Jan Sawka - The Sawka Team

Farewell to Hiroo Nakatani

Business Manager and Founder of the Sawka Team

We salute our friend, Hiroo Nakatani, who made all of the projects of the team possible. Nakatani-san passed away December 19, 2006. We miss him dearly.

Nakatani-san was a man of honor and sensitivity, with a great sense of humor. We remember him as the Elvis Presley karaoke champion after the hours of work, when he would prove himself to be a great manager with vision. Nakatani-san had an exceptional understanding of how technology and art could be brought together to create ground-breaking effects. The father and leader of our team, he will remain so in spirit. We remember him as a true embodiment of the great Japanese spirit of progress with integrity.

Over the past decade, Mr. Sawka has concentrated on projects that involve important collaborations. A team has formed which is the context out of which many projects have grown and been realized. Of note is a group of Japanese artists, technical experts, and scientists that functions within a framework created by Japanese cultural and corporate entities. Mr. Sawka and forward-looking Japanese high-tech companies worked to form a team to carry forward projects that synthesize art with cutting edge technology. These companies assessed Mr. Sawka’s talents and potential. Not only did they recognize his talent and achievement as a painter, architect, and theatrical set designer, they discovered a strong affinity between the essence of Japanese art and Mr. Sawka’s artwork. On this basis, they decided to commit to work with him, believing that in carrying through to completion projects designed and supervised by Mr. Sawka, the technologies and materials they were developing could be best showcased to the world. Among the Japanese corporations making this commitment were Sumitomo Corporation, Nippon Sheet Glass, and Toho Studio. The Sawka team uses cutting-edge computer, laser, glass, DVD projection video, and construction technologies in its projects. Because of technical and technological advances, each project marks a step forward from the preceding project, and could not have been realized in the same way earlier. At this time, these projects fall into three main categories:

UMU Sculptures
These projects combine drawing and painting within a form built from UMU glass, a type of material that transforms in the opacity and the color of the lighting of the glass when an electrical current is run through it. Thus, the drawn and painted images progressively “swim” into view out of a changing color field of glowing glass, endowing them with a time element. Thus, the graphic images are not decoration that is applied to the outside of the object, but rather form an integral part of the object in a truly unique way. This use of the material is exclusive to Mr. Sawka, who has been chosen by Nippon Sheet Glass to showcase the special properties of UMU glass.

Works of Symbolic Architecture
These works are essentially UMU sculptures on a grand scale. With the success of the initial UMU sculpture projects, Mr. Sawka designed these larger projects as an exploration of the possibilities for this material within the realm of architecture. These projects demonstrate the tendency in Jan’s work for objects and forms to “migrate” from small-scale studio versions that function as sculptures toward large-scale versions that function as architecture. As more and more of the large-scale projects are completed, they will stand in relation to the smaller-scale explorations of the same form as Jan’s banners have related to his other paintings: as devices which will attract and direct the attention of the public.

These projects involve Mr. Sawka’s concept of “urban theater,” that is, creating a piece as if he were creating a stage set for urban life, extending the piece into its surroundings, to organize those surroundings aesthetically. Not only do they use UMU glass technology, they utilize cutting-edge audiovisual techniques and draw upon new building techniques pioneered in Japan, without which these designs could scarcely be realized at this time.

Multi-media Spectacles
In his multi-media spectacles, Mr. Sawka uses the same audiovisual technologies he deploys in his architectural projects. Members of the Sawka team, including artists and technicians associated with the famous Toho Studio, are developing digital projection video to interject images created through drawing and painting into visual/performance contexts where such images have not been common. These spectacles could revolutionize popular culture worldwide. His most recent multi-media spectacle, The Voyage, has already garnered wide praise, including winning the Premio de Lorenzo Il Magnifico Gold Medal in Multimedia at the 2003 Biennial of Contemporary Art in Florence, Italy and is close to the final production stage at Toho Studio.

- Dr. Frank Boyer

PROJECTS OF THE SAWKA TEAM

REALIZED PROJECTS
These projects were completed and either were or are scheduled to be presented to the public.

