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This world is a twisting the reality and art is trying to bring you back to awareness to differ the illusion from the reality. The code is not out it is inside you. Kariya does this through his art, thriving “for the audience to experience, contemplate: to visualize the physical image within their timeless, dimension-less, space-less, matter-less, but within the state of endless being”. “Visualization is the key, landscape of life”, - says Kariya, “Landscape of making, landscape of creation or fabrication, documentation of direct making, rather represents the figures. My work is not to portray a subject, but to evoke.” However, it is all connected, my dear friends...”The Is Now”. That is why his mission and the main idea of his art - is “It is all about this physical world, including words, symbols, image, and thoughts. Illusion is what we believe 100 percent, not 99.9999999...%, as what our reality is all about to create or fabricate. Reality is what we believe 100 percent, not 99.999999...% in this physical world.” Artists are from this world, do not worry, but they know and see something you’ve forgotten. And the next time you will see a piece of art that is not so simple, be happy to meet the new level of awareness. Remember that art is to see the reflection of your own God in that mirror, made by an artist. Do not ask the artist to explain, cause your own God is waiting for you, not for information. And, anyway, one should know only that “It is about the One Piece and Millions of Others”... (on Hiroshi Kariya's work) Olga Burakhmedi 2018 Law and order / His . The intention for my work this time around, was to establish a distinctive law and order, and product of recording the matters related the whole creation. The illusions and meanings that contradict and adhere on the surface relates to the a priori of viewers’ law and order. The artwork is a document of my act relating to creation or fabrication and whole story is written or programmed under my law and order, with specific guide lines, directions, numbers, erasing marks, re-writings, mistakes, and where all traces left are hidden behind the layers of many surfaces. The surface that the audience sees is not what I have created, but something that pertains to a priori; relating to or derived by reasoning from self-evident propositions. However, it is also possible that what you see in the work may be an artist’s accidental drippings on the plate or canvas. Generally, from a distance, the characteristic of all images connects with the flow of energy, transparency, and reflection. Upon closer view, you may notice the details beyond the layered surfaces, and the flipped images. All pieces are fragmented, assembled, and connected. All pieces are relative to each other, guided by others, move in the same manner, and hold secret or hidden meanings. .
“What’s all this? Is it the seeds speaking?” The key might be in the writings, numbers, faces, seeds, or maybe in the question itself... The work seems to make you ponder and evoke such questions. .
Typically, an artwork is dependent on artist’s hand, through his passage to marking the work while under his law and order. The artwork is not to portray a subject, but to evoke. You may think you have found a mistake, but I don’t make mistakes; just joyful little calligraphic coincidental-drippings. Hiroshi Kariya 2018 法と令／自の 刈谷博は、コード（秘密）とは「イリュージョンとは何かを示す前提と、現実とは何かを示す前提」にあると述べます。 （前提、定義、理論、真実は人間の創作であると） この世界とは現実をねじ曲げて解釈されたもの、芸術は逆説的に観客の意識をその異なるイリュージョンから現実へとひき戻そうとするのかも知れません。（それ等を解読するための）コードとは外側にあるのではなく、あなたの内側にあるという。 刈谷は自分自身の芸術の方法を通してこれを行います。それは「観客自身が体験し熟考するものとして提示されます：時間・時代を前提としない、次元のない、空間のない、問題などもない、しかし無限にある存在と云う空のような内で限定された物理的なイリュージョンを視覚化する」ことを目論見ます。 「視覚されることはすべての鍵であり、生きている風景の隅々にある」と刈谷氏は言います。 「製作の風景、創造または物が出来上がってくる風景、制作実録として書き込まれる記述は、文というよりはむしろ数列を表しのようです。 私の仕事は主題を真似て描写することではなく、生起させること、主題そのものであること。」 そして、それらはすべてことごとくつながっています、私の親愛なる友人よ…「The Is Now」なのですね。 その目的に、彼の使命かも知れない、彼の芸術の主とするアイデアは、「言葉、記号、イメージ、思考など、この物理的な世界のすべてに潜んでいるのです。 イリュージョンとは、私たちが現実に実現化を図るものとして、99.9999999 ...％では実現しない。100％の実、私たちが信じる確固たる具体イメージで実現されるものなのだ、と刈谷は断言します。現実とは私たちが100％信じているものであり、この物理的な世界では99.999999 ...％では全く不足なのだと。 アーティストとはこの世界からやって来た人のことです。 心配する必要はありませんね。だが、彼らは私たちがが忘れてしまったことを知っているかもしれないし、ひょっとして、既に経験して、知っているのかも知れません。 そして、次の機会にあなたがそれほど単純ではない芸術作品を見るとき、新しいレベルの意識に会うことを嬉しく思うことでしょう。芸術とは、芸術家によって作られた、その鏡に映った自分の神と出会うことであることを忘れないでください。 アーティストに説明を求めないでください。情報ではなく、あなた自身の神があなたを待っているからです。 そして、とにかく、「それはたった一つの、そして何百万もの他のものについてである」ということだけを知っていればいいのです…　刈谷博 2018 @artkukhnia　オルガ・ブラクメディ

I certainly that I stepped into the space of mizuma Art Gallery exhibition was held twice. But at that time I was wondering where I really was? How I could think like the way I feel from this exhibit to see the detail consists of more equal-sized pieces and also superior of all spatial experience. And the space was a different dimension and sum of just one piece. I think in my own words in English of that “the now is” that Kariya, has been writing to the seeds since 1984. The specific of Demonstrative Pronouns of 'the' "now" present moment motion exists in space "is". Is not that the spatialization of time, shows that this term is a disconnected time. It can be said that the history of art of the 20th century or later is a history has expanded the representation of space in the dimension of time. For example that is up no trace of Jackson Pollock's abstract expressionist paintings with action painting of his time. Its time in organic actual time herein. But Kariya exhibition space represents from time of time in reverse. Kariya's seed Sutra shows first traces of life in his daily. His “the now is” written each day a handful of seed pasted the same Palm-sized transparent acrylic, one day “the now is” in the day, along with, we actually see in the Gallery of a myriad of the acrylic is the iterated accumulation. Seed flock while painting with acrylic plate of every different pattern as a whole come a huge movement of small particles. In this exhibition series, entitled “Face Sutra” further also were on display. Human face news photo article were collaged on the surface of the each seeds, and pasted on the acrylic, while on the other side “the now is” or “else” was written. Occasionally include the famous people in those photos cut out from the New York Times that, at a glance, but is most unknown person, and the whole face was cleared of a huge flock. In the human self face to ensure the identity of one of littleness to seed and anonymous that is transformed to a collection of materials. And you will find the work, entitled and should think of as a negative face Sutra series, on