About plan-B History|plan-Bの歴史

<plan-Bの歴史>
★After a Japanese-document as for the English translation!

「オルタナティブ」な表現の場としては日本第一号だったかもしれないplan-B

plan-Bは1982年2月に『アーティストの自主管理による共同スペース』としてオープンし、現在も活動しているオルタナティブ・スペース。エチュード、インキュベーション、表現の場としての会議、リハーサル、ワークショップ、パフォーマンス、展覧会、上映会、シンポジウム、何にでも使用可能な空間。実質誰かの持ち物ではない場所として、実行委員会方式で、70年代後期からヨーロッパ、アメリカなど各地の大劇場や小さなスタジオまで、さまざまな立場や思想をもつスペースで公演やワークショップを展開してきたダンサー田中泯とアートプロデューサー木幡和枝、他20人あまりのアーティスト、積極的な観客、制作者、批評家などに呼びかけて、出発し現在でもその有志で運営されている。

60年代、70年代の政治的激動の時代を通じて、持たざる者の自己決着と自力更生こそ創造の根幹だという予感が底流にあった。大学を長期占拠し、そこで濃密な自己教育、相互止揚のヤスリを見つけた60年から70年世代の経験はまだ手触りを残していた。運営軍資金はすべてプライベート、赤字は実行委員の責任で埋める。補助金・助成金はどこからも来ない。というより、80年代初頭にはまだ、伝統芸術やクラシック音楽などの確立したもの以外に、未知・未完成・革新的な表現集団が助成金を申請する相手さえほとんどなかった。plan-Bは当時の日本では「オルタナティブ」な表現の場としては第一号だったかもしれない。

おもな必要経費は家賃、光熱費、電話料、施設保持費、月刊カレンダーの製作費と郵送費。ファックスがやっと普及し、PCやインターネットなど見たことも聞いたこともない時代、情報宣伝材は活字や写真、写植を使い、自分たちで切り張りしレイアウトし、1000通からの封筒を送り出した。公演や展示会などの有料公開イベントの場合、月間実質経費の日割り額を使用者が負担。収入が下回っても額は使用者がかぶる。利益がでたら「plan-B」と折半。利益分は施設の保守と改良。機材整備、自主企画実現に使った。実行委員で日々管理運営をになった面々には交通費などの実費は払ったが、給料もバイト料も発生しない。「各自、好きでやっている」が前提だ。誰も利益を私物化しない。わかりやすい財政構造だった。赤字がたまって家賃が払えなければ、その時余裕のある実行委員が一人でも何人かでも負担する。誰も負担する者が出てこなければ、それまで。この冒険は存続する意味はなかったことになる。論理は明快だった。こうして、実行委員会もその都度の使用者も生まれたばかりのオルタナティブ・スペースの思想を堅待し、場所を継続させることに意義を見いだしていた。

都内中野区弥生町中野通り沿いの当初は新築マンションの地下。地下の入り口へ降りる階段上部には、原口典之の手書きデザインでつくったブルーのネオン。地下鉄丸ノ内線中野富士見町下車7分。通りは個人商店がごくまばらにあるだけで、通行人も少なく、他の利に恵まれた集客力は期待すらしてなかった。この点は30年たった現在でも大差なく、通りは低層の近代的ビルが多少増え、ファミリーレストランが一件あるだけで、通行人が迷い込むことはほとんどなく、「plan-B」目当ての客しか期待できない。約20坪の長方形の公演スペースに同じ広さの別室が事務、楽屋、キッチン、サロン、資料展示棚。竣工前から賃貸交渉をして床は自分たちで作った。難波雄介、田中泯と仲間たちは床を作りを率先し、公演スペースはコンクリート床に大きめの頑丈なタイヤを敷き詰め、その上に床をはった。ダンス・パフォーマンスやワークショップのためを考えてのことだ。固定客席はなく、イベントごとに見せる、見る、空間デザインを行う。展示会には席を設けず壁に展示。のみならず、美術家や写真家は変幻自在に空間を使う事も可能だった。ダンスや演劇、音楽もしかり。ある意味では極私的記憶と関係性に根ざした報告であることは否めないと言わねばならない。ただ、こういった個人の痕跡が現在でも「plan-B」には漂っている。

