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Genpei Akasegawa (赤瀬川 原平 Akasegawa Genpei?) is a pseudonym of Japanese conceptual artist Katsuhiko Akasegawa (赤瀬川 克彦 Akasegawa Katsuhiko?) (born March 27, 1937 in Yokohama). He used another pen name Katsuhiko Otsuji (尾辻 克彦 Otsuji Katsuhiko?) for novels.

Contents

History

During the 1960s, Akasegawa became involved within the Neo-Dada movement. He formed the Hi-Red Center with Jiro Takamatsu and Natsuyuki Nakanishi during this time, which was a group of artists that presented their works as a collective in Japan; they performed happenings within the Hi-Red Center. Genpei was also associated with the avant-garde.

In 1980s he came up with an idea of Hyper-Art (chōgeijutsu), an ordinary but useless street object that happened to look like a conceptual artwork. He called such things Tomasons, (named for Yomiuri Giants outfielder Gary Thomasson) and published photographs of them first within the magazine Shashin Jidai and later within books.

As "Katsuhiko Otsuji," he received the Akutagawa Prize in 1981 for his short story, "Chichi ga kieta".

"Thousand-Yen Bill Incident"

In January 1963, Akasegawa sent out invitations to a solo exhibition at a gallery in Tokyo. The announcement was delivered to several close friends in a cash envelope that was mailed through the postal service.1 The announcement itself was a 1,000 yen note reproduced in monochromatic colors on the front, with relevant information regarding the exhibit on the back. He produced four more during the next year.

In January 1964, his 1,000 yen note partial reproductions became noticed by the police and he was indicted for counterfeiting stemming from the 1894 Law Controlling the Imitation of Currency and Securities.2 The language of the law was quite vague, prohibiting any manufacture or sale of objects with an exterior front that may “be confused for currency or securities.” In August 1966, he went on trial for what was dubbed the "Thousand-Yen Bill Incident." In June 1967, he was found guilty, but appealed twice. The decision was upheld in 1970.

References

  1. ^ Tomii, Reiko. "Guilty Verdict: Akasegawa Genpei and the 1000-Yen-Note Trial." 1997. Session 179: A Public Passionately Concerned with Itself: Japan's Public Sphere in the 1960s. 6 Nov. 2006.
  2. ^ Marotti, William A. "Simulacra and subversion in the everyday: Akasegawa Genpei's 1000-yen copy, critical art, and the State." Postcolonial Studies: Culture, Politics, Economy 4.2 (July 2001): 211-239.

Bibliography

  • Obuje o motta musansha (オブジェを持った無産者). Tokyo: Gendai Shisōsha, 1970.
  • Tuihō sareta yajiuma (追放された野次馬). Tokyo: Gendai Hyōronsha, 1972.
  • Sakura gahō gekidō no sen nihyaku gojū ichi (桜画報・激動の千二百五十日). Tokyo: Seirindō, 1974.
  • Yume dorobo: Suimin hakubutsushi (夢泥棒：睡眠博物誌). Tokyo: Gakugei Shorin, 1975.
  • Chōgeijutsu Tomason (超芸術トマソン). Tokyo: Byakuya Shobō, 1985. Reissue: Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō, 1987. ISBN 4-480-02189-2.
  • Tōkyō mikisā keikaku (東京ミキサー計画). Tokyo: Parco, 1984. Reissue: Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō, 1994. ISBN 4-480-02935-4.

External links

  • Profile in Japanese and English for the International Triennale of Contemporary Art, Yokohama 2001.
  • Chandler, Brian. "Photo collections". Reviews of two books of Akasegawa's photographs.
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