Translation into Vestige: A New Possibility in Studio Practice

The concept of the separation between the studio, the imaginary space of making (representational space), and the space of viewing was deeply problematized by the notion of site-specificity and especially the work and writing of Daniel Buren. Kazuhito Naganuma proposes a concept of studio practice that both problematizes both representation and becomes an alternative to Buren’s post-studio practice. In this concept a studio is a special place where the information of ephemeral space-time experience is assembled and translated into matters in the form of what Jean-Luc Nancy calls “the vestige.” He argues that there is a middle ground between self-referential art, which tends to become a matter of taste and escape into cosmologic incomprehension or nihilistic insignificance, and contemporary conceptual art, which often is a social process devoid of a complex engagement with aesthetic concerns.