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Artist statement
Ms. Mieko Takanami
MA Digital arts, PT-2
Subject leader to Andy Stiff

Creating art is same as breathing, eating, toileting.
Creating art is holding a joy in my life.
Acquiring digital skill is gaining weapon for publicizing own my art.
Getting self-satisfaction in creating art is not enough,
But sending a message through art is principal mission.
Every one has own mission, and my one is through art.
Earning money? I’m old enough not to think about any longer.
I wish I could continue to produce my art till very end.

The very moment is most important, not the past.
The outcome of the future is depends on the result of moment accumulated.
Although, I believe, the world is illusory passing show.
The world is comprised of Matter.
Antimatter  is the substratum of Matter.
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Matter: This stuff is everything around of us. Matter is anything made of atoms and molecules. Matter is anything that has a mass. Matter is also relate to light and electromagnetic radiation. Matter can be found all over the universe.
CHEM4KIDS.COM, (Internet), Available from <HYPERLINK “http:// chem4kids.com/files/matter_intro.html” http://chem4kids.com/files/matter_intro.html> (Accessed 29 October, 2008)
http://www.chem4kids.com/files/matter_intro.html
.
Antimatter:   Simply put, antimatter is a fundamental particle of regular matter with its electrical charge reversed. The common proton has an antimatter counterpart called the antiproton. It has the same mass but an opposite charge. The electron’s counterpart is called a positron.
Robert Roy Britt (29 September 2003). The Reality of Antimatter, Available from <HYPERLINK “http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/antimatter_sun_03929.html” http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/antimatter_sun_030929.html > (Accessed 29
October)

CERN. The Heart of the Matter, Available from <HYPERLINK “http://www.exploration.edu/origins/cem/ideas/antimatter.html”
http://www.exploratorium.edu/origins/cern/ideas/antimatter.html> (Accessed 19 June 2009)

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The title of my final piece is
‘Matter and Antimatter are two sides of one coin’.
Matter and Antimatter are intertwining each other.
My spiritual journey in art begins from this point.

I experienced of a lack of awareness in spirituality through unit 1 project; Anti plastic campaign. In the performances of a series of ‘Fish and Plastic’, I attempt to spread an awareness of a crisis of break down of ecological system. Nevertheless, I realized it through the process of my research for the sea pollution that the situation is far worse than I thought. I was overwhelmed by helplessness, and at the same time much deeper issue has raised, its course is a lack of spirituality of mankind. I had to cling onto the primary source, all pervading conscious energy of which rules over Antimatter directly and Matter eventually, that I believe. All pervading conscious energy means the – Omnipresent, Omniscient and Omnipotent God to me.

The majority of people in contemporary world especially civilized western countries do not believe the existence of the God. But the same people accept the fact of scientific discovery without exception. Thereby I attempted to convince of that the theory of which has being explored in CERN, and issues around spirituality, are both parallel in their meaning. I mentioned it in both Discussion paper  and Research paper.

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Wikipedia (18 June 2009 at 14:54). Antimatter, Available from <HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter> (Accessed 19 June 2009)

miekotakanami Weblog, Page, Terms. Antimatter, Available from <HYPERLINK
“http://miekotakanami.wordpress.com“ http://miekotakanami.wordpress.com/> (Accessed 19     June 2009)

Discussion paper: miekotakanami Weblog, Page, Discussion paper, Available from <HYPERLINK
“http://miekotakanami.wordpress.com“ http://miekotakanami.wordpress.com/> (Accessed 19 June 2009)

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I entitled unit 2 project ‘Matter and Antimatter are two side of one coin’ of which I regard as a scientific fact that is endorsed by CERN’ s research. How to create the above titled thesis as digital form has been my focused issue in unit 2. I chose moving image video as tool to express for. Matter is everything around of us, and has a mass, so that it is visible, while Antimatter is beyond our sense perception. Then it is not only invisible, but also not able to feel, no form, no weight. Drawing the intervention of Antimatter to Matter world in the video was my original option of which I tried in abortive video ‘The City of London’. For the final piece I used a reflecting image on the glass surface at number 1 London Bridge building as the Matter world, as I believe the world is illusory passing show. On the other hand how to visualize Antimatter of which is invisible, could be deliberated as metaphor using materials of Matter world. This is the case of ‘Number 1 London Bridge’ video.

Video 1; ‘Number 1 London Bridge’

On the day when I decided to take video was unusually bright day. I felt it would come out well. I set up video camera at Number 1 London Bridge. The camera frame was still, and facing toward to the surface of grass building. All moving images within frame are the refractions on the grass surface. I seemed the still frame to be theatre stage. The life is like a theatre play as illusory passing show. On the arena of grass surface,

People come and go,
Ship comes and goes,
London bus appears and disappears,
Where do we come from?
Where do we go?
Birth, death and rebirth…

How did all come?
Look at the universe and at oneself and
Wonders.

This is the Matter world. Antimatter element is always intervening through the Matter world, though we never notice. It means ‘Matter and Antimatter are two

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CERN: European Organization for Nuclear Research – the world’s largest particle physics laboratory.

