Mako Idemitsu


Mako Idemitsu is a Japanese experimental media artist whose work spans film, video, and installations. Her art has explored themes such as gender roles, domestic life, and identity, often incorporating personal narratives with psychological and feminist critiques.

Early life and career

Mako Idemitsu was born in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan. Her father, Sazō Idemitsu, was a Japanese businessman, art collector, and founder of Idemitsu Kosan. Traditional gender expectations during her upbringing contributed to tensions with her father. Her decision to study abroad and pursue an artistic career led to conflicts with him, resulting in her disinheritance.
Idemitsu has suggested that her father's patriarchal adherence to Confucian values led him to belittle his wife and daughters and restrict their independence.
Idemitsu attended Waseda University in Tokyo from 1958 to 1962, studying Japanese history, and subsequently attended Columbia University in New York City from 1963 to 1964. She resided in the United States, primarily in California, from 1963 to 1972. Idemitsu found her undergraduate education intellectually underwhelming and was frustrated by comments from professors that she perceived as misogynistic. She engaged in extracurricular activities, including membership in the university's Contemporary Literature Society, and participated in student demonstrations against the 1960 U.S.–Japan Security Treaty.

New York and California

From 1963 to 1964, Idemitsu attended Columbia University in New York City. In her autobiography, she mentions that she appreciated the multicultural environment of New York and the autonomy she experienced there. Around 1965, Idemitsu moved to California, living in Santa Monica and Los Angeles where she remained until 1972. In 1965, Idemitsu married painter Sam Francis, becoming his fourth wife.
Her time in California also exposed her to the counterculture of the 1960s, observing that gendered biases and male chauvinism persisted even there. She created Woman's House at Womanhouse, an art installation and performance space founded by Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro. This marked the beginning of her engagement with the Women's Liberation Movement.

Tokyo

Idemitsu returned to Japan with Francis and her sons in 1973, originally planning to stay for a year. Though Francis returned to the United States in 1974, Idemitsu chose to remain in Japan. The couple later divorced, with Francis marrying for a fifth time in 1985. After returning to Japan, she produced her At Santa Monica and At Any Place series, in which she makes use of and reflects on her earlier photographs taken in the United States.
Upon returning to Tokyo, Idemitsu established her video practice independently, while partnering with other video artists such as the members of Video Hiroba. In particular, Idemitsu credits Nobuhiro Kawanaka and Kyōko Michishita for helping her learn the technical skills needed to work with video equipment. Michael Goldberg, who co-organized the Video Communication/Do It Yourself Kit symposium and exhibition, became Idemitsu's consistent collaborator and is credited as a Director of Photography for many of her videos. Idemitsu also worked with Yoshimitsu Takahashi to develop her films. Idemitsu was involved in the broader Japanese art scene, collaborating with Yoneyama Mamako after watching her pantomime Housewife's Tango to produce At Any Place ''4''. Idemitsu was involved with Japanese art historians, particularly Kaori Chino, a feminist art historian who encouraged her to write and publish her autobiography.

Art

Medium

The technical limitations of the equipment at the time influenced the direction of Idemitsu's work. She first started to work in the United States, initially with 8 mm film, and then moved to 16 mm film. She became interested in capturing the mood, quality, and interplay of light and shadow.
When she switched to working with video, the inability of the video cameras of the time to capture the qualities of light led to the increased use of narrative in her work. On her return to Japan, the cumbersome equipment and an inability to easily film outdoors led her to use indoor single-camera setups. Idemitsu also produced a limited number of video installations.
Idemitsu's work has been described as being inspired by melodramas and diary narration. Critics such as Scott Nygren have attempted to locate Japanese cultural origins within her work, claiming a similarity between her narrative form and that of Noh theatre.

