Astrology: KAGAMI Ryuji (astrologer)
Selection and introduction of works: TAKEUCHI Atsuko (Tokyo Photographic Art Museum)

It is certainly different from one person to the next, what kinds of artworks tug on people’s heartstrings when encountering them.
Based on astrology, this guide introduces the twelve zodiac signs and their respective characteristics.
It also points out recommended exhibits that match those inclinations, and in addition, suggests in the form of questions how those works may be looked at.
For your enjoyment of the festival’s many highlights, we suggest starting with those that match your respective zodiac sign – individually or in a group of mixed signs.

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The questions included here are open questions. Please feel free to share your answers with others on social media platforms. You will certainly discover new answers that you wouldn’t have come up with by yourself.

#Yebizo #AstrologicalFestivalGuide #[your zodiac sign] #TopMuseum

“Cardinal Fire” sign. This is the ignition point from which all things originate. The Aries is an energetic person who feels attracted to any undeveloped territory that hasn’t been touched by anyone. If there were no Aries, there would certainly be much less challenge and innovation in the world, which suggests that, in ancient times, it must have been an Aries who first took the challenge of dealing with the very first “technology” that was fire. If you have the sensibility to detect pioneering spirit in the exhibitions at this festival, you are probably an Aries.

Keywords:
Red, vivid colors. Stadiums, places related to competition. Volcanos, wasteland, uncharted land. Knives, weapons, combat, sports. Things involving intense feeling and challenge. Angular-shaped objects. Youth.

Recommended work:
TOKOLO Asao + HIRAMOTO Tomoki + IGUCHI Kota ,FORMING SPHERES [Center Square of Yebisu Garden Place (YEBIZO MEETS program)]

Q: What kinds of things are you reminded of by the Ichimatsu patterns projected onto the ground?

“Fixed Earth” sign. Taurus has the ability to stand firmly on the ground, and harvest the abundant crops it produces. A Taurus person can appreciate the richness of nature, and the joy of being able to feel with all senses. It must have been Taurus people who developed the earliest technologies for harvesting the fruits of the earth, such as farming and cattle‐breeding. If you this exhibition makes you feel a fruitful relationship between nature and humankind, this is a sign of the sensibility of a Taurus.

Keywords:
Green, rich and natural colors. Farms, fields, abundant nature. Things full of sensuous joy. Farmers’ markets, banks. Fruit, foodstuffs, things that come in masses. Livestock, things reminiscent of the earth, voluptuous things.

Recommended work:
UMEZAWA Hideki + SATO Koichi, Echoes from Clouds [B1F Exhibition, TOP Museum]

Q: The sounds used in this work are based on field recordings made at the shooting locations. What kinds of sounds do you hear?

“Mutable Air” sign. Air symbolizes intellect. Gemini has the ability to drive the community by communicating all kinds of messages, wisdom and information, as if riding on the wind. A Gemini person’s curiosity and quick-wittedness are unparalleled, and it may in fact have been a Gemini who invented the first language and letters back in ancient times. If you are able to sense in this exhibition novel forms of communication, and the importance of related technologies, that is the gift that you have as a Gemini.

Keywords:
Mint green, lemon yellow, light colors. Cities, railway stations, commercial facilities, libraries, schools. Books, things related to language, stationery, things reminiscent of communication. Things that come in pairs.

Recommended work:
KIM Insook, Eye to Eye [3F Exhibition, TOP Museum]

Q: This video portrays the daily routine at a school. What kind of school do you think it is? What is the routine like at that school?

“Cardinal Water” sign. Intensely moving water expresses an abundance of feelings and emotions. The Cancer is a gently emotional person who cares about the people around, and who appreciates a home that houses the body and the mind. It is also the nature of the Cancer person to value the feelings of the next person more than anything. In ancient times, it were certainly Cancer people who first started building houses that accommodate families, or villages that accommodate communities, and preparing meals. If you are a Cancer, doesn’t this exhibition inspire you to think about technologies related to people’s protection and care in everyday life?

Keywords:
Milky white, silver, white. Families, kitchens, local communities, places related to everyday life. Nursery schools, kindergartens. Places related to childcare. Things related to daily life and maternity. Silk, things related to water.

Recommended work:
Aenne BIERMANN [B1F Exhibition, TOP Museum]

Q: What characteristics do you see in Biermann’s family portraits?

“Fixed Fire” sign. Leo is a bright red flame that is burning in the center of the heart, and in the center of the human being, almost like the sun itself. The Leo is a proud, honest and straightforward person with a positive way of self-expression, and with the ability to bring fun and enjoyment to the world. It must have been a Leo who invented song and dance, and who first created toys to entertain people. If you have the ability to spot in these exhibitions technologies that bring enjoyment, use it as a key to your happy life as a Leo.

Keywords:
Orange, gold. Places related to entertainment, theaters, gorgeous places. Brightly colored things, feline animals, light, sun. Devices related to lighting. Entertainers, things related to self-expression.

Recommended work:
SUGIURA Kunié [B1F Exhibition, TOP Museum]

Q: These works are “photograms” made by transferring the shapes of objects directly onto a medium. What kinds of objects do you see, and how do they appear in the images according to their translucency?

“Mutable Earth” sign. The Virgo is a person with the ability to reap the earth’s blessings and transform them into things that are useful for humans, and to accomplish big tasks swiftly by steadily tackling the jobs to be done. In the ancient world, it were probably Virgo people who first made earthenware, ropes, and woven fabrics. If you find something in the exhibitions that touches your heart with its elaborate and delicate design, you have the Virgo’s passport to happiness.

