FILTER PRESS

Takagi Masakatsu Opus Pia DVD

About

Along with the Opus Pia audio CD, this DVD (a first for Carpark) realizes one of Takagi Masakatsu’s core beliefs: tiny miracles in daily life.

Only 23 years old, Takagi Masakatsu has presented his sound and video works in art galleries and clubs throughout Japan, America, and Europe. Opus Pia is the beginning of one of his lifelong projects. The first Opus Pia series contains Pia #1-11; each piece is a meditation on sampled moments taking place throughout the world. One can liken each “Pia” to a little travelogue or slice of cinema verite. Takagi has composed “opus pia” #1-11 out of raw footage from his travels (this “opus pia” taken primarily from nepal and cuba.) shots of life, with and without people, move seamlessly with takagi’s own piano and computer music to create a captivating dance that blurs the distinction between documentary and fiction.

In Takagi’s own words, “as SILICOM (name of unit i’ve been working in since 1999) i’ve created video works with lots of computer effects. In this Opus Pia, I didn’t use any effects on the image. I just used the intact video images. It is kind of hard for me to present these movies because I used to regard them as a ‘material’ not a ‘stand-alone work.’ this time, I used my oldest computer sounds, as I could recognize the vision of linking by computerized sounds and natural images in my last travels around the world.” Alternating between the harmonically sublime and the day to day, Opus Pia makes our world that much smaller.

Artist Bio

1979
Born in Kyoto.

1999
Start sound and image project “SILICOM” with AOKI takamasa (sound).

2001 Jan.
Release SILICOM DVD from PROGRESSIVE FOrM in Tokyo (1/25).

2001 Aug.
First solo exhibition [pia] curated by Minoru Hatanaka (ICC) (Pepper’s Gallery, Ginza Tokyo)

2001 Oct.
New video and sound installation [JOURNAL FOR PEOPLE] (art space ‘Zone’, Roppongi, Tokyo)
Release solo album [ pia / takagi masakatsu] (audio CD and video CD-ROM) from Carpark(NY)
Touring among 12 cities in US and Canada for live performance

2001 Nov.
Live performance at “7th Istanbul Biennial” closing event

2002 May
Release audio CD and DVD [opus pia] from Carpark, NY.

2002.Apr.
Commission work for NHK TV program [Encounter the Beauty] opening video and music, and on air for one year

2002 June
Release audio CD and LP [eating] from Karaoke kalk, Germany

2002 July
[JOURNAL FOR PEOPLE] CD/DVD will be released from daisyworld discs/ cutting edge
[Image Garden-Inspired by Derek Jarman’s films] compilation DVD by three video artists released from UPLINK

2002 Aug.
New video installation [ light park ] shown at Mito Contemporary Art Gallery (10 Aug. – 23 Sep.).
Video and sound works collaborating with ‘Agnes b.’ developed at Agnes B.’s shops in Japan (22 Aug. – 31 Oct.).

2002 Oct.
Participate in the opening event at the new art center “Esplanade” in Singapore.

2002 Nov.
Live performance tour among Europe including 8 nations, 18 cities.

2003 Jan.
Video installation [ world is so beautiful ] at Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Contemporary Art (11 Jan. – 23 Mar.)


Tracklist

1. Pia #01

2. Pia #02

3. Pia #03

4. Pia #04

5. Pia #05

6. Pia #06

7. Pia #07

8. Pia #08

9. Pia #09

10. Pia #10

11. Pia #11