1981年の暮れ。家賃契約をするか否か、決め手として現場に案内して助言をもらったのはフリー・インプロビゼーションの泰斗、イギリスのギタリスト、デレク・ベイリー。大きな手を叩いて音響を確かめ、この場所の誕生を喜んでくれた。来日するたびに「plan-B」で演奏した。山谷の流動労働者の闘いの記録「山谷—やられたらやりかえせ」の上映後には、映画の興奮をカラダで受け止め、めずらしく激しい感情を即興演奏で解き放った。80年代に制作され、監督した二人の男がいずれも資本に雇われたスナイパーに殺されたという世界でも類を見せない残酷な事態を記録するこの映画は、1987年7月3日から上映を開始し、毎回ゲストトークを行う。2013年2月16日にその上映は100回をむかえ、2014年(現在)でもフィルム上映を継続している。

また、広域に関与し、異なる場所の事情を一夜で貫通させた表現としてこんなものもあった。告知した日時に集まった観客の前で空間中央からそれが始まり、観客は彼を取り囲んで壁際に。演者と観客が自然発生的に関係性をもっていく。その後、用意していた大型車で全員で神奈川に行き、海を見て、また戻ってきた、宮島達男(美術)のパフォーマンス。そのとき彼が突いた穴が、今でも打ちっぱなしコンクリート壁に痕跡を残している。

今は亡き建築史家のバーナード・ルドフスキー氏や世界を股にかけて生物の現場を研究し、「生命潮流」など読みやすい一般書を多数残したライフ・サンエンティスト、故ライアル・ワトソンの講義。

実行委員の一人でもあった田中泯のオドリでは、観客としても日本国内からのみならず、世界中から確かな先鋭達が集っている、故・寺田透、故・埴谷雄高、故スーザン・ソンダグ、故ヤニス・クセナキス、故フェリックス・ガタリなどなど、名前を並べるときりがない。セシル・テイラーと故・中上健次の詩の朗読というのもあった。その時、中上健次は自身の著作である「千年の愉楽」の最もエロティックな箇所を朗読として選ぶ。彼の緊張とその声は観客を釘付けにした。

最長のランナーは60年代からジャズのDJとして先進的音楽の批評家として活動してきた相倉久人。開設時から今日迄、毎月一度の「重力の復権」と銘打ったパフォーマンス・ジョッキーを敢行している。舞台や画面で見るものばかりか、テレビや路上で目にする人間の行為をおしなべてパフォーマンスと見なして、批評する。この「重力の復権」は、プロデューサーの黒川芳朱氏により2104年の現在も開催されている。

1983年1月「plan-B」と暗黒舞踏の創始者、土方巽が恊働して実現した3日間。1970年後期からグループを解散して作品発表を中断し、言語による舞踏の書「病める舞姫」の執筆に専念していたであろう時期の土方巽に、映像、写真、音声テープなどを使った回顧展のようなものを開催したいと私達はお願いした。彼は即座に承知してくれたが、「でもね、方法は考えましょう。一緒に作りましょう。舞踏を生みましょう!」 それから一ヶ月もしない短期間で行われた。何千枚というなかから選定した写真プリントをスライドにし、フィルムをビデオにして編集し直し、過去の作品ごとの区切りに超越した「映像による舞踏の新作」を新たに振り付けた。音楽は土方巽特有の選曲と編集に新たな素材を加えて。「plan-B」同人の各分野の若手たちとほぼ徹夜の作業を3週間続けた。満員以上の観客の後ろにある剥き出しの音響・照明・映像の作業スペースに土方巽は仁王立ちになり、ときにあの渋い東北なまりの声を張り上げてパフォーマンスと同時進行で演出をした。溶鉱炉の燃焼音が地の底から唸る。私達スタッフがヘマをすると「どうした、それじゃ〜アルトーが泣くぜ!」と怒鳴りつけた。演出ではない、全身全霊の生きた舞踏がそこにはいた。