Keywords:
Olive, earth color. Places related to labor, offices, workplaces, groups of tall buildings. Places related to manufacture. Elaborate things, details, craftsmen, things related to pets. Artifacts and artworks.

Recommended work:
Jikken Kobo (Experimental Workshop), Automatic slides projection, Tales of an Unknown World [B1F Exhibition, TOP Museum]

Q: What does the “Unknown World” look like? Do you like it?

“Cardinal Air” sign. The Libra person has the ability to elegantly stir up air, connect people, and make beautiful things appear. That particular aesthetic sense, and the Libra’s art of socializing, are what make this world a marvelous place. If I had a time machine, I would surely be able to travel back in time, and witness how a Libra person creates the world’s first flower arrangement, and adds “ornamentation” to clothes that used to be merely protective gear against heat and cold. If you are a Libra, you are most likely moved by technologies for creating things of beauty.

Keywords:
Rose pink, floral colors. Elegant places, places of social intercourse. Restaurants, fields of flowers. Places that sell sweets. Courthouses (as Libra symbolizes justice). Flowers, things related to fashion. Beautiful things, golden ratio, balance, models. Perfume, jewelry, mirrors.

Recommended work:
Laure ALBIN-GUILLOT, Micrographie Décorative [B1F Exhibition, TOP Museum]

Ｑ: Depicted in this work are various things as seen through a microscope. What kinds of things have been enlarged here? How do they appear different from what they normally look like?

“Fixed Water” sign. Water represents the depth of the mind and emotions that cannot expressed through words. Scorpio people are able to embrace and accept both the good and the bad, love others from the bottom of their heart. As a symbol for dramatic transformation, the Scorpio commands a kind of skill that may seem like magic or alchemy. It was certainly a Scorpio that produced the chemistry according to which 1 + 1 can make 3 or 4. If you notice things in these exhibitions that undergo significant changes, that will surely cause changes also in your heart.

Keywords:
Wine color, black. Cemeteries, “underground” places, things related to sexuality. Basements, reptiles, things considered taboo, dark-natured things. Things that humans fear.

Recommended work:
YAMAZAWA Eiko [B1F Exhibition, TOP Museum]

Q: In these works, the artist combines different types of objects. What objects do you see, and what kind of effect is achieved by combining them?

“Mutable Fire” sign. Sagittarius is a traveler who takes to the road while stretching out his hand reaching for that faintly glimmering, far out star. The Sagittarius is a person that longs for things that do not exist here and now, and never loses that youthful spirit even at old age. It is said that the first humans lived in Africa, and spread around the earth from there. I imagine that it were original Sagittarius people who made the tools for those journeys. If you have the ability to detect in these exhibitions technologies for unlocking new potentials, that will be your own key to happiness.

Keywords;
Royal blue, deep purple. Religious/spiritual places, places with a fine view. Airports, universities and other higher educational institutions. The sky, telescopes, distant sceneries. Things with ethnic or exotic qualities.

Recommended work:
Houxo QUE [2F Exhibition, TOP Museum]

Q: The work contains depictions of phenomena that are presented as if occurring in reality. Can you distinguish which is which? Try and think about this while also considering the facts that it is a display at an exhibition, and that you are looking at it.

“Cardinal Earth” sign. It is the Capricorn that can pile up and move this material to build things that only humans can build. The Capricorn is a realistic and sociable person that is sensitive to the mechanics of human relations, and focuses on reaching a destination even when the journey is tough. Capricorn people must have contributed significantly to building those large constructions in ancient societies. If it happens that you see one of these exhibitions and are moved by technologies for constructing something magnificent, that will certainly work as a key to your happy life as a Capricorn.

Keywords:
Ivory, brown. Massive architectural structures, government buildings. Business districts, historical cities, rocky places. Antique objects, things that radiate a sense of history. Scenes that evoke human social structures.

Recommended work:
TSUKIJI Hitoshi, Shashinzo series [B1F Exhibition, TOP Museum]

Q: Look at the architectural objects in these photographs. What do you notice when focusing on their individual shapes, textures and light conditions?

“Fixed Air” sign. Air symbolizes intellect, and fixed air stands for crystal clear and unwavering intelligence. That intelligence may defeat common sense, and provide a completely new and unprecedented kind of inspiration. The history of technology is a history of innovation. Without the Aquarius, at some point humankind would probably have experienced a stagnation of technical innovation. If you are moved by exhibits that involve technologies for adverse thinking and defeating common sense, consider that as a big blessing of Aquarian intelligence.

Keywords:
Iridescent, gaudy, metallic and artificial colors. Places that evoke images of the future. Things related to space and high-tech. Unique things, robots, futuristic things. Space, starry skies. New materials.

Recommended work:
LU Yang, DOKU The Self [2F Exhibition, TOP Museum]

　Q: What kind of character is DOKU, the protagonist in this work?

“Mutable Water” sign. Water circulates, and every water ultimately flows into the ocean. In this case, water symbolizes grounds with no borders, that connect us humans to unseen worlds. The Pisces person is a romantic with overflowing intuition, who knows well that humans cannot live on bread alone, and who feels someone else’s pain like his or her own. It surely was a Pisces person who, in the ancient world, first invented things like crutches and bandages. At these exhibitions, you are likely to feel happiness through your encounter with technologies created by gentleness.

Keywords:
Marine blue, transparent. The ocean, places reminiscent of water. Otherworldly kinds of places, hospitals. Fishery products, fantasy, mysterious things. Things related to water.

Recommended work:
HOSOKURA Mayumi, digitalis series [2F Exhibition, TOP Museum]

Q: By interlinking different types of images, all kinds of boundaries are gradually blurred in these works. What kinds of images do you see linked together here?