Akiko Ichikawa Explained

Akiko Ichikawa
Native Name:Japanese: 市川 明子
Birth Place:Sagamihara, Japan
Education:University School of Nashville
Vanderbilt University
Hunter College
Alma Mater:Brown University
Notable Works:Sometimes They Listen[1]
Awards:Artists Space Independent Project Grant, Djerassi Artists Residency, Public Art Fund, Brown University, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation,[2] Rhizome

Akiko Ichikawa (市川 明子, Ichikawa Akiko, or アキーコー・イーチカーワ, Akiko Ichikawa) is a transdisciplinary artist, editor,[3] [4] and writer-activist based in New York City.[5] [6] She has written on contemporary art and culture for Flash Art, Art in America, Hyperallergic, and zingmagazine. Ichikawa's article on the photography of Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams at Manzanar became popular in fall 2016, following comments by a spokesperson of a Trump-supporting PAC on Fox News.

Early life and education

Born in Sagamihara, Kanagawa,[7] Akiko Ichikawa emigrated to the United States with her family, via San Francisco, when she was three. Ichikawa's younger brother, Kenshin Ichikawa,[8] [9] founded and designed Rocksmith streetwear, which has done collaborative lines with the Wu Tang Clan, Malcolm X's daughters, and a music video with Future. The label has also been worn by all of the major male American hip-hop stars.[10] [11] Her sister, Yoko, is an Oakland, California-based part-time graphic designer and ESL teacher.[12] She and her siblings grew up in the suburbs of Boston and Nashville,[13] and she took courses in photography, painting, and drawing at Vanderbilt University while still in high school.

Ichikawa attended Brown University concentrating in Visual Art under Annette Lemieux, Leslie Bostrom, and Walter Feldman, graduating with honors. She moved to New York City four days later, using the award money from the Ivy League college's Roberta Joslin Art award to pay for her first month's rent on a studio apartment in the East Village. After working in academic publishing for 18 months, she entered Hunter's MFA program where she studied under Gretchen Bender, Robert Morris, and Andrea Blum, among others, and earned a scholarship to study in the MA Sculpture department at the Slade School of Art in London and an award to organize a panel on new painting.

Work

Ichikawa's conceptually-based artwork exists as performance, installation[14] and net.art. The performances[15] [16] include a series of site-specific gifting work titled Limited, Limited Edition in which she painted t-shirts with Japanese text informed by the neighborhood in which she gave the shirts away at low-cost: either translations of message shirts she saw in or inspired by the area.[17] She presented the first iteration of this work at Socrates Sculpture Park, in Long Island City, Queens;[18] PERFORMA at Artists Space,[19] the next in Jamaica, Queens; then at the Incheon Women Artists' Biennale in Incheon, South Korea;[20] at On Stellar Rays gallery in the Lower East Side; in three locations in Newark, New Jersey for Aljira Center for Contemporary Art,[21] in a school yard in East Harlem; on 14th Street, Manhattan, as a part of the Art in Odd Places performance festival, and on H Street NE in Washington D.C.[22] For Bad Kanji, she painted temporary kanji tattoos on viewers at the Spring/Break Art Show in 2015, held in the historic office spaces above New York City's James A. Farley Post Office. The work was reviewed favorably.[23] She has additionally exhibited her work in The Hague, Berlin, Philadelphia,[24] St. Paul, Minnesota, and in Sweden,[5] and currently lives and works in Brooklyn.[15] [25]

Ichikawa also operates as an art historian, having enacted two of Fluxus-member Alison Knowles's event scores, namely #5 Wounded Furniture and #3 Nivea Cream Piece.[22] [26] The latter was live-blogged online[27] and well-received, with Hyperallergic's Kyle Chayka writing that it was "definitely among [his] favorites."[28] In 2015, Ichikawa wrote about the Japanese American incarceration through the photography of Dorothea Lange, Ansel Adams, and Toyo Miyatake for Hyperallergic, which became popular, shared over 8,000 times on Facebook.[29] [30] In 2018, she reminded New York art world readers about the Golden Venture incident, which marked the start of contemporary punitive U.S. immigration policies at the presidential level, under President Clinton.[31] In 2020, she wrote on newly revealed information on the life of Abstract Expressionist Clyfford Still for Art in America.[32]