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sides of one coin’. I wanted to express this intervention of Antimatter element to our world in the London Bridge video work of mine.

I took all materials for expression of Antimatter from rather abstract photograph as metaphor. They are geometric images; the glass and steel ceiling at Telecom Tower in Tokyo or capturing light images; the night airport in Paris and the sophisticated Christmas illuminations in night town Roppongi, Tokyo.

Taking moving image for Matter world was unexpectedly easy with the reason of still camera frame employed, and more over for a bright weather on the day. However how to put the mentioned photographs as Antimatter intervention into the Matter video (Number 1 London Bridge) seemed tough work. In the process of editing I carried out it by using window frame of the building or squire objects to be frame of Antimatter element. Those series of photographs for Antimatter intervention inserted as Stop Motion pictures into each squire window frame.

When I looked up the sky almost vertically, there is a rhombic space in the centre by surrounded by the building of Number 1 London Bridge. I put images as Antimatter intervention in the rhombic space by StopMotion manoeuvre as well. This scene was formed of spacious and futuristic composition of grid. It is the most successful part in this video, I think.

Video 2; Optical illusion creates after image’

‘Optical illusion creates after image’ evolved from the same thesis. It consists of a series of various single shapes and symbols, each image follows a blank screen respectively in where after images appearing by their optical illusion through retina, it seems to me to be Antimatter visualised in a sense or it could be close approximation to express of Antimatter than the video 1, as no material used except blank screen there.

However appearing optical illusion through retina, whose substratum is own consciousness, I believe. The consciousness is belongs to the very Antimatter, in which I believe. This means ‘Matter and Antimatter are two sides of one coin’. I hope this video reveals to viewers that the consciousness creates the world. This is the core of Quantum mechanics , in which is what I understood.

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Quantum mechanics: QED [quantum electrodynamics] is a theory in which links the electron to the photon. In QED, there is a background substratum of energy called the field,

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At the end of the video I put the portrait of Jesus Christ highlighting with the sound of thunder and lightning flash accompanied. Those fabricated natural phenomena suggest the recapitulation of an event of which had taken place some 2,ooo years ago upon the crucifixion of Christ. On the white blank screen following the negative portrait, if one is able to see of its positive, I want to call it that “Jesus resurrects” in front of the eyes of viewer.

I strongly recommend for you to read carefully footnote 5, even though you feel it is troublesome, please read it again and again till you understand. This is an important artist statement of mine. I was overjoyed when I encountered with those lines. I thought this illustration of Sri Sathya Sai Baba (b.1926. Puttaparthi. India) is almost as if the existence of God proved to me. But atheist can never believe it.

At one stage I dreamed of making a video installation by setting Studio Flash lighting in which connect to the certain frame of the portrait of Jesus Christ in order to flash automatically. I expected that it produce a strong impact on the scene, like ‘The Sound of Silence’ by Alfredo Jaar, at the South London Gallery (16|2|2008 – 6|4|2008). It resulted over as a dream. After enquiring about how to create setting up to a few places, I realised it that unless I have strong financial back up, I can’t do

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whose lowest state is known as vacuum. Normally the term vacuum implies emptiness but the vacuum of QED is anything but empty. Conceptually it is an infinite “ocean” of “nothingness”∗. And yet, it is capable of giving birth to an endless number of photons and electrons. Thus, matter and radiation are both out of the infinite vacuum, and when the particles are destroyed or annihilated, they “return” to the vacuum.

‘Message of the Lord’ by Sathya Sai Baba (b.1926. Puttaparthi. India)  – Page 558
Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publication Trust, (May, 2006), Message of the Lord, As a practical philosophy, 5th ed.

∗ an infinite “ocean” of “nothingness”: The above underlined line is nothing more than the attribute of God to me, and the state before the Big Bang occurred.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba simply put the explanation of QED like in the above line, although the development of particle physics – QED took a century long, comparing to:

QED: Wickipedia (8 October 2008), Quantum electrodynamics, (Internet), Available from <HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_electrodynamics”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_electrodynamics> (Accessed 29 October, 2008)

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it due to expensive soft devise necessary like TV production company using. One day I wish I could. This abortive attempt is the one of my future focus to achieve.

After all this video 2 was not approved in general. The main reason is, I think, simple shapes and symbols are not so exited in the eyes of viewer and above all the phenomenon of optical illusion is the fact of common knowledge. However the last placed symbol, negative portrait of Jesus Christ of which is my most favourite, was decided to use in combining with video 1. It works well both in visually and logically in accordance with the title.

I continue to pursue the realization for what I could not achieve at this time. It means making the setting an automatic trigger of Studio Flash lighting to the certain frame of video in which I attempted at the end of video 1 ‘Optical illusion’, though it’s not successful. Making video installation is my future focus.  For this purpose I need to get a leading back up. So I keep sending my art works to public submission until I get a hopeful situation, means gaining publicity in the art world. My art works are photograph, moving image video or my performance video.