Download Biography - Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Biography
Born in Detroit, James Lee Byars (1932-1997) was one of the twentieth century's most
enigmatic artists. From the late 1950s until his death in Cairo, Byars made an expansive body
of work in sculpture, installation, drawing and performance. A truly international artist, he led a
nomadic lifestyle, spending a decade (1957-67) living on and off in Japan, where he taught
English to Buddhist monks and nuns. Byars visited Yorkshire Sculpture Park in 1995/96 when
he developed projects with the Henry Moore Foundation for Castle Howard’s Temple of the
Four Winds and for the Foundation Cartier. An extraordinary personality and a beguiling
artist, Byars was similarly captivated by the Park. He died in Cairo, Egypt in 1997.
1932
Born Detroit, Michigan
Mid to late fifties
Studied art and philosophy at Wayne State University in Detroit
Michigan.
1957-67
Lived mostly in Kyoto teaching English. Travelled frequently to the
United States and Europe. Studied traditional Japanese culture, pottery,
and papermaking, as well as Noh theatre and Buddhist philosophy.
1960
Awarded William Copley Prize, Cassandra Foundation, New York
1961
First solo exhibition at Marion Willard Gallery, New York
1968
Awarded the J. Clawson Mills Scholarship by the New York
Architectural League
1969
Appointed Artist in Residence at the Hudson Institute, New York, and
founded the “World Question Center”
1972
Participated in “documenta 5”, Kassel, Germany, the five yearly
exhibition of contemporary art the takes place in the city. He received
international recognition and later took part in “documenta 6” (1977)
and “documenta 7” (1982)
1974
DAAD scholarship in Berlin (German Academic Exchange Service)
1980 and 1986
Participated in the Venice Biennale, the major contemporary art
exhibition that takes place in the city once every two years
1997
Dies in Cairo, Egypt
Selected Exhibitions
1958
Museum of Modern Art, New York
1961
Willard Gallery, New York
1962
“Paper of Kyoto”, floor plan of a temple, Kyoto
1964
“1 x 50 Foot Drawing”, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh
1967
“The Giant Man of Water Soluble Paper and Dissolved on 53rd
Street”, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York
1968
“The World Question Center”, The Hudson Institute, Croton-onHudson, New York
1969
“The World Question on Belgian TV”, Nova Scotia College of Art and
Design, Halifax; Wide White Space Gallery, Antwerp
1970
“The Gold Curb”, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
1971
“The Black Book”, Galerie Michael Werner, Cologne
1972
Galerie Michael Werner, Cologne; Documenta V, Kassel
1973
Wide White Space Gallery, Antwerp
1974
“The Perfect Love Letter”, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels; “The
Golden Tower”, Galerie Rudolph Springer, Berlin
1975
“The Perfect Epitaph”, Galerie Toni Gerber, Bern; “The Holy Ghost:
Opening of the Celibatarian Machine”, Piazza San Marco, Venice; “The
Perfect Kiss”, Pavillon Denon, Musée du Louvre, Paris; “The
Autobiography. The Perfect Epitaph. The 25 Philosophers of
Amsterdam Live, I do nothing, The Wand”, Galerie de Appel,
Amsterdam
1976
“The Perfect Performance is to Stand Still”, I.C.C., Antwerp; “Drawing
Now”, Museum of Modern Art, New York
1977
“The Hundred One Page Book”, Galerie Rolf Preisig, Basel; “The Play
of Death”, Domplatz, Cologne; “The First Total Interrogative
Philosophy”, Städtisches Museum Abteiberg, Mönchengladbach;
Documenta VI, Kassel; “Werk aus der Sammlung Crex”, Ink, Zurich;
Louisiana Museum, Humlebaek; Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus,
Munich; Stedelijk van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven
1978
“The Perfect Kiss”, University Art Museum, Berkeley; “Hear TH IN
PH around this chair and it knocks you out”, Marian Goodman Gallery,
New York; “The Exhibition of Perfect”, Kunsthalle Bern
1980
“The Exhibition of Perfect”, Busch-Reisinger Museum at Harvard,
Cambridge; Venice Biennale, Venice
1981
“The Perfect Kiss”, De Appel Foundation, Amsterdam; “The very
Great Search for James Lee Byars”, De Hortus Botanicus, De Appel
Foundation, Amsterdam; “James Lee Byars—Sechs Arbeiten”, Galerie
Michael Werner, Cologne; “The Classical Exhibition of to Be Quiet”,
Galerie Helen van der Meij, Amsterdam; Galerie Claude Givaudan,
Geneva
1982
“James Lee Byars im Westfälischen Kunstverein”, Westfälischen
Kunstverein, Munster; Documenta VII, Kassel; “Zeitgeist”, MartinGropius-Bau, Berlin
1983
Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven; Musée d’Art Moderne de la
Ville de Paris, Paris; “Sammlung Speck”, Haus Lange/Haus
Ester, Krefeld; “New Art at the Tate Gallery”, The Tate Gallery,
London
1984
“The Perfect Quiet”, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Galerie
Michael Werner, Cologne; Museum of Fine Art, Philadelphia;
“Skulptur im 20 Jahrhundert”, Merienpark, Basel
1985
Galerie Michael Werner, Cologne; Mary Boone/ Michael Werner, New
York
1986
“The Spinning Oracle of Delphi”, Delphi; “James Lee Byars—Palast der
Philosophie/The Philosophical Palace”, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf,
Düsseldorf; “James Lee Byars—Beauty Goes Avantgarde”, Galerie
Michael Werner, Cologne; “Choices: Making an Art of Everyday Life”,
The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York; “Die Sammlung
Toni Gerber im Kunstmuseum Bern”, Kunstmuseum, Bern; Venice
Biennale, Venice
1987
“James Lee Byars—Zeichnungen”, Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich; “The
Letter Reading Society of James Lee Byars”, Galerie des Beaux-Arts,
Brussels; “Die Gleichzeitigkeit des Anderen”, Kunstmuseum, Bern;
Documenta VIII, Kassel; “Übrigens sterben immer die Anderen,
Marcel Duchamp und die Avantgarde seit 1950”, Museum Ludwig,
Köln
1988
Mary Boone/Michael Werner, New York; Hoffman Borman Gallery,
Santa Monica
1989
“James Lee Byars—Monument to Cleopatra”, Cleto Polcina Arte
Moderna, Rome; “James Lee Byars—Old New Work”, Vrej
Baghoomian Inc., New York; Mary Boone Gallery, New York; “James
Lee Byars—The Palace of Good Luck”, Castello di Rivoli, Museo d’Arte
Contemporanea, Turin; Galerie de France, Paris; Galerie Michael
Werner, Cologne
1990
“The Perfect Thought”, The University Art Museum, University of
California, Berkeley and the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston;
“Vies d’Artistes”, Musée des Beaux-Arts André Malraux, Le Havre
1991
“James Lee Byars—The Path of Luck”, Michael Werner Gallery, New
York; “James Lee Byars—Neue Arbeiten”, Galerie Michael Werner,
Cologne
1992
“James Lee Byars—Self Portraits”, January 11 - February 1, Vrej
Baghoomian Gallery, New York; “The Thinking Field”, Mary Boone
Gallery, New York; “Is—James Lee Byars”, Galeria La Maquina
Espanola, Madrid; Magasin 3 Stockholm Kunsthalle, Stockholm;
Galerie de France, Paris; Alhambra Foundation, Granada
1993
“Sonne, Mond und Sterne”, Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart;
“James Lee Byars—Is Is”, Mulier Mulier Gallery, Knokke-Heist; Galerie
Rigassi, Bern; Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Brussels; SCAI The Bathhouse,
Shiraishi Contemporary Art, Inc., Tokyo; “Works from the Sixties” and
“Recent Works”, Michael Werner Gallery, New York
1994
“James Lee Byars—Frühe und neue Objekte”, Galerie Michael Werner,
Cologne; “The Death of James Lee Byars”, Galerie Marie-Puck
Broodthaers, Brussels; “James Lee Byars—The Perfect Love”, Laura
Carpenter Fine Art, Santa Fe; Graphische Räume Museum Ludwig,
Cologne; “James Lee Byars—Drawings (Moon—Eros)”, SCA The
Bathhouse, Shiraishi Contemporary Art, Inc., Tokyo; “James Lee
Byars-The Perfect Moment”, IVAM Centre del Carme, Valencia;
“Couplet 2”, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
1995
“James Lee Byars—White Mass”, Kunst-Station Sankt Peter, Cologne;
Artek Gallery, Helsinki; “James Lee Byars—Perfect is my Death Word”,
Neues Weserburg, Bremen; “James Lee Byars—Five Points Make A
Man, The Moons and Constellations”, Michael Werner Gallery, New
York; Fondation Cartier pour l’art Contemporain, Paris
1996
“The Monument of Language—James Lee Byars”, The Henry Moore
Institute, Leeds; “James Lee Byars—The Angel”, Michael Werner
Gallery, New York; “Centro Damián Bayón, Institutode América de
Santa Fe, Grenanda; “Dessins: acquisitions 1992-1996”, Galerie d’Art
Graphique, Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges
Pompidou, Paris
1997
“James Lee Byars”, Galerie Stadtpark, Krems; “James Lee Byars—The
Palace of Perfect”, Fundação de Serralves, Porto; “Notfalls leben wir
auch ohne Herz. Exemplarischen aus der Sammlung Speck”,
Kunsthalle Wien, Wien
1998
“James Lee Byars—Four Early Drawings and a Black Figure on the
Floor”, Michael Werner Gallery, New York; “James Lee Byars—The
Arts Club of Chicago, Chicago
1999
Michael Werner Gallery, New York and Cologne; “The Epitaph of
Con. Art is Which Questions Have Disappeared?”, Kestner
Gesellschaft, Hannover; Venice Biennale, Venice
2000
“The Poetic Conceit and Other Black Works”, Michael Werner
Gallery, New York and Cologne
2001
Galerie Er Rashid, Düsseldorf; “Letters to Joseph Beuys”, Museum für
Kommunikation, Frankfurt; “Works on Paper from the 1960s and
1990s and Sculpture from the 1990s”, Rhona Hoffman Gallery,
Chicago; “Ephemera”, Low, Los Angeles; “Beau Monde: Toward a
Redeemed Cosmopolitanism”, SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe; “Alchemie de
la rencontre”, FRAC/Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain ChampagenArdenne, Reims; “The Museum of our Wishes”, Museum Ludwig,
Cologne
2002
“The Angel”, Timothy Taylor Gallery, London; “The Inward Eye:
Transcendence in Contemporary Art”, Contemporary Arts Museum,
Houston
2003
“The Moon Books: Above and Below, An Exhibition of James Lee
Byars”, Michael Werner Gallery, New York; “Louise Bourgeois, James
Lee Byars – Il disparut dans le silence total”, Centre Pompidou, Paris;
"The Invisible Threat: Buddhist Spirit in Contemporary Art", Snug
Harbor Cultural Center, New York
2004
"James Lee Byars: Letters from the World's Most Famous Unknown
Artist", Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art; "James Lee
Byars", Hiram Butler Gallery, Houston; "James Lee Byars: Life, Love
and Death", Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt; "James Lee Byars", The
Whitney Museum of American Art", New York; "Singular Forms