the left wall of the Gallery entrance, on top were on large photo display, with all face cut out image of "Rocket Attacks Attacks In Afgan Village' In a collage of news photographs depicting the Afghan villagers, standing mourning the bodies of men were covered with a yellow-green blanket that was killed by a Taliban-fired rocket-, news article entitled the article. Being clipped face here, and clear of seed-sized. pettanko et bozu a newspaper article which was changed in the face. Kariya made clear their face is that of death. In the denial of death, of emptiness. Behind the faces of the people of seed-sized of the same people I pettanko et bozu, are stuck face. I extinguished by the power of death and the myriad things changing. Seems to be deep and thorough flatness of Kariya's work also. Three-dimensional depth created by God there is "I" and the inner surface of support system does not exist. We are intently watching the surface of the acrylic plate of them were spread like piece of skin, that is possible. However, once you look closely at the acrylic sheet, and its screen is noticed can have a very expressive figure wrapped in vinyl plastic letter Board, paper, and ink of seed that emerges. Look closely the patterns of its diverse seed, wriggling in the genome of genes, from a distance, looks like human skin organic and sensual. Especially 3.3m by 2.1m sized large work, made specifically to fit this space of Mizuma Art Gallery, flock of seeds huge work of “Mizuma One Stroke Dotted Line, 10,000 pcs”, rolling very snake-like Figure-8-shaped, powerfully, was especially impressive in the exhibition. Let me return to my initial question, when I was enter this space. "I was there where Kariya entitled of this exhibition" It (it) "and named impersonal and anonymous space. The space has based repetitive acts of the day to day, then Kariya, after this exhibition going back there again. In the exhibition space is open to such mundane time because no beginning nor end it. Obsession with Kariya, such It is refer to On Kawara’s infulence from the seem to like high-impact. However, unlike Kawara which is closely approaching Lady Maid in the "TODAY" series which thoroughly implements conceptual anonymity, in Kariya's work manual workmanship is reviving. Shinichi Takeshige (Critic) by Google translation 1/13/2018~2/10/2018 Mizuma Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan http://mizuma-art.co.jp/exhibitions/1801_kariyahiroshi/

https://youtu.be/V7lkDTOi9rY

確かに筆者である「私」はこの展覧会が開催されたミヅマアートギャラリーの空間に２度足を踏み入れた。しかしその時「私」は一体どこに存在していたのだろう？こんなことを考えてしまうのは、この展示を見ることが、細部は多くの同サイズの小品から構成されながらも優れて全空間的な経験だったからである。そしてその空間は単なる一つ一つの作品の和とは次元を異にしたものだったのである。 刈谷博が1984年から豆粒に書き続けているという「the now is」という英語の言葉を筆者なりに考えてみたい。「the」という指示代名詞によって固有化された「now」今という瞬間の運動が「is」空間的に存在する。この言葉が示しているのは切断された時間であり、時間の空間化のことではないだろうか。20紀以降の美術史は時間の次元に表現の領域を拡大してきた歴史とも言えよう。例えばジャクソン・ポロックの抽象表現主義絵画には彼のアクション・ペインティングに伴った時間の痕跡も塗り込められている。その時間はあくまでも持続する有機的な時間である。しかし刈谷の展示空間から感じる時間は逆に無機的な時間である。刈谷の「種子経」は先ず彼の毎日の生の痕跡を示している。「the now is」と書き込まれている一日一握りの豆粒が貼り付けられた同じ手の平サイズのアクリル板の一つ一つが、一日一日の「the now is」であると共に、私たちが実際にギャラリーで見るのはそのアクリル板の無数の反復された集積なのである。豆粒の群れは一つ一つのアクリル板で違う模様を描きながら全体として微小な粒子の巨大な運動に見えてくる。 更に今回の展示では別の『顔経』と題されたシリーズも展示されていた。こちらの方は一つのアクリル板に一日一握りの豆粒が貼り付けられているのは同じながら、裏側に「the now is」が書かれた豆粒の表側には一つ一つ違う人間の顔写真が貼り付けられている。ニューヨークタイムズから切り抜かれたそれらの写真の中には、一目でわかる有名人も時折含まれているが、ほとんどが無名の人物であり、全体は固有性が消去された顔の巨大な群れである。人間に自己同一的なアイディンティティを保証する顔は豆粒にまで卑小化され、匿名な物質の集合に変容させられている。そしてその『顔経』シリーズのネガとして考えるべきなのが、ギャラリー入口一番手前の左側壁に展示されていた『Rocket Attacks Attacks In Afgan Village』と題された、タリバンの発射したロケット弾によって殺されたという黄緑色のカバーで覆われた男性の遺体を前に佇んでいる、アフガンの村民たちを写した報道写真をコラージュした作品である。こちらの方は顔が切り抜かれて消去され、豆粒大ののっぺらぼーな顔に変えられた元の新聞記事である。刈谷に彼らの顔を消去させたのは死の力である。死のもたらす否定の力、空虚の力である。豆粒大の人々の顔の裏側には同じ人々ののっぺらぼーな顔が貼り付いている。「私」は死の力によって消滅し、無数のものに変容する。 （ミヅマ一筆点線画10000粒の景：高橋コレクション・予約） 刈谷の作品の徹底的な平面性もそのことと深い関係があるように思う。そこには「私」とその内面性を支える「神」の制度が作り出す三次元的な奥行きは存在しない。我々はあたかも一枚の皮膚のように広がる、それらのアクリル板の表面をひたすら見つめることができるだけである。しかし一度そのアクリル板に近づいてみると、その画面は、板、紙、インクの文字という「地」からビニール樹脂に包まれた豆粒という「図」が浮かび上がる極めて豊かな表情を持っていることに気づかされるのである。遠くから見ると遺伝子のゲノムのように蠢いて見えるその多様な豆粒の模様は近づいて見ると人間の皮膚のように有機的で官能的である。特に今回ミヅマアートギャラリーの空間に合わせて特別に制作されたという縦336cm×横213cmの巨大な作品『ミヅマ一筆点線画　10000粒の景』の豆粒の群れは、まさに蛇のように8の字状に力強くうねっていてとりわけ印象的であった。 冒頭の問いに戻ろう。「私」が存在していたのは刈谷が今回の展示タイトルの中で「It （それ）」と名付けた非人称の匿名的な空間である。その空間は刈谷の一日一日の反復的な行為に基盤を持ち、今回の展示を経過してまたそこに戻っていく。この展示空間はそうした日常の時間に開かれているが故にItには始めも終わりもないのである。刈谷博のそうしたItへのこだわりは河原温からの影響が大きいように思われる。しかしコンセプチュアルな匿名性を徹底するあまり『TODAY』シリーズで限りなくレディ・メイドに近づいた河原と違い、刈谷の作品においては手作業の技が復活している。人によってはそれを反動とみなす人もいるだろうが、筆者は現代美術の未踏の領野を切り開いたものと考えている。 文:　竹重伸一　(ダンス批評) ================================== 刈谷博展「ひとつの／そして／無数に偏在する／それ」 ================================== 2018年01月13日(土) - 02月10日(土) ミヅマアートギャラリー http://mizuma-art.co.jp/exhibitions/1801_kariyahiroshi/

ごく小さな子供の頃に、とつぜん哲学的な難問に突き当たって考え込んでしまう、ということが、人には、よくあるらしい。私の場合は、あるマンガのストーリーやら登場人物について考えていたときに、（マンガというのは、一般に、個々の人間の主観を越えた超越的・神の視点的なところから描かれているのに）ふと、この僕は、「僕」という一人の登場人物しか演じることができない！ 僕は僕以外の誰にもなれないし、自分の視点からでしかこの世界をみることができない！ ということに、突然気づかされ驚いてしまったのだった。個人個人の意識は断絶している、ということへの朧げな意識化が、そのときから始まった、ということだろうか。自分のなかでの、数々の哲学的アポリア（難問）への最初の覚醒というのは、自分の「個」の意識に関する、さきに述べたあの体験がいちばん最初だったのでは、と思い返されるのだ。 さてしかし一方で、ひとというものは長く生きてくると、人間の意識というのは自分の「個」のなかだけで本当に断絶してしまっているのだろうか、それともどこか別の次元で、別な存在や意識や時空と繋がっているのではないか、という疑念を、ひそかに持ちはじめることになる。さまざまな宗教（とくに仏教、東洋思想）や、さまざまな哲学、あるいはたとえばユングの心理学とか、ニューサイエンス系の物理学とか、そういったものが、その種の可能性を囁き続けるのだ。いわく、私たちの意識が「今、ここ」のものとして現前しているこの物質的・三次元的世界は、もっと大きく包括的で、時空の差異を超越して広がっている或る世界の表面から、ほんの束の間に浮かび上がった波頭のようなものなのであって、そうした「ある種の包括的な世界」を通じて（通底して）いることによって、私たちは他の存在や意識や時空と繋がっているのだ、という、そうした観念である。 刈谷博が毎日書き続けている「種子経」（「the now is」）――いま・ここに自分があることの意識化、であると同時に、それがもっと包括的な世界から、そこに繋がりながら、現前してきたものであること――は、その波頭のあらわれである。 今回21年ぶりにミヅマアートギャラリーで開かれる個展では、その「the now is」が写経のように書かれた豆粒のひと握り分が、手のひらのサイズの枠のなかで透明な板に貼り付けられ、その裏に、シミ受け用紙として使われたメモ類が透けてみえる作品を、ギャラリーの壁いっぱいに並べて展示するのだという。 （そのなかには、顔が貼られた「顔経」の作品も混じることになるという。） 刈谷は作品メモのなかで、（豆粒＝米粒を使っているからか）その作品を「田んぼ」と形容しているが、私の想像するに、作品が並べられた展示風景は、むしろ、無限の時空を内包する、事象の「海」のような外観を呈するのではなかろうか。その海の表面に、個々の事象＝豆粒が浮かび上がるように現前する。 種は、その小さな内部に、その後に成長して成るところの過程いっさいを含んでいる。種は小宇宙なのだ。その小宇宙を含んだ種子経の作品が壁を覆い尽くして、大宇宙を形成する。幾十年もの長い時間を脈々と続けられてきた刈谷の営みの、痕跡としての作品は、時を経て、余裕を含み遊びも持った謎の問いかけ、というふうな、ある種のユーモアも伴いながら、私たちを包括するおおいさと豊かさ、慈しみと安らぎの感覚をもって見えてくるにちがいない。久しぶりに観る刈谷博の個展を、楽しみにしている。 倉林靖、美術評論家