In the Aughts, Ichikawa created an Internet art piece that simulated a series of imagined art installations. The multi-hyphenate has also created a series of Facebook groups themed around food organized by color, touching upon issues of cultural identity, food sourcing, gentrification, environmental concerns, and greenwashing while sharing nutrition and cost-cutting tips: I ♥ Yellow Food, I ♥ Orange Food, I ♥ Red Food, I ♥ Green Food, and I ♥ Blue Food.[33] [34] [35] While not supportive of Facebook's history of massive online-privacy violations, its carrying the 2016 Republican National Convention, and, along with other mainstream media outlets, its other roles in the empowerment of Trump's 2016 presidential candidacy,[36] [37] she nevertheless viewed the social media platform as an effective, user-friendly way to include as many participants as possible, in as short a time as possible. She has lately turned to Instagram, bought by Facebook in 2012.[38]

Ichikawa's artwork before 2005 was primarily in installation art, built around the placement and assembly of basic construction materials in galleries and other spaces. She presented one such piece as her solo exhibition at Momenta Art[39] [40] and another at Andrew Kreps gallery in a group exhibition curated by Dean Daderko,[41] [42] now a curator at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.[43] The series evolved into a Net.art piece, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? that was stored on Rhizome.org.[44] [45]

Writing

Ichikawa has written on contemporary art for Flash Art on the work of Ken Lum,[46] Laurel Nakadate, Dan Peterson, Yasue Maetake, and, for NY Arts magazine, the work of British artists Jane and Louise Wilson[47] and for zingmagazine, the work of Iranian-American public artist Siah Armajani.[48] [49]

In 2015, Ichikawa wrote about the photography of Dorothea Lange, Ansel Adams, and Toyo Miyatake and the Japanese American incarceration for Hyperallergic.[29] [30] The article received its biggest spike in interest (about 5,000 more Facebook shares, totaling 8,000) after the spokesman of a Trump-supporting PAC, in early November 2016, cited the incarceration as precedent for a Muslim registry on Fox News.[50] In 2018, she reviewed an exhibition of folded paper work by the Golden Venture migrants who were held in York, Pennsylvania that was presented at Chinatown's Museum of Chinese in America.[31]

Ichikawa also wrote about the closing of the Manhattan Tekserve store, the performance by a group of young area Native American musicians at Rutgers University in 2016, and cowrote about the work of young artists of Asian descent in a New York City-based performance art festival the next year.[51] In 2018, in addition to writing about the paper-folding work of the Golden Venture migrants for Art in America online,[52] she served as the social media writer for #callresponse during its New York City exhibition run at EFA Project Space.[53]

In 2019, Ichikawa wrote about her experience of being sexually harassed at a neighborhood laundromat undergoing gentrification pressure for a Chinatown-based teen activist zine.[54] She also opined to the New York Times on American environmentalist and leader of 350.org Bill McKibben's critique of Tatiana Schlossberg’s book, Inconspicuous Consumption. She wrote that "his insistence on the 'correct' way to fight what we now know to be impending world disaster is laughable."[55]

The next year, Ichikawa wrote on the life of Clyfford Still for Art in America as seen though a documentary released that year on the Abstract Expressionist[32] and on a 2018 performance work by African-American multimedia artist Ama Be (Nana Ama Bentsi-Enchill).[56] [57]

Awards and residencies

Catalogues

Family

Akiko Ichikawa's younger sister, Yoko, is an Oakland, California-based part-time graphic designer, dance instructor, and microblogger.[59] Her younger brother, Kenshin Ichikawa, founded and designed Rocksmith streetwear, which has done collaborative lines with the Wu Tang Clan, Malcolm X's daughters, and a music video with Future, among other things. The label has also been worn by all of the major male American hip-hop stars. Yoko is a graduate of Wesleyan University, where she majored in West African dance; Kenshin is a graduate of Columbia University and is married to former UC Berkeley Food Institute executive director Nina F. Ichikawa.[60] [61] [62]

