For A More Credible Art World | A Conversation On New Infrastructure of Art
NFT is on the rise. And there is something more substantial.
What does the current art world need? What is necessary for artists, galleries, collectors, and everyone involved in the art world to enjoy art more freely and securely? Miwa Taguchi, the co-representative of the Taguchi Art Collection, and Taihei Shii, a contemporary artist and a CEO of Startbahn, talked about the future of the art world from their unique perspectives.
Miwa Taguchi is the co-representative of the Taguchi Art Collection, who is dedicated to the promotion of contemporary art. The collection began with her father, Hiroshi Taguchi, and includes about 500 works by contemporary artists worldwide. She is well versed in the art scene and has a wealth of knowledge and networks, and we welcomed her as a senior advisor to Startbahn last year.
Updating the structure of the art world
Taguchi I remember the first time I heard about you. It was from a newspaper article that my father showed me. He said “Look, this seems interesting.” On the front page of the Japanese newspaper, you were introduced as a young man with a vision to create a better system for artists.
Shii That was in February of 2016, so exactly five years ago.
Taguchi Right. Since then, I’ve come full circle and been appointed as a senior advisor, which is quite a strange feeling! (Laughter)
Shii I’ve always thought that Startbahn needed an advisor to move in the right direction. I have figured that Ms. Taguchi would be a good fit. She sees the potential of technology with having the entire art industry in mind. While many easily focus on their own benefits, I thought it would be valuable to have a collector who looks at the whole picture.
Taguchi A new technology changes the old structure. So humans inevitably tend to be conservative, making it difficult to move forward. But I am rather open to shifts in values and senses; maybe because I saw how much of an alien my father was. (Laughter) I think he is somewhat similar to you in some ways.
Shii What an honor! (Laughter)
Taguchi The vision of ‘creating a social infrastructure’ is something that my father always had in his mind. In order to create a system that can provide benefits while holistically looking at the whole society, there is always a clash with the old values. My father’s policy was that meaningful changes come with pain.
There are still many old customs and values in the art world. My father instinctively knows that something needs to be changed. He also understands that this is where new technologies such as blockchain come in. That’s why what Startbahn is doing is so interesting to my father.
“The Imperceptible Layer” of an Artwork
Taguchi I’m of course interested in the new technology, but especially the technological possibilities in terms of copyright. The current situation is somewhat restrictive: when you have a work of art and want to exhibit it or use a picture of the work on a book or on the Internet, you have to go through the trouble of applying and getting permission.
An artwork’s reality is more than the artwork at hand. In art, behind the work as an “object,” there is an imperceptible layer. I think that is “information” of the artwork. Owning art as an “object” and enjoying art as “information” isn’t the same thing.
Shii “The Imperceptible Layer”… Hm, you’ve got the point perfectly! .
Taguchi You have the right to own the work itself, but you can’t just print it on a piece of paper or a T-shirt and enjoy it. Even if you want to make a catalog and publish it, you have to go through a color and layout check. Also, although you have the right to exhibit your work, you need a whole set of different permissions to have the third party take pictures of your work.
If I have the work, I want to be able to enjoy it. I want it to be seen by as many people as possible. But that doesn’t really work out. In fact, nowadays, copyright organizations are being formed and it is getting stricter and stricter. I’m wondering if there’s a way to make the flow more limitless and better.
Then, when I heard about “Startrail” from Mr. Shii, I strongly felt that it might be a system that can solve this problem. I think you are democratizing the art world by liquidating “The Imperceptible Layer” of art.
Shii The other day, an editor of a magazine told me, “TeamLab and Yoichi Ochiai are ‘strengthening the game of principles’ that is independent of the art history’s context. On the other hand, Startbahn is ‘intervening in the game of context.’ Even though they both use the digital technology, their approaches and positioning are different.” (*) He said that Startbahn attempts to digitally archive the art world’s context and history.
People in the art world are already dealing with “information” as “The Imperceptible Layer,” as you say. But I see that it is sometimes unconscious and unstable, isn’t it?
Taguchi Yes. It’s also one of the movements to tear down the context, which is also “information,” which should be preserved in history. When that happens, it will eventually come back to what Startbahn is doing.
When the blockchain system “Startrail” becomes common, “the layer” that leads to the value of art will remain forever in the future. I think that each art will be given an eternal life. So, I imagine that it will be like a “blood vessel to connect the life of art.”
Shii I’m incredibly happy that we share the essence of what Startbahn is doing.
Taguchi It is democratization in the sense that it will allow more people to access and enjoy art. I myself hope that my collection will be seen by many people and that it will be an opportunity for them to come into contact with art. I don’t want it to be something that only a few people in the city can enjoy, so I want to bring it to the countryside as well.
However, it doesn’t mean that any kind of artwork will do; I want people to feel and understand the “orthodox” of art in the world. And, that orthodox is created by history. So, your efforts to realize the part of history and the part of democracy is a further expansion of my dream.
I want to enjoy top artists’ works freely and securely.
Taguchi In this industry, in particular, we have become accustomed to tangible things. This is why we currently use paper documents to prove the authenticity of our works, but each gallery or studio has its own way of doing this, and there is no uniform template or format. Besides, you might lose that paper somewhere.
Shii I wonder on what basis this certificate proves authenticity… It is so ambiguous, isn’t it?
Taguchi Also, the way artworks are produced is becoming more and more diverse these days. If it is a digital work, it may be easy to reproduce. On the other hand, if the work is made of a material that deteriorates quickly, it is the information that is important. I think it is necessary to preserve the information from the very beginning of the work in a form that will not disappear in the future.
