Mai Yamashita + Naoto Kobayashi: The Small Mountain

12/07/24 2:09

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Mai Yamashita + Naoto Kobayashi: The Small Mountain
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Written by Takeshi HIRATA
Published: July 30 2009
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According to legend, a wish chanted threetimes while a shooting star is shining comestrue. Actually, it is almost impossible to repeat
a wish three times during the time a falling staremits light, less than one second, but in thework entitled “When I wish upon a star” (2004)[fig. 1] which was jointly created by Mai
Yamashita and Naoto Kobayashi, thirty or more
wishes are made on a shooting star. There issome miracle time which has been generated
by synchronizing two different lengths of time,
one is the lighting time of a falling star andanother is the time taken to repeat wishes.

fig. 1 "When I wish upon a star" (2004); DV, 02:22min.,leaned screen, courtesy of Takuro Someya
Contemporary Art, copy right(c) Mai YAMASHITA +Naoto KOBAYASHIMai Yamashita and Naoto Kobayashi havebeen expressing trivial but miraculous andcomical time through their joint creations.
Their works, including a spoon in a small sandcastle,*1 traces of human hands and feet on aAccess Ranking

concrete slab, a form of “∞ (infinity)” createdon a grass field, and a miniature sculpture of

No.1: POSSIBLY TALENTED

the Alps made by engraving firewood,*2 “exist”

No.2: 奈良・町家の芸術祭

silently in the exhibition site. They added one
image, such as a video picture or aphotograph, to each work with the aim ofconveying its process of creation to us. This
makes us recognize the “actual occurrence”
which happened during the process of creating
the work and wonder about the existence ofthe materials which are now in front of us asparts of the exhibit.

HANARART（はならぁと）

fig. 2 "infinity" (2006); HDV, 04:38 min., courtesy ofTakuro Someya Contemporary Art, copy right(c) Mai
YAMASHITA + Naoto KOBAYASHI

No.3: Uchu-mingei

No.4: Sweet Emotion

No.5: Shinya Arimoto

No.6: Satoru
AOYAMA+Hirokazu HIRAISHI

No.7: Istituto Italiano di

Nevertheless, these images added to theirwork are not explanatory things associatedwith the creation. Instead, such recording
elements, including pictures or photos, can be
http://www.kalons.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=466%3Athe-small-mountain&catid=335%3Areviews&lang=us

Cultura di Tokyo

No.8: Yosuke Suzuki

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Mai Yamashita + Naoto Kobayashi: The Small Mountainelements, including pictures or photos, can be
described as actuality films of art
documentaries which are used to show us “howto make art”. They are the same as recording

12/07/24 2:09

fig. 3 "Mr. Someya doing a Handspring" (2009); A
concrete plate, DV, 01:35min., courtesy of Takuro
Someya Contemporary Art, copy right(c) Mai
YAMASHITA + Naoto KOBAYASHI

movies, which can also be called “works” justlike the films they document. In addition, as a

No.9: from Machine Art toMedia Art

No.10: taguchi fine art, ltd.

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recording of a movie sometimes plays a role as
an essay on a quality film, a recording creation
jointly made by Yamashita and Kobayashi,which shows us the “actual occurrence” during
the process of generating the “work”, can also
be considered as an essay on art.
For instance, let me introduce the video
work entitled “infinity” (2006) [fig. 2], in whicha scene of creating the form of ∞ is depicted.
Looking at the film closely, we notice that the∞ is composed of footprints made by twopeople who must have walked for an enormous

fig. 4 "Live Together" (2009); Drawing, DV, 38min.,courtesy of Takuro Someya Contemporary Art, copyright(c) Mai YAMASHITA + Naoto KOBAYASHI

amount of time. Based on the phrase “There isa road after one walks”, this work was created in an attempt to leave behind a symbol, ∞, on theearth and highlight the truth of the phrase.*3In addition, there is a work in which we find something like traces of human palms andfootprints remaining on a rectangular concrete slab. Its title is the “Turning Forward - Someyasan -” (2009) [fig. 3]. If you look at the film shown with the creation, you can see Takuro
Someya, who is the owner of the Takuro Someya Contemporary Art Gallery, to which Yamashita
and Kobayashi belong. He is doing forward rolls on a half-dry concrete slab in the video which
was taken by two high-speed cameras. This work succeeded in giving us a “realistic” image by
conveying its serious and nervous impressions through the documentary film, while the work
itself seems, at first glance, to have been created by showing an eccentric performance. In
addition, there is a set of drawing works entitled “Live Together” (2009) [fig. 4], in which animate
things*4 living in our faces are depicted. This work could be regarded only as drawings if weeliminate our prejudices. Nonetheless, through the images which are shown next to the works,
we come to “realize” that these creations, which were made from a critical perspective, raise aquestion about “looking at something”.
In this way, the creations jointly made by Yamashita and Kobayashi evoke for us an image ofunlimited humor just like that of innocent children, and this is one of their main characteristics.
Nonetheless, their persistence in leaving behind their “works” as material objects gives us
another image of their creations, which is clearly distinct from humor. In fact, various kinds ofperformances and project works have been presented since the 90s, but most of them havefocused on acting and therefore have not been preserved as material works.
Nevertheless, Yamashita and Kobayashi have created their joint works by pairing material
creations and recording works, such as video pictures or photographs, which show their creative
processes and methods. Looking at their works, viewers may question “artistic” activities, andcan recognize Yamashita and Kobayashi’s will to record the time and instant of producing“works” and the generation and disappearance of events which we often experience in our trivial
daily lives.
In other words, we can find the “actual moment of creation” during the process of forming
their artworks.*5 Through their well-prepared and patient activities, Yamashita and Kobayashi
throw out a question to the world about the existence of the materials we see as the exhibits .
Indeed, their message may be given in a whispering voice such as when we chant our wishes on
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Mai Yamashita + Naoto Kobayashi: The Small Mountain

12/07/24 2:09

Indeed, their message may be given in a whispering voice such as when we chant our wishes ona shooting star, but it would be absolutely true to say that they have asked a question with
infinite (∞) answers through this exhibition.
(Translated by Nozomi Nakayama)

Notes
*1
“A Spoon Made From The Land” (video installation, iron spoon, 2009)*2“How to make a mountain sculpture” (wood, c-print, 2006)*3
The “Infinity” was made with the aim of examining the truth of the phrase “There is a road afterone walks”. A set of works jointly made by Yamashita and Kobayashi has been created for thepurpose of putting such an extremely simple and humorous question into a physical form
through an in-depth approach which would not normally be used. They have been trying to
express a small miracle, which is generated through their steady efforts and patience to realize
such approaches.
*4
I dare not mention the details of these “animate things” since doing so would spoil your viewing
experience. I would not wish viewers to look at these drawings only because of theirsensationalism. They give you a tip to overcome stereotypes of drawings.
*5This phrase can be reworded as “their works allow us to see the ‘actual occurrence’ whichhappened during the process of forming the world or art”.
Related Exhibition"Mai Yamashita + Naoto Kobayashi: The Small Mountain"
16/May/2009 - 27/Jun/2009
Venue: Takuro Someya Contemporary Art
Last Updated on July 05 2010

Related ArticlesTakuro Someya Contemporary Art
updated: Dec 22,2010

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