[Signed] System of Culture: Book 2 Regular Edition

About the productJapanese

A collection of System of Culture's works from 2017 to 2023. Includes commentary and commentary by Murakami Yuzuru (art critic/assistant professor at Akita Prefectural University of Art) and Osawa Sayoko (curator at Yokohama Museum of Art).

While still-life photography is at the core of System of Culture's work, it also references the vast amount of images and theories that have been accumulated and disseminated to this day, and by turning these relationships into artworks, it encourages a change in perspective.

Murakami Yuzu, a photography researcher and art critic, said, "The 2010s, when System of Culture began its activities, was a time when it became normal for all images and information to circulate as equivalent on social media such as Tumblr, Instagram, and YouTube," and that this had a major impact on System of Culture. Therefore, he finds the artist's distinctive feature in that he is "conscious of the form of input and its effects, in which we are constantly exposed to images that have been stripped of authority through feeds optimized by algorithms," and that he is an artist who questions "how can we demonstrate our presence in such a muddy torrent of images?"

This different way of interacting with photography than existed before social media is reminiscent of the existence of conceptual art that emerged after the modernist era.

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Conceptual art gave photography the function of asking questions rather than simply capturing the world. And it became up to us, the viewers, to give meaning to those questions. The viewers' awareness of the act of looking. After the advent of Conceptual Art, photographic expression was based on a tension between the photographer and the viewer.

(Omitted)

We believe that System of Culture's place as artists is in the horizon that was born after this history. In an age where anyone can take a photo, while being aware of the nature of photography, they actively "play" with history and other genres, absorbing information that pervades daily life without discrimination, and using photography to express their own experiences and concepts. When we look at the works of System of Culture, we are tempted to look for potential stories and themes.
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Excerpt from System of Culture "Book 2"
- Sayoko Osawa (Curator, Yokohama Museum of Art)

As Murakami and Osawa state in their writings, System of Culture's work questions the very meaning of the existence of the medium of "photography" in the modern age.
--From the introduction to the System of Culture solo exhibition "Exhibit 6"

The works of System of Culture, while centered around still life photography, draw upon a vast accumulation of images and theories that have been continuously disseminated and referenced up to the present day, perspectives transforming on things by materializing the relationships between them.

Yuzu Murakami, who is active in photography research and art criticism, notes that “The 2010s, when System of Culture began its activities, was an era where all kinds of images and information reviewed as equivalents on social media platforms such as Tumblr, Instagram, and YouTube.” He suggests that this had a significant impact on System of Culture. examined, the artist is conscious of the input format and its effects, as they are continually exposed to deauthorized images through feeds optimized by algorithms. The artist is characterized by questioning how they can assert their presence amidst the torrent of images.

This approach to photography, distinct from the pre-SNS era, evokes the presence of Conceptual Art that emerged after the era of Modernism.

“Conceptual Art not only captures the world but also poses questions through photography. And it is us, the viewers, who give meaning to those questions. It's about the awareness of the act of seeing on the part of the viewer. Post-Conceptual Art photography expression emerged from the tension between the photographer and the viewer.

….

I believe System of Culture occupies a space as an artist in the horizon born after this history. In an era where anyone can take photographs, we must be aware of the nature of photography, actively “playing” with references to history and other genres, absorbing the information that spreads throughout our daily lives without distinction, and using photography to express our own experiences and concepts. When we see the works of System of Culture, we are tempted to search for underlying narratives and themes.”
Excerpt from System of Culture’s “Book 2” – Sayoko Ōsawa (Curator, Yokohama Museum of Art)

As stated in the texts by Murakami and Ōsawa, System of Culture's works question the existence of the medium of “photography” in this day and age.
- Referenced from the introduction to System of Culture's exhibition “EXHIBIT 6”

Product Information

release date Available now

Part numberGPHT11881W-9784600014131

Specification Photo │ System of Culture
Translation │ Robert Zetzsche
Size: 279 x 200mm
Number of pages │ 108
Bookbinding │ Hardcover
Language │ Japanese and English

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