(Sometimes Repeated): Art from 1951 to the Present", Solomon R.
Guggenheim Museum, New York; Los Monocromos", Museo Nacional
Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid; "The Big Nothing", Institute of
Contemporary Art, Pennsylvania
2005
“James Lee Byars: Selected Works", Baldwin Gallery, Aspen Colorado;
"James Lee Byars", Barbican, London; “James Lee Byars: Selected
Works”, The Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, CO; “James Lee Byars”, Griffin
Contemporary, Santa Monica, CA; Private/Corporate III. Sammlung
Daimler Chrysler – Sammlung Heliod Spiekermann", Daimler Chrysler
Contemporary, Haus Huth, Berlin; "Private view. Colour after Klein",
Barbican Art Gallery, London; "Lothar Baumgarten. James Lee Byars.
In Progress IV Für Harald Szeemann", Kewenig Galerie, Köln;
"Passions for Collecting", Neues Museum Weserburg, Bremen; "The
New Hebrews. A Century of Art in Israel“, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin;
"The Red Carpet. Myth, Might and Everyday Life. 5th Summer of Art
and Culture 2005“, KISS Kunstverein, Schloss Untergröningen,
Abtsgmünd Untergröningen; "Atlas – World Culture in Dialog“, HBV
Kunst Palais, München; "A Brief History of Invisible Art“, CCA Wattis
Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco
2006
“James Lee Byars”, Michael Werner Gallery, Perry Rubenstein Gallery
and Mary Boone Gallery, New York; “Worlds: James Lee Byars, Jörg
Immendorff, Thomas Lehmerer, Hermann Nitsch, Reiner Ruthenbeck
and others”, Neues Museum Weserburg, Bremen; “The Materialization
of Sensibility: Art and Alchemy“, Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects,
New York; “Elemental Form”, L&M Arts, New York; “Strange Powers”,
Creative Time, New York
2007
“Selection”, Galerie Michael Werner, Cologne; “The Invisible Show”,
Centro José Guerrero, Granada; “Byars & Beuys”, Van Abbemuseum,
Eindhoven; “Tracce di Zen / Zen
Traces”, Ca’Foscari, Venice; “James Lee Byars: The Art of Writing”,
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
2008
“James Lee Byars: JB: Q.I.I.T.R. T.F.T.I.P. T.S.T.”, Galerie de
France/Galerie Michael Werner, Paris; “Power”, Foxy Production, New
York; “Martian Museum of Terrestrial Art”, Barbican Art Gallery,
London; “James Lee Byars Five Points Make a Man”, Michael Werner
Gallery, New York; “Old Masters, Modern & Contemporary Art and
Fine Arts”, Galerie Marie-Puck Broodthaers, Brüssel; “Pretty Ugly”,
Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York; “That Was Then, This is
Now”, PS1/MoMA, New York
2009
Performance
“I’m Full of Byars: James Lee Byars - Eine Hommage”, Kunstmuseum
Bern, Bern; “NeoHooDoo: Art of a Forgotten Faith“, PS1/MoMA,
New York, traveling to Miami Art Museum, Miami “The Third Mind:
American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860-1989“, Guggenheim
Museum, New York and traveling to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art,
Kansas City; ”Doors of Perception: American Art in Asia”,
Guggenheim, NY; “1968: The Great Innocents”, Kunsthalle Bielefeld,
Germany ; “I’m Full of Byars”, Milton Keynes Gallery, London; “The
Quick and the Dead”, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, “Imminence”,
Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris; “Matthew Brannon, Marcel Broodthaers,
James Lee Byars, William E. Jones“, David Kordansky Gallery, Los
Angeles; “James Lee Byars Lived Here”, organized by Milton Keynes
Gallery, Palazzo Pesaro Papafava, Venice during the Venice Biennale;
"James Lee Byars", Yorkshire Sculpture Park, United Kingdom
Present or IS
Performance was a large part of James Lee Byars' work. In his performance pieces he often
explored the phenomenon of presence and the moment between life and death. The Death of
James Lee Byars (1982/94) was created as the site for a performance based on earlier works
exploring the artist's own "departure" from the real world. The installation presents a gold-leafed
room where Byars enacted his symbolic death with a glass sarcophagus and five crystals left as a
bodily trace.
Detail from The Death
of James Lee Byars
In his performances and everyday actions, Byars dressed in incredible outfits made of fabric
such as gold lamé and red silk. His performances focused on the fleeting and immaterial, that
perfect moment of presence.
In 1972 Byars staged his first happening in Berne in front of the Loeb department store in
Spitalgasse: The First International Perfume Exhibition. Swathed in a red garment with a
hundred buttons, Byars, stood on a plinth four metres above the ground, whilst one hundred
women in red T-shirts and knickers proffered one hundred perfumes for passersby to smell.
Byars whispered the names of perfumes into a golden megaphone: “Just a moment of delicious
smell for the noses of the people”. The use of perfume connected perfectly to his idea of art of
the moment or as he termed “IS”: art that dissolved at one into nothingness.
Byars enjoyed creating myths about himself and his work, both of which can be seen to be part
of the works themselves. For example in The First International Perfume Exhibition it was also
reported that there were only 26 women and 26 different scents. During his 1988 exhibition at
Mary Boone/ Michael Werner Gallery in New York, Byars claimed the gallery walls, which
were painted a deep red, had been kissed by Puerto Rican girls wearing red lipstick. Another
example of his tendency to exaggerate was his description of a dinner party he held. He said
afterwards that the only food served at the dinner was a small golden sphere, made to his
specification to pass through the human digestive system in exactly twenty minutes. After being
cleaned the sphere was swallowed consecutively by each guest. Everyone who ever came into
contact with Byars has wittingly or unwittingly participated in Byars’ work – by listening to his
stories, witnessing his performances, or by passing on what they heard or saw to others, often at
the request of the artist. It was in part a form of participatory art and in part Byars’ strategy of
promoting himself.
Byars employed a strategy of distancing, cloaking and anonymity in his work. For example, on
his 1961 Guggenheim application he wrote, “My current exhibition materials weigh 16kg, one
suitcase full. I am equipped to handle time from 1/2500 MS up and single objects areas ½ cm
to 800 ground feet”. Byars’ intention was to make himself ‘disappear’ in order to focus
attention on “IS”, or the being present. His disappearing acts assumed many forms. In the early
sixties he donated a number of works to museums, including the Carnegie Museum of Art in
Pittsburg and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, always with the stipulation that the
artist be listed as “anonymous” and the works as “untitled”. (Only later did he title most of the
works and give permission to use his name.) In 1972 during “documenta 5” Byars stood on the
tympanum of the Museum Fridericianum in Kassel with his back turned to the onlookers
below, or sat high up in a tree, cloaked in red silk, shouting German names (pseudonyms?)
through a megaphone at the passersby.
This early strategy of anonymity and disappearance is related to his later death works. Byars
started dealing with the theme of death in 1975 with The Perfect Epitaph, a work performed in
Bern, where he rolled a red lava rock through town with his companion, B.B Grögel, at his
side. During a performance in 1984, The Perfect Death of James Lee Byars, Byars lay on a
gold-painted ground in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in one of his gold-lamé suits.
The effect of gold on gold made his body “invisible”. In 1994 Byars presented the performance
The Perfect Smile to the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, as a gift with the request that it be
exhibited like any other work in its collection. Again he dressed in gold lame, wearing a black
top hat, black gloves and shoes, and a black silk scarf wrapped around his head, which
obscured his eyes and most of his face, except for parts of his mouth and nose. The
performance consisted of a very subtle movement of his mouth to indicate the briefest smile
possible, before it vanished from his face.
The Perfect Smile
The artist as the art
For Byars’ thesis whilst at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, he invited the
professors who were to oversee his project to his family's home. Before their arrival he
removed all the furniture from the house, storing it in the barn; he then removed all the doors
and all the windows from their frames, and stowed these, too, in the barn; his parents went out
to the barn where they sat watching TV until the event was over. When his professors arrived
they entered the house unbidden except by the open doorways. They walked through the
empty rooms looking for the exhibition, then went upstairs where, in one second-floor room,
they found Byars seated in a straight-backed chair (the only piece of furniture left in the house),
blindfolded and perfectly still. The exhibition of himself (not exactly the same as
"exhibitionism") was to be perhaps the central theme of Byars' oeuvre as it unfolded. The kind
of self-exhibition that was performed by Byars in his thesis project was subsequently taken up
by the artists Yves Klein, Gerhard Richter, Tom Marioni, Chris Burden, Linda Montano,
Gilbert & George, Marina Abramovic and Ulay, and numerous others. It became one of the
central themes of performance art.
The presentation of the artist as the art object is, in fact, an icon of the late modernist and
postmodernist idea of closing the gap between art and life. Byars himself repeated and varied it
many times. An exhibition at the gallery Wide White Space in Antwerp in 1969, for example,
consisted of Byars seated in suit, mask and hat, draped in red velvet, in an otherwise empty
white gallery. When an arriving visitor saw that there were no paintings or sculptures, his or her
attention would tum to Byars, who would ask one of his trademark questions ("What is
question?" for example, or "Is is?"). He would then write down the visitor's response on a page
in a blank book.
Byars was always a part of his own art, which is why in 1978 he stated: “I cancel all my works at
death”. As with the artist Joseph Beuys, the installations and objects he used in his
