Nagoya šC ¡°Still Alive¡±: The two short words that serve as the overall theme of this year¡¯s Aichi Triennale suggest a mountain of meaning. They could be a provocation, after a statue symbolizing wartime ¡°comfort women¡± sparked controversy at the 2019 triennale and, after a torrent of threats and complaints, was temporarily shut down. Or they could be an expression of hope, after a three-year period in which the global pandemic turned cultural gatherings into public health risks. Or they could be a more primal declaration.
That¡¯s also true of the work that inspired the theme, on view at the Aichi Arts Center in Nagoya through Oct. 10. Conceptual artist On Kawara¡¯s ¡°I Am Still Alive¡± is a series of roughly 900 telegrams sent over 30 years with variations on that basic sentiment. He initially sent three messages in 1969: ¡°I am not going to commit suicide don¡¯t worry¡±; ¡°I am not going to commit suicide worry¡±; and ¡°I am going to sleep forget it.¡± The subsequent 30 years of telegrams, with the simpler message, ¡°I am still alive,¡± became a new series and, ultimately, a moving piece of conceptual art. The implication is this: If there was any reason to think the artist might no longer exist, here was affirmation of his life.
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