1. Four Oceans, an UMU sculpture commissioned for the Polish Pavilion at the World Expo of the Sea, Lisbon, 1998.

2. The Amber Road, a piece of UMU sculpture installed at the World Expo of the Sea, Lisbon, 1998.

3. The Magic Cube, an UMU sculpture in cubic form. Two as-yet-untitled examples of this kind of work were completed in Japan in May, 2004, and will be shown at the Into the Open exhibition of Mr. Sawka’s work at ACA Galleries, June 19 – July 16, 2004.

4. The Sun Tower and The Calligraphic Tower, two UMU sculptures, which are scaled-down versions (3 meters tall) of monumental tower designs. They will be presented to the public at the Into the Open exhibition at the ACA Galleries, June 19 – July 16, 2004.

PROJECTS IN PRODUCTION
These projects were planned, and substantive steps have been taken to complete them.

1. The Voyage, a multi-media spectacle consisting of over 1200 hand-painted images presented in sequence to the accompaniment of a monumental score by the late Polish musician, Czeslaw Niemen. An autonomous excerpt of the The Voyage won the Premio de Lorenzo il Magnifico Gold Medal at the 2003 Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art. The full-scale version of The Voyage will premier the use of a new DVD-based projection technology that will make completely obsolete "son-et-lumiere," the technology that has dominated large-scale image projection since the middle 1970's.

2. The Tower of Light. A major work of symbolic and ceremonial architecture. Design presented to the United Arab Emirates in 1996. Accepted, construction and installation pending the solution of technical problems stemming from the harsh climate of the projected site of installation (Abu Dhabi). Working UMU scale model will be shown at ACA Galleries Into the Open exhibition, June 19 – July 16, 2004.

3. The Essen Spires. A major work of symbolic and ceremonial architecture. Commissioned by the City of Essen, Germany. Design accepted. Construction and installation pending. The Essen Spires consists of a group of four monumental towers (50 meters high) standing roughly one kilometer apart each. These towers make use of laser communications, in order to coordinate the UMU glass transformations between the towers. They are intended to be the present-day equivalent of the Eiffel Tower--a permanent installation that demonstrates new technology in a ravishingly beautiful way. A miniature (3 meters) version of one of these towers, The Sun Tower, was completed in May of 2004, and will be included in Mr. Sawka’s Into the Open exhibition at ACA Galleries, New York, June 19 – July 16.

ENVISIONED PROJECTS
1. Creation, a multi-media presentation of the English Miracle Play, in collaboration with John Russell Brown, renowned English theatre director and critic. This project will combine and advance the technologies used in the earlier multi-media spectacles, The Eyes and The Voyage.

2. Conversation of Cultures, a set of two towers placed on opposite sides of a reflecting body of water. Each tower displays, through the medium of UMU glass, representations of the cultural artifacts of Western and Asian culture. The interaction of the two towers, visible directly and reflected in the body of water between them, symbolically enacts a conversation between two great loci of civilization. Projected location: Nagoya Japan, as part of the Universal Exposition of 2005.

3. The Hudson Valley Tower is a single UMU glass and Kevlar tower 30 meters tall to be located in Kingston, New York, or other suitable location. The display of the tower presents a dynamic image of the Hudson River, as well as imagery that evokes the way of life in the Hudson River Valley. A tower sculpture 3 meters tall which displays on one side the image that will be displayed on one side of The Hudson Valley Tower was completed in May of 2004, and will be in Mr. Sawka’s June, 2004 exhibition at ACA Galleries, New York, New York.

Members of the Team
Hiroo Nakatani, Business Manager
Mineo Mori, Architecture and Design
Youshi Matsuda, Electronics and Electrical Engineering
Masayuki Kondo, Nippon Sheet Glass Company
Dr. Frank Boyer, Director of Communications
Andrew Milmoe, Electronic Communications

Team members who made key contributions in the past:
Hirotada Tanaka, Engineer
The late Yasuo Wakabayashi, Electronics Engineer, whom we miss and remember.

The late Hiroo Nakatani, Business Manager, whom we miss and remember.

At left: Architect and designer Mineo Mori (at left) during
works on the Magic Cubes and Sun and Caligraphy Towers
at Shojiro Saitoh Workshop, Japan, May 2004

Members of The Sawka Team at work on the Amber Road Interactive Sculpture. Far left: the late Yasuo
Wakabayshi, center forground: Jan Sawka and Mineo Mori, far right: Masayuki Kondo.