Themes

Idemitsu's work often incorporates feminist perspectives. Her art explores themes of gender roles, personal identity, and the construction of the self within societal frameworks. In particular, she critically examines the role of the modern Japanese family, highlighting how its traditional structure can contribute to the suppression of women's identities. Idemitsu cites Simone de Beauvoir as a major influence. Idemitsu's work Kae, Act like a Girl was inspired by de Beauvoir's statement in The Second Sex that "eople are not born as women. They become women.' Idemitsu also explores aspects of Japanese womanhood, including depictions of domestic abuse, harassment, and rape.
Idemitsu's early films include home movies of her sons and family life. This domestic setting remains a consistent theme in her films.
A recurring motif in her works is disembodied forms; the television abstracting torsos, heads, or even eyes. These disembodied characters, usually female, may act indifferent to their protagonists or may actively oppress them. They can be interpreted both at face value as the mother, daughter, or wife of the protagonist or as a representation of their inner mind. For example, in Idemitsu's Great Mother trilogy, the disembodied women which represent the protagonist's mothers also represent the super-ego of the protagonist, personifying inescapable learned cultural values and societal norms.

Notable works

Film and video

What a Woman Made (1973)

In this video, an image of a tampon swirling in a toilet bowl slowly appears as the artist speaks about the roles, responsibilities, and expectations of women in a clinical tone. Minimal in composition, "What a Woman Made" offers a critique of the treatment of women in Japanese society.

Sam Are You Listening? (1974)

Commissioned by the American Center Japan, this hour-long documentary video presents an intimate portrayal of Idemitsu's then-husband, Sam Francis. Idemitsu interviewed 5 people about how they viewed Francis: Taeko Tomioka, Toru Takemitsu, Shuzo Takiguchi, Jiro Takamatsu, and Sazo Idemitsu.

Another Day of A Housewife (1977)

This video explores Idemitsu's own frustrations with the routine of house chores. Idemitsu portrays frustration with alienation and surveillance by interrupting each domestic scene with a televisual eye.

''Shadow'' ''Part 1'' (1980) & ''Part 2'' (1980), ''Animus'' ''Part 1'' (1982) & ''Part 2'' (1982)

In the Shadow and Animus series, Idemitsu explores Jungian psychoanalytical concepts by manifesting the Shadow and Animus as an additional layer and surface in videos of the Japanese domestic setting. They explore the personification of dreams, projections of mental imagery, and the difficulty of living under oppressive patriarchy. This series builds upon Idemitsu's earlier work, Inner-man, which was shot on film.

''My America, Your America'' (1980)

Idemitsu uses photographs by her collaborator, Akira Kobayashi, to construct a found-image video. Idemitsu balances images of Americana to suggest the journey of a foreigner through these iconic landscapes, searching for a place within them to belong. It reflects upon her own experiences moving from coast to coast.

''Kiyoko's Situation'' (1989)

This film depicts Kiyoko, a middle-aged housewife, whose repressed desire to express her identity emerges. Idemitsu portrays the struggle for housewives to be filial, care for their family's needs, and pursue their own creative ambitions. This film received awards from the Mention Special du Jury category "EXPERIMENTAL," La Mondiale de film et videos, Quebec, Canada, in 1991, and Prix Procirep Section Fiction, Festival International de Videos et Films, Centre Audiovisuels Simone de Beauvoir, Paris, France, in 1992.

Installations

''Still Life'' (1993–2000)

Still Life is a two-channel video installation with moving images projected onto two gigantic calla lilies placed side by side. On one lily, hands pull the petals off a red rose. On the second, the pistil is missing. A woman is shown imprisoned behind an invisible, transparent wall, appearing to plead for release. A woman's voice-over endlessly repeats "Have a good day" and "Welcome home", echoing the perceived monotony of a housewife's existence.

''Real? Motherhood'' (2000)

Real? Motherhood is an installation that critically examines the myth of maternity. The single-channel installation repurposes Idemitsu's 1960s home movies, projecting images through a glass cradle. The moving images show Idemitsu holding one of her children, a baby suckling, mother and child looking at each other, and the baby's innocent smile. These are interspersed with black-and-white images of the ambiguous expression on the mother's face. Light falling from above onto the glass cradle conveys an impression of sanctity, the cradle is transmuted, for the mother, into an altar. However, Idemitsu suggests that this Western type of cradle also resembles a coffin, symbolizing mortality.

Literary work