Izumi Kato was born in Shimane, Japan, and graduated with a degree in painting from Musashino University in 1992. After working as a manual laborer while aspiring to become a musician, Kato began his career as a painter in earnest in the late 1990s. He is best known for his paintings of innocent, otherworldly figures, often depicted with large heads. Since the early 2000s, he has been showing sculptures created with a wide range of materials, including wood, soft vinyl, stone, cloth, plastic models, and, most recently, aluminum. For Untitled, his new piece commissioned by Sculpture Milwaukee, Kato cast large quarried stones in aluminum and arranged them in a totem-like form resembling a figure. Unlike traditional sculptors, whose creation is primarily rooted in monochromatic three-dimensional forms, Kato approaches his works in a painterly way, applying layers of color to add depth and detail. With their simple symbolic forms and strong colors, Kato’s enigmatic figures are associated with Paleolithic art, animism beliefs, and the directness and expression of early childhood creative discovery.
Izumi Kato was born in Shimane, Japan, and graduated with a degree in painting from Musashino University in 1992. After working as a manual laborer while aspiring to become a musician, Kato began his career as a painter in earnest in the late 1990s. He is best known for his paintings of innocent, otherworldly figures, often depicted with large heads. Since the early 2000s, he has been showing sculptures created with a wide range of materials, including wood, soft vinyl, stone, cloth, plastic models, and, most recently, aluminum. For Untitled, his new piece commissioned by Sculpture Milwaukee, Kato cast large quarried stones in aluminum and arranged them in a totem-like form resembling a figure. Unlike traditional sculptors, whose creation is primarily rooted in monochromatic three-dimensional forms, Kato approaches his works in a painterly way, applying layers of color to add depth and detail. With their simple symbolic forms and strong colors, Kato’s enigmatic figures are associated with Paleolithic art, animism beliefs, and the directness and expression of early childhood creative discovery.
Social Choreography Score
by Kim Miller
Social Choreography Score
by Kim Miller
Imagine turning your back to sculpture. Close your eyes if you feel comfortable. Try to become aware of the sculpture with your back – can you feel your back? Hold awareness of both your back and front at the same time. Try to move with this awareness. How does it feel? Keep this awareness as you encounter other people, and silently acknowledge their back and front.
While imagining the sculpture, listen to the sounds around you without moving. Listen for as long as you feel comfortable, or 60 seconds. What do you notice? How do the sounds change over that time? What do you think the sculpture hears? Speak quietly to the sculpture, or silently. Ask it what it hears.
Start by standing next to the sculpture, notice how it feels to have something at this height next to you.
Start with movements that make yourself bigger, taller.
Raising our hands above you and create upward movements.
Let this huge expensive individualized movement move you to standing before the sculpture, facing it.
After a while, let yourself come to a standing position again, arms down by your side.
Start exploring movements with only moving your head.
Keep the rest of your body stiff, like it's made out of stone as you are exploring your head movements.
After about a minute let your head slowly come back to a neutral position .
Move your torso, isolating this part of your body.
Once you have explored the torso movements, come to neutral position again.
Now focus on your left arm only, raise it and move it around in space but keep the imagery of being made of aluminum in the forefront of your mind.
Bring your second arm up and join the first in moving around space as if it is made from the same material as the sculpture itself is.
Eventually bring your arms together, in the front of your body.
Can you go back to your “heavy head” choreography now but with your arms in this position. Does it feel different? Notice any differences
Continuing with your head movements and your arm positions can you now also add in your torso movements.
Continue this dance with all the parts for a couple minutes.
Finally come back to standing still, with your arms still held in front of you. Hold this for 15 seconds.
Finally come to a relaxed finishing position.
Imagine turning your back to sculpture. Close your eyes if you feel comfortable. Try to become aware of the sculpture with your back – can you feel your back? Hold awareness of both your back and front at the same time. Try to move with this awareness. How does it feel? Keep this awareness as you encounter other people, and silently acknowledge their back and front.
While imagining the sculpture, listen to the sounds around you without moving. Listen for as long as you feel comfortable, or 60 seconds. What do you notice? How do the sounds change over that time? What do you think the sculpture hears? Speak quietly to the sculpture, or silently. Ask it what it hears.
Start by standing next to the sculpture, notice how it feels to have something at this height next to you.
Start with movements that make yourself bigger, taller.
Raising our hands above you and create upward movements.
Let this huge expensive individualized movement move you to standing before the sculpture, facing it.
After a while, let yourself come to a standing position again, arms down by your side.
Start exploring movements with only moving your head.
Keep the rest of your body stiff, like it's made out of stone as you are exploring your head movements.
After about a minute let your head slowly come back to a neutral position .
Move your torso, isolating this part of your body.
Once you have explored the torso movements, come to neutral position again.
Now focus on your left arm only, raise it and move it around in space but keep the imagery of being made of aluminum in the forefront of your mind.
Bring your second arm up and join the first in moving around space as if it is made from the same material as the sculpture itself is.
Eventually bring your arms together, in the front of your body.
Can you go back to your “heavy head” choreography now but with your arms in this position. Does it feel different? Notice any differences
Continuing with your head movements and your arm positions can you now also add in your torso movements.
Continue this dance with all the parts for a couple minutes.
Finally come back to standing still, with your arms still held in front of you. Hold this for 15 seconds.
Finally come to a relaxed finishing position.
