Thursday, September 26, 6pm | Tomomi Adachi and Takahiko Iimura in person!
In a rare joint appearance, filmmaking luminary Takahiko Iimura and Tokyo-based sound artist Tomomi Adachi present an evening of films and performances. Since the early 1960s, Iimura has been renowned for his groundbreaking films and videos, ranging from surreal underground narratives to elegant explorations of time and perception, many produced with performance artists and avant-garde composers. Adachi has garnered similar acclaim for his work with voice, electronics, and self-made instruments. The two will present four of Iimura’s early films, a selection of Adachi’s sound works, including the Chicago premiere of the ten-voice Song for Everyone, and a new collaboration for film, voice, and electronics.
Co-presented with the experimental music series Lampo with support from SAIC’s Department of Sound.
1962–2013, Japan/USA, multiple formats, 90 min + discussion
TAKAHIKO IIMURA (b. 1937, Tokyo, Japan) is a pioneering figure in the world of experimental and underground cinema in the United States and Japan. He began making films in Tokyo in the early 1960s and played an important role in the establishment of a number the city’s seminal film collectives and screening series. Iimura moved to the United States in 1966 where he became an established fixture of New York’s experimental film scene. His works span film, video, and computer art and have been exhibited widely, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Centre George Pompidou, Paris; and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo; among many others. He divides his time between New York and Tokyo.
TOMOMI ADACHI (b. 1972, Kanazawa, Japan) is a performer, composer, sound poet, installation artist, and theater director, working in voice, live electronics, and self-made instruments. He founded the punk-style choir “Adachi Tomomi Royal Chorus” in 1997 and the “Ensemble for Experimental Music and Theater” in 2011. Adachi has collaborated with numerous sound artists, dancers, and theater troupes and has presented works around the world, including at the Tate Modern, London; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; ZKM, Karlsruhe; Museum of Art Osaka; La Mama Theatre Melbourne; among others. He lives in Tokyo and Berlin.