See also

Akiko (given name)
Culture of New York City

See also

Notes and References

  1. https://www.instagram.com/sometimestheylisten/
  2. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/http://akikoichikawa.info/rIchikawa.pdf
  3. Forbes Life, masthead, May 2011, p. 12
  4. —, masthead, December 2011, p. 14.
  5. Web site: mh RESIDENCY fall #02: Akiko Ichikawa. mhprojectnyc.com. 20 November 2019.
  6. News: "HOW DO WE HAVE A HEALTHY POLICE FORCE?": INSIDE A COMMUNITY MEETING DEALING WITH POLICE BRUTALITY. Brooklyn. Disser. Nicole. 22 January 2015.
  7. Web site: Resumé. akikoichikawa.com.
  8. News: Rocksmith Designer Kenshin Ichikawa Discusses Brand Success and Wu-Tang Collaborations. March 26, 2013. December 13, 2013. XXL.
  9. Web site: Search results for Kenshin Ichikawa in New York, NY. Intelius.com. December 19, 2013.
  10. Web site: SEENT IT: P. DIDDY SEEN IN ROCKSMITH SUMMER 2 G'S UP SHORTS. August 4, 2014. Rocksmith NYC. November 24, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161124221930/http://www.rocksmithnyc.com/blogs/news/15040033-seent-it-p-diddy-seen-in-rocksmith-summer-2-gs-up-shorts. November 24, 2016. dead. mdy-all.
  11. News: My Blog_. May 25, 2009. Hearty Magazine.
  12. Web site: Yoko Ichikawa, Faculty. LinkedIn. December 13, 2013. and ESL teacher at San Francisco's Academy of Art
  13. News: ABC NO RIO, Akiko Ichikawa, Vandana Jain, Jayson Keeling, Rahul Saggar, Martina Secondo, Chanika Svetvilas: 2nd October 2008 – 29th October 2008. ArtSlant. March 6, 2011. July 28, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180728040728/https://www.artslant.com/ny/events/show/27093-homecoming. dead. ArtSlant, Inc.
  14. News: Art in Review: The Reality of Things. June 18, 2004. Johnson. Ken. The New York Times.
  15. News: Artnet News. January 11, 2011. Nathan. E.. Artnet.
  16. http://05.performa-arts.org/artists/akiko-ichikawa- PERFORMA05: Akiko Ichikawa biography
  17. Web site: Don't Miss! . TimeOut New York . August 29, 2019.
  18. Web site: Akiko Ichikawa . Socrates Sculpture Park . December 25, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131226201023/http://www.socratessculpturepark.org/exhibitions/artist/akiko-ichikawa . December 26, 2013 .
  19. Web site: Akiko Ichikawa CV . akikoichikawa.info . 9 May 2023.
  20. Web site: Exhibition Tuning, Incheon Women Artists' Biennale. IWA Biennale.
  21. Web site: Exhibitions: Limited, Limited Edition (Newark). Aljira.org.
  22. Web site: Performances. akikoichikawa.com.
  23. News: 'Super-Trippy' Art Show Takes Over Post Office's Main Branch. March 5, 2015. Goldensohn. Rosa. Hyperallergic. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150321215659/http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150305/midtown/super-trippy-art-show-takes-over-post-offices-main-branch. March 21, 2015.
  24. Web site: Pearl Street Block Party. Asian Arts Initiative. December 4, 2019. November 14, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191114054347/http://asianartsinitiative.org/event/pearl-street-block-party-2. dead.
  25. Web site: Biobiblio, Akiko Ichikawa. Jochen Gerz's Anthology of Art. December 13, 2013.
  26. Web site: Event Scores. Knowles. Alison. aknowles.com.
  27. News: Live Blogging Maximum Perception Sat Night. Vartanian. Hrag. Hyperallergic. January 15, 2011.
  28. News: Reflections on 2011 Maximum Perception. Chayka. Kyle. Hyperallergic. January 20, 2011.
  29. News: The Images and Stories of Japanese American Internment. Ichikawa. Akiko. May 8, 2015. Hyperallergic.
  30. News: How the Photography of Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams Told the Story of Japanese American Internment. Ichikawa. September 1, 2015. Hyperallergic.
  31. News: The Craft of Survival: Golden Venture Paper Sculptures at the Museum of Chinese in America. Ichikawa. March 14, 2018. Art in America.
  32. News: A New Clyfford Still Documentary Explores the Life and Work of the Enigmatic Abstract Expressionist. Ichikawa. 25 March 2020. Art in Americas.
