The fields that are covered in media expression studies are diverse ranging from art, design, philosophy, science and engineering, and sociology. Upon advancing one’s cross-disciplinary research in various fields whilst utilizing their individual knowledge in their specialty fields, students have a variety of methods to make a choice. Beginning from the activities done before entering IAMAS, and the motives that lead to the decision to pursue further studies in IAMAS, once entering IAMAS what is the relation of these activities and how do the students cooperatively devote themselves to their projects? How are the activities within and external to IAMAS developed and how research is furthered are all questions that students at IAMAS discuss with each other.

Kanata YAMAGISHI

Continuing forward and expressing in words

Tell me about your past activities and what inspired your decision to further your education at IAMAS

Before entering IAMAS, I majored in computer science at the Tokyo University of Science but I think I was a rather passive student. My classmates worked part-time jobs, did internships, etc. and I had the impression that many people accumulated practical experience in the nearby area. On the contrary, I couldn’t quite take an interest in devoting myself to studies on technology. Amidst that I was called from time to time by a person in the university who was majoring in architecture to do collaborative projects and was given the opportunity to create collaborative works about VR games with people from the Kanazawa College of Art. Rather than refining technologies I became more interested in design and planning by wondering “how can I use that” or “what to make.” This interest was not only in the “engineering” framework, but also cross-disciplinary across multiple fields. After graduating, rather than going straight into the workforce, I thought that I wanted to deliberately dig into those interests before that and when considering where to progress my studies I encountered IAMAS. As my senior, Daito Manabe from Rhizomatiks had this personal history of going from the Tokyo University of Science to IAMAS. I had high expectations that a school where Daito Manabe, who continues to make new proposals on how to use science and technology would mean I would be able to do something interesting, but at the same time I had quite a few nerves. Looking back, I think that I made a great choice, however, when I was “baptized” by the “IAMAS ringing” at the school entrance ceremony I felt pretty down thinking that in the end “I came to an awful place.”

Tell us about any memorable anecdotes or stories from your creative endeavors or research during your time at IAMAS

Since my undergraduate times I have enjoyed making collaborative works, and due to that even in this new world I was willing to do whatever my physical strength would allow me to do. Furthermore, compared to those who had come from colleges of art, I had rather few experiences in making productions. Since I had a lack of clarity as to what sort of direction I wanted to head in at the time of joining IAMAS, I learned about what sort of interests other people had through collaborations and conversely it became an opportunity to consider what I am interested in.
During my student life what left a deep impression was the time when I was writing my thesis and receiving guidance from Professor Shigeru Kobayashi, who gave me thorough coaching in how to write the thesis. As I moved my hands I had a real feeling that the directionality of my efforts were becoming clear, but when I tried to express that in words I was not able to explain it well and I had an acute realization of my lack of clarity again. However, using the text that I had somehow written out as a base, whilst being conscious of the consistency of the sentences, the connection between sentences, and organizing my claims, I had begun to feel for real just what it is that I have endeavored towards, what is insufficient, and as for my next step what needs to be accomplished had become clearer. During my 2 years as a masters student I cannot say that I have completely mastered these elements from experience, but I would like to continue in this way as I go on.

Can you describe your activities at IAMAS, along with anything you focused on in particular? Please also introduce your master’s research.

As for my stance on research, the one thing I wanted to accomplish was to give form to what could not be expressed in words through “continuous creation.” This stance is communicated through my “font creation” self produced work that I had been doing before entering IAMAS. Before entry I had an interest in the creation of characters and symbols, and in order to search for where that interest came from I engaged in “font creation” as a daily activity. In the process, I came to realize that continuing to create nurtures “myself as an appreciator.”
In my master’s work “Grasp(er)” I endeavored with a “continuing to create” attitude toward expressions that transform fingers on a screen. At the beginning, by recording and editing the movement of the fingers I had intended to develop a new method for motion design. However, I gradually became more interested in the unique and indescribable experience of moving a transformed body and not just the recorded movements. In order to capture what that true form is, I developed variations concerning the expression of converting the fingers and deepened my trials and thoughts as I organized them.
At the end of that, I thought that the unique element of this experience could be defined as “through changing a shape, for a moment we become unable to understand the confronting objects true shape, and then we try to understand it again and find meaning in the movement.” During my research I named it “grasp”, and with the aim of being able to convey how interesting the experience was I composed the title “Grasp(er).” Amidst the creation of the work I had a grueling period of time where even I did not understand what I was doing but the experience of sticking through to the very end is my greatest asset.

Masters work: “Grasp(er)”

Please tell me about your path after graduation and about your future plans.

I will be working at an advertising agency doing work in the planning and production of measures involving IT. In this industry the most characteristic occupation is the role of a copywriter. For outward facing roles there is a strong image of the job being about writing catchphrases but for inward facing roles, in short, the creator also has the task of defining a single word that passes through and encompasses the horizontal axis of the project. The act of moving one’s hands and giving form is crucial but at the same time, throughout my 2 years in IAMAS I realized now that compressing and grasping what I am doing in words is also vital. Through work I will learn how to put my efforts into words, whilst on the other hand I will never cease my own personal productions and continue to do so in good health.

Interview recording: February, 2024
Interviewer: Shinjiro MAEDA
English translation: Eric Lupea

 
※ This is a reproduction of an interview with a student from “IAMAS Interviews 04” published in 2023.