"Now" is like the crest of a wave, risen up from the infinite surface of the sea of space-time. It seems to happen quite often to us when we are children: we run into a complex philosophical problem, and fall into deep thought about it. In my case, once when I was thinking about some manga is something where, in general, as a prerequisite, the subjective viewpoint of individual humans is overcome: it is something depicted from a transcendental place, and all that this appearing person, this "I", can do is perform a part ! I will never become anyone apart from myself, and I can only view this world through my own eyes!" This was a great and sudden shock to me. It was the beginning of the indistinct sense I had of being able to conceptualize that each individual human consciousness is discontinuous. I still wonder if that experience was the first awakening of the various philosophical aporia within me, in relation to the awareness of one's own "self". However, on the other hand, given how long a human life is, perhaps human consciousness itself is something existing in an entirely other dimension: something connected to a different existence or awareness or space-time. I surreptitiously began to believe in this concept. Various religions (especially Buddhism or Eastern thought), and various philosophies such as, for example, Jungian psychology or the physics of the New New Scientists, are all continuations of the whispers of such possibilities. Accordingly, our consciousness - as something of the "here, now" - is the very material, three-dimensional world before our eyes; or, to consider it from an even more inclusive standpoint, namely from the surface of this certain world that is ever expanding and transcending the differences of space-time; it is something like the crest of a wave that has risen up in a mere brief moment/space in time. Thus, the concept is that through such a certain type of all-inclusive world" )and its fundamental underlying commonality), we are connected to different existences or awareness or space-times. The work "the now is" which Kariya Hiroshi continues to depict is the conscious realization that "I am here, now". At the same time, the fact that it is something that has appeared before our eyes means it belongs to the more all-inclusive world, connected to it: such is the appearance of this crest of a single wave. In this solo exhibition at Mizuma Art Gallery, his first in 21 years, "the now is" is like a hand-copied sutra in a single handful of speck-like seeds, within a frame the size of the palm of your hand affixed onto a transparent board. On its reverse can be seen transparent memo-pads used as blotting paper. The work as such as exhibited in quantities to completely cover the walls of the gallery space. (Within it are blended in works to which faces have been attached to these individual sutra, too.) Kariya in his notes describes these art works as a rice fields (perhaps because the "specks" here denote the grains of rice he uses). In my imagination, the appearance of the works all shown on display together, rather, connotes an endless sense of space-time: presenting the external appearance of the phenomenon of the "sea" itself. And on the surface of that sea, the individual small phenomena = the individual specks that rise to the surface before one's eyes. A seed contains, within its small internal space, the entirely of the process of the organism that shall grow out from it afterwards. A seed is a microcosm. And these seed sutras containing these microcosms extend further and further to transcend all walls, making up the form of a macrocosm. This continuous, unbroken work of Kariya's has developed over a long period of several decades. It takes the form of traces of an artwork that have themselves, over time, with instances of intervals and of playfulness, formed the puzzling beginnings to a question. Further, they are laced with a certain form of humour, and both a magnificence and richness that encompasses our own beings, too, so that the work absolutely appears to bear sensations of both affection and tranquility. I greatly look forward to this special opportunity to view Kariya Hiroshi's solo exhibition. Yasushi Kurabayashi, art critic

Mizuma Art Gallery is pleased to present KARIYA Hiroshi's solo exhibition "It Is All About the One Piece, and Millions of Others", from Saturday 13th January 2018. Born in 1948, Kariya moved to the United States in 1977 and has been based in New York ever since. Throughout the 1980s and 90s Kariya became renowned for his prolific practice both in Japan and overseas, including his participation in a group exhibition at MoMA PS1, his solo exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, and his participation in the four-artist show "Open System" at Art Tower Mito, Japan, together with CAI Guo Qiang, TAHO Ritsuko and YANAGI Yukinori. However, since the year 2000 he has curtailed exhibitions of his work and secluded himself in his studio, whilst continuing to make work every day. From 1993* to 1997 Kariya held solo exhibitions once a year at Mizuma Art Gallery curated by gallery director MIZUMA Sueo, but this exhibition will be his first solo show in 21 years. For many years, Kariya has been developing work based around the concept of the "sutra". His work "Seed Sutra" in this exhibition comprises writing the three words "the now is" onto small amounts (specks) of seeds every day. Kariya began working on this piece in 1984 and has continued production on it ever since, with numerous interim pauses. The total work is believed to now amount to around 25 years' worth of production. Regarding the words "the now is", which may be considered his own "sutra", Kariya remarks: '"The now is" is not the same as to "be here now". It has no such limitations as here / there / this / that. It's the root of the question: "Then, what?" In the morning, the words we speak when we open our eyes are "that": life "is" "again" "repeating" and "learning".This repetition becomes copied and recopied, like a sutra. To me, "the now is" resonates as a sound wave of the message to "enjoy what is present", as a repeating sutra of "the now is" set against "but, however, that is not the case". If we open our eyes, if we begin to live - we will be able to enjoy that sound wave.' Kariya's sutra transcriptions are not a work attempting to confirm the exact instant of "now"; rather, they are the embodiment of the fact that within this "now" the endless circle of things in flux through birth, death, and rebirth, ever continues. His works, which may be said to be themselves like prayers, are fervently resonant for we who live in a world in which we can never know what tomorrow brings. For Kariya, a prayer is "the equilibrium of an endless quantity of all things unevenly distributed; the equilibrium of a single universe". We invite you to witness the internal universe of Kariya Hiroshi, whose work, after 21 years, hereby returns to Mizuma Art Gallery. * Kariya's exhibition in 1993 was held at Spark Gallery Ⅱ, the predecessor of present-day Mizuma Art Gallery.

