Shigeko Kubota

Duchampiana: Nude Descending a Staircase 1976

She was a Japanese born Video Artist

She was one of the first people to adopt the portable video camera the
Sony Porta Pak in 1967. Kubota is known for constructing sculptural
installations with a strong DIY aesthetic, which include sculptures with
embedded monitors playing her original videos. She was a key member
and influence on Fluxus, the international group of avant-garde artists
centred on George Maciunas, having been involved with the group since
witnessing John Cage perform in Tokyo in 1962 and subsequently moving
to New York in 1964. She was closely associated with George Brecht,
Jackson Mac Low, John Cage, Joe Jones, Nam June Paik, and Ay-O, other
members of Fluxus. Kubota was deemed "Vice Chairman" of the Fluxus
Organization in 1964, a title given by Brecht.
Kubota's video and sculptural works are mainly shown in galleries
although her use of the television is synonymous with other video artists
of the 1960s who made experimental broadcast programs as a move
against the hegemony of major networks. Kubota is known for her
contribution to the expansion of the field of video into the field of
sculpture and for her works addressing the place of video in art history.
Her work explores the influence of the technology, and more specifically
the television set, on personal memory and the emotions.
Whether Kubota's work can be described as feminist has been a topic of
interest in the scholarship and presentation of her work. Kelly O'Dell writes
that Kubota's references to Marcel Duchamp, Jackson Pollock, and Yves
Klein, are used by feminist critics to describe Kubota's work as
problematizing the interest of the Western canon in masculine rendering,
to reclaim art for women. However, Kubota does not characterize her
works as feminist. In an interview with the Brooklyn Rail, she said, "People
can put me in the Feminist category all they want, but I didnt think I can
make any real contribution other than my work as an artist." But artists
who are largely considered feminist may not personally identify as such
for a variety of reasons. Judith Butler argues that the label of feminism
works against the integration of a larger spectrum of ideas relating to
gender and identity into the discourses about art by encapsulating
feminist argues as a separate strain of history or art history
Feminist art historians have also emphasized Kubota and other women
artists' estrangement and marginalization from the Fluxus movement.

Midori Yoshimoto writes that Kubota's Vagina Painting, which is her most
explicit work about gender in art, was poorly received by her peers
involved in Fluxus, similarly to ways in which Yoko Ono and Carolee
Schneemann's performances were considered 'un-Fluxus' because of their
strong emphasis on feminine subjects. There is also interest in the
overshadowing of Kubota's career by her husband Nam June Paik's as an
issue of the gender biased art world.
I like the way how the installation has been set up as a staircase I think
its different as most installations are either projections or lots of
televisions set up in a square. However I dont like how small the
installation is as you cant really see the film / pictures being shown.
1. Who is watching the installation?
I think one or two people at a time can watch this installation this is
because the model is quite small and isnt big enough for lots of
people to watch at once. I found this out by looking at the model
and looking at how big the size of the model is online - 66 1/4 x 30
15/16 x 67" (168.3 x 78.6 x 170.2 cm)
The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo was were this
sculpture used to be on display however it is no longer available to
be seen.
People who would look at this installation may like sculptures or
video sculptures, as it was in the art movement of video art. From
the name of this piece of work I believe people who appreciate the
human body would also view this installation, as the small videos on
the sculpture are nude ladies.
2. Is the audience required to respond or interact with the installation?
No as it is just a film on a 8mm TV and because the model of the
installation is small so they wont be able to interact to the film