80年代前半は東京は政治の季節からバブルの季節へと向かっていた。セゾンの故・堤誠二氏が「文化は事業化できる」と唱えていた、がすでに70年代半ばからデパートやショッピング・ビルの上層階に劇場や美術館が出現し、貸しスペースではなく自社のPR、集客活動の一環として鳴り物入りのイベントが行われていた。この動きは後に、社会貢献とかコーポレート・イメージ作りという名称に格上げされた。池袋の「西武美術館」ではリチャード・アベドン、ヨーゼフ・ボイス、アンセルム・キーファーなどのメジャーな展覧会が行われ、80年代後半は、60年代からの高度経済成長期の帳尻合わせが始まり、産業構造と国土再編集、スローガン「地方の時代」が高らかに提唱された。国内は、すでに一方的に圧殺された炭鉱をはじめとする鉱業、いわずもがな、農業、林業を潰して都市型商品経済と情報産業、サービス業で生きていこうという気運が浮上していた。1988年の竹下政権による自治体への1億円ばらまき政策。各種オルタナティブ・スペースが雨後のタケノコのように大都市や地方の行政の政策として、ないしは営利目的、そしてNPO事業(これもまた数十年前には片鱗もなかった)として生まれてきた。スペースだけでなく、企画、アーカイブ、育成の面でも自らの仕事として現代アートに関わるオーガナイザー達が増えたことは歓迎すべきなのかもしれない、だか、こうしたインスティチューション化(制度化)を「plan-B」は目視しているわけではない。委嘱を受けて劇場で上演するオペラ、演劇、ダンスの作品作りをする人も、企画をオファーされて大規模な展覧会を美術館で開く人も、アカデミー賞を受ける映画を作る人も、個の人格として出自がある。それに限りなく近いプライベートでありプライベートにはとどまらない思索、試行、表明と、自分というギア(表現の手段)の検証の場所として、「plan-B」の性格はますます尖鋭化しなければならないと未来に続く現在に対して思う。

「plan-B」の当時の実行委員たち[木幡和枝(アートプロデューサー)、田中泯(ダンサー)、故・榎倉康二(美術)、高山登(美術)、原口典之(美術)、黒川芳朱(映像作家)、田村光男(音楽プロデューサー)、故・中上健次(作家)]は、同年 竹下氏とはまったく異なるタクラミのため同主旨を抱く人々と合流して、山梨県白州町で「白州・夏・フェスティバル」を開始した。大きな国土再編や都市再開発の問題ではなく、表現者個々人の問題として、表現の原点としての土、森、畑、自然と切り結んだ労働の場、そこでの生々しい人間関係性への視差を、また、自らの出生現場を失うことへの危惧に突き動かされてのことだ。「農村から都市を逆照射する」。これも社会的な思想としては、オルタナティブな試行だった。このフェスティバルは「アートキャンプ白州」と改称、その後「ダンス白州」と改称して2010年まで継続した。舞踊も美術も建築も農業も横断して「大きな生命のダンス」を実施した。

現在は創設時の実行委員の大半は関わりが薄れているが、積極的観客としては存在し、運営の主催は20代〜40代のアーティストと制作者だ。1年365日公開イベントを実現するとの意気込みで疾走した数年間の後は、必然的にポストモダンの都市の文脈の中でその役割も変貌を繰り返した。「plan-B」においても、「夏のフェスティバル」においても、実行委員だけの切り盛りだけではどうにもならない、共に切磋琢磨した数えきれないほどの賛同者、若者たちがいた。特別な記憶を刻印された空間の「plan-B」がこの先にどう発展していくのか… 表現そのものにおいては、どの分野においても20世紀にすべては表出し尽くし、最も厳しい時代といえよう。こうした記憶を刻印された場は、たかだか、戦後を経て数十年も経たない間に起こった社会現象の変容、アートを取り巻く環境の変化、表現者の動機や内容の多様性に敏感でありながらも、そうした流れに容易に飛び込んでいくことなく、相変わらず個としての価値観、歴史としての人間の底流に根を張り、「自由」とは何か、という永劫の問いを発し続けている。