performances are nowadays merely parts of a whole. These fragments - for example, the
sandstone ball that Byars rolled through the lanes of Berne, Switzerland in his performance
The Perfect Epitaph (1975) – are also suggestive objects of great artistic power , however even
without the artist as protagonist, they fulfil their primary role of activating thought process.
Letters as performance
Byars was a prolific letter writer; writing to and sometimes corresponding with numerous
people from Queen Elizabeth II to other artists, such as the German artist Joseph Beuys. In
the course of sixteen years Beuys received more than a hundred letters from Byars without ever
writing back himself. Often Byars’ letters were not written in the hope of receiving an answer
but were more often expressing ideas and thoughts, becoming part of his work.
The wide range of materials he employed in his letters pushed the limits of the tradition. These
materials and the techniques he used are the same ones that he exploited in much of his
artwork, such as handmade Japanese and Chinese paper, tissue paper and crumpled paper,
rolled or accordion-folded scrolls, textiles and garments, gold paint, gold leaf, and gold printing
(often on a black ground), and string.
Byars engaged in an engrossing correspondence with Museum of Modern Art, New York
curator Dorothy C. Miller for nearly two decades. After seeing a work by Mark Rothko, Byars
became determined to meet the artist, and in 1958 he hitchhiked from Detroit to New York
and presented himself at The Museum of Modern Art, requesting an introduction. Miller was
called down to meet with him. That same year Byars had his first exhibition at a U.S. museum,
when Miller allowed him to briefly install his large works on paper in the Museum’s emergency
exit stairwell. From this point forward, Byars considered Miller an important mentor and
turned to her repeatedly for support.
Byars often composed his letters as folded drawing–sculptures decorated with a star-like script
that was hard to read. Each one seemed like a kind of formal challenge to decipher the
message and, in so doing, complete the artwork. Others, though, were explicit invitations. In
1972, perhaps inspired by Elvis Presley’s ‘successful’ correspondence with Richard Nixon,
Byars invited the President and other world leaders (via the more readily legible medium of the
telegram) to visit ‘Documenta 5’. If Nixon had decided to attend, he would probably not have
realised that the man standing on the roof of the Friedericianum shouting random German
names through a golden megaphone was his host, but we can assume that Byars would have
enjoyed the resulting confusion. (Just in case he might be spotted, he had concealed himself
beneath a cloak of red silk.)
Letters from James Lee Byars to Dorothy Miller
In a letter from Byars to Miller he suggests several artworks for installation at the Museum,
including a 16-by-32-foot white ellipse that would “vail [sic] all the Brancusi and just blow
around or what a spot it would make in front of the Monet—or do you ever put a net over your
high garden square… do you have an airtight observation room in which could float a black
paper (made years ago 10 meters folded up in a foot). How about a black show (it would fly
over) What are the air rights above your Museum? Of course in simple presentation it might
softly negotiate a stairwell or fill an elevator or be the center piece up in your eating space with
tables around and nothing but clear foods served”.
Letter Byars to Miller, January 3 1967
In another letter, written on a scroll from a roll of calculator printer paper, he shares another
idea for the Museum: “it would be beautiful if your museum would set aside a small space for
daily change (say 8 x 8 all white) letting all of your intelligent staff take a one day set whatever
they wanted from your collection. The space could also be open to one day propositions from
traveling artists - it would be kept the most exciting space in the city with a new thing everyday”.
Letter Byars to Miller, January 1 1966
Byars wrote this letter in pencil on a lengthy piece of pink tissue paper shaped like a snake,
which he subsequently crumpled and coiled into the yellow satin wrapper. The letter and its
textile covering directly relate to his participatory performances. He wrote: “Mrs. Imagine this
is pink satin—imagine it holds 100 people (one head hole every 10 feet) Bellydown-doing
Shakespeare’s 100 Lines for your opening night out in the street (1) Mr. Fang have you entered
the action? 2. Hang up Philosophy! Romanddu! III, 3. (3) If the other two be Brained like us,
the state letter 100 ‘etc’—Let’s do it—Hisssssssssssssss”
Letter Byars to Miller, no date
Byars wore this hat to the Museum of Modern Art on October 10 (10/10), at 10am. He
announced himself at the reception desk, smashed the hat, and then had it sent up to Miller.
The hat exists as evidence of this performance.
Hat, original envelope, notes, October 10, 1964?
Byars’s interest in participatory actions as well as his desire to physically manifest abstract ideas,
can be seen in another letter he sent to Dorothy Miller on hand-cut black tissue circles.
Written on one of the circles in pencil was this instruction: “Put a minute of attention on this
paper and send it to the museum at 1078 Madison”. The item was to be forwarded to a
fictitious museum at Noah Goldowsky Gallery, where the dealer Richard Bellamy supported
artist projects. There, the circles were to be piled up in the corner, part of A Million Minutes of
Thoughts, an exhibition proposal by Byars that was never realized.
Hand-cut black tissue circle, c. December 27, 1967
Performative garments
After returning from Kyoto in 1967, Byars began to design participatory garments such as Four
in a Dress, Three in Pants, Two in a Hat, and Dress for 500, as well as performative silk
objects such as, Gun, The Pink Silk Airplane (for 100 People), all tailored from black, white or
pink acetate silk. Four in a Dress (1967) consists of a circular piece of black silk cloth, sixteen
feet in diameter with four holes cut out for the performers’ heads. When worn, preferably with
no clothes underneath, it comes to the ankles.
Byars insistence in the sixties and seventies that his performances be regarded as “plays” is an
indication that his works should neither be considered merely anecdotal or conceptual, but as
social activities. In September 1968 Byars performed a number of silk works on East Sixty-fifth
Street, New York, as part of a series of participatory events dealing with communication and
behaviour, entitled Mr Byars and Six Plays. The six plays, based on definitions of the word
“play” that Byars had found in the Oxford English dictionary , were titled Do, Fly, Can’t, Talk,
Breathe and Try. Among the silk works performed were 100 in an Airplane, Twelve in Pink
Pants, and The Mile-Long Strip.
Four in a Dress
Disappearance of the artist
As was typical of Byars’ sculptures made during the eighties and nineties, the performative
character of his work began to become more autonomous, requiring less and less of his
presence. While Byars’ earlier, dominantly performative works were guided by the model of
Japanese Noh theatre and sought to dematerialise art through actions and performances, his
later works re-objectify his actions by transforming the material of the objects into performers
who raise philosophical questions. Byars’ familiarity with Japanese Noh theatre – its demands
for elegance and grace, its use of ceremonial dress and symbolic number systems, and its
practice of articulating answers as questions – profoundly influenced his art. Noh goes back to
ancient times. Whereas Kabuki was for the common people, Noh was a performance for the
samurai or warrior class. The actors wear masks and dramatic elements are minimal,
movements are performed very slowly to the accompaniment of music. Dances are an intrinsic
part of many Noh plays. The rhythm (ma) structures the movements (kata) as they meld into
each other. The transitions have to be subtle and alive, pulsed by the dancer’s rhythm. As
Byars explained to Dorothy Miller, curator at MoMA:
“The ‘MA’ in Noh Drama is the interval between words, a sacred absence, giving the
sound its chance to become. Beautiful quiets, full of everything, isolated pure sounds,
high clear, full of sorrow and joy.”
Noh theatre (notes from Wikipedia)
Noh (能 Nō?), or Nōgaku (能楽?) is a major form of classic Japanese musical drama that has
been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing both the
male and female roles. The repertoire is normally limited to a specific set of historical plays. A
Noh performance often lasts all day and consists of five Noh plays interspersed with shorter,
humorous kyōgen pieces.
While the field of Noh performance is extremely codified with an emphasis on tradition rather
than innovation, some performers do compose new plays or revive historical ones that are not
a part of the standard repertoire. Works blending Noh with other theatrical traditions have also
been produced.
Outdoor Noh theatre performance
Together with the closely-related kyōgen farce, it evolved from various popular, folk and
aristocratic art forms, including Dengaku, Shirabyoshi, and Gagaku.
Kan'ami and his son Zeami brought Noh to its present-day form during the Muromachi period
(1336-1573). It would later influence other dramatic forms such as Kabuki and Butoh. During
the Meiji era (1868-1912), although its governmental patronage was lost, Noh
and Kyōgen received official recognition as two of the three national forms of drama.
By tradition, Noh actors and musicians never rehearse for performances together. Instead,
each actor, musician, and choral chanter practices his or her fundamental movements, songs,
and dances independently or under the tutelage of a senior member of the school. Thus, the
tempo of a given performance is not set by any single performer but established by the
interactions of all the performers together. In this way, Noh is an example of the traditional
Japanese aesthetic of transience, called by Sen no Rikyu "ichi-go ichi-e".
Noh stage
There are four major categories of Noh performers: shite, waki, kyōgen, and hayashi.
The shite (仕手, シテ) or the primary actor, literally "doers", are the most common

