revisitation

 

The (curious) reappearence of Yoshio Nakajima

I had the privilege of partaking in a rare manifestation of living live art archive with the reappearance of Yoshio Nakajima after 50 years of absence from Belgium. His name and the 'UNBEAT' are forever fixed in the annals of performance and street art in Belgium since the famous happenings in 1965... In fact one might well say that the loitering of this Japanese sage were instrumental in congealing the various tendencies of the time to create the myth that is has become:

Having arrived in Europe after his long hike/hitch-hike across Asia just in time for Szeeman's Documenta 5, he immediately was immersed in all that was going on at the time and was himself a purveyor of the oriental mystique that was all the rage...

Since the late 50's various tendencies such as abstract expressionism, new music and artistic investigations began to merge, Kaprow's first happenings were conceived as musical scores, the

'Jikken Kobo' in Japan mixed various disciplines in what they termed "Happyokai" (recital) based on dada (one hs to think here of one of Yoshio's friend Dada Khan (the 'failed' kamikaze)... as well as neo-dada and Gutai obviously)... 

 

 

So this was an opportunity to see live for oneself the flavour of an event related to these historic references: for me on the one hand the inception of Provo in Amsterdam and the relation to Robert Jasper Grootveld, as part of the Jef L archive (here in the correspondence I found material from the later Ubbeboda Symposium... more on that later) but mainly and of course the dynamics of the happenings on the Meir in Antwerp, the Happening news and the 'Unbeat'-like names such as 'Nihil' and Happy() spacemaker... multimillionaire and Dusseldorf (sic) – Thom Jasper's Veilig-Verkeer-Magiër direct from RJG... A lasting albeit short interlude in the European 'dérive' that saw Yoshio Nakajima end up in Sweden... 

 

So after all these years we have the opportunity to see what the fuss was all about... we are reminded that in those days, street performance was viewed as a major disturbance of the public order and the authorities had a difficult time to administrate a response: removal from the national territory was in fact all they could do – and did... Nowadays it seems completely laughable but it's all coming back. But in contrast to the rather wild and destructive fare of yore (thinking also of Metzger's Destruction in Arts Symposium) Yoshio has graduated to a more kind, light and ritualistic collaboration with positive vibes, even if with a critical note and reminder of our mistreatment of nature and each other (recently Ukraine and Middle-East) But the sharp edge of youth is rounded – some might say worn – and has a patina to it while still looking frash: the collaboration here was with Stakattak-frontman Nick Defour and performer & organizer Merzedes Sturm-Lie, a well as with an impromptu by Philippe Tonnard. Attendance was middling... it reminded me of the interest generated by the visit of Ben Patterson in the flux-year 2012... aside from a few academics and aficionado's there was hardly any response... here too the remnant of the public staying behind for the lecture (by historian ) in the anatomical theatre was meagre – but we got another performance which the others missed – making it an exclusive moment...

Of course it was all recorded – nowadays the documentary aspect is out of all proportion – all the more reason to partake live, giving the flavour and sphere rather than just the metadata... The song and the movement conveying the vibrations – the 'vibes' as they used to say – an essential part of the experience, and as such I am very glad to have been a part of this rare occasion... the scale of which made it possible to be up close and personal for a brief encounter as it were...

of which kind is a bit of a mystery...

and must remain so.

Ho!