Projects, a characteristic feature of IAMAS’ education, are positioned as an independent curriculum that allows students to learn technical and comprehensive knowledge, and technologies through the team teaching of professors from various disciplines. Through this interview we will speak to each professor about the setting of the theme for the project in addition to the background for that research area and context, alongside how collaboration is conducted between professors and students who have different specialties, and what results can be expected from those efforts.

Professor Tomoko Kanayama, Professor Shigeki Yoshida, Professor Shigeru Matsui

“Freestyle succession, Shinichi Hisamatsu – Library Materials Exhibition”

Please tell me about the theme and background for this project.

Tomoko Kanayama (hereafter Kanayama) – I heavily relied on fieldwork and interviews as my research methods. In particular, after starting the Neo co-creation Project in 2015, I had more opportunities to listen to stories alongside students in different regions. What the students observed and felt was that “the act of listening” is something that creates connections between people and serves as the foundation for all activities. While “speaking” as a research field is well-established, “the act of listening” has not received as much attention. As a result, in our research and expression activities, we revisited the significance of “the act of listening” and decided to launch a project in 2023 to reconsider it as a creative act.

Yoshida Shigeki (hereafter Yoshida) – When I first heard about starting a project focused on “the act of listening,” I felt it wasn’t directly related to my field as someone whose expertise is in computers and technology. However, looking back, I realized that through participating in the Neo fieldwork with Professor Kanayama, I began to see how people’s lives are shaped by technology. For instance, my interest grew as I listened to stories from the community about water and electricity. This experience sparked a desire to listen to more people’s stories. I started to reconsider that it might be fascinating to explore a broader concept of “listening,” one that includes reading and interpreting cues from the environment.

Shigeru Matsui (hereafter Matsui) – There are areas where my research overlaps with Professor Kanayama’s, and in the process of advancing my own work, I’ve had many opportunities to “listen.” However, since Professor Kanayama has a background in social studies and I come from a background in contemporary art, our objectives and methodologies for “listening” differ. By participating in this project with Professor Kanayama, who approaches “the act of listening” from a different perspective, I realized that I could learn a great deal from the experience. This became my personal motivation to get involved.
Each of the three professors brings their own unique expertise, and the six students participating in the project this year (2023) all have varied interests. “The act of listening” is both a methodological and a practical endeavor. For some, it becomes a form of expression. As we tried to connect our individual interests, I feel that in the end, we were able to perceive “the act of listening” in a more neutral way by observing it and putting it into practice.

－ In what way are students involved?

Kanayama – The project is progressing with three main pillars as a guide: each individual’s research and practice of expression through discussions grounded in methodologies, literature, and artworks related to “listening”; examining expressionists and researchers who put “listening” into practice; and conducting interviews with technical experts.
To begin, I started with a self-introduction and held an experiment in which the students listened to each other. Together, we observed how people perform the act of “listening” and provided feedback on the individual aspects of each person’s approach. We started to explore “listening” from an objective standpoint.
As an extension of this, during the open house in July, we held an event called “danwashitsu” to experience the act of “listening” with people we had never met before. By listening to the stories of our guests, I believe the students were able to truly experience the close relationship between speaking and listening. It became clear that this interaction is a collaborative effort between the speaker and the listener, built on mutual exchange.

Yoshida – As part of my “listening” methodology, I conducted a “game media workshop” at Media Cosmos to explore the effects of “monotalking”—listening to several people speak in front of objects. When observing an object, the memories imparted to it are recalled. It was fascinating to see how the stories were linked and expanded through listening to people’s narratives. What was even more intriguing was that these connections didn’t remain confined to that space. What was heard, often unknowingly, seeped into other people’s memories, passing on and subtly transforming as it continued. It was a valuable experience to witness and verify this process.

The event flier for “Let’s talk about memories from our gaming console cassettes and cards”

Matsui – Before the game workshop at Media Cosmos, we held a monotalk at the school on the topic of merchandise related to anime. However, during the talk, Professor Yoshida began discussing video tapes and DVDs, which eventually led to a broader conversation about broadcasting and media. In a separate lecture, when we covered the same topic—the evolution of technology—from a different perspective, one student showed little interest. But when anime was introduced into the discussion, that student immediately engaged. While this might seem natural in hindsight, it was a revealing moment for me. I realized that using something personally connected to one’s own memories as an intermediary can foster greater understanding.

Kanayama – Building on the open house, monotalks, and interviews with practitioners, in the second term students chose their own themes and put them into practice. These ranged from hearing stories from an esports caster to conducting street interviews with students. One student created a drone artwork in Souma City, Fukushima, which allowed the voices of local residents to be heard. Another student, inspired by an episode in Kiyokazu Washida’s book The Power of ‘Listening’—the assigned reading for the project—created a performance using a stethoscope to listen to heartbeats. At first glance, these projects may seem completely different from each other, but I believe they are all, in a broader sense, engaging in the fundamental practice of “listening.”

Matsui – We held the Freestyle Succession, Shinichi Hisamatsu – Library Materials Exhibition from January 24th to March 1st, 2024, at the annex library. During our visit to the Hisamatsu Shinichi Memorial Museum in Gifu-shi, the first-year master’s student Yuka Amemiya became intrigued by the receptacles on display. Through her experience at the museum and her conversations with the curator, Mr. Sadaaki Hisamatsu, she was able to engage in a deep dialogue about the objects. Ultimately, Ms. Amemiya sublimated this experience into an installation that re-enacted and in a sense, inherited (and altered) the memories of both Mr. Shinichi and Mr. Sadaaki.
Mr. Kiyokazu Washida has written a book titled The Act of ‘Waiting’, which serves as a counterpart to his The Power of ‘Listening’. I feel that in this exhibition, we were able to truly practice “curating by waiting” and “curating by listening.” People often believe they can listen more than they actually can. Furthermore, after listening, if one does not take the time to consider what has been said then their way of thinking will not be enriched. Through this exhibition, I was able to confirm that truth. A significant gap exists between those who truly have the ability to listen and those who do not. I also realized that active listening, as opposed to passive listening, changes what is being said.

Date of interview: 02/2024
English translation: Eric Lupea

 
※ This is a reproduction of the contents from the project interviews “IAMAS Interviews 04” published in 2023.