roles in Noh.

In plays where the shite appears first as a human and then as a ghost, the first role is
known as the maeshite and the later as the nochishite.
Shitezure (仕手連れ, シテヅレ) The shite's companion. Sometimes "shitezure" is

abbreviated to "tsure" (連れ, ツレ), although this term refers to both the shitezure and the
wakizure (See below).

The waki (脇, ワキ) performs the role that is the counterpart or foil of the shite

The wakizure (脇連れ, ワキヅレ) is the companion of the waki

The kyōgen (狂言) perform the aikyogen (相狂言) interludes during
plays. Kyōgen actors also perform in separate plays between individual noh plays

The hayashi (囃子) or hayashi-kata (囃子方) are the instrumentalists who play the four
instruments used in Noh theatre: the transverseflute (fue 能管), hip drum
(okawa or ōtsuzumi 大鼓), the shoulder-drum (kotsuzumi 小鼓), and the stick-drum
(taiko 太鼓).

The jiutai (地謡) is the chorus, usually comprising six to eight people

Kōken (後見) are stage hands, usually one to three people
A typical Noh play will involve four or five categories of actors and usually takes 30-120
minutes. Noh actors were almost exclusively male.
Plays
There are approximately 250 plays in the current repertoire, which can be divided according to
a variety of schemes. The most common is according to content, but there are several other
methods of organization.
Category
1. Kami mono (神物) or waki nō (脇能) typically feature the shite in the role of a human
in the first act and a deity in the second and tell the mythic story of a shrine or praise a
particular spirit.
2. Shura mono (修羅物) or ashura nō (阿修羅能, warrior plays) have the shite often
appearing as a ghost in the first act and a warrior in full battle regalia in the second, reenacting the scene of his death.
3. Katsura mono (鬘物, wig plays) or onna mono (女物, woman plays) depict the shite in
a female role and feature some of the most refined songs and dances in all of Noh.
4. There are about 94 "miscellaneous" plays, including kyōran mono
(狂乱物) or
madness plays, onryō mono (怨霊物) or vengeful ghost plays, and genzai
mono (現在物), plays which depict the present time, and which do not fit into the
other categories.
5. Kiri nō
(切り能, final plays) or oni mono (鬼物, demon plays) usually feature
the shite in the role of monsters, goblins, or demons, and are often selected for their
bright colors and fast-paced, tense finale movements.
Mood
Mugen nō (夢幻能) usually deals with spirits, ghosts, phantasms, and supernatural

worlds. Time is often depicted as passing in a non-linear fashion, and action may switch
between two or more timeframes from moment to moment.

Genzai nō (現在能), as mentioned above, depicts normal events of the everyday world.
However, when contrasted with mugen instead of with the other four categories, the term
encompasses a somewhat broader range of plays.
Style

Geki nō (劇能) or drama plays are based around the advancement of plot and the
narration of action.

