There are two open reel recorders and a mixer on a disk and a microphone on another. In turn, six performers record their voices. The first performer pronounces letters, “Na, Mi, U, Tsu [Wavering],” one letter in every three seconds, and repeats this for 25 minutes. An endless tape of ocean waves is played in a venue. At the end of the performance, rewind and replay the recorded tape. Next, while listening to the voice of the first performer, the second performer pronounces the second letter, “Mi,” when the first says the first letter, “Na,” and pronounces “U” when the first says “Mi.” Record these words superimposing on the voice of the first performer. You can hear two voices and a wave of sounds overlapped in the recording that are replayed after the second performance. The third performer pronounces “U” when the first says “Na.” It takes six hours until the replay of the sixth performance finishes.

The records of Climax No.1 by Tetsuya Watanabe include several photographs of the performances, timetable, and recording script that were put up on the wall, and an open reel tape. This tape also contains spliced sounds of a part of each performance. Not only can the overlapped voice and wave sound be heard, but also noises in the gallery and rhythmic sounds that seem to be derived from the tape recorders. The latter sounds gradually gain volume and become the same volume as that of the voice in the sixth performance, and even sometimes drown it out. The above description is based on those records and interviews with people who were involved. The procedure of the performance and devices can be inferred approximately, but there are multiple possibilities. It cannot be confirmed how to connect two recorders and a mixer, and which sounds the performers and audiences heard.

From Tomotaro Kaneko, “Where did the waves come from?: Tetsuya Watanabe, Climax No.1“

March 25th, 2018　SCOOL

Performance
Tetsuya Watanabe, Climax No.1, 1973/2018　Performer｜Shohei Amimori / Shun Owada / Kazue Kaku / Manami Seki / Akiko Tamaki / Shogo Baba

Screening
Tetsuya Watanabe, EMULSION SEA, 1972
Tetsuya Watanabe, WALL SEA, 1972-3
Tetsuya Watanabe, Drinking Coffee, 1975

Text｜Tetsuya Watanabe / Tomotaro Kaneko
Talk｜Minoru Hatanaka / Tomotaro Kaneko
Technical Assistant｜Hideki Umezawa / Chiho Oka / Yoichi Kamimura
Screening Assistant｜Yo Ota
Photograph｜Ryo Fujishima
Video｜Yuki Higuchi
Leaflet Design｜Tadao Kawamura

Leaflet
Tetsuya Watanabe, “Manifest No.1”, 1974
“Tetsuya Watanabe (1947-2007) Data”, 2018
Tomotaro Kaneko, “Where did the waves come from?: Tetsuya Watanabe, Climax No.1“, 2018

1947　Born in Gifu

1971　Graduated from Tokyo Zokei University, Department of Fine Arts, Painting Course

Selected Solo Exhibition
1965　Ogikubo Gallery, Tokyo
1966　Ogikubo Gallery, Tokyo
1968　Lunami Gallery, Tokyo
1973　“Climax No.1”, Tokiwa Gallery, Tokyo

“Climax No.2”, Tokiwa Gallery, Tokyo

1974　“Climax No.3”, Tamura Gallery, Tokyo

“Underground Cinematheque No.59”, Tenjo-Sajiki-Kan Theater, Tokyo

1975　“Drinking Coffee”, Sato Gallery, Tokyo
1976　“be-account”, Shinobazu Gallery, Tokyo
1977　“be-account ll”, Maki Gallery, Tokyo
1978　“be-scoup lll”, Sato Gallery, Tokyo

Selected Group Exhibition (in the 1970s)

1967　Apathetic Art Exhibition”, Muramatsu Gallery, Tokyo

1970　“6.15-23 Daily Campus Happening – ACT Organization”, Tokyo Zokei University, Tokyo

“On a Body or the Bodily – ACT Organization”, Tokyo Zokei University, Tokyo

1971　“EXHIBITION SUMMER IN TAKAO”, Tokyo Zokei University, Tokyo

1973　“Kyoto Independent”, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto

“AFFAIR & PRACTICE · BY 12”, Pinar Gallery, Tokyo

“Quintette + 4 REVOLUTION Photography Exhibition”, Tokiwa Gallery, Tokyo

“Kyoto Biennale”, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto

“Film Media in Tamura ’73: By Film”, Tamura Gallery, Tokyo

1974　“Exhibition: Each One”, Tamura Gallery, Tokyo

“Expression by Image ’74”, Art Core Hall, Kyoto

1975　“Film Media in Tamura ’75: By Video”, Tamura Gallery, Tokyo

“The 3rd Underground Cinema Recent Works Showcase”, Yasuda Life Hall, Tokyo

“MAKI SPACE No.1 (By Film)”, Maki Gallery, Tokyo

“9e Biennale de Paris”, Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris, France

“AFFAIR & PRACTICE・WHY IT”, Contemporary Culture Center, Tokyo

1976　“Kyoto Biennale”, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto

1977　“MAKI SPACE No.2: VIDEO IN TOKYO”, Maki Gallery, Tokyo

“Chobham Armour”, Sato Gallery, Tokyo

1978　“Each One”, Muramatsu Gallery, Tokyo

1979　“Fatal Movement toward ‘80s cinema: A Retrospective of Non-Theatre Cinema in the 1970s”, Studio 200, Tokyo