Article/ The Philadelphia Inquirer, newspaper, 3.18, 1990 The task that Hiroshi Kariya has set for himself is daunting- to express through art the unity of all people, places and things in the universe throughout the eons that the universe has existed. He has confronted this task for 13 years with the compulsive steadfastness of an Eastern mystic. Kariya’s art is not concerned with object-making. It attempts to stimulate in the observer a higher consciousness akin to a state of grace, and if you sit with his work for a while, you begin to sense that this is far from an outstanding objective. To recognize that objective, one needs at least a vague understanding of the philosophy of Kariya, who was born in Japan but who has lived in the United States since 1977. The best introduction to it is the wall text he has composed for his tripartite installation at the Institute of Contempora ry Art at the University of Pennsylvania, as part of the ICA’s ongoing “Investigations” series. The installation, which will continue through April 25, is called Sutra: One Thing in Everything, Everything in One Thing. The text, hand-printed on the wall in ink, introduces the section that occupies the upper gallery. It reads as follows: ABANDONED, BURIED, BURNT, AND/OR LOST In addition to the work being shown, there exists, somewhere in this universe, the work that I abandoned, buried, burned, and/or lost, which is not visible here. In Japan, Sutra writing is occasionally performed as a mass for the dead, a prayer for the recovery of sickly person, or as a prayer for a wish to be granted. The writers sacrifice their spirit and time for the sake of fulfilling their true wish. They commit themselves to spending a certain period of time while making an endeavor toward a certain amount of work. Sometimes a sutra is made by means other than writing. It may take the form of a silent prayer or action that is consciously repeated to obtain what is being focused upon. Some works are buried underground- for that which is nature’s return to nature, the universal system. Another reason is a message for the future. It is their undeniable knowledge to resurface and be recalled. Once every year, usually at the beginning of the year, some of these writings are gathered and burned to ashes of holiness. Thus, they receive a new beginning, a new life, and are reborn. They celebrate the incessant resurrection of nature. Hiroshi Kariya 1990 The key concepts in this passage are sutra and rebirth, the foundation of all three parts of Kariya’s installation. In Indian philosophy, a Sutra (from the Sanskrit word for thread) is a compilation of rules or principles that governs a particular aspect of life, For example, Kama sutra, the one most familiar to Westerners, codifies the conventions of physical love. Kariya adapts the concept as a group of words that conveys a fundamental idea about the world in a way that transcends time and place. The sutra underlying Kariya’s work, which he has written on various objects thousands of times since 1977, is “is the now”. To him, this inelegant phrase represents the immediacy of creation, and for him the act of creating is more important than the thing created. Kariya also believes that the material world is a continuum, that nothing is ever irrevocably destroyed, that the present can speak to the future just as the past speaks to the present, and that nature should be respected. Rebirth, which the installation expresses more prosaically as recycling, is a concept to be honored and encouraged. For Kariya, the installation represents a prolonged act of meditation on immortality. It is a contemplative work constructed with humble materials such as rocks, beans and driftwood, which have been energized through repetitive sutra inscriptions in ink and paint. The easiest part of the installation for an observer to grasp is Memory Wall, which occupies the west wall of the lower gallery. Memory Wall expresses the idea of rebirth literally; It’s constructed of the framing lumber and sheetrock that were used for the previous installation in the gallery, by Russian artist Ilya Kabakov. Kabakov’s installation consisted of a sheetrock wall that covered the south end of the lower gallery and a free-standing U-shaped wall in the center of the room. Kariya demolished these walls, but before he did, he sectioned them with chalklines into grids and marked with an identifying letter and number, much as archaeologists mark out a dig site. Kariya then assembled some of the larger chunks of the demolished Kabakov walls into a new, irregular wall. The leftover framing lumber is neatly stacked at the side, each piece numbered, and the debris, including even the dust from the demolition, is heaped behind it. Simple as it is, Memory Wall embodies the idea of reincarnation with surprising eloquence. Its post-Kabakov codings testify to its former existence, and its deliberately ragged appearance reminds the observer that it honors the spirit of reincarnation more than material perfection. Andy Wahol’s memory wooden fragments (These fragment was revealed after demolition, used for Andy Wahol’s first Museum solo exhibition, according to John, installer's memory) But it does have a practical aspect. Kariya has stamped and numbered 800 small pieces of sheetrock that the ICA will sell for a dollar each, with the proceeds to be used to recoup the cost of the Kbakov walls. On the opposite wall of the lower gallery, Kariya has installed a work-in-progress called 8000 Years Spring, 8000 Years Autumn. Forty-eight feet long by 8 feet high, it is made of pieces of used wood, each 2 feet long. The pieces are stacked on the wall in six rows. The stacks vary in height, and most of the wood is tinted green (for spring) or red and purple (for autumn). Most also are marked with a simulated script that represents Kariya’s “is the now” sutra. The sutra writing also covers a series of large scrolls open to various lengths on the floor in front of the wall. The visual effect of the wall array is something like an abstract codex or calendar. One recognizes it as a record of time passed, but it also alludes to the rhythmic cadence of language. Because sutra writing is abstract-it vaguely resembles Arabic or Persian-it communicates metaphorically, but its incantatory purpose is clear. ...The most ritualistic aspect of the total installation, Sutra Tomb, occupies the upper gallery. Here, Kariya displays a panoply of sutra objects-wooden discs (on which his sutra is written continuously in a spiral), pieces of driftwood, rocks, small jars of paint, and miscellaneous objects such as candles, seashells, postcards, bones and small paper scrolls. Some of these items are organized systematically on a sturdy, wooden free-standing shelf, while others are laid out on the floor behind it. The observer isn’t allowed to walk around or through the piece, so he or she experiences it as a succession of fragmented views. To the left, a 20-foot-wide ring of 100 limestone fragments, each covered with sutra writing, circles through an adjacent gallery