Furyū nō (風流能) or dance plays focus rather on the aesthetic qualities of the dances
and songs which are performed.
Okina (or Kamiuta) is a unique play which combines dance with Shinto ritual. It is considered
the oldest type of Noh play, and is probably the most often performed. It will generally be the
opening work at any programme or festival.
Sources
The Tale of the Heike, a medieval tale of the rise and fall of the Taira clan, originally sung by
blind monks who accompanied themselves on the biwa, is an important source of material for
Noh (and later dramatic forms), particularly warrior plays. Another major source is The Tale of
Genji, an eleventh century work of profound importance to the later development of Japanese
culture. Authors also drew on Nara and Heian period Japanese classics, and Chinese sources.
Some famous plays
The following categorization is that of the Kanze school.
Name
Kanji
Meaning
Category
Aoi no Ue
葵上
Lady Aoi
4 (misc.)
Aya no Tsuzumi
綾鼓
The Damask Drum
4 (misc.)
Dōjōji
道成寺
Dōjōji
4 (misc.)
Hagoromo
羽衣
The Feather Mantle
3 (woman)
Izutsu
井筒
The Well Cradle
3 (woman)
Kagekiyo
景清
Kagekiyo
4 (misc.)
Kanawa
鉄輪
The Iron Ring/Crown
4 (misc.)
Kumasaka
熊坂
Kumasaka/The Robber
5 (demon)
Matsukaze
松風
The Wind in the Pines
3 (woman)
Nonomiya
野宮
The Shrine in the Fields
3 (woman)
Komachi at Sekidera
3 (woman)
Sekidera Komachi 関寺小町
Semimaru
蝉丸
Semimaru
4 (misc.)
Shakkyō
石橋
Stone Bridge
5 (demon)
Shōjō
猩々
The Tippling Elf
5 (demon)
Sotoba Komachi
卒都婆小町 Komachi at the Gravepost 3 (woman)
Takasago
高砂
At Takasago
1 (deity)
Tsunemasa
経政
Tsunemasa
2 (warrior)
Yorimasa
頼政
Yorimasa
2 (warrior)
Yuya
熊野
Yuya
3 (woman)
Noh stage
World's oldest Noh stage at Miyajima
1:hashigakari. 2:kyōgen spot. 3:stage attendants. 4:stick drum. 5:hip drum. 6:shoulder
drum. 7:flute. 8:chorus. 9:waki seat. 10:waki spot. 11:shite spot. 12:shite-bashira.
13:metsuke-bashira. 14:waki-bashira. 15:fue-bashira.
The traditional Noh stage consists of a pavilion whose architectural style is derived
from that of the traditional kagura stage of Shinto shrines, and is normally composed
almost entirely of hinoki (Japanese cypress) wood. The four pillars are named for
their orientation to the prominent actions during the course of the play: the wakibashira in the front, right corner near the waki's standing point and sitting point;
the shite-bashira in the rear, left corner, next to which the shite normally performs;
the fue-bashira in the rear, right corner, closest to the flute player; and the metsukebashira, or "looking-pillar", so called because the shite is typically faced toward the
vicinity of the pillar.
The floor is polished to enable the actors to move in a gliding fashion, and beneath
this floor are buried giant pots or bowl-shaped concrete structures to enhance the
resonant properties of the wood floors when the actors stomp heavily on the floor.
As a result, the stage is elevated approximately three feet above the ground level of
the audience.
The only ornamentation on the stage is the kagami-ita, a painting of a pine-tree at the
back of the stage. The two most common beliefs are that it represents either a
famous pine tree of significance in Shinto at the Kasuga Shrine in Nara, or that it is a
token of Noh's artistic predecessors which were often performed to a natural
backdrop.
Another unique feature of the stage is the hashigakari, the narrow bridge to the right
of the stage that the principal actors use to enter the stage. This would later evolve
into the hanamichi in kabuki.
All stages which are solely dedicated to Noh performances also have a hook or loop
in ceiling, which exists only to lift and drop the bell for the play Dōjōji. When that
play is being performed in another location, the loop or hook will be added as a
temporary fixture.
Costumes
The garb worn by actors is typically adorned quite richly and steeped in symbolic
meaning for the type of role (e.g. thunder gods will have hexagons on their clothes
while serpents have triangles to convey scales). Costumes for the shite in particular
are extravagant, shimmering silk brocades, but are progressively less sumptuous for
the tsure, the wakizure, and the aikyōgen.
For centuries, in accordance with the vision of Zeami, Noh costumes emulated the
clothing that the characters would genuinely wear, whether that be the formal robes
of a courtier or the street clothing of a peasant or commoner. It was not until the late
sixteenth century that stylized Noh costumes following certain symbolic and stylistic
conventions were used regularly.
The musicians and chorus typically wear formal montsuki kimono (black and
adorned with five family crests) accompanied by either hakama (a skirt-like garment)
or kami-shimo, a combination of hakama and a waist-coat with exaggerated shoulders
(see illustrations). Finally, the stage attendants are garbed in virtually unadorned black
garments, much in the same way as stagehands in contemporary Western theatre.
Masks
The masks in Noh (能面 nō-men or
面 omote, feature) all have names. They are
made out of materials such as clay, dry lacquer, cloth, paper, and wood.
Usually only the shite, the main actor, wears a mask. However, in some cases,
the tsure may also wear a mask, particularly for female roles. The Noh masks portray
female or nonhuman (divine, demonic, or animal) characters. There are also Noh
masks to represent youngsters or old men. On the other hand, a Noh actor who
wears no mask plays a role of an adult man in his twenties, thirties, or forties. The
side player, the waki, wears no mask either.
Several types of masks, in particular those for female roles, are designed so that slight
adjustments in the position of the head can express a number emotions such
as fear or sadness due to the variance in lighting and the angle shown towards the
audience. With some of the more extravagant masks for deities and monsters,
however, it is not always possible to convey emotion. Usually, however, these
characters are not frequently called to change emotional expression during the
course of the scene, or show emotion through larger body language.
The rarest and most valuable Noh masks are not held in museums even in Japan,
but rather in the private collections of the various "heads" of Noh schools; these
treasures are usually only shown to a select few and only taken out for performance
on the rarest occasions. This does no substantial harm to the study and appreciation
of Noh masks, as tradition has established a few hundred standard mask designs,
which can further be categorized as being one of about a dozen different types.
Props
The most commonly used prop in Noh is the fan, as it is carried by all performers
regardless of role. Chorus singers and musicians may carry their fan in hand when
entering the stage, or carry it tucked into the obi. In either case, the fan is usually
placed at the performer's side when he or she takes position, and is often not taken
up again until leaving the stage.
Several plays have characters who wield mallets, swords, and other implements.
Nevertheless, during dance sequences, the fan is typically used to represent any and
all hand-held props, including one such as a sword which the actor may have tucked
in his sash or ready at hand nearby.
When hand props other than fans are used, they are usually introduced or retrieved
by stage attendants who fulfill a similar role to stage crew in contemporary theatre.
Like their Western counterparts, stage attendants for Noh traditionally dress in
black, but unlike in Western theatre they may appear on stage during a scene, or
may remain on stage during an entire performance, in both cases in plain view of the
audience.
Stage properties in Noh including the boats, wells, altars, and the aforementioned
bell from Dōjōji, are typically carried onto the stage before the beginning of the act in
which they are needed. These props normally are only outlines to suggest actual
objects, although the great bell, a perennial exception to most Noh rules for props, is
designed to conceal the actor and to allow a costume change during the aikyogen
interlude.
Chant and Music (Nohgaku 能楽)
Hayashi-kata (noh musicians). Left to right:taiko, ōtsuzumi (hip
drum), kotsuzumi (shoulder drum), flute.
Noh theatre is accompanied by a chorus and a hayashi ensemble (Noh-bayashi
能囃子). Noh is a chanted drama, and a few commentators have dubbed it
“Japanese opera”. However, the singing in Noh involves a limited tonal range, with
lengthy, repetitive passages in a narrow dynamic range. Clearly, melody is not at the
center of Noh singing. Still, texts are poetic, relying heavily on the Japanese seven-five
rhythm common to nearly all forms of Japanese poetry, with an economy of
expression, and an abundance of allusion.
It is important to note that the chant is not always performed "in character"; that is,
sometimes the actor will speak lines or describe events from the perspective of
another character or even a disinterested narrator. Far from breaking the rhythm of
the performance, this is actually in keeping with the other-worldy feel of many Noh
plays, especially those characterized as mugen.
Noh hayashi ensemble consists of four musicians, also known as the "hayashi-kata".
There are three drummers, which play the shime-daiko, ōtsuzumi (hip drum),
and kotsuzumi (shoulder drum) respectively, and a shinobue flautist.
Actors
There are about 1500 professional Noh actors in Japan today, and the art form
continues to thrive. Actors begin their training as young children, traditionally at the
age of three. Historically, the performers were exclusively male. In the modern day, a
few women (many daughters of established Noh actors) have begun to perform
professionally. Many people also study Noh on an amateur basis. While the field of
Noh performance is extremely codified with an emphasis on tradition rather than
innovation, some performers do compose new plays or revive historical ones that are
not a part of the standard repertoire. Works blending Noh with other theatrical
traditions have also been produced.
The five extant schools of Noh shite acting are
the Kanze (観世), Hōshō (宝生), Komparu (金春), Kita (喜多), and Kongō (金剛)
schools. Each school has a leading family known as thesōke, and the head of each
family is entitled to create new plays or edit existing songs.
The society of Noh strictly protects the traditions passed down from their ancestors
(see iemoto). However, several secret documents of the Kanze school written by
Zeami, and of the Komparu school written by Komparu Zenchiku have been
diffused throughout the community of scholars of Japanese theatre.
Actors normally follow a strict progression through the course of their lives from
roles considered the most basic to those considered the most complex or difficult;
the role of Yoshitsune inFuna Benkei is one of the most prominent roles a child
actor performs in Noh.
Influence in the West
Western artists influenced by Noh include:
Theatre Practitioners

