Event
Takeshi Murata: MidnightPost an Event »
Ratio 3
November 8 - December 14, 2013Info
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http://www.ratio3.org/
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(415) 821-3371
For his fourth solo exhibition with Ratio 3, Takeshi Murata continues his exploration of figurative animation, presenting new original characters and environments in a cinematic projection in Ratio 3’s main gallery.
Midnight depicts two characters– a reckless wolf and an embittered old man– navigating a shadowy computer-animated world. Designed, animated, and scripted by the artist, the video balances high production value with handcrafted treatment of its two characters. Through meticulous animation, Murata creates characters that are uncannily familiar yet unique to the artist’s surreal aesthetic and dark humor.
Their relationship left ambiguous, the characters invite multiple interpretations; they may be longstanding adversaries, allegories, or sides of a single personality. With no defined beginning or end, Midnight shows its characters in repetitive action: casting dice, ruminating, wandering the landscape, riding a moped, and ascending an endless staircase. Accompanied by an atmospheric soundscape composed by Robert Beatty, the two characters mirror and contrast each other, suggesting a timeless, repeating narrative.
Midnight addresses themes common to mythology and daily life. Inevitable aging, stagnant habits, and feckless spontaneity define Murata’s characters, tracing the artist’s relationship to the enduring themes of defiant senescence and searching youth.