and links up with the central array; to the right, a ring of 100 piles of white beans, totaling about 100, a “grasp” The arrangement does approximate an ancient burial chamber, where offerings are left to propitiate gods, but through the seeds it also implies dormancy and rebirth. Like 8000 Years, through, it cannot be deciphered by an outsider, nor do I think the artist intends that anyone should need to do so. Literal translation isn’t necessary; the spirit of the work is palpable from its form and constituent elements. If one were to come upon a similar display deep in a primeval forest or in a secluded mountain cave, as an artifact of a vanished civilization, one would understand its purpose intuitively. The most distinctive quality of Kariya’s work, aside from the patience and dedication it obviously demands, is that the process of making it-the “sacrifice” to which he refers in his wall text-is more consequential than the artifacts it produces. It is, in fact, its essence. By coming upon this installation after the artist has completed his labor (or at least interrupted it), the observer unfortunately misses the main event, which is the artist focusing intently on his task. This art isn’t intended as interpersonal communication; it describes a solitary, almost penitential search for communion with a cosmic unity. One judges the quality of such a quest much as one would evaluate a religious mission, by the artist’s persistence and dedication to his ideals. By this standard, Kariya has achieved the most meaningful goal to which art can aspire. Edward J. Sozanski, Philadelphia Inquirer, 3.18, 1990

倉林靖 「開放系」カタログ評論文、水戸芸術館、1994年 刈谷博の個展『追悼1992』に初めて訪れたときの印象は鮮烈だった。展示会場は一階と三階に分かれていたが、まず「18面経」と題された一階に入ると、廃棄物を袋につめることによって作られた人体が何体も横たわっている。その人体は紐で梱包されており、そこにはチョークで雑然と英文が書きなぐられた黒板の断片が幾つも結び付けられている。何だか分からないが、なにか人間と社会に関わるのっぴきならないメッセージが封印されているのだ、と予感される。 「415 Palestinians」と題された三階に上がってみると、こんどは壁一面に、文字を書いた黒板がびっしり並べられている。「Killing」などといったスキャンダラスな文字が目につく。ときどき新聞記事の切れ端が貼ってあるものもある。殺人や暴動や戦争を扱ったものが多い。そこには人間の罪深い行為が文字の形をとって、作者の強烈なエネルギーによって封じ込められているように思えた。会場はこのうえなく静かだ。しかしそこには同時に無数の叫びが満ちていたのではないか。沈黙の叫び。空間に帯電された、業の深い人間の生の営み。 刈谷博は、このときの個展の副題を「報道絵画・彫刻展」と名付けている。なぜ「報道」なのか？彼は毎日読む新聞や雑誌の記事のなかから、あれらの言葉に巡り合って、書きつける。なによりもまず真実を伝えようという意図から発した言葉たち。それゆえに、彼の作品は「報道」絵画・彫刻なのだ。毎日、世界のどこかで発生している強い憤り、深い悲しみ、それらを彼はアートの形でそのまま見る者に伝えたいと欲するのである。 刈谷の作品を流れる思想はきわめてユニークであり、そしてある意味では、やや難解である。 「私の作品のテーマは、書く(刻す)という行為であり、その過程であり、そのイメージにある。」「この作品のテーマは生きる(刻す)という行為であり、その過程であり、そのイメージにある」と彼は言う。そして、この「書く(=生きる)」という行為の背後には、仏教でいうところの「写経」という考え方がある。彼は、自分の作品のことを「"Sutra",言い換えると『お経』であるという。「"Sutra"とは梵語で糸または紐の意で、生きるための教えを書いたものを編纂するのに用いた"綴じ紐"という意味である」。 写経とは、経文をかきうつすことにより、死者への供養や、願いや祈りを捧げることで、もちろん経文を後世に伝えるという意味もあるが、むしろ写す者の精神や彼をとりまく世界を平安にする目的のほうが大きいと思われる。写された経文という、行為の結果よりも、写すという行為そのもののほうが尊ばれるという、われわれから見れば一種の逆転が起こるのである。ここにおいて、書くこと=生きることとなり、行為は祈りとなる。 仏教的世界観に照らしてみれば、この世界で生起する一切の出来事は、また一人一人の個人とも「因縁」という形で密接につながっている。世界の森羅万象、万物が、連鎖する原因と結果のなかで結ばれているのである。だから、いま世界で起こっている暴力、戦争、悲惨、あらゆる行為が、実は個人の欲望と結ばれているのである。世界の出来事に個人は責任の一端を持ち、そして、世界を、自らの欲望が生んだ「業」の結果として見る必要が出てくる。これは、西洋世界が持ちえない独自な世界観・人生観であり倫理観ではあるまいか。刈谷はこうして、世界で起こっている事象に対して、自らの精神からの祈りを捧げるのである。 こうした考えの背後には、やはり、物心二元論・主客二元論を超えた東洋の一元的な思考があるといえるだろう。個人の「精神」と、世界で生起する「事象」とは、分かち難く結ばれている。そして本来、世界とは、時空を超え、時空が統一された世界を本質とするものなのである。しかしこの物質世界においては、逆に、一切は「今」という時間のなかで生起する。そこで刈谷は、今生きてここに在る、という営みの表現として、「一句蓮経」を捧げる。1977年に日本から渡米して以来、毎日さまざまなものに書き付けているのだという。「the now is the now is the now is the now is the ...」と、その経は、無限の円環を広げていく。 刈谷はその77年以来、今日まで、さまざまな「経」を行っている。それらは、経が書かれる素材などから、さまざまな名で呼ばれている。「流木経」「年輪経」「石想経」「渦巻経」「廃材供養経」「種子経」「合掌経」「呼吸経」などと。たとえば「種子経」は、「一日に一度一握り分の豆にお経を書いたもの」である。 そして刈谷にとってもうひとつの経が、新聞や雑誌に出ていた記事の言葉を黒板にかいていく、あるいは切り抜いて貼っていく「黒板経」である。こうして刈谷の作品は、「つくる」という意識よりもむしろ、日々の平凡な営みのなかから出来上がってくる。まさに結果よりも行為のほうに重点が置かれているのである。また、作品に使われた素材はすべて廃棄物・廃材であり、それらは展示のあとはまた別の作品に使われたり、別な用途に使うためにとっておかれる。この世界における、あるいは物質世界と非物質世界とのあいだにおける「もの」の、もしくは「生命」の循環、死と再生を表すものであろう。そして同時に、展覧会場に置かれた廃棄物は、今日の物質世界のなかではそれらが文字通り「死物」と化するほかはないこと、今日の「死」がこのように陰惨な光景であること、なども告げているのである。 こうして刈谷の作品は、「今」の世界が生起させる、さまざまな現象が、物質と言語によってあらわされた場となる。「追悼1992」の場合には、一階にあった18体の人体はそれぞれ「ソマリ人」「ソマリア」「三人のトルコ人」「寺院」「カーディスタンと呼ばれる国」「ロシアはロシア」「アンゴラ」「エルサルバドル」「カンボジア」「からだを包むもの」「ボスニア」「ホームレス」「放射能」「廃棄」「アジアエイズ」「母」と呼ばれる。「母」は、この年亡くなった刈谷の母をあらわし、個人的な体験における「死」と世界で起こっている「死」の関連がここで表現された(「母」のそばにあった付けっぱなしのテレビは、今日から明日への持続性を示すもの)。ここに書かれた文字は、それぞれの人体に関連する新聞記事からの引用である。たとえば「三人のトルコ人」は、ネオ・ナチによって三人のトルコ人が殺害された記事から生まれた。 廃材を使って物質の生々流転を表現すること、およびそこに経のさまざまな作品を配して、時間が悠久のものであり同時に現在性としてのみ顕在するということを表現したものとして、1990年にペンシルバニア大学のInstitute of Contemporary Art (ICA) Philadelphia で開かれた個展がある。そこでは、以前に同じ場所で行われたイリヤ・カバコフの個展のあとに出た廃材を利用した。物質の循環という思考から生まれた典型例としてのインスタレーションである。すなわち、カバコフのインスタレーションで特設された壁を取り壊し、その廃材の木材と漆喰版を使ったのである。 取り壊しの際、刈谷はまず壁に格子状の線を引き、区画ごとに文字と番号による表示を書き込んだ。彼は大きな断片によって壁を再構築し、また木材は大きさごとに整理して脇に並べ、果ては細かい断片や屑、埃さえももれなく利用し並べるのである。さらに、細かい漆喰の破片800個に通し番号と捺印を施し、それをICAが一人につき一個一ドル紙幣のみで販売し、その売り上げはカバコフの壁の材料費の埋め合わせとして利用することにしたという。 ICAの個展では、カバコフの壁を再生したこの「記憶(カバコフの壁)」のほかに、次のようなインスタレーションが行われた。 廃材の木片を横6列の帯状に展示し、また床に幾つもの巻物(いろいろな長さに広げられている)を置いた、「八千年の春、八千年の秋」(木材と巻物にはそれぞれ「is the now」経が書かれている。巻物のほうの経は、木材に経を書いた筆の絵の具を洗う途上で描かれた)。そして、さまざまな経の作品を、木材の自在棚や、その背後の床に並べた「経墓」。 そのさまざまな経の作品のなかには、先にあげた、流木や、年輪のある木に経を書き綴ったもの、丸い石の円頂から渦巻状に経を書き、裏にまわってもうひとつの円頂まで書いていくもの、さらにその二つの円頂を貫く穴をあけて循環性を強調したもの、またインク瓶などの小さな容器、電球、ポストカード、骨など、あらゆるものに経を書き付けたものが展示された。そこにはまた、一個一個が経文で覆われた百個の小さな石灰石と、先ほど述べた「種子経」の、一握りおよそ百粒の豆の群れが百握り分(一個一個の豆の表裏も経で覆われている)とが、それぞれ輪をなして床に配置されていた。 このような展示に見られる刈谷の作品の特徴は、ひとつには、呪術的・儀式的側面であろう。アラビア文字とも見紛うばかりの、うねりの激しく、そして細かく執拗にものに刻み込まれる文字は、それだけで、何か文字の持つ呪術性を思わせる。その経が書かれた日常品は、「もの」の次元を一気にとびこえて、物質性と非物質性の両者を合わせ持つ特別な性格を与えられるようだ。 また、部屋のなかに明確なプランを持ってものを「置いて」いく刈谷の展示は、アメリカ・インディアンなどさまざまな種族が行う秘儀の行為を模しているかのようである。それらのひとつひとつの配置の行為の裏には、刈谷によって与えられた意味が充満している。それゆえ、その意味のひとつひとつを詳しく解説しようとすると、刈谷の作品はいつも極度に膨大なテクストによってやっと語り尽くせるような幅に広さを持っていることを思い知らされることになる。しかしそれらの行為の意味は、もちろん刈谷ひとりが基本的におっていればよいものなのだ。刈谷の作品は、それ自体で完結した行為であり完結した意味を持つものであって、その点では、表現と受容という西洋的な美学の基本的な設定を崩してしまいかねないものである。刈谷の作品は、特定の意味や表現を受手に伝えるものではなく、その作品が世界内に存在するという、作品のありかたそのものを観客が受け入れることによって受容が成立するという点で、他にはあまりない、アートの新しい在り方を示唆するものである。 今回の水戸芸術館におけるインスタレーションは、基本的にこうした営みから生まれた空間であり、従来よりさらに拡大され表現性を増したプランを持っている。さまざまな部分から成っており、それらは「包帯とガーゼ、絆創膏の旗」「世界の壁」「赤十字の壁」「担架」「百体のからだを包むもの」「花とローソクとチョーク」「女の子とハゲタカ」「ボスニアの壁」「UNの壁」「砂袋の壁」「トルコ人の壁」「抗議の壁」「迷路のある教室」「修理中の机と椅子」「落書きの壁」などと呼ばれることになる。 そこではれいによって、黒板に書かれたさまざまな文字や、布に包まれた人体をはじめ、血痕や絆創膏がついたガーゼや担架や赤十字のマークのイメージ、人々の抗議の声を書き付けた板、棒、布、砂袋、国連の救援活動の物不足の様子、花やチョークによる追悼のイメージなど、さまざまな要素が重なって、見る者に強い印象を与えるだろう。 最後に観客が入る展示室は、勉強机と椅子が迷路のように並べられて行方を阻んでいる「迷路のある教室」と呼ばれる部分で、観る人に特に感慨を与えずにはいないだろう。それぞれの机の上には、宗教、環境憲法、国家、民族、人種、政治、City Water、Education、Food、Povertyなどという新聞活字を貼った黒板が置かれている。机の内側にはタイム、ライフ、ナショナルジオグラフィックなどの雑誌、ニューヨークタイムス、朝日新聞、社会・科学・世界地図、宗教書などが収まっている。一つの机の中には、懐中電灯が付けっ放しになって用済み電池を照らしている。四方の壁はさまざまな言葉の落書きで埋めつくされている。そして観客にとって手前に、望遠鏡のついた測量機が置かれ、その望遠鏡をのぞくと、前方の壁の中央にかけられた黒板の文字がみえる。その文字は「未来」である。 刈谷の作品は、世界の状況を「客観的」に眺めて表現しようというものではなく、この世界の状況を、自己の存在も含めたひとつのものとして把握しようとする点で、西欧の美術作品にはまったくない新しい視点をもたらすものであろう。こうした視点が、これからの世界を築いていく重要なものとなっていくのではないだろうか。 時空間を超越した刈谷の作品世界は、しかしそれゆえに、やがてわたしたちが「現在」として相対することになる「未来」に対する透徹した目を持っている。この静かな、しかし烈しい主張のこめられた彼の作品は、わたしたちの存在そのものを強く震撼させる、現代アートにまれな存在感を持っているといえるだろう。 倉林靖 「開放系」展カタログ評論文 水戸芸術館現代美術センター、1994年