Bertolt Brecht

Peter Brook

Jacques Lecoq

Jacques Copeau

Eugenio Barba

Jerzy Grotowski

Heiner Müller

Eugene O'Neill

Osvobozené divadlo
Composers

William Henry Bell

Benjamin Britten

Carlo Forlivesi

Olivier Messiaen

Iannis Xenakis

David Byrne
Poets

Ezra Pound

William Butler Yeats
Kabuki theatre (notes from Wikipedia)
Kabuki (歌舞伎 kabuki?) is the highly stylized classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre
is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its
performers. The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing (歌), dance (舞),
and skill (伎). Kabuki is therefore sometimes translated as "the art of singing and dancing."
These are, however, ateji characters which do not reflect actual etymology. The kanji of 'skill',
however, generally refers to a performer in kabuki theatre. Since the word kabuki is believed to
derive from the verb kabuku, meaning "to lean" or "to be out of the ordinary", kabuki can be
interpreted as "avant-garde" or "bizarre" theatre. The expression kabukimono (歌舞伎者)
referred originally to those who were bizarrely dressed and swaggered on a street.
1603–1629: Female kabuki
The history of kabuki began in 1603 when Okuni of Izumo, possibly a miko of Izumo Taisha,
began performing a new style of dance drama in the dry riverbeds of Kyoto. Female
performers played both men and women in comic playlets about ordinary life. The style was
instantly popular; Okuni was even asked to perform before the Imperial Court. In the wake of
such success, rival troupes quickly formed, and kabuki was born as ensemble dance and drama
performed by women—a form very different from its modern incarnation. Much of its appeal in
this era was due to the ribald, suggestive performances put on by many troupes; this appeal was
further augmented by the fact that the performers were often also available for prostitution. For
this reason, kabuki was also written "歌舞妓" (singing and dancing prostitute) during the Edo
Period.
In kabuki's nascent period, women were the only performers in the plays. Soon women began
attracting the wrong types of audiences and gaining too much attention from men. This type of
attention raised some eyebrows and officials felt as if women were degrading the art of kabuki.
In 1629, women were banned from appearing in kabuki performances.
1629–1673: Transition to yarō kabuki
The modern all-male kabuki, known as yarō kabuki (young man kabuki), was established
during this period. After women were banned from performing, cross-dressed male actors,
known as onnagata ("female-role") or oyama, took over. Young (adolescent) men were
preferred for women's roles due to their less masculine appearance and higher pitched voices
compared to adult men. In addition, wakashu (adolescent male) roles, played by young men
often selected for attractiveness, became common, and were often presented in an erotic
context. Along with the change in the performers' gender came a change in the emphasis of the
performance: increased stress was placed on drama rather than dance. Their performances
were equally ribald, however, and the male actors too were available for prostitution (to both
female and male customers). Audiences frequently became rowdy, and brawls occasionally
broke out, sometimes over the favors of a particularly handsome young actor, leading
the shogunate to ban first onnagata and then wakashu roles. Both bans were rescinded by 1652.
1673–1841: The golden age
During the Genroku era, kabuki thrived. The structure of a kabuki play was formalized during
this period, as were many elements of stylization. Conventional character types were
determined. Kabuki theatre and ningyō jōruri, the elaborate form of puppet theatre that later
came to be known as bunraku, became closely associated with each other during this period,
and each has since influenced the development of the other. The famous
playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon, one of the first professional playwrights of kabuki,
produced several influential works, though the piece usually acknowledged as his most
significant, Sonezaki Shinju (The Love Suicides at Sonezaki), was originally written for
bunraku. Like many bunraku plays, however, it was adapted for kabuki, and it spawned many
imitators—in fact, it and similar plays reportedly caused so many real-life "copycat" suicides that
the government banned shinju mono (plays about lovers' double suicides) in 1723. Ichikawa
Danjūrō I also lived during this time; he is credited with the development of mie poses and
mask-like kumadori make-up.
1842–1868: The Saruwaka-chō kabuki
Kabuki theatre was first credited to a woman named Okuni of Izumo who performed this new
and exotic dance in the Edo period of Japan in 1603. Japan was under the control of the
Tokugawa shogunate, enforced by Tokugawa Ieyasu, who ruled with shogun of the Tokugawa
family. The name Edo derives from the regimes capital city Edo that is now Tokyo. Kabuki
was a wild, new form of entertainment in the ukiyo, or Yoshiwara, the registered red-light
district in Edo. Kabuki was an extravagant social setting. A diverse crowd gathered under one
roof, something that happened nowhere else in the city. The variety of the social classes which
mixed at the kabuki performances was what irked the shogunate. Kabuki theatres were a place
to see and be seen. Kabuki featured the latest fashion trends and current events. The stage
provided good entertainment with exciting new music, patterns, clothing, and famous actors.
The theatre was an all-day event; the performance went from morning until sunset.
The teahouses surrounding or connected to the theatre provided meals, refreshments, and
good company. The area around the theatres was lush with shops selling kabuki souvenirs.
Kabuki started Japanese pop culture and maintained a devise for social inclination.
Not long after the original performance, word traveled fast, and kabuki became tremendously
popular. The shogunate was never partial to kabuki theatre and all the mischief it brought.
Kabuki went through tremendous leaps, trying to appease the harsh restrictions by the
government. Women’s kabuki, called onna-kabuki, was banned from the stage in 1629 for
being too erotic. Following onna-kabuki, young boys performed in wakashu-kabuki, but since
they too were eligible for prostitution the shogun government soon banned wakashu-kabuki as
well. Kabuki finally settled with adult male actors, called yaro-kabuki in the mid 1600’s. Male
actors played both female and male characters. The theatre was as popular as ever, and
remained the entity of the urban lifestyle even until modern times. Although kabuki was
performed all over ukiyo and other portions for the country, three kabuki theatres set
themselves apart from the rest and became the top theatres in ukiyo. The Nakamura-za,
Ichimura-za and Kawarazaki-za theatres are where some of the most successful kabuki
performances were and still are held.
Fires started terrorizing Edo in the 1840s during dry spells. Kabuki theatres, traditionally made
of wood, would constantly burn down and be forced to relocate within the ukiyo. The area that
housed the Nakamura-za was completely destroyed in 1841. The shogun refused to allow the
theatre to rebuild saying it was against fire code. This sort of censorship happened was forced
onto all of the theatre houses, making abiding by the shogun laws extremely difficult. This
added to the underground life and mobility of the actors in Edo, since the government
tremendously regulated them. The shogunate did not welcome town merchants mixing and
trading with actors, artists, and prostitutes. The shogunate took full advantage of the fire crisis
and in 1842, forced the Nakamura-za, Ichimura-za and Kawarazaki-za, the three main kabuki
theatres out of the city limits and into Asakusa (a northern suburb of Edo). The shogun also
relocated the puppet theatre alongside kabuki. This exile was desired almost from the start of
kabuki. Along with the theatres, all other theatrical attributes were forced out as well, including
the actors, stagehands, and all others associated with the performances. The areas and life styles
around the theatres migrated as well, but due to the inconvenience of the new location,
attendance was low. The new location for the theatre was called Saruwaka-chō, or Saruwakamachi. The last thirty years of the Tokugawa shogunate’s rule, when kabuki was located in the
Saruwaka-machi and banned from Edo, is referred to as the Saruwaka-machi period. This
period produced some of the gaudiest kabuki in Japanese history.
The Saruwaka-machi became the new theatre district for the Nakamura-za, Ichimura-za and
Kawarazaki-za theatre houses. The district was located on the main street of Asakusa, which ran
through the middle of the small city. The street was renamed after Saruwaka Kanzaburo, who
initiated Edo kabuki in the Nakamura Theatre in 1624. The kabuki theatre district was now
located on the new Saruwaka street in the Saruwaka-machi. Other things were happening
around Edo at the time. European artists began noticing Japanese theatrical performances and
artwork. Artists like Claude Monet were greatly inspired by Japanese wood block prints. The
western interest prompted Japanese artists to create prints of everyday life depicting theatres,
brothels, main streets and so on. One artist in particular, Utagawa Hiroshige, did a series of
prints based on Saruwaka from the Saruwaka-machi period in Asakusa. Saruwaka-machi had
truly become the new theatre district, and was even getting recognized as so by artists outside
the world of kabuki.
The mentality of kabuki had been almost destroyed by this relocation, removing the play’s
most abundant inspiration for costuming, make-up, and story line, but kabuki still worked with
what it had in the Saruwaka-machi. Ichikawa Kodanji fourth was one of the most active and
successful actors during the Saruwaka-machi period. Deemed unattractive, he mainly
performed buyo, or dancing. He performed in dramas written by Kawatake Mokuami, who
also wrote during the Meiji period to follow. Kawatake Mokuami commonly wrote plays that
depicted the common lives of the people of Edo. He used new techniques for kabuki,
integrating shichigo-cho (seven-and-five syllable meter) dialogue and music such as kiyomoto.
His kabuki performances became quite popular once the Saruwaka-machi period ended and
theatre returned to Edo, many of his works are still performed today. The Saruwaka-machi
period only lasted thirty years. In 1868, the Tokugawa shogunate fell apart. Emperor Meiji was
restored to power and moved from Kyoto to the new capital of Edo, or Tokyo, thus starting the
Meiji period. Kabuki was reinstated to its birthplace in the ukiyo of Edo. Kabuki became more
radical in the Meiji period. New playwrights took kabuki under siege and created new genres
and twists on traditional stories. Modern styles started in the Meiji period.
Kabuki after the Meiji period
The November 1895 production of Shibaraku at Tokyo Kabukiza theatre
The tremendous cultural changes beginning in 1868 by the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate, the
elimination of the samurai class, and the opening of Japan to the west helped to spark the reemergence of kabuki. As the culture struggled to adapt to its new lack of isolation, actors strove
to increase the reputation of kabuki among the upper classes and to adapt the traditional styles
to modern tastes. They ultimately proved successful in this regard—on one occasion (21 April
1887), a performance was given for the Meiji Emperor.
Many kabuki houses were destroyed by bombing during World War II, and the occupying
forces briefly banned kabuki performances after the war. However, by 1947 the ban had been
rescinded, and performances began once more.
Kabuki today
The immediate post-World War II era was a difficult time for kabuki. Besides the devastation
caused to major Japanese cities as a result of the war, the popular trend was to reject the styles
and thoughts of the past, kabuki among them. Director Tetsuji Takechi's popular and
innovative productions of the kabuki classics at this time are credited with bringing about a
rebirth of interest in the kabuki in the Kansai region. Of the many popular young stars who
performed with the Takechi Kabuki, Nakamura Ganjiro III (b.1931) was the leading figure. He
was first known as Nakamura Senjaku, and this period in Osaka kabuki became known as the
"Age of Senjaku" in his honour.
