カウボーイズとインディアンズ：東京版

May 5, 2018May 6, 2018 ~ The Koboi Project ~ Leave a comment

Autokaran

カウボーイズとインディアンズ：東京版
コートヤード・ヒロ： 2018年5月11日午後7
〒106-0031 東京都港区西麻布 4-21-2
Courtyard Hiroo: 7pm 11th May 2018
4-21-2 Nishiazabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-0031 JAPAN
Tel. +81-3-6427-1185 info@cy-hiroo.jp

The Koboi Project is series of a photo-conceptual performances, involving photographic images, traditional icons, story telling, collaboration and conviviality. For Cowboys and Indians: Tokyo Edition at Courtyard Hiroo, Niranjan Rajah will present an 18ft banner of Tamil movie SUPERSTAR Rajinikanth and an antique Momotaro doll made by the Kyugetsu Company. He will make an offering to the SUPERSTAR, to Momotaro-san and then, to one member of the audience. The visionary film critic and promoter Fumio Furuya (a.k.a. Jun Edoki), who is responsible for introducing Rajinikanth to Japan, has accepted an invitation to attend as an honoured guest. A scaled down version of the performance will be taken around the city for a series of impromptu interventions between the 7th and the 10th of May 2018, starting in Nishi-Kasai, Tokyo’s Little India. Niranjan will be accompanied by: Hiroyoshi Takeda – Autokaran, Chef; Tara Rajah – Cello; Jane Frankish – Poems on the Megaphone; Mikan Bindu (leader and choreographer) Hiroyoshi Takeda, Shinji Kashima, Hiroyo Yamaguchi, Saki Ito, Emiko Sawada, Yumiko Honda, Shinya Asanuma – SANDOSHAM Indian Movie Dance; Durga Rajah – Photography. For more information please visit: https://koboibalikkampung.wixsite.com/momo

SUPERSTAR CUTOUTS 2

May 5, 2018May 5, 2018 ~ The Koboi Project ~ Leave a comment

skyharapan Sometimes the quirks of life provide better expressions of truth then the constructs of the best artist. The job of the artist in such instances is to read and re-present these signs. The above image is a crop/edit from a larger image in the mass media that has been seen, by those who believe that the ruling party pulls the levers of the supposedly independent Elections Commision, as a counter productive attempt by Barisan to supress the images of the two main opposition leaders in the coming elections. Regardless of the independanceof the commision, I would take this analysis further in a most objective fashion – the excision of one of the leaders of the opposition from a hoarding turns the resulting lacuna into an image of both of them. Further, in this instance (and from this angle) it gives the public an image of the sky which carries all the possible connotations of ‘Hope’ or Harapan! I really do not think there will be many more instances of official iconoclasm of this kind ,if the government does indeed have a grip on the Elections Commision (and assuming, of course, that the party knows what it is doing)!

Image: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/05/02/liew-dismisses-viral-video-accusing-him-of-sabotaging-pakatan/

https://koboikembaralagi.wordpress.com/2018/04/26/superstar-cutouts/

Sema Weighttu

May 2, 2018May 2, 2018 ~ The Koboi Project ~ Leave a comment

The first single from Rajinikanth’s Kaala released on the 1st of May, Labour Day. What can I say, listen for yourself Santosh Narayanan Rocks and Rolls, and Rapps and Beats too! The Boss is looking great in the stills too!!! The timing is great for my Cowboys and Indians performance at Courtyard Hiroo on the 11th of May in Tokyo.

Kaala … More or Less!

May 2, 2018February 6, 2020 ~ The Koboi Project ~ Leave a comment

kaala look final The Koboi had been developing his look after the SUPERSTAR’s image in Kaala (to will be released worldwide on June 7th) for his performance at Courtyard Hiroo, Tokyo at 7 pm on 11th May 2018 I am a fan of Rajinikanth and, as such, I relish the simple pleasure of ‘being’ the Thalaiva. I am, however, also cognizant of the aesthetic and critical connotations of my play. What is the measure of similitude – how much ‘looking like’ does it take to ‘look like’ or signify another person or persona? What is the threshold of sufficiency? Is such similitude founded on ethnic, even ethnocentric, notions of identity? What is the inner dimension of such a representation? How does one actually form a meaningful image of another? When does homage become piracy? Is this a pastiche or a parody, and if it is a parody – what is it a parody of? What, is the difference between a popular and a fine art image in the contemporary taxonomy of the arts?

