Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING FEB 2019 46 “It started off with brainstorming at teamLab about what we could do in a 10,000 square-meter space,” Matsumoto continues. “That was around three years ago. After that the details gradually came together a little at a time. The point is that it all started with searching for a 10,000 square-meter space. We just started with the idea that we wanted to exhibit something in a 10,000 square- meter space, then we discussed the cost required to make that a reality and what types of art pieces we would be able to incorporate.” To make teamLab Borderless a reality, the company sought out the assistance of Taichi Tsuchihashi, manager of Yamashita PMC Inc. Headquarters for Promotion of Business Creation, 4th Division, to oversee project management. Tsuchihashi’s first task was to locate a space big enough to house teamLab’s ideas – not only covering 10,000 square-meters but also with ceilings 10 to 15 meters high. That space ended up being in Odaiba and the result, Tsuchihashi says, is something completely unique to the local Japanese art scene. “People may go to Barcelona to see Picasso, but you don’t see a lot of people coming to Japan for art,” he explains. “That is one of the reasons that teamLab art exhibitions have a strong Japanese presence and hopefully fulfill a role in Tokyo that never existed before. I think it can be accepted as work that gives an impression of Japan to visitors to Tokyo from overseas.” Noting that teamLab Borderless had already reached 1 million visitors within the first five months of operations, Tsuchihashi says, “It’s possible that past teamLab art exhibitions were more highly regarded overseas than they were in Japan. I feel the social value of art has always been lower in Japan than in Europe and the US. With all of this in mind, this is the first time an artist – teamLab – has invested, assumed the risk of and operated a museum- like facility as a private business. “So the fact that teamLab was able to make its idea into a reality and has been able to provide a new art museum to the people, as a private business, it’s possible that Japan’s values for viewing art will change dramatically. If we’re going to call for tourists to visit Tokyo, Japan, we need these kinds of appealing places.” Published with permission of HOTERES JAPAN