  33. Web site: Asians Not Brainwashed By Media Lapping Up Amy Chua. Ichikawa. Facebook.
  34. Web site: I ♥ Yellow Food. Ichikawa. Facebook.
  35. Web site: I ♥ Blue Food. Ichikawa. Facebook.
  36. News: The Trouble With Facebook's Fake-News Data. Feldman. Brian. November 17, 2016. New York magazine.
  37. News: Facebook's stock plunge not expected to hurt Bay Area economy. Li. Roland. San Francisco Chronicle. 26 July 2018.
  38. Web site: Akiko Ichikawa. Ichikawa. Instagram.
  39. Web site: Past Projects, 2000. Momenta Art. December 13, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131213172220/http://www.momentaart.org/momenta-art-past-projects-2000.html. December 13, 2013. dead. mdy-all.
  40. News: Brooklyn Spice. Garcia-Fenech. Giovanni. Artnet. 4 October 2000.
  41. Web site: Akiko Ichikawa (Artist) in New York, NY (New York) from Re-title.com . March 6, 2011 . July 15, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110715160336/http://www.re-title.com/artists/Akiko-Ichikawa.asp . bot: unknown . Re-title.com
  42. Web site: list of installation work. akikoichikawa.com.
  43. Web site: Staff & Board. Contemporary Arts Museum Houston website.
  44. Web site: Where Do We Come From What Are We Where Are We Going?. Rhizome.org.
  45. Web site: Untitled Document. akikoichikawa.info. May 9, 2023.
  46. News: Hyperreal Insubordinate: Ken Lum. Ichikawa. New York Arts magazine. September 2001.
  47. Web site: Jane and Louise Wilson (resume) . https://web.archive.org/web/20110712104252/http://www.303gallery.com/docs/Wilsons-bio.pdf . dead . July 12, 2011 . 303 Gallery. December 19, 2013 .
  48. Web site: Table of contents. 7. zingmagazine. December 19, 2013. December 22, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131222030715/http://zingmagazine.com/drupal/node/73. dead.
  49. Web site: Writing. akikoichikawa.com.
  50. News: Japanese American internment is 'precedent' for national Muslim registry, prominent Trump backer says. Hawkins. Derek. Washington Post. November 17, 2016.
  51. Web site: Author: Akiko Ichikawa. Hyperallergic. March 29, 2022 .
  52. News: The Craft of Survival: Golden Venture Paper Sculptures at the Museum of Chinese in America. Ichikawa. Art in America. 14 March 2018.
  53. Web site: Thinking about my new friends in #CallResponse & having to deal w/the frustrations of working in US hyper capitalism. https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/BhKtLapBMkt . December 26, 2021 . registration. Instagram. Ichikawa. 14 March 2018.
  54. Web site: The gorgeous 34-page AYA zine from the h.s. summer youth at @caaavnyc is out! Edited by @ramijaalam, it features interviews w/Gary Lum of @wingonwoandco & State Assemblymember Yuhline Niou, on-the-street interviews w/area & #queensbridge residents. https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/B1OpvvxlRLT . December 26, 2021 . registration. Instagram. Ichikawa. 16 August 2019.
  55. News: Letters to the Editor. The New York Times. October 4, 2019.
  56. Web site: About.
  57. Web site: Akiko Ichikawa 市川明子 on Instagram: "I have 2 written pieces in a book that launches on Zoom Saturday. "Institution is a Verb" published by @the_operating_system covers some of the activity at @panoplylab in e. Williamsburg 2012-18, and is edited by Esther Neff (PPL's founder), @ayana.m.evans @tsedaye, and Elizabeth Lamb. The party will showcase video documentation from performances from that times as well as discussion and toasts! I wrote about Nana Ama Bentsi-Enchill's performance there on May 26, 2018, as well as documentation with @jean__carla__rodea of the "think tank" we participated in with Neff. @thefenserf" .
  58. Web site: Catalogues. akikoichikawa.info.
  59. Web site: Artbeat Feats. Instagram.
  60. Web site: Nina Kahori Fallenbaum. December 18, 2010. Hyphen magazine.
  61. Web site: Who We Are: Our Team. food.berkeley.edu.
  62. Web site: Nina F. Ichikawa. LinkedIn.