From the Endless Box: works from 1999 to 2023, by Mieko Shiomi – I
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Main Staircase Calouste Gulbenkian FoundationEndless Box: works from 1999 to 2023 is an extensive programme of 15 events dedicated to artist and composer Mieko Shiomi (Okayama, 1938), a key figure in the Fluxus movement, both in Japan and the USA. In her premiere in Portugal, we present a programme with a powerful and joyful dimension in its relationship with the concepts of time, space and connectivity.
The complete programme is presented in two parts – one on the Main Staircase and the other in Auditorium 2 – and includes revised versions of works from the 1990s to more recent compositions, with artistic direction by Jaime Reis and the participation of local musicians.
A founding member of Group Ongaku (Tokyo, 1958-1962), the first improvised music and sound collective in Japan, Mieko became a member of Fluxus in 1964, after a year in New York. On her return to Japan, she developed the notion of the event as performance art, starting her Spatial Poem series. In the 1990s, an important moment in the creation of many of the works presented here, the artist became interested in electronic technologies and began to implement them in her transmedial performances. Shiomi has continued to work at the intersection of different areas such as the visual arts, the performing arts and musical composition.
It is possible to purchase a pass that includes the complete cycle.
For a better understanding of this emblematic figure of Japanese art, the documentary Interview with artist Mieko Shiomi (2011) will be shown on 9 and 10 September. The film follows the life and artistic path of this artist, highlighting her close relationship with the Fluxus movement.
Co-production: Lisboa Incomum/Projecto DME
Mieko Shiomi graduated from the University of Tokyo with a degree in musicology. As a student, she founded the musical experimentation group Group Ongaku. In 1964 she moved to New York and joined the Fluxus movement, participating in various events and festivals. For more than 60 years she has worked in various artistic fields, such as musical compositions, performances, visual arts and collaborative works. Since 2014 she has been teaching at Kyoto University of the Arts.
Jaime Reis studied Composition and Electroacoustic Music and continued his doctoral studies at the New University of Lisbon in Ethnomusicology. He teaches Composition and Electroacoustic Music at ESML and is a researcher at the Institute of Ethnomusicology at UNL. He is artistic director of the DME Festival and Lisboa Incomum, which develop an intense activity of research and creation of contemporary classical music. His music has been performed all over the world by renowned ensembles and musicians.
Engawa – A season of contemporary art from Japan
‘Engawa’ is a programming that brings to Lisbon a set of creators from Japan and the Japanese diaspora, many of them for the first time in Portugal. More info
Programme
Falling Event for a Pianist: Pf, Nar 2022
Direction Music for a Pianist No.5: Pf 2023
Anagram: Pf, Nar, Perc 2022
An Incidental Story on the Night of a Lunar Eclipse: Pf, Cl, Nar, Perc 1999/2023
Credits
Artistic Direction
Jaime Reis
Interpreters
Inês Lopes – Piano
Carlos Silva – Clarinet
Aldovino Munguambe – Percussion
Rui Baeta – Narrator
Manon Marques – Narrator
Joana Manuel – Narrator
Musical Direction
Jaime Reis
Production
Beatriz Costa (DME)
Live Arts CAM
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation reserves the right to collect and keep records of images, sounds and voice for the diffusion and preservation of the memory of its cultural and artistic activity. For further information, please contact us through the Information Request form.