INDEX
Practicing concepts such as “Shogyo Mujo” ” nothingness,” and “zero” in the context of art.
Celeina: You are practicing liberation from existing meanings with your own body.
Tanaka: That’s right! You both understand very quickly.
Celeina: Thank you very much. Do you perhaps have the predisposition to be able to move toward meaninglessness?
Tanaka: I think we all have it, actually.
Celeina: You are right, everyone has something hidden somewhere, and you seem to be releasing it.
Tanaka: I think it would be interesting if there were a genre of “nonsense” as one of things like Japanese, English, physical education, music, and art. So recently, I have been giving lectures called “nonsense juku” at several schools and universities.
Celeina: Are you saying that it is derived from the idea of “nothingness” that is at the root of Japanese culture?
Tanaka: That is also true. I think Japanese people place a lot of importance on concepts such as “Shogyo Mujo” “nothingness” and “zero. I am doing this because it is interesting to see what happens when you put them into practice in the context of art.
Takano: May I say something strange? I think it is very meaningful to talk about meaninglessness.
Tanaka: Sometimes people think so, but later when I go to bed, I feel like it was meaningless after all lhaha). For a moment it seems very meaningful, but when I think about it later, I often wonder what that time was all about.
