MAT (MEDIA AMBITION TOKYO 2017), a month-long exhibition and demonstration of cutting-edge technology art, primarily featuring works by Japanese digital creators, kicked off on February 11th on the 52nd floor of Roppongi Hills at 10 locations in Tokyo, including Roppongi, Shibuya, Ginza, and Odaiba. Now in its fifth year, the exhibition has previously featured leading media artists such as Rhizomatiks, teamLab, and WOW. Access is free with the admission fee to Tokyo City View, the observation deck on the 52nd floor of Roppongi Hills, and the exhibition's use of the night view is gaining in popularity every year. Offering a different experience from traditional art museums and galleries, the technology event attracted 80,000 visitors last year at Roppongi Hills alone. At the Roppongi Hills venue, WOW collaborated with Lexus to exhibit a device that allowed viewers to experience Tokyo-themed motion graphics on a dome-shaped monitor. Other exhibits include a floating-themed installation by Yoichi Ochiai, a proponent of digital nature; three works by Takram, which practices the concept of design engineering; and a video work by Tetsuya Komuro and Rei Wakita, who exhibited at this year's Ars Electronica. The "Android Experiments OBJECT" section showcases four ideas that won the grand prize in a Google-sponsored contest. These exhibits showcase products with practical applications in sight, including a small microphone device that attaches to the collar of clothing and generates personalized English conversations, and an app that links maternity badges to smartphones. Additionally, this exhibition showcases numerous student works by young artists representing the next generation. The Yoichi Ochiai Laboratory at the University of Tsukuba showcases ideas that could be put to practical use right away, such as using silkworms as 3D printers to create 3D artwork, and 3D printing using shape-memory alloys. As part of the MAT project, the "Student CG Contest Award-Winning Works Exhibition / Campus Genius Meeting" will be held at the Miraikan (National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation) for three days on February 24th, 25th, and 26th. The event also serves as an experimental approach to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with talk events aimed at "exploring the potential of technology as a forum for free demonstration experiments that transcend genres and borders" (Tanigawa Junji, MAT Executive Committee member). Rhizomatiks CEO Saito Seiichi stated, "The 2020 Tokyo Olympics must utilize the entire city of Tokyo." Workshops are planned during the event to explore how AI, 3D data, ICT, and the Internet of Things (IoT) will impact architecture. Among the works on display from overseas is David Letellier's kinetic sculpture "Versus," featuring two giant flower sculptures facing each other and communicating with each other by using sensors to detect sounds and movements in the venue. This work, the only one at the venue to feature interactive elements, was awarded the Ars Electronica Prize in 2012, and stood out as an artistic work in contrast to the other works' more commercial approaches. Leterrier, who also works under various names as a musician, performed live with Shibuya Keiichiro at a live event held on the evening of the first day, the 11th. The work is also linked to the 6th "Digital Shock," a Japanese-French media festival being held at the Institut Français Tokyo and other venues as a related event of MAT from February 10th to March 20th. The Institut Français will host installations, live performances, and lectures on the theme of the emotional relationship between robots and humans.
【Event Information】
MEDIA AMBITION TOKYO 2017
■Roppongi Venue
Roppongi Hills, 52nd Floor, Tokyo City View
Address: 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
<Exhibition>
Dates: February 11th to March 12th
Time: 10:00 to 22:00
Admission: Free (Tokyo City View admission fee required separately)
<All Venues>*Event periods vary by venue
01. Roppongi Hills
02. ART & SCIENCE GALLERY LAB AXIOM (Roppongi)
03. Institut Français du Japon (Iidabashi)
04. Shibuya Hikarie (Shibuya)
05. Laforet Museum Harajuku (Harajuku)
06. Daikanyama T-site (Daikanyama) />07. TeamLab (Suidobashi)
08. Miraikan (Odaiba)
09. Apple Store, Ginza (Ginza)
10. Digital Hollywood (Ochanomizu)

Text: Tatsuya Noda