MEATSPACE
In a bland district west of neon-soaked Shinjuku, NTT's InterCommunication Center rests above the Tokyo Opera, attracting museum-goers who favor echoless sound studios and 3-D goggles over traditional canvas and marble. After six months of renovations, the telecom giant recently reopened the center, one of only a handful of galleries dedicated exclusively to high tech art.
Its interior is minimalist - blond-wood floors, bare white walls, with a subtle network of exposed girders that double as camera and projector mounts. Two exhibition spaces host large installations, and five smaller rooms house virtual reality pieces, sound compositions, and kinetic sculpture. A timeline representing the history of technology in art - from the Constructivist movement and its fascination with machines to space imaging and artificial intelligence - runs the length of a glass-covered showcase in the lobby floor.
Though technology at the center seldom breaks new ground, when applied to the realm of art it feels remarkably fresh. One presentation space is equipped with a Cave Automatic Virtual Environment VR system, a 10- by 10- by 9-foot surround-screen theater powered by a Silicon Graphics Onyx. "NTT-ICC really helped foster a whole new art form" with the addition of CAVE, explains Kyoto-based media artist Christa Sommerer.
NTT's renovations, which reduced exhibition space by about 30 percent and added a product showroom, reflect a sagging Japanese economy that has seen many galleries close. "Its real impact lies not in the size of its exhibition space," says Sommerer, "but in its cultural and educational output, publications, newsletters, symposia, conferences, and exhibitions."
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