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BankART1929「アートイニシアティブ」リレーする構造
2009年3月31日発刊
『plan-B』インディーズの草分け
執筆者:木幡和枝

改訂:石原淋
※2014年掲載につき一部の内容を変更いたしました。

監修:田中泯

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Possibly the first alternative art space in Japan: plan-B

“plan-B” is an artist-run alternative space, active since its opening in February 1982. The space is available for multipurpose, such as an etude, incubation, public meeting, rehearsal, workshop, performance, exhibition, film showing, symposium, lecture and etc. It began with Min Tanaka, a dancer who has been actively performing and had lead workshops since late1970′s in various spaces and theaters – big or small, political or non-political – in the U.S. and Europe, and an art producer Kazue Kobata teamed up a committee, consisted of about 20 colleagues who were artists, proactive audiences, producers and critiques. The members were assented to an idea: to manage the non-profit alternative art space. Since then, the space has maintained the spirit of “not owned by anyone,” and still managed by the volunteers.

Through the era of political turmoil in 1960′s and 70′s, there was a hunch that self conclusion and rehabilitation by the have-nots should be an origin of creation. After having occupied universities for a long time at that time, we still had the tactile sense of self learning and mutual sublation from the experience. All the start-up and initial running costs of the space were privately raised, and any deficits were covered by the committee. There were no grants and subsidies then. Or rather, there were no organizations to apply for such financial supports from innovative, unfinished, and unknown art groups, if not established form of art such as traditional arts or classical music. Thus, plan-B could possibly be the first alternative art space in Japan.

Major costs of the space were the rent, utility, phone bills, maintenance fee, and printing and mailing cost of its monthly letter. It was when Fax machine barely gained popularity, way before PCs and Internet, and we sent out 1000 envelops which included hand-made flyers, cut-and-paste layout with pictures and phototypesetting. For public paying events such as exhibitions and performances, the user of the space was responsible for the daily rate of the total monthly cost, even when the income from the event run under. If the profit of the day would be higher than the daily cost of the space, the user and the space shared it in half, and used or pooled for the maintenance. The extra money would be also used for equipments as well as the committe’s self-produced events. There were no guarantee or labor fee, except covering transportation fee and minimum cost for the committee members who were in charge of the space on the-day-of bases. The bottom line was, “we were willing to do this voluntarily.” No one privatize the profit. The financial system was very simple. When the deficit was higher than the rent at the end of the month, one or some of the committee members would cover it. If no one would have done so, it would have been the end of the story; there would have been no reason to continue our adventure. That was our clear logic. And that was how the committee and the users of the newly-born alternative space kept the principle, actualizing the importance in its continuity.

The space inhabits in the basement of then-brand-new residential apartment building, on Nakano Dori street in Nakanoyayoi-cho, Nakano-ku, Tokyo. The roof that covers its entrance stair to the basement has blue neon sign on it, designed and hand-written by an artist Noriyuki Haraguchi. 7-minutes walk from Nakano Fujimi Station, Marunouchi Subway line. The street only had a few papas and mamas shops and there were hardly any attractions for people to come by. Even after 30 years, that has not changed much, except only some additional small residential apartments and one franchised restaurant. The people would not drop by the space, nor find the space on their way by chance. Only those who would come deliberately to the space were the expected audiences. The performance space has about 66 m2 (710 sq ft) rectangular space, and there is a small office space, dressing room, kitchen, and salon with archival library right next to the event space. We negotiated with the building owner before its completion, and were able to design and built the basement space by ourselves. The floor at the performance space was first layered with big and robust tires and then the wooden flooring to finish – for cushioning when used for dance performances and workshops. An architect Yusuke Namba and Min Tanaka took the initiative and led our team for the construction. There was no fixed seats for audiences, and we would design the space on every event, case by case. For exhibitions, we installed art works on the wall, without any audience seats. Moreover, artists or photographers could use the space as they like it – the same for any dance, music, or theatrical performances.

