March 11 ? Sept. 12, 2010 - Fondation Cartier pour l'art ...

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EXHIBITION MARCH 11 > SEPT. 12, 2010 BEAT TAKESHI KITANO GOSSE DE PEINTRE — With joy, humor and seriousness, Beat Takeshi Kitano has thrown himself into Gosse de peintre, an unusual project that subtly, if impertinently, alights in the realm of childhood. Entirely created by Beat Takeshi Kitano, this site-specific exhibition for the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain will be presented from March 11 to September 12, 2010. With paintings and videos, bizarre objects and settings, whimsical and fantastic machines, Kitano leads the visitor through surprises, gags and games, all the while mocking contemporary art, experimenting with the sciences and toying with clichés associated with his country, Japan. A SingulAr PerSonAlity Filmmaker, actor, TV presenter, comedian, painter, writer, Takeshi Kitano, also known as Beat Takeshi, is a singular personality. Famous throughout the world for his films, Beat Takeshi Kitano commands an unequalled popularity in Japan as a comic and TV celebrity. Irrepressibly curious, passionate about the acquisition and passing on of knowledge, he adroitly switches genres and idioms, moving from violence to comedy, from over-the-top performances to deeply restrained ones. An invitAtion from the fondAtion CArtier While this insatiable artist finds inspiration everywhere, two leitmotifs occur frequently in his work: his fascination and nostalgia for childhood, and his relationship with the image, which is fundamental to his creative approach. This passion for the image is also evidenced by a prolific output of paintings, many of which appear in his films. Reluctant to institutionalize his artwork, which he deems essentially a private endeavor, Kitano has never submitted to the numerous requests of museums to exhibit his work. His decision to accept the Fondation Cartier’s invitation resulted from meeting with its director, Hervé Chandès, and their numerous discussions during which arose the idea of a site-specific exhibition geared toward children, designed as one gigantic installation. A multifACeted ProjeCt In creating Gosse de peintre, a multifaceted project with clear autobiographical references, Beat Takeshi Kitano subverts the very idea of an exhibition. He has transformed the museum into an amusement park in which all the worlds of Beat Takeshi Kitano take center stage. Popular culture and scientific inquiry, the imaginary and the satirical, tradition and education, the beautiful and the kitsch, all co-exist in a setting that is at once diverse and cohesive. Meandering along a path studded with bizarre images, interactive workshops, gags and games, visitors enter a universe 1 as joyful as it is rich and complex. Populated by imaginary animals amidst an array of inventions, sideshows and musings, Beat Takeshi Kitano’s exhibition is like a gigantic self-portrait, an expression of his dreams, ideas, and fantasies both as a child and an adult. The autobiographical nature of the exhibition is demonstrated through references to his childhood and hints to events in his life and even his name, which appears on objects and within the exhibition decor. This first exhibition of Beat Takeshi Kitano is one of the most ambitious projects ever created for the Fondation Cartier. It is designed for children, but speaks to adults. With Gosse de peintre, Beat Takeshi Kitano takes children seriously and invites them to think, to dream and to join the show. — ACtivitieS for Children March > Sept. 2010 In the context of the exhibition Beat Takeshi Kitano, Gosse de peintre, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain invites young visitors to discover today’s art in new ways. Workshops and guided tours for children and families are offered to the public on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. For further information: fondation.cartier.com/enfants Practical information. Admission: 7 €. Advance booking essential. Visitors’ Department: Tel. + 33 (0)1 42 18 56 67 info.reservation@fondation.cartier.com — exhibition FONDATION CARTIER POuR l’ART CONTEMPORAIN General Director: Hervé Chandès / Curator: Isabelle Gaudefroy / Production Manager: Camille Chenet; intern: Alexandra Fouillade-Meyer / Production and Installation Coordinator: Christophe Morizot / Interpreter: Asuka Abe / Registrar: Corinne Bocquet, Alanna Minta Jordan; intern: Flora Katz / Installation: Gilles Gioan / lighting: Nicolas Tauveron / Soundtracks: Cristián Sotomayor / Sound Technician: Cyril Chiron OFFICE KITANO General Director: Masayuki Mori / Production Managers: Makoto Kakurai, Aya Nakahashi, Jun Ogawa / Director of Production: Satoru Maruyama (ACS Inc.) / Director of Exhibition Design: Hironori Takamatsu (ACS Inc.)
INSTAllATIONS / PAINTINGS / VIDEOS THE EXHIBITION — Described by Kitano as a “series of dreams,” the exhibition allows the discovery of a collection of objects born straight from his imagination. The entire ground floor is surmounted by three large rings that support some two hundred figurines called dharma, who seem to be looking over the visitors and the exhibition. Very popular in Japan, these lucky charms are named after the founder of Zen, Bodhidharma who, having meditated for nine years while facing a wall, saw his legs and arms atrophy. Conventionally, these Japanese figurines are red and their eyes remain unpainted, allowing those who buy the charms first to make a wish while painting the left eye and once the wish is granted, finish by painting the right eye. upon entering the small gallery, the visitor is greeted by a model of Beat Takeshi Kitano which is observing his own brain and is engaged in an internal dialogue: Who are You Who is Looking at Me?! This “self-portrait with brain” hints at the spirit of the exhibition, a veritable journey into the heart of Kitano’s imaginary world. Following his 1994 motorcycle accident, Kitano refused to have a craniotomy. “It’s true that if my surgeon sees these paintings, he’ll probably think he should have operated on me right away!” Beat Takeshi Kitano In the same room, a recalcitrant criminal escapes hanging (Beat Takeshi Kitano’s way of taking on the death penalty which remains in force in Japan). A preview of the latest model of the “safest driver’s seat on the planet” is also on display. 2 On the small stage of the Ô-Edo Puppet Theater, a wild array of Japanese masks—traditional figures from kabuki theater, folk characters, deities from Japanese mythology—create a beguiling, emblematic composition. The term Ô-Edo refers to the name of Tokyo during the Edo period (1600-1868). Continuing, the visitor comes upon Kitano’s theory on the disappearance of the dinosaurs, as well as the Japanese Imperial Army’s secret plans to transform animals into weapons. Seventeen never-before-seen creatures, along with the blueprints that served to make them, are displayed in a large showcase fashioned after the façade of the early-20th-century Japanese Naval Ministry building.
Page 1: March 11 › Sept. 12, 2010
Page 5 and 6: At a stand in the garden, visitors
Page 7 and 8: BIOGRAPHY — the beginningS Born i
Page 9 and 10: CuRRENT EVENTS — In cinemas tAkeS

March 11 ? Sept. 12, 2010 - Fondation Cartier pour l'art ...

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