IWAI Toshio
(C)2005 Toshio Iwai/Nintendo

INTRODUCTION - Why I chose this artist? -
I thought that I wanted to introduce a Japanese artist, but honestly it was difficult to choose one.
First, in Japan, the field of the video art which we are learning now is very young and new. Under the influence of Bill Viola or Gary Hill, we have developed the video art field. Second, the animation (animated cartoon) has grown rapidly since early 60's. Under the rapid growth of Japanese economy after the World War II, an experimental expression was difficult to be produced. Third, personally I think that there are a lot of Japanese video artists who expand their fields to other media, such as movie, film, animation, game, and so on. Especially talented artists, famous artists tend to expand their fields.
Therefore, I chose a Japanese artist who is not only a video artist but also media artist. Since he is an artist related to ITP field, I believe it is good for you to know about him. He started his career with animation and video, but his interest changed gradually, and now he is famous as a media artist, especially an interactive media field.

BIOGRAPHY AND WORKS
Born in Kira, Aichi Prefecture, in 1962.
It was following his matriculation in the Fine Arts Department at Tsukuba University in 1981 that Iwai became involved in experimental animation, the experience which inspired his interest in making videos. While becoming involved with film and video, he became interested in the potential of flip books, zoetropes and other visual illusions that were precursors to film. His interests then shifted to art produced on computers.

In 1985, while Iwai was still a student, his installation Time Stratum won the High Technology Art Exhibition Gold prize. He also won the grand prize at the 17th annual Modern Japanese Art Awards, becoming the youngest artist ever to win the award. In 1987, following the completion of his work at Tsukuba University's Plastic Art and Mixed Media master's course, he went on to exhibit his interactive art at shows both in Japan and overseas, winning wide acclaim.

In 1987 he graduated from the Plastic Art and Mixed Media master's course of the University of Tsukuba, Japan and in 1992 he finished the Artist-in-Residence Program at the Exploratorium, San Francisco. His pieces Well of Lights and Music Insects are now in the permanent collection of the Exploratorium.
< Permanent Collection>

http://ns05.iamas.ac.jp/~iwai/artworks/well_of_lights.html
http://ns05.iamas.ac.jp/~iwai/artworks/music_insects.html

His works were displayed at the Seville EXPO in 1992 in Spain, at the EC Japan Fest in 1993 in Antwerp, Belgium, at the Biennale d�rt contemporain de Lyon in 1995, at the Mediascape Exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 1996, and at the G7 Summit Exhibition in Lyon in 1997. As these examples demonstration, he has become one of Japan's leading artists and continues to exhibit his work world-wide.

Iwai is a multitalented creator whose works also include the creation of characters and computer graphic designs for Fuji Televisions, "Einstein TV" and "Ugo Ugo Lhuga" TV programs, as well as computer game software.
http://ns05.iamas.ac.jp/~iwai/ugolhu/index.html

In 1996 Iwai published a Windows CD-ROM "Simtunes" in the United States, issued in Japanese, German and French editions. He has also been active in many locations overseas. In 1991-92, he was based at the San Francisco Exploratorium. In 1994-95, he was a visiting artist at ZKM in Karlsruhe, Germany, where his work included a major one-man show.

In 1997 he had a retrospective exhibition/ innovative workshops at ICC in Tokyo.
IWAI TOSHIO EXHIBISION 1997�
http://www.ntticc.or.jp/Archive/1997/Iwai/index.html

OTHER RECENT WORKS
His interests are still expanding and he is doing various kinds of work such as installation, sound X image, teaching and workshop, TV and exhibition. His latest and famous work is game software.

<Installation>
http://ns05.iamas.ac.jp/~iwai/artworks/piano.html
http://www.cyber.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp/iwailab/bloomberg_ice.html

<Sound X Image>
In recent years, Iwai has been particularly interested in the relationship of sound and image. One major result of this interest was the performance in collaboration with Sakamoto Ryuichi first at the Art Tower MIto, Japan. This performance went on to which the Golden Nica the Interactive Art Division at the 1997 Prix Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria.
http://ns05.iamas.ac.jp/~iwai/mito/index.html
http://www.ntticc.or.jp/Archive/1997/Piano/Works/remotepiano.html#

<Teaching>
Tokyo University

<Museum Interior Design>
The Ghibli Museum is about works of Hayao Miyazaki,an animation film director
http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/

<TV>
NHK Digista(Digital Studio)
http://www.nhk.or.jp/digista/
http://www.nhk.or.jp/digista/onair/topics/create21/digital21_6.html

<Exhibition>
Seven Memories of Media Technology
http://www.ntticc.or.jp/Archive/2003/Frontiers_of_Communication/Works/media.html

THE LATEST WORK
Nintendo DS Game
http://electroplankton.com/
In this April, an exhibition about this game software will be held in Tokyo.
http://electroplankton.com/html/tenrankai.html

EPILOGUE
He is really amazing, multi-talented artist. His work can appeal from children to old people.
I saw an interview of him and found some impressive words. Now he is doing a lot about a combination of vide and interactive media, because he felt a kind of limitation to express his works only in the video. But he is saying video or image is an origin. When he thinks about new project, he is trying to rethink about image or video; light and shadow. He also can find very interesting things in usual life around him. It is basic to look around and enjoy usual life. His innovation always comes from usual life.