"New-Method" No. 12

"New-Method" No. 12

"New-Method" released the "Second New-Methodicist Manifesto" on September 4, 2011. "New-Method" also had their one year anniversary on the same day. We introduce No. 12 of the email bulletin with our works and guest contributions. This issue is published two months after the previous, featuring Michiko Haga for the contributor, a critic and holder of a master degree in aesthetics specialized in Yoko Ono and Marcel Duchamp.

[Contribution]

Duchamp, a chess-maniac
Michiko Haga (Critic)

Why did Duchamp play the chess at all?
While putting away the well-known myth that the "father" of the contemporary art took a pose of loving the loftiness of the chess rather than vulgar art, if you take a little glance at correspondences of Duchamp, you may find figure of a young man with surprisingly simple enthusiasm for the depth of the chess.

"My ambition is to be a professional chess player (anti-fesses Lionnel)." (note.1)

Here is the letter he wrote to Tzara, the forefront of DADA. Still, we might be able to consider it as an "anti" gesture of DADA in the sense of this "jeu de mots" (word play).
Now it is very difficult to judge whether Duchamp's enthusiasm for the chess was real or fake.

"Chess is my drug; don't you know it!" (note.2)

Through decades of devotion to the chess, Duchamp had surely acquired a rather detached view to the art world as if watching across a chessboard.
Is his motivation for the chess "beta" (means "simple and straight") or "meta"? Shall we call this rip "meta-irony"?
Once concerned with Duchamp and the chess, we would be left in such a mystery.
Perhaps, we can interpret the mystery as we want to believe, following this saying:

"There is no solution, because there is no problem."

One may also find the similar feeling of being a little betrayed with New-Methodicist, who proceeds computer algorithmic fabrication of works, while just showing their sea bathing, developing a software cuckoo clock, or choosing the cat for the title of a work. (note.3)

Note.
1 Affectionately, Marcel, Francis Naumann eds., 2000. p.97 (36)
2 ibid., p.165 (96)
3 "Sea Bathing" (C) "New-Method" 2011, "Cuckoo Clock" (C) "New-Method" 2011, "The cat" (C) Takahiro Hirama 2011

[Web Works of the New-Methodicists]

[Information]

- Second New-Methodicist Manifesto  http://7x7whitebell.net/new-method/manifesto2_e.html

- Second New-Methodicist Manifesto in park  http://7x7whitebell.net/new-method/park_e.html

- Uploading Event (New-Method Night Vol. 1)  http://togetter.com/li/179783 (Japanese only)

- Sixth Dai2kin (New-Method Night Vol. 2)  http://togetter.com/li/186114 (Japanese only)

- "New-Method" official webpage has been updated.  http://7x7whitebell.net/new-method/

- Takahiro Hirama has updated his website.  http://hrmtkhr.web.fc2.com/

- Shogo Baba has updated his website.  http://7x7whitebell.net/

- Hideki Nakazawa has updated his website.  http://aloalo.co.jp/nakazawa/

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[Editor's Note]

Thanks to everyone we've been able to have the one year anniversary since publication of this bulletin. I hope you'll continue to read the bulletin "New-Method." (Kaido)

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