Intermedia [intāmedia] in Cold War Japan: Environment, Technology, and the Politics of Intermedia

This article investigates the way in which intermedia [intāmedia] came into play as an artistic discourse and practice by illustrating key intermediate exhibitions/events held in 1960s Japan. I argue that intermedia in Japan emerged not only as an aesthetic discourse but also took its shape on the basis of the US-Japanese network of artists/institutions/corporations in the context of the cold war geopolitics. To reveal this aspect, I explore the notion of ‘environment’ that had been interrogated as a pre-concept or prerequisite of intermedia in 1960s Japan by focusing on an exhibition, From Space to Environment [Kūkan kara Kankyō e], held in 1966, Tokyo. Through this exhibition, a new media environment that attempted to push the boundaries of different artistic genres and materials was explored by artists, graphic designers, architects, media artists, critics, and so forth. These collective practices led to the emergence of intermedia in Japan. I explore the course of how intermedia was introduced to Japan by a Japanese filmmaker and video artist, Iimura Takahiko, and how his thoughts were developed based on his transpacific artistic practices. I specifically show that his works of intermedia revealed the interrelations between artistic practices and everyday lives. I finally examine an intermedia event, Crosstalk Intermedia 1969, that was held at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium and was the largest intermedia event before Expo ‘70. This Crosstalk event was an experimental field for various artists most of whom were scheduled to show their media works in the coming event of Expo ‘70. The artists from various fields displayed their intermedia artworks by exploring new media technologies and their environment.; it was also an ambivalent media event where techno-utopian visions and geopolitical context were entangled together, which served as a pre-show of Expo ‘70.