buy what we wanted to cook.... It didn't last long, because we got jobs at night. George was discouraged, but bravely said, "Well, work comes first, dinner second." Mieko Shiomi
Saito remained part of the Fluxus movement throughout the 1960s and 70s, producing performance, still, multi-media, installation and sculptural work in collaboration with other artists such as George Maciunas and Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
. Saito has contributed pieces to many Fluxus collaborations, including Fluxus 1
Fluxus 1
Fluxus 1 is an artists' book edited and produced by the Lithuanian-American artist George Maciunas, containing works by a series of artists associated with Fluxus, the international collective of avant-garde artists primarily active in the 1960s and 1970s...
(1964) and the Flux Cabinet (1975–77). She is perhaps most well known for her "Silent Music" piece. Her output was diverse and she is also remembered for the various disrupted chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
sets including Smell Chess and Spice Chess
Spice Chess
Spice Chess is an artist's multiple by the Japanese artist Takako Saito, whilst she was resident in the United States. Originally manufactured winter 1964-65, and offered for sale March 1965 , the work is one of a famous series of disrupted chess sets referred to as Fluxchess or Flux Chess, made...
, that she manufactured to sell in the Fluxshop, SoHo
SoHo
SoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, notable for being the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and also, more recently, for the wide variety of stores and shops ranging from trendy boutiques to outlets of upscale national and international chain stores...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and that were often included in the Flux Boxes from 1964 onwards, which was part of a Fluxus series of game variations of Chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
.
Travels
George Brecht
George Brecht , born George Ellis MacDiarmid, was an American conceptual artist and avant-garde composer as well as a professional chemist who worked as a consultant for companies including Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Mobil Oil...
, Robert Filliou
Robert Filliou
Robert Filliou was a French Fluxus artist, who produced works as a filmmaker, "action poet," sculptor, and happenings maestro....
, and with the Beau Geste Press, publishing artist's books. From 1979 to 1983, she taught at the University of Essen. Later pieces have maintained the fluxus ideal of eroding the boundaries between performer and viewer;
'Saito's You and Me Shop again includes the idea of exchange with the viewer and of collaborative artistic work. In a small shop resembling a market stall, the artist as sales woman offered an arranged selection of those small things or materials which she also used in her objects: dried onion skins, chestnuts, pieces of wood. Here, the interaction with the viewer started with the joint selection, placement and fixation of the offered items on paper plates. It ended with the handing over of the object to the respective participant.' Virtual Museum of Modernism
Aside from solo exhibitions in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Fukui
Fukui
Fukui is a Japanese name meaning "fortunate" or it can mean "one who is from the Fukui prefecture". It may refer to:- Places :* Fukui Prefecture** Fukui, Fukui - the city of the same name in the prefecture...
, New York and Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, she has featured in recent exhibitions including Fluxus retrospectives at the Chapel Studio in Balatonboglár
Balatonboglár
Balatonboglár, in Hungary, is a resort town situated on the south shore of Lake Balaton. It is the professional centre of the Balatonboglár Wine Region, and is often called the "town of grapes and wine."-History:...
in 2002 and at Tate Modern
Tate Modern
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
London in 2008 and the Re-Imagining Asia at the House of World Cultures in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.