Truly an artist that lets his work speak for itself, Ryoji Ikeda discussed his innovative approach to art and the messy meaning of his work during last Thursday’s Penny Stamps lecture. One of three stops on his American tour, the Power Center presented Ikeda’s superposition this past weekend. Although Ikeda mentioned his distaste for talking about his work several times throughout the lecture, he managed to offer a basic explanation of the premise behind the complicated and often confusing art he creates. Essentially, Ikeda transforms the overwhelming amount of data that constantly permeates the modern world into art by forming it into a pattern, syncing it with unconventional digital sounds, then projecting it onto an enormous stage through myriad screens varying in size. Infusing bold and often political statements into his work, such as “Religion is a boundary condition” and “Science is a diffusional complicity,” Ikeda pushes his audience to question their current understanding of the world; however, he wants his audience to draw their own conclusions from these questions, which is part of the reason why he rarely talks about his art. This concept constitutes the messy meaning of Ikeda’s art: instead of expressing a single, clear cut meaning of his work, he validates everyone’s unique interpretation.
In addition to this messy meaning, Ikeda’s innovative approach to art is also defined by how he chooses to present his work. Both Ikeda and teachers use data as their medium; however, Ikeda’s creative presentation of data transforms it into art, whereas the way teachers present data foregoes this transformation, so the data remains purely academic. This central aspect of Ikeda’s work manifests the idea that a creative presentation can transform anything into art.
