From 8 November, Katarzyna Krakowiak-Bałka’s latest work, “Keeping Flowers Alive. Acoustic Ikebana” will be on display in Tokyo. The artist will transform the “Heaven” indoor stone garden with the sound of her “acoustic ikebana.” The installation will be installed in Sogetsu Plaza, the headquarters of the Sogetsu Foundation, which specialises in the art of ikebana. The project is carried out by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in collaboration with the Zachęta National Gallery of Art and with the support of the Polish Institute in Tokyo. The exhibition’s launch will be accompanied by a series of concerts and performances at the Sogetsu Plaza from 8 to 10 November 2024.
Katarzyna Krakowiak-Bałka works at the intersection of architecture and sound. She creates sculptures, performances, compositions, and sound installations. Her works often take the form of large-scale installations that seamlessly integrate into existing buildings and structures. The artist’s aim is to create spaces that allow viewers-listeners to become a part of her works of art and engage with architecture through sound.
The artist’s most recent project – an electro-acoustic installation, “Keeping Flowers Alive. Acoustic Ikebana” – will be presented in the space of the “Heaven” stone garden designed by Isamu Noguchi. It is an architectural masterpiece and an exhibition space in which ikebana, objects, and performances can be put on display. The central element of the installation will be the sound of so-called acoustic ikebana, emitted by speakers distributed throughout the garden, taking full advantage of its shape and furnishings, including the flowing water in which they will be immersed. “Acoustic ikebana” is an acoustic representation of the analysis of the geometry of floral compositions and the sounds of nature, insects, and plants.
The installation will be accompanied by concerts and performances, which will take place on 8, 9, and 10 November 2024. Singers (Isabelle Duthoit, Michał Sławecki, Asthma, Yuusari) and dancers (Hikaru Kawasaki, KAi MiWA) will interact with the installation, adding their voices and filling the space with movement.
Central to the project is the “Heaven” stone garden at the Sogetsu Plaza, run by Artistic Director Kiri Teshigahara. Sogetsu Plaza is an art centre that specializes in teaching the art of ikebana. The acoustic intervention in the monumental setting of Isamu Noguchi’s space is an opportunity to enter into a dialogue with the history of architecture and the history of the global avant-garde. The artist takes into account the historical context of Sogetsu as a post-war art centre, while drawing attention to the new meanings evoked by acoustic ikebana models. Symbolically, she also allocates symbolic space to the female students of the ikebana school, frequently overlooked in the history of Sogetsu.
The installation will be on display from 8 to 18 November 2024.
Installation “Keeping Flowers Alive. Acoustic Ikebana”
Organizer: Adam Mickiewicz Institute
Collaboration: Kiri Teshigahara, artistic director of Sogetsu Foundation
Partners: Zachęta National Gallery of Art, EIDOTECH Polska, Plissé Lognon, workshop of Maison Lemarié, SORA BOTANICAL GARDEN Project, Polish Institute in Tokyo, Timmpi
Curators: Paweł Pachciarek, Miki Kaneda
Singers: Isabelle Duthoit, Michał Sławecki, Asthma, Yuusari
Performers: Hikaru Kawasaki, KAi MiWA
Costume designers: Anna Zeman, Tomasz Armada
Acoustic supervision: Albert Karch
Technical Collaboration: archAKUSTIK, Professor Andrzej Kłosak
Visual Identity: Renata Motyka
Programme of events:
8 November 2024
- 16:00 – 17:00 Opening concert, Sogetsu Plaza (1st floor)
9 November 2024
- 11:00 – 12:00 Matinée concert
- 16:00 – 17:00 Afternoon concert
10 November 2024
- 11:00 – 12:00 Matinée concert
- 16:00 – 17:00 Afternoon concert