MIT Artist Joan Jonas Receives Japan’s Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy
November 18 2018 - 12:05AM
Business Wire
100 million yen prize (about US$880,000)
recognizes pioneering contributions to new forms of artistic
expression
The Inamori Foundation today announced that it has presented its
34th annual Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy to Joan Jonas, a
professor emerita at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, during
a Sat., Nov. 10 ceremony here.
Jonas has exerted a pioneering influence on contemporary visual
arts for nearly 50 years. In the early 1970s she established a new
artistic form by integrating performance art and video. Her
Vertical Roll (1972) is regarded as an archetype in the history of
video art, integrating a live performance with its real-time video
screened on a TV monitor onstage — including the discrepancy in
time and space between audience viewpoints and camera angles, as
well as the effect of electrical delay within the system.
Her masterpiece Reanimation (2010/2012/2013) is a labyrinth-like
work filled with the nature and mythology of Iceland, along with
drawings, sounds and segments of her own earlier art. The narrative
structure of her works encourages audiences to decode the art in
their own ways, and achieve diverse interpretations — including
misinterpretations — rather than forcing them into preconceived
conclusions.
Jonas has received many previous distinctions, including the
Lifetime Achievement Award of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and
the Maya Deren Award of the American Film Institute. Her rising
influence is evident through her multimedia installation at the
2015 Venice Biennale, regarded by some as the world’s most
influential art exhibition; her five-month exhibit at London’s Tate
Modern this year, billed as the largest presentation of her art
ever shown in the UK; and exhibits of her work planned for 2019 and
2020 at Japan’s Rohm Theatre and Kyoto City University of Arts.
The Kyoto Prize is Japan’s highest private award for global
achievement, consisting of academic honors, a 20-karat gold medal,
and a cash gift of 100 million yen (about US$880,000). Established
by Dr. Kazuo Inamori in 1984, the Kyoto Prize has been presented to
108 individuals and one group (the Nobel Foundation) — collectively
representing 17 nations. Individual laureates range from
scientists, engineers and researchers to philosophers, painters,
architects, sculptors, musicians and film directors. The United
States has produced the most recipients (48), followed by Japan
(23), the United Kingdom (12), and France (8). See all laureates by
year at http://www.kyotoprize.org/en/laureates/list_by_year/.
Click here to download ceremony photos (Courtesy of
Inamori Foundation):
#A.) Joan Jonas at the 34th annual Kyoto Prize ceremony,
Nov. 10, 2018.
#B.) Joan Jonas receives the Kyoto Prize.
#C.) The Kyoto Prize ceremony, Nov. 10, 2018, at the Kyoto
International Conference Center, Kyoto, Japan.
#D.) The 2018 Kyoto Prize Laureates include (from left)
Neuroscientist Dr. Karl Deisseroth (U.S.A.) in Advanced Technology;
Mathematician Dr. Masaki Kashiwara (Japan) in Basic Sciences; and
Ms. Joan Jonas (U.S.A.) in Arts and Philosophy.
Photos of Ms. Jonas’s works are available upon
request.
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Media Contacts:(U.S.) Jay Scovie, North American Liaison,
Inamori Foundation+1-619-517-3037 or jay.scovie@gmail.com(Japan)
Daisuke Ota, Public Relations Division+81-75-353-7272 or
press@inamori-f.or.jp