2001 Tappie Museum, Santa Monica

Tappie Museum

21 July – 21 August 2001

L.A. International Art Biennial

18th Street Arts Complex, Santa Monica, USA

Tappie Museum was a project dedicated to documenting the life of ‘Tappie’, an 83-year-old ordinary American citizen and long-time resident of Santa Monica. Funded by the Asian Cultural Council and the Japan Foundation (Tokyo/LA), I was appointed to the artist-in-residence programme at the 18th Street Arts Complex in Santa Monica to produce work in collaboration with local residents and artists.

In the interviews Tappie recounted various stories of his life with his unique sense of humour. The stories included his birth in China in 1918, his immigration to America in his childhood, the beginning of his life in Santa Monica, incidents during the war, his wife whom he met during a trip to Mexico, his other family members including his children and grandchildren, and his operation for lung cancer. Among the commemorative objects displayed in the museum are toys and dolls from the time when his children were infants, together with some old photographs of Santa Monica.

By touring around inside the museum, visitors are able to survey the life of this unique individual, who however is not a celebrity but just an ‘ordinary person’. Through his life story, the relationships among people and place in the region, and the local history, are articulated. This project was the first in which I created a museum dedicated to a local individual.

2001年7月21日－8月21日

18th Street Arts Complex

サンタモニカ　アメリカ

ロサンゼルス・インターナショナル・アート・ビエンナーレ　参加作品

「タピー博物館」は、「タピー(Tappie)」というニックネームのサンタモニカに長年住んでいる当時83歳のアメリカ人の一生を追ったプロジェクトである。ACC(アジアン・カルチュラル・カウンシル)と国際交流基金(東京/ロサンゼルス)の助成を受けて、18th Street Arts Complex(サンタモニカ)のアーティスト・イン・レジデンスに招聘され、地元の住民やアーティストとともに作品を制作した。

インタビューでは、1918年に中国で生まれ、幼い頃アメリカに移民、その後サンタモニカに住みはじめたこと、戦争中の出来事やメキシコ旅行で知り合った夫人のこと、子供や孫などの家族のこと、肺がんの手術のことなどがタピー氏独特のユーモアとともに語られた。また、思い出の品として子供達が幼かった頃のおもちゃや人形、サンタモニカの古い写真などが展示された。