*This program will be held online, via Zoom.*

Join Portland-based artist Takahiro Yamamoto in a discussion of his two works Direct Path to Detour, which would have been presented at On the Boards on June 4-7, and Property of Opaqueness which was co-presented by the Henry Art Gallery and Velocity on October 6th, 2019. 

Central to Direct Path to Detour and Property of Opaqueness is the idea of NOISE, which guides Takahiro Yamamoto’s artistic approach to both subject matters while it always complicates his presumed answers. 

While Direct Path to Detour explores abstraction and its value—abstraction of identity, narrative, representation, and expectation/beliefs—Yamamoto’s current practice, which includes Property of Opaqueness, centers social and physical visibility. Yamamoto investigates the shifting dynamics between viewer and performer as they play out over time, through movement, reaction, and reflection. The project engages the slippery relationship between visibility and agency, and how new viewer-performer relations can invite, entangle, and nourish simultaneous and multiple subjectivities. 

We will begin by screening and discussing clips of the two works, then share and discuss his writings Noise and his book Direct Path To Detour. Then we will break out into small groups, where audiences will be able to share with each other their thoughts on the material. We will end with Taka sharing questions and suggestions for further research. We invite participants to join program organizers from On the Boards, Velocity Dance Center, and the Henry Art Gallery the following Friday, June 5th at 4 pm to continue discussion together. 

This program is a collaboration between On the Boards, Henry Art Gallery, and Velocity Dance Center. 

Artist Bio:

Takahiro Yamamoto is an artist and choreographer based in Portland, Oregon. His approach to choreography is interpersonal and observational. Starting his conceptual investigations with questions – currently about the ontology of performance, the mutability of identity, and the social implications of the gaze – he often invites collaborators to bring their own perspectives into the creation. His performance and visual art works have been presented at PICA, Portland; Diverseworks, Houston; Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati; The Henry Art Gallery, Seattle and GoDown Arts Centre, Nairobi, among other venues. He is part of the Portland-based support group Physical Education with Allie Hankins, keyon gaskin, and Lu Yim. Yamamoto holds an MFA in Visual Studies from PNCA. Currently, he is a Full-Time Visiting Artist at Performance Department at the School of Art Institute of Chicago. His newest project Opacity of Performance will premiere at Portland Art Museum in the near future when we feel safe to congregate physically in the place.

Image credits: Takahiro Yamamoto. Direct Path to Detour, Single Focus. Photo: Matthew Gregory Hollis. Courtesy of the Artist; Takahiro Yamamoto. Property of Opaqueness [Rehearsal still]. Photo: Ian Siporin. Courtesy of the Henry Art Gallery.

After registering, you should receive an email with a link to join the discussion. Please follow up with ians@henryart.org if you have trouble accessing the email or link.