Most pertinently, Kaala may be the last of my easy and heartfelt appropriations of the SUPERSTAR’s image as, having launched into politics in Tamil Nadu, Rajinikanth has now placed himself in a different context of signification. Unlike his long-time colleague in the Movie business, and now political co-aspirant, Kamal Haasan, who has clear secular leanings, Rajinikanth’s avowed ‘spiritual politics’ seems to be taking on the pungent saffron hues of Hindutva (the Hindu Right)!.

Image: https://wallpapers.filmibeat.com/tamil/movies/kaala/wallpapers-c5-e42999-p47913.html

https://www.ndtv.com/tamil-nadu-news/at-harvard-kamal-haasan-says-hope-rajinikanths-colour-isnt-saffron-1811209

Koboi’s Guest: Jun Edoki

May 1, 2018May 1, 2018 ~ The Koboi Project ~ Leave a comment

edoki
For Cowboys and Indians: Tokyo Edition, at Courtyard Hiroo on 11th May 2018 at 7pm, I am proud to announce that visionary film critic and promoter Fumio Furuya (a.k.a Jun Edoki), President of Eden Entertainment Inc., has accepted my invitation to attend the performance as an honoured guest. In 1998, Jun Edoki had the audacity to bring the film ‘Muthu Oduru Maharaja‘ (Muthu Dancing Maharaja) to the Tokyo audience. According Naman Ramachandran in his biography of Rajinikanth, Edoki found the movie in Singapore and took a copy back with him to Japan. He watched it with his wife and, Ramachandran quotes Edoki saying, ” It was absolutely fascinating – even without subtitles … We became addicted to the point that we had to see at least part of the movie at least once a day”.

With absolute faith, Edoki took the movie around to distributors in Japan until Xanadeux released the film in 1998. I myself was amazed, upon a visit to Tokyo in 1998, to find the image of Thalaiva beaming over the streets of the city. That encounter on the streets of Tokyo in 1998 set into motion the ideas and approaches that inform the Koboi Project. Under the prevailing international marketing practice, global products are deliberately differentiated to address specific markets (what Roland Robertson called dochakuka after the Japanese term dochaku)… Muthu in Japan was a media product that ‘crossed over’ without any such a priori considerations … it made a heart-to-heart connection to become a massive box-office success sans dochakuka.

Image: https://twitter.com/EdokiJun

https://books.google.ca/books?id=3mzyPGSfwKMC&pg=PT196&lpg=PT196&dq=jun+edoki+kandaswamy+muthu&source=bl&ots=60Hhzrrfdq&sig=v_LH-2Gp_GWmwGN69YQylahFAMI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiP1Lu0gt7aAhXqwlQKHcTDCu8Q6AEIJzAA#v=onepage&q=jun%20edoki%20kandaswamy%20muthu&f=false

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/modules/hi31v/syllabus/week18/robertson-1995.pdf

Sandosham Dance Team

April 30, 2018 ~ The Koboi Project ~ Leave a comment

dance1

I am happy to announce that the SANDOSHAM Indian Movie Dance Team will perform as a part of Cowboys and Indians at Courtyard Hiroo Gallery, Tokyo,on 11th May 2018. The Koboi Project (Cowboy Project) is series of a photo-conceptual installations and performances, involving photographic images, traditional icons, story telling, collaborations and conviviality. During the performance, I will present an 18ft banner of Tamil movie Superstar Rajinikanth as well as an antique Momotaro doll made by the Kyugetsu Company. SANDOSHAM will dance to Oruvan Oruvan Mudhalali from the film ‘Muthu’, cheoreographed by the Team leader, Mikan Bindu.

Baasha meets Kaala!

