Formula

by Ryoji Ikeda

Book and DVD contained in clear plastic slip-case in numbered edition of 3000. [Book]: 186mm x 136mm, 96 pages, soft cover, with 62 full colour and 34 monochrome illustrations [DVD]: features eight sound pieces from installation works and a 35-minute full video documentation of the formula [prototype] concert filmed in Tokyo. The DVD is an NTSC/PAL hybrid for world-wide use. This is the first complete monograph about the seminal work of Ryoji Ikeda. With superb attention to detail and layout, the publication documents the artist's latest projects and includes brand-new artwork especially produced for the book. At the same time, formula covers Ikeda's landmark concerts and installations; and his collaborations with, amongst others, celebrated artist/musician Carsten Nicolai, acclaimed performance group Dumb Type and famous architect Toyo Ito. All of the DVD content is only available here, with a 35 minute full video documentation of formula [prototype] concert filmed in Tokyo and 8 sound pieces from installation works. Not only the most complete Ryoji Ikeda catalogue, formula is an intimately-scaled minimalist artwork in itself, and an object of desire. How the book is held may cause the numbers and text, picked out in clear varnish on white page, to shimmer. Every aspect of look and feel has been considered by the artist's critical eye. His superlative production values are ever-present in the quality of the images and the finish. Only through repeated investigation does the publication begin to reveal its richness. Readers will be able to pore over the photographs, ponder the schematics and technical data, and enjoy the spacious listings of performances, exhibitions and releases. The artist's first-rate assembly of data, diagrams and video stills create moments of graphic intensity that make the white spaces of the pages surprisingly dynamic. The book is pure pleasure to hold. Formula [Book + DVD] reflects precise design and the artist's flawless selection of surfaces and materials. An exceptional publication, it provides a 'heightened sensory experience' in a similar way to his concerts, installations and sound works.

92 pages

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

born in 1966 in Gifu, Japan
lives and works in Paris, France and Kyoto, Japan

Japan’s leading electronic composer and visual artist Ryoji Ikeda focuses on the essential characteristics of sound itself and that of visuals as light by means of both mathematical precision and mathematical aesthetics. Ikeda has gained a reputation as one of the few international artists working convincingly across both visual and sonic media. He elaborately orchestrates sound, visuals, materials, physical phenomena and mathematical notions into immersive live performances and installations.
Alongside of pure musical activity, Ikeda has been working on long-term projects through live performances, installations, books and CD’s such as 'datamatics' (2006-), 'test pattern' (2008-), 'spectra' (2001-), ‘cyclo.’ a collaborative project with Carsten Nicolai, ‘superposition’ (2012-), 'supersymmetry' (2014-) and ‘micro | macro’ (2015-).

He performs and exhibits worldwide at spaces such as Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Singapore Art Museum, Ars Electronica Center Linz, Elektra Festival Montreal, Grec and Sonar Festivals Barcelona, Aichi Triennale Nagoya, Palazzo Grassi Venice, Park Avenue Armory New York, The Whitechapel Gallery London, The Barbican Centre and Somerset House London, Museo de Arte Bogota, Hamburger Bahnhof Berlin, DHC/Art Montreal, Festival d’Automne à Paris, Sharjah Biennale, Carriageworks Sydney, Auckland Triennale, MONA Museum Hobart – Tasmania, Ruhrtriennale, Telefonica Foundation Madrid and Kyoto Experiment Festival, ACT Centre Gwangju (Korea), Singapore Art Science Museum, Kunstverein Hannover, RuhrTriennale, Festival d’Automne and Pompidou Center , Barbican, The Vinyl Factory, and ZKM centre for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, among others.

In 2016-17, he premiered the acoustic stage piece ‘music for percussion’ in collaboration with ensemble Eklekto (Geneva) which is currently on tour. He took part in group exhibitions such as Elevation 1049: Avalanche (Gstaad, CH), Centre Pompidou Metz (FR), La Villette/Festival d’Automne (Paris, FR), Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA (Los Angeles, USA) and presented a drone symphony, ‘A [for 100 cars]’, commissioned by Red Bull Music Academy Festival Los Angeles.

In 2018, he is part of group exhibitions such as ‘Artistes and Robots’, Grand Palais (Paris, FR), ’Experience Traps’, Middelheim Museum (Antwerp, BE) among others, and presents solo exhibitions at Centre Pompidou (Paris, FR), Carriageworks (Sydney, AU) Garage (Moscow, Russia) and Eye Film Museum (Amsterdam, NL). In June, he will be launching spectra as a permanent installation at Mona, Hobart (Tasmania, AU). He will present ‘concert pieces’ in Centre Pompidou / Festival ManiFeste (Paris, FR), and Spiral Hall (Tokyo, JP).

His albums +/- (1996), 0°C (1998), matrix (2000), dataplex (2005), test pattern (2008) and supercodex (2013) pioneered a new minimal world of electronic music through his razor-sharp techniques and aesthetics. ‘The Solar System’ (2016) a limited edition vinyl and ‘music for percussion’ (2017) was released by The Vinyl Factory. In early 2018, accompanying the release of ‘music for percussion’ [cd+booklet], he established his online source under the name codex | edition.

He is the award winner of the Prix Ars Electronica Collide@CERN 2014. Ryoji Ikeda is represented by Almine Rech Gallery (Bruxelles, Paris, London , New York)