Today, kabuki remains relatively popular—it is the most popular of the traditional styles of
Japanese drama—and its star actors often appear in television or film roles. For example, the
well-known onnagata Bandō Tamasaburō V has appeared in several (non-kabuki) plays and
movies—often in a female role. Kabuki is also referenced in works of Japanese popular culture
such as anime.
Though there are only a handful of major theatres in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, there are
many smaller theatres in Osaka, and throughout the countryside. The Ōshika Kabuki troupe,
based in Ōshika, Nagano Prefecture is one example.
Some local kabuki troupes today use female actors in the onnagata roles. The Ichikawa
Kabuki-za, an all-female troupe, was formed after World War II but was short-lived. In 2003,
a statueof Okuni was erected near Kyoto's Pontochō district.
Interest in kabuki has also spread in the West. Kabuki troupes regularly tour Europe and
America, and there have been several kabuki-themed productions of canonical Western plays
such as those of Shakespeare. Western playwrights and novelists have also experimented with
kabuki themes, an example of which is Gerald Vizenor's Hiroshima Bugi (2004). Writer Yukio
Mishima pioneered and popularized the use of kabuki in modern settings, and revived other
traditional arts, such as Noh, adapting them to modern contexts.
In Australia, the Za Kabuki troupe at the Australian National University has been performing a
kabuki drama each year since 1976; the single longest regular kabuki performance outside of
Japan.
Elements of kabuki
Stage design
Shibai Ukie ("A Scene from A Play") by Masanobu Okumura (1686–1764), depicting Edo
Ichimura-za theatre in the early 1740s
The kabuki stage features a projection called a hanamichi (花道; literally, flower path), a
walkway which extends into the audience and via which dramatic entrances and exits are made.
Okuni also performed on a hanamichi stage with her entourage. This type of stage is very
important in kabuki theatre. The stage is used not only as a walkway or path to get to and from
the main stage, but also important scenes are also played on the stage. Kabuki stages and
theatres have steadily become more technologically sophisticated, and innovations including
revolving stages and trap doors, introduced during the 18th century, added greatly to the staging
of kabuki plays. A driving force has been the desire to make manifest one frequent theme of
kabuki theatre, that of the sudden, dramatic revelation or transformation. A number of stage
tricks, including rapid appearances and disappearances of actors, have evolved using these
innovations. The term keren (外連), often translated playing to the gallery, is sometimes used
as a catch-all term for these tricks. Hanamichi and several innovations including revolving
stage, seri and chunori have all contributed to sophisticating kabuki play, by
which hanamichi creates the second dimensionality (depth) and both seri and chunori gains
three dimensionality (height).
Mawari-butai (revolving stage) developed in the Kyōhō era (1716–1735). Originally
accomplished by the on-stage pushing of a round, wheeled platform, this technique evolved
into a circle being cut into the stage floor with wheels beneath it facilitating movement. When
the stage lights are lowered during this transition it is known as kuraten (“darkened revolve”).
More commonly the lights are left on for akaten(“lighted revolve”), sometimes with the
transitioning scenes being performed simultaneously for dramatic effect. About 300 years ago,
this stage was first built in Japan, and was designed for quick changes in the scenes. This stage is
very useful because it helps the transition without any distractions.
Seri refers to the stage traps that have been commonly employed in kabuki since the middle of
the eighteenth century. These traps raise and lower actors or sets to the
stage. Seridashi orseriage refers to the traps moving upward and serisage or serioroshi when
they are being lowered. This technique is often used for dramatic effect of having an entire
scene rise up to appear onstage.
Chūnori: Kunitarō Sawamura II as Kitsune Tadanobu (left) flying over the stage, in the August
1825 production of Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura
Chūnori (riding in mid-air) is a technique, which appeared toward the middle of the nineteenth
century, by which an actor’s costume is attached to wires and he is made to “fly” over the stage
and/or certain parts of the auditorium. This is similar to the wire trick in the stage musical Peter
Pan, in which Peter launches himself into the air. It is still one of the most
popular keren (visual tricks) in kabuki today; major kabuki theatres, such as the National
Theatre, Kabukiz-a and Minami-za, are all equipped with the chūnori stage installations.
In kabuki, as in some other Japanese performing arts, scenery changes are sometimes made
mid-scene, while the actors remain on stage and the curtain stays open. This is sometimes
accomplished by using a Hiki Dōgu, or small wagon stage. This technique originated at the
beginning of the 18th century, where scenery or actors are moved on or off stage by means of a
wheeled platform. Also common are stage hands rushing onto the stage adding and removing
props, backdrops and other scenery; these stage hands, known as kuroko (黒子), are always
dressed entirely in black and are traditionally considered invisible. These stage hands also assist
in a variety of quick costume changes known as hayagawari (quick change technique). In plays,
when a character's true nature is suddenly revealed, the devices ofhikinuki or bukkaeri are
often used. Hikinuki or bukkaeri is accomplished by having costumes layered one over another
and having a stage assistant pull the outer one off in front of the audience.
Performance
There are three main categories of kabuki play: jidai-mono (時代物, historical, or pre-Sengoku
period stories), sewa-mono (世話物, domestic, or post-Sengoku stories),
and shosagoto (所作事, dance pieces).
Jidaimono, or history plays, were often set within the context of major events in Japanese
history. Strict censorship laws were in place almost throughout the entire Edo period,
prohibiting the representation of contemporary events and particularly prohibiting criticism of
the shogunate or casting the shogunate in a bad light. Strict as the word of the law may have
been, however, the strictness of enforcement varied greatly over the years. Most jidaimono, set
in the context of the Genpei War of the 1180s, the Nanboku-chō Wars of the 1330s, or other
historical events, actually used these historical settings, and the events and historical figures
within them, as thinly veiled metaphors for contemporary events. Kanadehon Chūshingura,
one of the most famous plays in the kabuki repertoire, serves as an excellent example; it is
ostensibly set in the 1330s, though it actually depicts the contemporary (18th century) affair of
the revenge of the 47 Ronin.
The March 1849 production of Chūshingura at Edo Nakamura-za theatre
Unlike jidaimono which generally focused upon the samurai class, sewamono focused
primarily upon commoners, namelytownspeople and peasants. Often referred to as "domestic
plays" in English, sewamono generally related to themes of family drama and romances. Some
of the most famous sewamono are likely the love suicide plays, adapted from works by the
bunraku playwright Chikamatsu; these centre on romantic couples who cannot be together in
life due to various circumstances and who therefore decide to be together in death instead.
Many if not most sewamono contain significant elements of this theme of societal pressures and
limitations.
Important characteristics of kabuki include the mie (見得), in which the actor holds a
picturesque pose to establish his character. At this point his house name (yagō, 屋号) is
sometimes heard in loud shout (kakegoe, 掛け声) from an expert audience member, serving
both to express and enhance the audience's appreciation of the actor's achievement. An even
greater complement can be paid by shouting the name of the actor's father. Keshō,
kabuki makeup, provides an element of style easily recognizable even by those unfamiliar with
the art form. Rice powder is used to create the whiteoshiroi base, and kumadori enhances or
exaggerates facial lines to produce dramatic animal or supernatural masks for the actors. The
color of the kumadori is an expression of the character's nature: red lines are used to indicate
passion, heroism, righteousness, and other positive traits; blue or black, villainy, jealousy, and
other negative traits; green, the supernatural; and purple, nobility.[6]
Play structure
Kabuki, like other traditional forms of drama in Japan as well as in other cultures around the
world, was (and sometimes still is) performed in full-day programs. Rather than attending a
single play for 2–5 hours, as one might do in a modern Western-style theatre, one would
"escape" from the day-to-day world, devoting a full day to entertainment in the theatre district.
Though some plays, particularly the historical jidaimono, might go on for an entire day, most
plays were shorter and would be arranged, in full or in part, alongside other plays in order to
produce a full-day program. This was because it was required in kabuki play to get the audience
showing different preference that is in either the history plays or domestic plays like a drama, to
enjoy during the full-day program.
The structure of the full-day program, like the structure of the plays themselves, was derived
largely from the conventions of bunraku and Noh, conventions which also appear in countless
other traditional Japanese arts. Chief among these is the concept of jo-ha-kyū (序破急), which
states that all things should be done at a certain pace, one which starts out slow, speeds up, and
ends quickly. The concept, elaborated on at length by master Noh playwright Zeami, governs
not only the actions of the actors, but also the structure of the play as well as the structure of
scenes and plays within a day-long program.
Nearly every full-length play would be performed in five acts, the first one corresponding to jo,
an auspicious and slow opening which introduces the audience to the characters and the plot.
The next three acts would correspond to ha, speeding events up, culminating almost always in a
great moment of drama or tragedy in the third act and possibly a battle in the second and/or
fourth acts. The final act, corresponding to kyu, is almost always very short, providing a quick
and satisfying conclusion.
The September 1824 production of Heike Nyōgo-ga-shima at Osaka Sumi-za theatre
While many plays were written for kabuki, many others were taken from jōruri plays, Noh
plays, folklore, or other performing traditions such as the oral tradition of the Tale of the
Heike. While plays taken from jōruri tend to have serious, emotionally dramatic, and
organized plots, those plays written specifically for kabuki generally have far looser, sillier plots.
One of the crucial differences in the philosophy of the two forms is that jōruri focuses primarily
on the story and on the chanter who recites it, while kabuki focuses more on the actors. Thus,
it is not unknown in a jōruri play to sacrifice the details of sets, puppets, or onstage action in
favor of directing attention to the chanter, while by contrast kabuki is known to sacrifice drama
and even the plot itself in favor of showing off an actor's talents. It was not uncommon in
kabuki to insert or remove individual scenes from a day's schedule in order to cater to the
talents or desires of an individual actor—scenes he was famed for, or better at showing off in,
would be inserted into a day's program where it made no sense in terms of plot continuity.
Another crucial stylistic element of kabuki is the difference between traditions in Edo and
in Kamigata (the Kyoto-Osaka region). Through most of the Edo period, kabuki in Edo was
defined by extravagance and bombast, as exemplified by stark makeup patterns, flashy
costumes, fancy keren (stage tricks), and bold mie (poses). Kamigata kabuki, meanwhile, was
much calmer in tone and focused on naturalism and realism in acting. Only towards the end of
the Edo period in the 19th century did the two regions begin to adopt one another's styles to
any significant degree. For a long time, actors from one region often failed to adjust to the styles
of the other region and were unsuccessful in their performance tours of that region.
Famous plays

