アーカイヴ／1980年代－静岡
天地耕作 （第Ⅰ期）
Archives of Amatsuchi Kosaku 1
2019年1月2日－3月24日
静岡市美術館
Shizuoka City Museum of Art
静美プロジェクト７アーカイヴ
天地耕作（1988－2003）
伊藤 鮎（静岡市美術館）
村上誠、村上渡の兄弟と山本裕司の3人によって結成された浜松の美術制作プロジェクト。先祖代々受け継いだ野山に木や藁、石や土などの自然物を使って巨大な構築物を制作した。制作は基本非公開で長期間かけて行われ、オリエンテーリングのような形で作品を鑑賞する機会が設けられたが、アクセスしにくい私有地ということもあり鑑賞体験は非常に限られていた（“草木をかきわけながら約30分”との案内！）。私有地に限らず、グループ展等でも発表を行ったが、構想から制作、そして解体・破壊（焼却）、記録といった一連のプロセスを繰り返し、「作品」「美術館」「展覧会」といった近代的な概念が作り上げた美術を白紙に戻し、人間の創造行為そのものを問い直した。
「なぜ制作するのか」という原初的な問いに立ち返り、自らが生まれ育った環境や風土といったルーツを見つめ直した点は共通しているが、正当な美術教育を受けた山本と、美術外の出自を持つ村上兄弟とでは多少立ち位置が異なり、共同体でありながら実際の耕作物は別々に制作された。
彼らの作品はランド・アートにも通じるが、ランド・アートが美術の枠組みを拡張するなかで生まれ、大地そのものをアートの域にまで高めることを目的としたとすれば、美術を解体し、美術以前の創造行為を目指した天地耕作とは似て非なるものと言える。
また作品の解体前には身体遊戯と呼ばれる地域に伝わる伝統芸能のようなパフォーマンスが行われるなど、彼らの活動は民俗学や文化人類学、哲学、生物学など他領域との積極的な接続がみられる。近代の美術を疑い、日々の営みとしての労働（制作）が人知れず行われ、そして一定期間を経て消えていく―天地耕作の活動自体が、見ることの許されない祭り（秘儀）のような性格を帯びている。作品を閉ざすほど神秘性は高まるが、不定期で希望者に届けられる制作通信『耕作だより』というメディアで情報発信を行うなど、その閉ざし方は戦略的である。
2000年以降、地域の町おこしと一体となった芸術祭の隆盛に連動し、その土地の歴史や風俗をリサーチし、そこから作品を制作する作家が増えている。こうした関心のルーツを80年代に辿ることは可能だが、しかし彼らの作品は芸術祭という舞台において「見せる」ことを念頭においた作品である。徹底的にローカルに徹し、「見せない」ことにこだわり続けた天地耕作は、現在から見てもどの文脈にも回収できない特異な存在といえる。
Shizubi Project 7 Archives / The Art Scene in the 1980s Shizuoka
Amatsuchi-Kosaku (1988-2003)
Ayu Ito / Shizuoka City Museum of Art
This art production project in Hamamatsu was formed by two brothers, Makoto and Wataru Murakami, and Yuji Yamamoto. They made a huge structure on a field using natural objects such as trees, straw, stones, and soil, which were passed down from generation to generation. The production was basically worked on for a long time while not being open to the public. There were few opportunities to appreciate their work in ways like orienteering, and in addition, it was not easy to reach the site where their work was, taking a 30-minute walk through overgrown weeds. They displayed their work not only on private land but also at group exhibitions. However, they repeated a series of processes from conception, production, dismantling or destruction (incineration) and recording.
They sent modern concepts of art such as "work", "museums" and "exhibitions" back to the drawing board, and re-sought a form of creative action by human beings.
They have something in common in that they went back to the original question of "why should we create?" and reconsidered the roots of the environment and climate in which they were born and raised.
In time, it was shown that Yamamoto, who had received a higher art education, and the Murakami brothers, who had non-art origins, had slightly different stances. Although they were from the same community, the actual work they produced was done separately.
Their work may resemble land art. However, land art was born as an attempt to expand the framework of art, and their purpose was to raise the earth itself to the realm of art.
It can be said that Amatsuchi-Kosaku is not the same as land art because of their aim for creative action, which dates back to before the creation of art.
In addition, before dismantling their work, they hold a performance called "Shintai Yugi (body play)", which is a traditional form of entertainment passed down in the area.We can see that their activities are positively connected with other study fields such as folklore, cultural anthropology, philosophy, and biology. With apprehension for modern art, during the process of Amatsuchi-Kosaku, labor (production) is performed inwardly as part of daily activities, and it disappears after a certain period of time. The activities themselves have the characteristic of being like a traditional festival (or a covert ritual) where general people aren't allowed to participate. The more closed the work is, the more mysterious it becomes. They irregularly send information to people who want it through a form of media called a "Kosaku (agricultural) Newsletter". This way of disclosing information is somewhat strategic.
Since 2000, more and more artists started to be involved in art festivals that aimed at the revitalization of a local town. They study the history and traditions of the area, and produce works based on them. It is possible to trace back the roots of such artworks to the 1980s, and the works were intended to be "displayed" on the stage of an art festival. Amatsuchi-Kosaku focused on "not being displayed", but rather they thoroughly devote themselves to "local lifestyles"; thus, it is unique in that it cannot be categorized in any context, nor even be retrospectively seen from the present.
