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As a member of the Graduate School, I am very pleased that an artwork
by Shigeko Hirakawa will be installed in the Mathematical Sciences
Building at University of Tokyo. This building, located in Komaba,
contains a large oval lecture room and a foyer. The sloping entrance to
the building follows the natural slope formed by erosion. Hirakawa's
circular forms create a firm horizontal fine against the gentle angle
of the slope. When a geometer studies a figure embedded in a space, he
pays attention to the space left around the figure, which is known as
the complementary space. The interactive relationship between the
figure of Hirakawa's work and the space of the Mathematical Sciences
building dramatically transforms this complementary space. Hirakawa's
intervention in the space of the work creates a new sense of tension
and expansive, liberated movement between it and the space of the
building. The arrangement, which suggests circular movement, enriches
the space and adds to it the parameter of time. A special feature of
Hirakawa's work is the method of gradually reducing the intensity of
colors on its surfaces that she calls "decolorization". This process
results in a pleasing natural quality that enhances the sense of
movement evoked by these horizontal circles.
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