In a way, this memoir of plan-B is deeply rooted to my private memories and I cannot deny it. However, there still are traces drifting in the air by every individuals who has related to the space.

At the end of 1981, we invited a great authority in free improvisation and English guitarist Derek Baily to plan-B, and asked for his advice on whether we sign our rent contract or not. He crapped his big hands a few times checking the sound, and congratulated us for the birth of the new place. Since then, he performed there every time he came to Japan. Once he attended our film showing of “Yama – An eye for an eye,” an documentary about daily-based contracted low-wage workers’ fight for rights and life. Baily’s play after the showing released his vigorously passionate emotions, which was unlikely for him, after having received strong agitation from the film. It was created in 1980s, and captured very rare brutal reality that two directors of the film were assassinated by a sniper hired by Capital. The documentary has started its first showing at plan-B on July 3rd, 1987, and it marked 100th showing on February 16th, 2013. It is still our on-going program as of 2014.

Another noteworthy expression happened in plan-B – penetrating and involving the difference in distant spaces in one night. The performance started in the center of the space with the audience who gathered there at designated date and time. The audience surrounded the artist in circle, along with the wall, and gradually a relationship grew between them. Later they all rode on a prepared van, went to Kanagawa taking 2-hour drive to see the ocean, and came back. There still is a hole poked by the artist Tasuo Miyajima on the night-long performance, on the bare concrete wall of the space.

Fascinating lectures have taken up the space – by the late architectural historian Bernard Rudofsky, or by life scientist Lyall Watson who had field studied the unfamiliar critical activities of life forms all over the world and written numerous books such as “Life Tide.”

The Dance performances by Min Tanaka, one of the committee members have brought some radical audiences into plan-B, not only from Japan but world-wide. A critique and French literature translator Toru Terada, political commentator and thought critique Yutaka Haniya, writer, essayist, and activist Susan Sontag, contemporary musician Iannis Xenakis, psychotherapist and philosopher Felix Guattari, to name just a few. There was poetry reading by Cecil Tailor and Kenji Nakagami. He chose the most erotic section of his novel “A Thousand Years of Pleasure.” Nakagami’s voice and highly tensed performance captured the audience.

The longest performance series is “Reinstatement of Gravity” by Hisato Aikura who is a contemporary music critique and Jazz DJ, active since 60′s. It is a performance jockey which he critiques any human behaviors he saw as performative actios – stages, movies, TV shows, or ordinary people on the street. The performance has started soon after the space opened, and it reached one thousandth performance in February 16th, 2013. It still has been on-going monthly event as of 2014, now run by a producer Yoshiaki Kurokawa.

It was unforgettable three-day performance, in January 1983, realized in collaboration with plan-B and Tatsumi Hijikata, the founder of Dance of Darkness. At that time, He had claimed dissolution to his dance group and terminated to show his works since late 1970′s, and probably he was solely writing “Ailing Prima Donna,” later called as “a Butoh dance in language.” We asked him to have some kind of his retrospective at our space, using films, pictures and recorded sounds. He immediately agreed to our proposal, however, added, “but, let’s think about the way. Let’s make it together. Let’s give birth to Butoh!” Within such a short period of time, less than a month, the show was created. The committee members and our friends in each field worked with Hijikata day and night for three weeks choosing pictures from thousands of them and printing into slide films, editing and re-recording old films into videos, and “choreographing” new Butoh work with moving images transcending past works. The music was also created with new materials, his unique selections and editorials. Standing at bare lighting, sound, and film control booth just behind more-than packed audience, Hijikata gave directions to the staff along with his performance. His deep voice with Tohoku dialect sounded as if a bursting blast furnace roaring from the bottom of the ground. When our staff made a mistake, he yelled, “Alto would cry on that!” He was truly embodied spirit of Butoh itself.