Shii Unfortunately, the quality of forgeries has been getting higher and higher, and the degree of reproduction of works has become very high. With the latest AI and robotic hands, it is even possible to analyze the actual painting or brushstroke and reproduce a work that has not yet been painted. Someone could draw a painting of what Rembrandt would create if he was to create a new work today. Some of them cannot even be detected by handwriting analysis.
With the development of such technology, it is important to preserve information about the origin and history of the work in order to ensure the authenticity and reliability of the work.
Taguchi Right. By doing that, artists and galleries will also benefit from the fact that something like a raisonné can be automatically updated; if a blockchain certificate is issued on Startrail, all those works can be automatically put together and used for authorization. I think the days of referring to the paper raisonné are over. It should be much easier. Of course, the paper raisonné is still attractive to look at.
Shii I think that various types of work management will be easier, more secure, and more accurate. I think it will be considerably more convenient. Furthermore, I think it is important to be able to achieve this while protecting privacy.
People tend to misunderstand what I am doing at Startbahn; some people think we work on increasing the art market’s transparency or making the supply chain visible, and which leads to a danger to personal information and privacy. But what we are actually doing is to “increase the reliability” of the work. What should be recorded and stored is information related to the trust of the work. Information related to privacy, such as the personal name of the owner or the transaction price, which are not recorded in the blockchain. We want to make that clear.
Taguchi So, for example, you won’t disclose how much I bought or sold a piece of work for. There is a distinction between information that is shared by everyone through the blockchain and information that is managed confidentially only by individuals or within each service. It would be nice to be able to wipe away the fear that everything will be made public.
Taguchi The same is true for copyright management, isn’t it? Currently, it is more difficult to handle the works of big-name artists. In actuality though, it is better to be able to use top artists’ works freely. If this kind of management becomes easier, many people will be able to enjoy their works more freely without having to recreate a raisonné manually, in accordance with the proper rules.
Shii The same is true for people who may become big names in the future. I think it is necessary to prepare for the future management of one’s work before giving it away.
Creativity That Stems From Passion, Not Commercial Interests
Taguchi It seems that some artists monitor secondary auctions in order to keep track of where their works are. They’ve been selling their works to various people without thinking about it, but now they’re wondering where they are.
Shii It’s like an old friend you haven’t seen in a while — — “Hm, I wonder what he’s up to these days.”
I used to sell a few works myself. The other day, I received a message from someone overseas on SNS that said, “I have your work.” It was a six-meter piece that I had embedded in the wall of a bar in New York, but the bar closed a few years later, and I thought the piece had been destroyed. To my surprise, however, it seems that the collector kept it, stripping the entire wall nice and clean. I was very impressed.
Taguchi Wow, that’s a great story! You should visit that person. (Laughter) By the way, your works are always huge in size, aren’t they?
Shii I’ve never been good at making small works. Actually, I didn’t want to create art for a specific purpose. At the time, I really didn’t like the idea of submitting my work to art fairs in order to sell it or creating a work that would sell for that purpose. I would feel disappointed if I created something specifically for the sake of sales and ended up not being sold. The gallerists did not seem happy with these kinds of ideas though. (Laughter)
Taguchi Oh, I see. Never thought it that way.
Shii I didn’t even want to go to the art fairs where my works were displayed. Gallerists would always get angry and say, “Come and see your work.” (laughter) However, when I explained about my works at the fair, many people would listen to me and even compliment me, which did of course make me flattered. So, because of who I am, I can personally relate to artists who don’t want to create artworks to just sell them.
Taguchi Interesting! I didn’t think I’d get to hear from the artist “Taihei”!
Shii But nowadays, artists are expected to do everything, aren’t they? It’s not just about creating artworks, but also about communication, branding, and meeting gallerists and collectors to market your works. That’s why only a handful of artists make it to the top. I think that some of these things don’t need to be done by the artists themselves.
Taguchi That’s right. The artists themselves should pursue their passion for their work, and the gallery should provide the right environment for that. Having different roles is important, isn’t it? I think that a system that is beneficial to the artist works best for the gallery. Especially galleries that are always thinking from the artist’s point of view. And when you realize that, I think it will be beneficial for everyone, including collectors like us.
Miwa Taguchi
Senior Advisor at Startbahn
Born in 1967. Graduated from the Department of Social Work, Graduate School of Sociology, Meiji Gakuin University. Around 2013, she succeeded to the management of her father’s art collection, Taguchi Art Collection. Taguchi has visited numerous exhibitions, art festivals, and art fairs in Japan and abroad to enhance the collection. In 2019, she established the Arts Plus Institute of Contemporary Art, a general incorporated association, and has conducted seminars and other activities to bridge the information gap between Japan and the rest of the world regarding contemporary art.
Arts Plus Institute for Contemporary Art:
https://www.facebook.com/artsplus2019/
Taguchi Art Collection:
https://taguchiartcollection.jp/
Taihei Shii
CEO at Startbahn
Born in 1977. Spent his childhood in the US. Graduated from Tama Art University in 2001. Taught as an Adjunct Professor in Tokyo University of the Arts. Has been a modern artist himself, with his focus theme of “Art in Internet Age”. M.S. in The University of Tokyo Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies. Explained the initial plan of “Startbahn” at a talk event in 2006, acquired regarded patents in Japan and US. Established Startbahn, Inc, in 2014. Enjoys playing billiards.
Startbahn, Inc.:
https://startbahn.jp/en/