Hiroshi Kariya's solo exhibition, "In Memory of 1992", was simply striking. The exhibit spaces were found on the first and third floors. On the first floor was "18 Wraps". Eighteen bodies made of trash bag, transparent plastic sheet, canvas, paint cloth, and cardboard, filled with discarded object, and plaster debris with photo trash are lay there. The bodies wrapped with string and attached to them was a number of small blackboards on which English text was roughly chalked. One naturally presumes that there must be some important messages for people and society. On the third floor is "415 Palestinians". Different sizes of blackboards with text occupy every wall. There are scandalous words like "killing", and pieces of newspapers are pasted on some of the boards. Many of them deal with murders, riots and wars. This sinful conduct seems to have been sealed inside the form of the text by the artist's intense power. The space is filled with sheer silence, but there seem to be countless unheard screams-scream of silence. These reflects the sinful activities that electrify the space. Hiroshi Kariya subtitles this exhibition "Journalistic Paintings Sculptures". Why is it journalistic? He writes down phrases taken from newspapers and magazines. The words were conceived from the desire to convey the truth, so his works are 'journalistic' paintings and sculptures. He wants to convey, in the form of art, the deep anger and sorrow that are felt somewhere in the world every day. The idea that underlies Kariya's works is truly unique and, in a sense, complex. "The theme of my work is writing (recording), its process and its image. The theme of this work is living (engraving), its process and its image." The act of writing (recording) refers to copying the sutras in Buddhism. He calls his work 'sutra'. "'Sutra' means in Sanskrit thread or string, and it means that are used to bind papers written with teaching of life." Copying the sutras is a memorial service for the dead and offering of prayer or wishes. While its purpose is to pass on the sutra from generation to generation, it is more meaningful in making the mind of the copier and his surrounding environment more peaceful. That the conduct of copying is more important than the result of the copied text itself, seems contradictory to us. Here, writing is living and act becomes s prayer. Looking from the Buddhist world view, all the incidents in the world are closely related to each individual by fate. All things in nature and material are connected through chains of cause and effect. Any activity, including violence, wars, or atrocities are linked with individual desires. Everyone shares responsibility for all the events in the world. They should be regarded as the result of 'karma' and were generated by each individual's desire. I believe this is the world view, a view of life and ethics that does not exist in the West. Kariya offers his spiritual prayer to world events in this context. Behind this philosophy is Asian monism that goes beyond the dualism of matter and spirit, of us and them. In this world, individual 'spirit' and phenomena are inseparable. The world is based on the integration of time and space. However, in the world of matter, everything happens at this point in time. Kariya contributes "One Piece Lotus Sutra" as an expression of living here now. He has been keeping a journal ever since he moved to the U.S. in 1977. The sutra expands its limitless circles as it repeats: "the now is the now is the now is the now is the ..." Since 1977, he has been making various sutra pieces. Thy have different names according to materials that the sutras are written on. "Drifted Wood Sutra", "Tree Ring Sutra", "Stone Sutra", "Circling Sutra", "Memorial Service to Waste Sutra", "Seed Sutra", "The Prayer Sutra", "Breath Off On Sutra", etc, "Seed Sutra" for example, is a "sutra written on handful of beans once a day". Another of Kariya's sutras is "Blackboard Sutra", in which he writes down or cuts out phrases from newspapers and magazines and pastes them on blackboards. His work is created out of his daily routine rather than from a more deliberate intent. Literally, the action comes before the result. All the materials used in his works are waste, and used in new works after use, or used for different purposes. This expresses a cycle of 'material' or 'life' between the material world and the non-material world, and death and resurrection. At the same time, the waste placed in the exhibit space is literally 'dead' in the present material world, and shows that today's 'death' creates a horrible scene. Kariya's work stands at the point where various phenomena generated in the 'present' world are expressed through matter and words. In Memory of 1992", the eighteen bodies are labelled Somali, Somalia, 3 Turks, Temple, Country Called Kurdistan, Russia is Russia, Angola, El Salvador, Cambodia, Wraps, Bosnia, Homeless, Radiation, Wasting Away, Asia AIDS, Mother. "Mother" represents Kariya's mother, who passed away that year, and his personal experience with 'death'. This work shows the 'death' that takes place in the world. (A switched-on TV near his mother is a reference to daily continuity, from today to tomorrow ...) Each text is a quote from a newspaper article about human bodies. "3 Turks" was conceived after he read an article about three Turks killed by Neo Nazis. His solo exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) Philadelphia in 1990 was about the circulation of substances that use waste, and showed that time is both eternal and only exists now. He utilized the waste generated from Ilya Kabakov's solo exhibition, which was previously at the same site. It was a typical installation, one that implemented the idea of the circulation of substances. The wall that was installed for Kabakov was torn down, and Kariya reused the wood and the plaster board. When tearing it down, Kariya drew crisscross lines on the wall and wrote text and numbers in each block. He reinstalled the wall in big chunks, and laid the boards side by side according to size. Moreover, eight hundred small plaster pieces were numbered and stamped, then ICA sold them for 1 person limited $1 each with only current $1 bill only. The profits were used to cover the cost of Kabakov's wall materials. The following installation was created next to "Re-Member (Kabakov's Wall)" by reusing the Kabakov's wall. In "Spring of 8,000 Years, Autumn of 8,000 Years", pieces of wood from the waste were arranged in six horizontal rows, and a number of scrolls spread to various lengths were placed on the floor. ("Is the now..." sutra is written on each wooden piece and scroll. The sutras on the scrolls were written while the artist was on the way to wash paints off the brushes he used for writing sutra on the wooden pieces.) The various sutra pieces, including 'Drifted Wood Sutra' and 'Tree Ring Sutra' were written on drifted wood and tree slabs. Another sutra text started from the center of a round rock and spiraled back to the center of the reverse side. A hole pierced the center of the rock to emphasize the flow. Other sutras were written on