JOURNAL

Seitaro Yamazaki Newsletter July 31, 2024

Hey, it’s me Seitaro.

It’s been 2 weeks since the last newsletter.

Today, we start with the answers to the last quiz.

What am I making here?

Answer…

What could this be?

A mysterious shape outputted by a 3D printer and coated with fluorescent paint.

Where have you seen this before?

Teaser poster for my upcoming solo exhibition at Spiral Garden in August.

About the “Specimens of the Spilled Over” series

The work used in the poster was commissioned by LEAP Corporation, a human resource development consulting firm, and was delivered in January of this year. It’s currently displayed at the entrance of LEAP in Tennozu Isle.

Previously, I had made a pink version that was exhibited in a group show at Five Points Arts in Torrington, Connecticut.

Now, what kind of work is “Specimens of Spilled Over”?

If you look closely at the work, you will see that the pink object has pins stuck into it, which are pins used to make insect specimens. It is then placed in a specimen box.

This pink object is actually a form of sound.

I pick up the shapes floating around sounds, which I see it as shapes that could not become sounds or words, and make them into a biospecimen. Let me show you how it’s made.

I use a software that generates sonographs, and when voice data is inputted, a graph like this is displayed.

I then pick out the ambiguous shapes between the sounds.

For example, a shape like this.

Next, the shading data of this image is converted to height data using 3D-CAD software.

This series is output with a 3D printer, painted with fluorescent paint, and fixed with insect pins.

For LEAP’s commission work, I took a photograph of dawn in Oimachi, where LEAP Corporation was founded and created an enlarged gradation around the boundary between the night sky and the morning glow. Floating in the center are sound shapes taken from conversations exchanged at LEAP’s office.

Why was this work chosen to be displayed at the entrance of LEAP Corporation?

Why am I making such a strange thing in the first place?

I will share with you next time.