Not barrier-free. SUN Sept. 9, 2018, the roof top closes at 6 PM. Last entry is 30 minutes before the exhibition closes.
Himatsubushi is a Japanese term for playful time killing. Hima emerges when a meeting is canceled, you’re waiting for a delayed train or waiting for the app to be downloaded. These are wasted times, empty times, free times, void times – where nothing needs to be done, times that are not spent efficiently or used productively. For the first time the Ars Electronica Festival is climbing the heights of the roof of POSTCITY. Remote locations directly under the roof of the postal machine also offer exciting views and insights. The Himatsubushi Trail consists of three vital parts – Lab, Trail and Lounge – and promises time to stroll, discover and waste time.
Aerial Being
Yasuhiro Suzuki (JP)
Blending into its surrounding environment due to its transparency, Aerial Being serves to transform familiar places into a fresh scenery that extends beyond context and meaning.
Break Time Experience
Yihyun Lim (US), Kacper Pietrzykowski (PL), Andrea Piccolo (IT), Patrik Dolo (IT), Stella Kim (US), Minh Dinh (VN)
The installation reflects some of the fundamental human values and interactions which are embedded into everyday objects.
Comfort ZONE
MiND X (JP)
Given the choice, would you rather obtain satisfaction through the approval of others, or refuse approval and prioritize personal contemplation?
etheroid
Jun Fujiki (JP), Katsuhiko Tabei (JP), Tomihiro Akagawa (JP)
An etheroid is a device working as a medium to embody the existence of an invisible “something” in space.
Flower of Time
Kyoko Kunoh (JP), Hideaki Ogawa (JP/AT)
This project aims to visualize the sense of time.
Apple Kendama
Yasuhiro Suzuki (JP)
A Kendama is a toy with which one plays on a worldly scale, against the very gravity of the earth.
Balance Scale for Lightness
Yasuhiro Suzuki (JP)
An attempt to reverse the relationship between “heaviness” and “lightness” under water had incidentally resulted in an interesting aspect of the accumulated air overflowing at unexpected times.
Nature's Time Metronome
Yasuhiro Suzuki (JP)
The work considers the means by which we engage with the time inherent within things that appear unmoving, where we cannot measure their change.
Naturalization of Technology Towards Japanese Aesthetics
University of Tsukuba, Ochiai Laboratory, Digital Nature Group (JP)
These prototypes are different from modern standardized social forms, modern mass production formats or mass communication. They define their view of the world as computationally incubated diversity.
Reflect
Noga Sapir (IL)
Reflect is a series of smart knit orbs that combine design and technology to create a unique calming experience. The orbs detect stress and help the user practice relaxation techniques to reduce anxiety.
ONE MINUTE SCULPTURES
Erwin Wurm (AT)
The scultpures are characterized by their absurd and paradox subtle tensions, and represent succinctly drawn instructions for changing protagonists.
Slow Products
Ryo Hashimoto (JP)
This is a proposal for tools that allow to obtain “hima” and an opportunity where each and everyone's mind can freely wander in everyday life.
Mother's Hand Taste (Son-mat)
Jiwon Woo (KR)
Mother's Hand Taste explores the complex relationships between intangible cultural heritage, microbiology, immigration, and notions of a ‘transient self’.
telekniting
Dmitry Morozov / ::vtol:: (RU)
The installation picks up a TV signal in real-time mode and scales it down to a single-pixel image.
The Dive
Lisa Aoyama (JP)
The Dive is a series of tanks filled with blue, viscous liquid, with bubbles being discharged from the bottom.
Himatsubushi – The Art of Time-Killing
Humanity has become richer than ever before due to creative energy and rational/efficient systems. Continuous trial and error have driven us to be more efficient and productive, to the extent where we are overwhelmed by the furious speed of progress. We feel as though we are left behind by the system we’ve generated through history.
Behind this was a big dream. A dream to be freer from labor and stress, a craving for culture and leisure to reclaim our life on a human scale – to become more human. On the other hand, as we are coming closer to realizing this dream, calls are arising for a sense of purpose in life through labor and rationality, also in order to become more human. We are going back and forth, not knowing how to balance the two ambivalent ways of being authentically human.
There are many discussions on labor, productivity, efficiency, optimization, rationalization, for these are the overt characteristics and values of our current society, and topics that are already widely discussed. But is the future of humanity only about such things? How can we highlight the other side of human activities, moments where humans are sensual, relaxed and irrational “beings,” in order to update our discussions?
暇つぶし; Himatsubushi – A Japanese term for a playful time-killing.
Hima emerges when a meeting is canceled, waiting for a delayed train, waiting for the app to be downloaded — these are wasted times, empty times, free times, void times; where there is nothing required to be done, times that need not be spent efficiently or used productively, moments of mind wandering, moments of finding new ways to play, moments of departing from everyday life whilst still being in it. To have another understanding of Himatsubushi and what lies within this moment can bring us new insights into our perspective on the future. Is himatsubushi a beautiful luxury to retain your true self? Is himatsubushi something that should be removed because it’s a waste for productivity? Is himatsubushi a tool for unleashing more productivity and creativity? Is himatsubushi a way to hack the blind belief in optimization or does it assist it instead?
