2010-06-20

Blast from the Past: Ueno

A blast from the past: an installation proposal by Mikael Askergren (1994) for the great rotunda in the Spiral Garden art gallery in Tokyo:

(a) 10 chairs
(b) 10 business suits
(c) 10 anonymous men from Iran

Anonymous Iranians shall remain seated at all times (staff monitor and supervise visits to lavatories, etc.). The dress and appearance of anonymous Iranians shall be neat, uniform, and attractive.

Mikael Askergren, Stockholm 1994-10-31.

Footnote (1). The above proposal for a temporary art installation in the great rotunda of the Spiral Garden art gallery in Tokyo, Japan (title of installation: Ueno) was a competition entry by Mikael Askergren for the 4th international Japan Art Scholarship competition 1994. Mikael Askergren’s competition entry was rejected by the competition's jury.

Footnote (2). Tokyo’s Ueno Park is notorious for its homeless illegal immigrants, many of them from Iran. More about illegal immigrants in Tokyo’s Ueno Park (Wikipedia): Iranians in Japan