April 28, 2018April 28, 2018 ~ The Koboi Project ~ Leave a comment

smakl2

Baasha meets Kaala!! Like Godzilla meets King Kong! Well, actually it is Masalawala meets Koboi Balik Kampung! For Cowboys and Indians: Tokyo Edition, at Courtyard Hiroo on 11th May 2018 at 7pm, I am privileged to be collaborating with Masalawala (Hiroyoshi Takeda) who is an artist, a linguist, a South Indian chef and a renown Rajinikanth fan. With his support the performance will include –

1. An Auto-rickshaw (Signifier for the Film Baasha).

2. Mango Pachadi Dango (a traditional Japanese dumpling form with an Indian filling with the definitive Ayurveda flavours – sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, astringent) will be ritually offered to the Momotaro and then to a member of the audience. This symbol in taste (rasa) was conceived by Niranjan Rajah and developed by Masalawala.

3. Indian movie dancing by the SANDOSHAM Dance Team will performance to Oruvan Oruvan Mudhalali from the film ‘Muthu’,cheoreographed by Mikan Bindu.

SUPERSTAR CUTOUTS

April 26, 2018April 26, 2018 ~ The Koboi Project ~ 1 Comment

dance12

As the May 8th polling date approaches in Malaysia, there has been an interesting turn of events with regard to the use of images. According to the Straits Times of Singapore, the Election Commission just issued new guidelines stipulating that, other than the photograph of the candidate standing for election in a given constituency, the only other photographs can be used on campaign materials are photos of the candidate’s party president and deputy president. This effectively removes images of Dr Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim from the iconography of the campaign. Reflecting on the power of images in the contemporary media, and the interdiction against images in Islam in this context might be quite enlightening ……. as might pondering on the Superstar Cutouts that populate the box-office and polling landscapes of Asia!

Image composite from : https://aliran.com/thinking-allowed-online/2011-ta-online/najibs-larger-than-life-thaipusam-appearance/ and https://malaysianaccess.com/batu-caves-12-metre-cutout-anwar-ibrahim-standing-tall-p5831/

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/new-rules-by-malaysia-election-body-seen-as-bid-to-block-mahathir-posters-from-wider

Momotaro-san!

April 26, 2018April 26, 2018 ~ The Koboi Project ~ Leave a comment

momomdium Momotaro-san arrived in Vancouver today from San Francisco. He will be accompanying Jane, Tara, Durga and myself in May to perform in Tokyo. The Cowboys and Indians: Tokyo Edition performance will take place at 7 pm 11th May 2018 at Courtyard Hiroo, as part of a show titled ‘Home’ in the Expanded Field’. Momotaro-san will be back in Japan in time for Tango no Sekku (5th May) or ‘Boys Festival’ (now renamed Kodomo no Hi or Children’s Day) a day on which he is traditionally celebrated and honoured throughout the land. Momotaro or ‘Peach Boy’ is known to have been born of a giant peach found by an old and childless. Momotaro grows up and as a youth, he goes off on an adventure to overcome the Oni (ogres) on Onigashima (Ogre Island) and becomes a hero. Momotaro is, for the Japanese people, a symbol of boyhood, vitality, and valiance. He is also a martial figure.

Home as Expanded Field

April 24, 2018April 25, 2018 ~ The Koboi Project ~ Leave a comment

johntran-870x580 Here is The Japan Times Listing for ‘Home in the Expanded Field’, Courtyard Hiroo, Tokyo, May 20018. This is a “group exhibition, with work by artists from Japan, Britain and Malaysia, ‘home’ is explored as an unstable or elusive concept. The connotations of security, belonging or familiarity, are taken to task by Hana Sakuma, John L Tran, Rie Iwatake & Jun’ya Kataoka, Freyja Dean, Richard Paul, Junko Otake and Niranjan Rajah, who reconsider what constitutes home either by drawing from their own experience of displacement, or making the home environment strange and extraordinary”. I am delighted to be a part of this show with John Tran, with whom I initially engaged in an exchange in the Japan Times. I wrote a ‘clarification‘ on his insightful article on the Singapore Biennale 2016. Thanks John for making this possible!