On Tuesday September 15, a "Dinh Q. Lê: Memory for Tomorrow" MAMC night was held for members of the MAMC Mori Art Museum Membership Program. The following is a report on the night, with accompanying photographs.
The first part of the evening consisted of a gallery tour guided by "Dinh Q. Lê: Memory for Tomorrow" curator Araki Natsumi.
Before entering the exhibition, the curator Araki spoke of Dinh Q. Lê's beginnings: how he was born in Vietnam and fled to the United States with his family at the age of 10.
The Scroll of Thich Quang Duc and The Scroll of Phan Thi Kim Phuc from the artist's "Scroll" series each use an entire 50-meter roll of photo printing paper.
Works produced by Dinh Q. Lê during his years as a student at the University of California, Santa Barbara were placed around the campus and local neighborhood at the time, and were no longer in the possession of the artist himself, but believing them to be works of some significance, one of Lê's teachers had apparently preserved them until now.
Vietnam War Posters made by Dinh Q. Lê as a student.
Members at the migrant and refugee-themed work Erasure, picking up photos acquired from Vietnamese antique shops by Lê.
Everything Is a Re-Enactment is a new work filmed in Japan. The work focuses on a Japanese military re-enactor, and was shot by artist Fujii Hikaru as cinematographer.
Dinh Q. Lê's latest work Everything Is a Re-Enactment
Barricade, made from French colonial furniture used in Vietnam
In the second part of the program, a talk event, Dinh Q. Lê took questions from the audience.
In a new initiative, MAMC members were asked to think of questions for the artist as they went round the gallery, write these down on a sheet after the viewing, and submit for answering. This proved a popular approach, participants finding it easier to ask questions this time because they were in writing, rather than in person directly - which many people tend to find more difficult.
Members were invited to think of questions for Dinh Q. Lê during the gallery tour.
When you actually come face to face with an artwork, it's usual to have some query, or want to ask the artist what they were thinking, isn't it?
This exercise doubtless helped participants experience for themselves a way of enjoying art only possible with contemporary art.
Here is just one of the questions for Lê.
From Erasure
Q. Did you find any photos of people you knew? And why are the photos displayed face down?
A. Unfortunately I have yet to find any photos of my family, but some people have indeed found family photos, and one person found a picture of themselves as a nine-year-old from among the photographs in the catalogue.
I'd like lots of people, especially Vietnamese living overseas, to access the photo archive and find photos of family members.
The photos are face down because I wanted people to actively lean over and pick them up to look, and to engage with each photo as a one-on-one individual experience.
At the talk event
Being a members-only event, at times curator Araki came out with things not discussed at ordinary museum events. Participants were particularly eager to hear behind-the-scenes stories from filming of Dinh Q. Lê's new work, and most would probably agree that they were privy to some very valuable discussions.
Araki Natsumi (left) and Dinh Q. Lê (right)
The next MAMC night will be "Takashi Murakami: The 500 Arhats" and is scheduled for February 16, 2016. More details will be e-mailed to members as they become available. Don't miss out!
Text: Imamura Akiko (Marketing Group, Mori Art Museum)
Photo: Mikuriya Shinichiro
■Relevant Information
・Dinh Q. Lê: Memory for Tomorrow
(Exhibition Period: Saturday, July 25 - Monday, October 12, 2015)
・MAMC Members-only Event "Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale 2015 Tour" Photo Report