In early 80s, Tokyo was heading toward the “bobble economy” from the era of political turmoil. As Mr. Seiji Tsutsumi of Saison company claimed as “Culture could be monetized,” there already were theater spaces and art museums emerging in upper floors of company buildings and department stores since late 70′s, which produces their own “cultural” events for their branding image and customer attractions. This movement was later promoted to be named as philanthropy. Seibu Art Museum, located in a department store in the center of Tokyo, had numerous contemporary art exhibitions such as Richard Avedon, Joseph Beuys, and Anselm Kiefer. In the late 80′s, the fourth Comprehensive National Plan has published under the slogan of “the era of regions,” and reorganization of the industrial infrastructure and the national land use planning took place as if Japan had to make ends meet with its rapid economy growth in 60′s. Many of primary industries such as coal-mining and forestry – not to mention agriculture – had already suppressed by then, and the urban-style merchandize based economy, as well as information and service industries filled the people’s hope for the future. It was a nation-wide pork barrel bill by Takeshita Cabinet in 1988 that brought many of alternative, cultural, multipurpose, commercial and/or non-profit event spaces to emerge suddenly throughout Japan, as a part of regional and local government policies. Not only those spaces but also the numbers of the organizers and professionals for contemporary art, such as producers, planners and archival professionals have also grown up. We could, or should welcome the trend in general; however, plan-B is not aiming to institutionalize and systematize art activities. Every person who create – operas, dramas, dance, or exhibitions – in any occasions – commissioned by theaters, museums or Academy winner film directors – have his/her individual origin of the personality. And plan-B has to keep its antenna even sharper than ever, as the place to examine the ways of his or her expression, thoughts, etudes or trials, as well as manifestations, starting from as close as each of the artists’ own private origin but not limited to it. That is our mission in the moment now which leads to the future.

The committee members at the beginning are: art producer Kazue Kobata, dancer Min Tanaka, artist Kouji Enokura, Noboru Takayama, and Noriyuki Haraguchi, film maker Yoshiaki Kurokawa, music producer Mitsuo Tamura, and writer Kenji Nakagami. They started Hakushu Summer Festival in Hakushu, Yamanashi, a rural town 2 hours away from Tokyo, in the same year with the Takeshita Cabinet’s bill but the opposite agenda in their mind. It was their urge not to lose the origin of the lively relationship and the parallax among the people’s life and nature which inevitably involves physical labor, and which brings about the art expression. Their apprehension was more on art and human beings – individuals and ever personal – than large scale national use planning or urban redevelopment. The them was ”Shed new light on the cities from our native rural villages.” The event was based on very alternative idea at that time. The festival later changed its name to Artcamp Hakushu, and then to Dance Hakushu, which continued until 2010. It crossed over contemporary and traditional dance, visual art, architecture and agriculture, and embraced “Enormous Dance of Life.”

Now, many of the original committee members became attentive audience, and the main volunteer organizers of plan-B are artists and production staff of their 20s to 40s. There were a few years that the young members fearlessly and avidly tried to literary fill the space with public events every day. As the context of the art and art organizations has changed its meaning in the post-modern urban environment,
plan-B itself has been needed to change its role consequently. There have been so many people who were involved, inspired and, shared life-changing experiences with assiduous cultivation together, both at plan-B and the summer art festival. How shall the space – marked with their very personal and precious memories – exist in the future? In terms of art expression, it is the toughest time as it is often said all has done already in 20th century. The space needs to keenly reflect the dynamics and expanding diversity in not only contemporary art-world but also social and artistic motivations, though not easily contained by them. It is more important that the space keep issuing the eternal question, rooted deeply in human history and the sense of value of the individuals: What is freedom?
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ART Initiative
[Publication :The March 31, 2009]
“plan-B” Pioneer of indies A writer: Kazue Kohata

Revision:Rin Ishihara
※I changed some contents about a publication for 2014.
English translation: Risa Ikeda
The supervision: Min Tanaka