Kanadehon Chūshingura (Treasury of Loyal Retainers) is the famous story of the Fortyseven Ronin who track down their lord's killer, and exact revenge upon him before
committingseppuku as required by their code of honour upon the death of their lord.

Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura (Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees)
follows Minamoto no Yoshitsune as he flees from agents of his brother Yoritomo.
Three Taira clan generals supposed killed in the Genpei War figure prominently, as their
deaths ensure a complete end to the war and the arrival of peace, as does
a kitsune named Genkurō.

Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami (Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy) is based on
the life of famed scholar Sugawara no Michizane (845–903), who is exiled from Kyoto, and
upon his death causes a number of calamities in the capital. He is then deified,
as Tenjin, kami (divine spirit) of scholarship, and worshipped in order to propitiate his
angry spirit.
Symbolism
Beginning with his trips to Asia, but also drawing on advanced scientific research, James Lee
Byars developed a personal visual style based on forms like circles, spheres, cylinders, and
pyramids, which are simple yet contain profound symbolic value. He also began using materials
and colours associated with the symbolic plane, such as marble, velvet, black and gold. For him
the intangible, the absolute, the spiritual and purity was captured visually in the abstract colour
of gold, and formally contained in the shape of the sphere.
His luxurious and enigmatic objects and pursuit of the perfect can be seen as originating from a
unique synthesis of Oriental practices, conceptual art ( art in which the concept(s) or idea(s)
involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns),
Minimalism (art in which the work is stripped down to its most fundamental features), and
Fluxus (an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending
different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s), infused with aspects of the happening (a
performance, event situation intended to be considered as art), body and installation art (sitespecific, three-dimensional works designed to transform the perception of a space).
Byars reduced the iconography of his materials to a trinity: red for the colour of life and blood,
black, with its allusions to death, and gold, to signify immortality and desire. He asserted: “For
me death is omnipresent… Life and love and death are gigantic historical themes”.
Untitled (Heart-shaped letter), no
date; gold pencil on red paper
Book
Byars liked to play with names, in particular names that connote both books and stones, either
literally or metaphorically: Wittgenstein, an Austrian-British philosopher, Einstein, and
Gertrude Stein, an American writer (the German Stein meaning ‘stone’). Soon Byars associated
all stones with books, and vice versa.
Books are a recurring element within the artist’s work. Reduced to simple geometric shapes
such as spheres, squares, and triangles, and often made of stone, Byars’ textless books
symbolise perfect meaning: The Hollow Sphere Book (1978), The Cube Book (1983),
(Phases of the Moon) (1989), among others. Arguably Byars’ most important book work is The
Book of 100 Perfects (1985), an installation of four black velvet daybeds with gilded legs and
one cube-shaped book, expressing the artist’s preoccupation with the concept of the book and
the philosophical idea of perfection.
Byars’ interest in stones may have been affected by his visits to the ancient Ryoanji rock garden
in Kyoto. Byars commented:
I look a lot for stones and I wonder a lot about them, sometimes they find me, and how
do they there, a head a body side and side, I wonder am I right to touch them or do
they say so, going here, going here and finding, what does all of this mean, do stones
love me, do I love stones. I think so, how is it everything knows, is consciousness, spirit;
is it possible to love chance, even its detachment.
The Moon Books
Chair
Chairs played an important role in Byars’ work as early as the late fifties. For Byars, chairs
served as both extensions of and stand-ins for the human body. One of his earliest sculptures,
The Black Figure (ca. 1959), a Minimalist sculpture made from rough wooden planks painted
black, which suggests both a ladder and an empty stretcher and emphasises the absence of the
human body , is chair-like in its abstraction. In the early seventies a series of photographs
entitled The Public Thinker, document Byars sitting still on a chair in various locations across
from the Pierre Hotel near Central Park, New York. Chairs also appear in Byars’ later
installations of objects, often gilded, symbolising thrones, oracles and other seats of knowledge
and power, such as The Philosophical Chair (Hear the First Totally Interrogative Philosophy
around this Chair) of 1978.
The Golden Divan (1990)
Gold
In 1994 Byars installed The Death of James Lee Byars at Galerie Marie-Puck Bloodthaers in
Brussels: it consisted of a single room covered in gold leaf. At the opening Byars, dressed in
gold lame, lay down on the floor. Afterwards he placed five crystals, in the form of a star, on a
30cm high and 180cm long sarcophagus-shaped pedestal, also covered in gold leaf, in the
centre of the room. Byars said this work was about practicing death, referring to the
philosopher Socrates, who defined philosophy as the practice of death. Death was a constant
force in Byars’ work:
Before, I perhaps played with the premonition of death. But now this performance was
the preparation for my own death, practice for my own death. The golden room
showed that death as a last consequence brings about the perfection of the external.
Gold’s connection with death has its origin in the sacrificial cult. The oldest coins symbolise
sacrificial animals or implements, for example the axe or the tripod, which they depict. Gold is
often used in art to emphasise the sacrificial context of representation. Byars’ Halo is golden
only on the outside – the inside is made of brass.
In Byars’ work, gold is an omnipresent but ambivalent symbol; its connotation of idealized
beauty aligns it with the perpetually tantalizing elusiveness of the “perfect moment” and to the
inevitability of death.
Marble
The Death of James Lee Byars
Some of Byars’ last sculptures are made of white marble from the Greek island of Thassos.
While it is sought for its perfect whiteness, Thassos marble has larger grain than marble from
Carrara or Macedonia, resembling that of rock salt. Light causes Thassos marble to appear see
through, but it can also bring about yellowish spots caused by the oxidation of the iron content
in the marble. Some of Byars’ late white marble sculptures, such as the five Concave Figures
(1994), display such slight discoloration. Standing still in tranquil solidity and solemn whiteness,
and bowing gently in one direction, the Concave Figures emanate modesty and humility. For
Byars the perfect is not found in material perfection but in the quest for it. For him, perfection
is an impossibility, except for the auspicious moment where life and death, happiness and
tragedy, however briefly, become one. Byars was equally interested in the perfections and
imperfections of various marbles. He was fascinated by the marble from Naxos, which was
favoured by ancient Greek artists who used to paint their sculptures but leave the skin areas
bare, because this particular marble would turn pink over time, perfectly imitating IndoEuropean skin colour.
Concave Figures
Sphere/circle
Byars frequent use of the sphere and circle in his works is connected to his quest for the
perfect. An early example is (1975), in which Byars, in a gold suit, rolled a red lava sphere
about two feet in diameter, through the streets of Bern, Switzerland. Another is Halo (1985), a
gleaming brazen circle about four feet across, exhibited leaning against a wall. There are many
others: The Tomb of James Lee Byars, a golden sea-stone sphere (1986); The Spherical Book
(1989); the gilded marble sphere Is (1989); the countless small paper discs passed out on
different occasions and the discs of tissue paper he wrote many letters on.
At the very end of his life he was working on an array of small golden spheres, commissioning
them from a local gold workshop near his hotel in Giza, Egypt. It was a Pythagorean idea: he
would make 1,000 gold spheres each one millimetre in diameter, 100 gold spheres each one
centimetre (10 times as big) in diameter, and 10 gold spheres each ten centimetres (again 10
times as big) in diameter. As the numbers decreased by powers of ten, so the sizes increased.
Everything was golden and everything was round; everything was Perfect.
Byars’ fascination with death also explains the sphere and circle’s frequent use. In 1984, in
front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art he staged The Perfect Death of James Lee Byars:
dressed in gold, the artist performed circular movements, then lay down for a minute on the
gold-painted floor. In 1986 he created The Figure of Death, a tower of stacked blocks of stone,
as well as The Tomb of James Lee Byars, a limestone ball 100cm in diameter and very similar
to The Perfect Epitaph. He believed the sphere, a gravestone, overcomes the moment of death
and signifies eternity.
In 1965 during the Pittsburgh International Exhibition of Contemporary Painting and
Sculpture at the Carnegie Museum of Art, a member of the Judson Group, an informal group
of dancers, Lucinda Childs, dressed in a full length, white ostrich-feather gown and headdress,
performed Byars’ A Mile-Long Paper Walk (1962-64), a long strip of handmade Japanese
white flax paper in seventy-five sections, joined with rivets. Crouching at the beginning of the
mile-long paper object, Childs executed a small circle with her body like the hands of a clock,
in a clockwise direction, rose and tiptoed gracefully along the length of the paper object, and
ended by performing another circle motion, this time counter clockwise. Byars explained this
movement as signifying a plus on one end and a minus on the other, the moment between life
and death.
Star
The Spherical Book (1989)
Byars regularly used ‘star-writing’ in his letters and drawings, a highly ornamental script in
which the shape of a star was incorporated numerous times in each letter in a word. Byars’ starwriting is related to a series of works titled Five Points Make the Man. The five points indicate
the body’s extremities and the concept that given any arrangement of five marks, the viewer will
subconsciously imagine the human figure, an idea Byars became increasingly fascinated with
towards the end of this life. This concept is in turn derived from Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian
Man: a portrait of man whose head and outstretched arms and legs form a five pointed star.
Both Byars’ letters and postcards covered with star writing and the star-shaped miniscule pieces
of paper bearing microscopic printed texts that he often hid in envelopes and presented to
others, were also examples of his gift-giving, a collaborative performance piece and another
important aspect of his art.
Untitled (IS IS), no date, ink
on gold paper