Takahiko Iimura

Takahiko Iimura est japonais et n'est pas un artiste ordinaire. Peu soutenu dans son pays, il a dû partir à la rencontre d'un public à travers de nombreux voyages. Considéré désormais comme un artiste très important dans le domaine multimédia, il est l'un des premiers avec Yoko Ono et Ruyichi Sakamato à avoit obtenu une réputation internationale.
Son travail s'étend sur plus de 30 ans et recouvre des supports différents allant du film conceptuel à des disques vidéo interactifs, en passant par des installations.Iimura a réalisé plus de 80 films et vidéos entre 1962 et 1993.
Si dans ses films, on remarque qu'il instaure un dialogue silencieux entre des objets et la caméra, dans ses vidéos, il développe des dialogues en créant des rapports entre des êtres humains et la caméra, en y ajoutant des mots.
De nombreuses rétrospectives dans les cinémathèques du monde entier lui ont été consacrées. Il a exposé notamment au Museum of Modern Art de New York en 1975, au Centre Georges Pompidou à Paris en 1977, et au Long Beach Museum de Los Angeles en 1980. T. Iimura a également contribué à l'organisation du premier festival expérimental au Japon: le Japan Film Independant.

Takahiko Iimura has been a pioneer artist of Japanese experimental film and video, working in film since l960 and with video since 1970. He is also a widely established international artist, having numerous exhibitions including installation and performance in Japan, the USA, and Europe. One of his early films, Onan, was awarded Special Prize at the legendary Brussels International Experimental Festival, l964. Recently he has been involved in using computer, publishing multimedia CD-ROM and DVDs. He has also published several books writing on film,video, and multimedia.

As an internationally recognized artist, Iimura has been invited to many lectures and exhibitions at universities, museums and festivals. Major individual film and video exhibitions have been held at the Museum of Modern Art, New York,1975, &1981; Cinematheque Francaise, Paris, 1974; Centre George Pompidou, Paris, 1977; the Whitney Museum, New York, l979; Palais des Beaux-Arts,Brussels,1980; Anthology Film Archives, New York, 1990; the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo, l995; the Japan Cultural Center, Rome, 1997; the Lux Centre, London 1998, the Filmmuseum, Munich, 1998, and the National Gallery Jeu de Paume, Paris, 1999._Reina Sofia National Museum, Madrid, 2000. Barcelona Contemporary Museum, Barcelona, 2000. National Laboratorio Artealamedia, Mexico City, 2001. Also artist residency at Bellagio Rockefeller Foundation Study Center, Italy, 2001.

Iimura has received a number of awards for his work including the Brussels International Experimental Film Festival, Special Prize, 1964; Thomas Edison Black Maria Film/Video Festival, Grand Prize, 1986; San Francisco International Film Festival, Golden Gate Prize, 1987; UNESCO Festival International Du Film D'Art, Architecture Prize, 1991; Sound Based Visual Art Festival, Wroclaw, Poland, Rusting Ear Prize, 1993; New York Festivals, Finalists Awards, 1994, and Rugh and Ruined Film/Video Festival, Grand Prize, 1997. He was commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum, New York in 1989 to produce a film: Ma: Space/Time in the Garden of Ryoan-ji.

Jonas Mekas, film critic, has said that to review all of Iimura's work is an important occasion for all who are concerned with the development and pleasure of cinema as an art.

Iimura lives in Tokyo and in New York.