DVD mixes artistic talents of Korean, Japanese

Japanese art management house Office Tomoe will release a DVD album in March, containing collaboration projects of South Korean and Japanese artists.

The main presentation of the DVD is a poetic music video titled “Landscape on the Way to Sleep,” which features vast landscapes and two people who are described as sages.

Tomoe Shizune, the sole Japanese composer and artist who is carrying on the mainstream Butoh, a neo-expressionist contemporary Japanese dance form, took care of the music and choreography. 

Yook Keun-byung, Korean installation and media artist who was acclaimed in many international stages, including the Sao Paulo Biennale, supervised the filming. The video was shot in different locations in Korea, including Seoul, Jeju Island and Jirisan.

The project was in fact launched in 1994 when Yook and Tomoe’s Butoh Company “Tomoe Shizune & Hakutobo” jointly held a performance in Osaka.

Kim Dae-whan, a Korean percussion musician who pioneered contemporary music here, and Yoshizawa Motoharu, bassist and legendary figure in the Japanese free jazz field, had also participated in the show as guests. Kim and Motoharu, however, died in 2004 and 1998, respectively.

“We were greatly moved and inspired by Yook’s work in the 1994 performance. But a performance can only be enjoyed once, and especially because Kim and Motoharu passed away, we can no longer listen to their music. So we wanted to make their music and performances into a DVD to remember and savor their art longer,” said Kagaya Sanae, president of Office Tomoe.

Actual scenes of the 1994 performance in which the musicians present thrilling and fast-paced ensembles can also be found in the DVD.

The DVD will be released on March 1 in Korea and Japan. For more information, visit www.officetomoe.com.jp or www.tomoe.com.

By Park Min-young  (claire@heraldcorp.com)