everything from small containers like ink bottles, light bulbs, postcards, and bones. Also displayed in circles were one hundred small pieces of limestone, each covered with sutra, and 'Seed Sutra', a hundred handfuls of about one hundred beans covered with sutra, top and bottom. One characteristic of Kariya's work is its air of magic and ritual. Characters that through their undulating fitness and obsession almost look like Arabic script, are possessed with the magic that ideographs can have. Objects found in daily life, once imbued with writing, seem to go beyond the 'material' dimension and possess a special feeling of both materiality and non-materiality. His way of placing materials in a room with a clear plan seems to follow the rituals of various ethnic groups, including native Americans. The placement of each object is based on Kariya's intentions. In trying to describe all the meanings, one realizes that Kariya's works are so vast that they can be captured only with an enormous amount of explanation. But only Kariya himself is to be loaded with the meaning of all his actions. Kariya's work is an action complete in itself with its own complete meaning, so in that sense it may tear down the basic assertion of western aesthetics, presentation of an expression and its receipt. Kariya's art suggests a new possibility for art, in which specific meaning or expression is not only delivered to a recipient, but the existence of the work and viewer's act of receiving the work as it is, make the art come into being. The installation at Mito is basically an extension of his past activities but further expanded with greater expressivity. The installation consists of various elements which will be called "Gate of Bandage and Gauze", "Frag of Bandaids", "Wall of the World", "Wall of Red Cross", "Stretcher", "Hundred Body Wraps", "Flower, Candle and Chalk Titles", "collapsed Girl and Vulture Waiting", "Wall of Bosnia", "Wall of UN", "Wall of Sand Bags", "Window of Turks", "Wall of Protest", "Class Room with Labyrinth", "Desk and Chair Under Repair", "Wall of Graffiti". There will also be blackboards with various writings, bodies wrapped in cloth, bloody gauze with some bandaids, images of stretcher and Red Cross mark, plates covered with written protests, sticks, cloths and sandbags, images of empty warehouses in the UN's peace keeping operations and messages of mourning expressed with flowers and chalk text. Viewers will surely be impressed by these layers of objects and images. The final room of the exhibition is called "Classroom with Labyrinth", with desks and chairs placed in a maze pattern to obstruct one's way. This room is also striking. There are blackboards covered with newspaper clippings that bear words like "religion", "environmental law", "nation", "ethnicity", "race", politics", city water", "education", "food" and "poverty". The desk drawers contain Time, Life, the National Geographic, the New York Times, Asashi Shimbun, a world Atlas, social science and natural science books, and books on religion. In one of the desks is a switched-on flashlight that lights used batteries. The four walls are covered with graffiti in various languages. There is a landscape tripod-scope with a telescope placed near the entrance, through which one can see the pasted newspaper cutout on the blackboards. It reads 'future'. Kariya's works do not present a world situation that is looked at 'objectively'. Instead he strives to grasp the world as a whole, including his existence. This would bring about a new viewpoint, one that is not found in the art works of the West. This kind of viewpoint, I believe, will be important in building the future world. Kariya's works present a consistent perspective of the 'future', which we all have to face sooner or later. Quiet but assertive, his works have a rare quality that shakes us to the roots of our being. The most typical example of sharing problems is Kariya's work. He believes that any world event is connected him by karma. It is Asian monism of matter and spirit that is imbedded in his work instead of the Western dualism of subject and object. Yasushi Kurabayashi, 1994, Catalog Essay "Open System" Art Tower Mito, page 67, 68, 69

Upon exiting the ATM Workshop, return to Room #6 of the Contemporary Art Gallery, where you must pass under the "Bandage Gate." This leads you to the works of Hiroshi Kariya, a production artist residing in New York since 1977. The current exhibition shows his "Installation 1993," intended as a record of world events in 1993. For the work, Kariya has used material from the reports of everyday news, including newspapers and magazines. He has labeled such a format as "reportage pictures" and "reportage sculpture." These works treat the lives of human beings as their main theme, as well as the record of the traces those leave. photo: Saiki Taku Colupsed girl and Vulture waited Colupsed girl; made of bread from 5 different continent (style). They hunged from the ceiling with fishing thread. Vulture; made of plaster wrapped with trash bag, facing girl. They situated on the chalkboard of each entitled: Food, Killing, food, killing, connected each other. Kariya calls his works "sutra" Indeed, ever since 1997, he has repeatedly attached the words "is the now" to materials he collects every day, just as if he were copying sutras in the fashion of Buddhist monks. These include a broad variety of items such as wood floating on the Hudson River, waste material from construction sites, and stones that Kariya has been picking up piece by piece each day. 100 wraps Various daily object wraped with canvas cloth, or linen. photo: Saiki Taku In his "Wall of the World (Bosnia Ripped Apart)" installation, Kariya has hung a great many blackboards along the wall. The boards are made of masonite, a common construction material. Having written the words "is the now" a countless number of times on the boards, Kariya has termed this work his "blackboard sutra." The printed words pasted onto the boards are headlines from newspaper stories, and the articles themselves are pasted ontothe back. Each board has been cut to match the size of each article, resulting in different sizes. The articles are arranged in chronological order from left to right along the wall, beginning in January 1993 and ending in December 1993. Here and there, several blackboards are missing, leaving cloth hanging in their place. These are the stories about Bosnia, and have been moved to the brown-colored "Wall of Bosnia" that lies further back. Torn Bosnia (Wall of absence) This wall work has a relationship with Mizuma Art Gallery installation; Wall of absence . photo: Saiki Taku The hanging of boards on a wall is reminiscent of the Japanese custom of hanging "ema" votive placards at shrines, and represent wishes or prayers. Lying along the floor is Kariya's work, "That Which Wraps One Hundred Bodies." As the title indicates, there are one hundred bodies, alluding to corpses. A blackboard has been attached to each of the bodies, and an obituary has been pasted on each board. A requiem sutra has also been written upon each of the boards. In Kariya's "Stretcher," a photograph has been attached of a nurse in Sarajevo carrying a bloodstained stretcher. In his "Girl and Vulture," Kariya has brought together a photograph of a vulture waiting for the death of a girl on the verge of starvation, along with a blackboard with stories about famine, etc. Kariya's "Red Cross Wall" and "United Nations Wall" works are made from materials thrown away from the Hidetoshi NAGASAWA Exhibition held recently. Looking through the hole cut through the first work, one can read the words, Red cross Wall (left), UN Wall Re-assemble of the discarded wall materials from previous installation Hidetoshi Nagasawa's devided wall materials. Work is related to Kariya's 1990 ICA Philadelphia Installation: Memory / Ilya Kabakov's Wall "STOP THE BLOODY MURDER." The hole in the second work, then, appears to be a hole punched into a silhouette of the Pacific Ocean. His "Desert Wall" comprises blackboards with photographs of flabbergasted people staring at a flood of the Mississippi River, and a flood in India. Turk's Wall In his "Turkish Wall," Kariya has highlighted an article about five Turkish people burned to death. Inscribed on the wall is the word "Hass," which means "hate" in German. Protest Wall The "Protest Wall" contains news photographs of a broad spectrum of protests: an anti-abortion march in Washington, D.C.; Bucharest residents opposed to the economic policies of their government, and demanding funds for AIDS research; citizens calling for an investigation into the Sagawa Express scandal in Japan; Buddhists in Cambodia praying for peace; Americans clamoring to save Bosnia; people anxious about their future. Walking into Room #7 of the Gallery, we see another of Kariya's works, "Classroom with a Maze." Near the front of the room is a surveying instrument with a telescope. The desks and chairs have been arranged in a way to prevent easy passage as a maze, so to speak. On the blackboards have been pasted photograph files, clippings from such magazines as "Time," "Life," and "National Geographic," and from such newspapers as the New York Times and the Asahi Shimbun. In addition, Kariya has pasted material from books about society, science, and religion, as well as world maps. The desks and chairs used by Kariya for this work were borrowed from Mito City, and had originally come from a school that was closed down. Classroom with a Maze photo: Saiki Taku At the end, please take a look through the surveying telescope. You should be able to read something. (on Installation at Art Tower Mito) By Seiichi Watanabe Translated by Paul T. Narum

Planting the seed of an idea in the here and now By Miki Miyatake Nishizawa on Hiroshi Kariya’s “Empty”exhibition at Mizuma Art Gallery, Tokyo The Japan Times/ Saturday, May 11, 1996/ page 15 “The now is the now is the now is the now is the...” Hiroshi Kariya continues to write this phrase daily. Handwritten with a calligraphy brush, it looks like a Buddhist sutra. In Buddhist thought, the idea of “the now” signifies that living beings should live each single moment of “now”. A string of “now and now and now...” constitutes the whole history of the universe. Kariya writes “the now is sutra” on both sides of a dried bean, going through about 100 beans every night before going to bed. He keeps the finished beans in plastic bags with notes of his daily thoughts. For him, it is similar to meditation, a practice of being present in the now. For Kariya, creating art is not separate from his daily chores. Taking each breath could be an exercise of art, and living itself is art. Three days before the opening day of his current exhibition at Mizuma Art Gallery in Aoyama, Tokyo, he started writing in chalk “the now is the now is the...” in spiral from the center of the concrete floor. The periphery of the circle is lined with pieces of limestone from Michigan bearing the words “the now is...” written in a spiral of tiny letters. The writing, which starts from the center of one side of a stone, makes its way clockwise, coiling to the other side of the stone. The beginning and the end of the writing are connected by Kariya piercing a hole in the middle of the stone. The idea that “there is no beginning and no end” signifies eternity, while at the same time it has a limit as one object. Going clockwise follows Buddhist custom-a pilgrimage circuit of Buddhist temples in one area is supposed to be done clockwise. The loop without the end seems to be symbolic of reincarnation and the universe where everything is rotating in transformational stages repeating life and death. “The now is sutra” is engraved on a thick candle placed at the north point of the circle of the text on the floor as well as on glass bowl containing water placed at the south end. Fire melts the candle and water evaporates from the bowl, and “this transformation fuses with the space at present,” says Kariya. The whole piece visually presents the universe in miniature with an incantation-like spiral text in the middle. Kariya’s practice of writing on dried beans in January and February 1992 is recorded in two booklets entitled “One day one piece one grasp seed sutra.” On each page, a fourline stanza written by Kariya is printed with the number of beans he scribbled that day along with date and place. Based in Brooklyn, N.Y., his poem was first in English: One piece of Brahma Day One Piece of ‘the now is’ One Piece of 8,640,000,000 years One Grasp of 104 pieces (January 18, 1992, Studio, Brooklyn, N.Y.) His interest and concern expressed in his poems shifted from the conflicts in various parts of the world to a more personal one as he traveled to his hometown Kamaishi in Iwate Prefecture to see his mother, ill with cancer. The poems he wrote during his stay in Japan frequently contain kanji characters meaning “pain, mother, me, breathe, dream, explain, morning, fear.” Kariya’s love for his mother and his suffering over her pain permeate the poems. His writing the seed sutra every night for her recovery and also a means to soothe his feelings. What Kariya does looks simple, but the visual and spiritual impact of his writings are striking. The magical power of incantation is present, and his ritualistic manner of creation is convincing. Barefoot, with his hair tied in a pony tail and writing “the now is sutra” on the floor, Kariya may remind us of a lordless samurai living with a Zen priest’s peaceful state of mind. He appears undisturbed by the overwhelming pace of the outer world. It is interesting to see Kariya’s Japanese identity, his gracious attitude and power preserved even after living in New York for close to 20 years. He is very much in touch with himself, and it is obvious that his art work comes from the core of his being. As long as he lives, he will use his hands and mark the path of his life. By Miki Miyatake on Hiroshi Kariya’s “Empty” exhibition at Mizuma Art Gallery (J), Tokyo The Japan Times/ Saturday, May 11, 1996/ page 15 ©1996-2007 Hiroshi Kariya & Miki Miyatake Nishizawa