Yuoshi Matsuda, Electronics and Electrical Engineering

Dr. Frank Boyer,
Director of Communications

Andrew Milmoe, Electronic Communications

All artworks/images copyright Jan Sawka.

Over the past decade, Mr. Sawka has concentrated on projects that involve important collaborations. A team has formed which is the context out of which many projects have grown and been realized. Of note is a group of Japanese artists, technical experts, and scientists that functions within a framework created by Japanese cultural and corporate entities. Mr. Sawka and forward-looking Japanese high-tech companies worked to form a team to carry forward projects that synthesize art with cutting edge technology. These companies assessed Mr. Sawka’s talents and potential. Not only did they recognize his talent and achievement as a painter, architect, and theatrical set designer, they discovered a strong affinity between the essence of Japanese art and Mr. Sawka’s artwork. On this basis, they decided to commit to work with him, believing that in carrying through to completion projects designed and supervised by Mr. Sawka, the technologies and materials they were developing could be best showcased to the world. Among the Japanese corporations making this commitment were Sumitomo Corporation, Nippon Sheet Glass, and Toho Studio. The Sawka team uses cutting-edge computer, laser, glass, DVD projection video, and construction technologies in its projects. Because of technical and technological advances, each project marks a step forward from the preceding project, and could not have been realized in the same way earlier. At this time, these projects fall into three main categories: UMU Sculptures These projects combine drawing and painting within a form built from UMU glass, a type of material that transforms in the opacity and the color of the lighting of the glass when an electrical current is run through it. Thus, the drawn and painted images progressively “swim” into view out of a changing color field of glowing glass, endowing them with a time element. Thus, the graphic images are not decoration that is applied to the outside of the object, but rather form an integral part of the object in a truly unique way. This use of the material is exclusive to Mr. Sawka, who has been chosen by Nippon Sheet Glass to showcase the special properties of UMU glass. Works of Symbolic Architecture These works are essentially UMU sculptures on a grand scale. With the success of the initial UMU sculpture projects, Mr. Sawka designed these larger projects as an exploration of the possibilities for this material within the realm of architecture. These projects demonstrate the tendency in Jan’s work for objects and forms to “migrate” from small-scale studio versions that function as sculptures toward large-scale versions that function as architecture. As more and more of the large-scale projects are completed, they will stand in relation to the smaller-scale explorations of the same form as Jan’s banners have related to his other paintings: as devices which will attract and direct the attention of the public. These projects involve Mr. Sawka’s concept of “urban theater,” that is, creating a piece as if he were creating a stage set for urban life, extending the piece into its surroundings, to organize those surroundings aesthetically. Not only do they use UMU glass technology, they utilize cutting-edge audiovisual techniques and draw upon new building techniques pioneered in Japan, without which these designs could scarcely be realized at this time. Multi-media Spectacles In his multi-media spectacles, Mr. Sawka uses the same audiovisual technologies he deploys in his architectural projects. Members of the Sawka team, including artists and technicians associated with the famous Toho Studio, are developing digital projection video to interject images created through drawing and painting into visual/performance contexts where such images have not been common. These spectacles could revolutionize popular culture worldwide. His most recent multi-media spectacle, The Voyage, has already garnered wide praise, including winning the Premio de Lorenzo Il Magnifico Gold Medal in Multimedia at the 2003 Biennial of Contemporary Art in Florence, Italy and is close to the final production stage at Toho Studio. - Dr. Frank Boyer
PROJECTS OF THE SAWKA TEAM REALIZED PROJECTS These projects were completed and either were or are scheduled to be presented to the public. 1. Four Oceans, an UMU sculpture commissioned for the Polish Pavilion at the World Expo of the Sea, Lisbon, 1998. 2. The Amber Road, a piece of UMU sculpture installed at the World Expo of the Sea, Lisbon, 1998. 3. The Magic Cube, an UMU sculpture in cubic form. Two as-yet-untitled examples of this kind of work were completed in Japan in May, 2004, and will be shown at the Into the Open exhibition of Mr. Sawka’s work at ACA Galleries, June 19 – July 16, 2004. 4. The Sun Tower and The Calligraphic Tower, two UMU sculptures, which are scaled-down versions (3 meters tall) of monumental tower designs. They will be presented to the public at the Into the Open exhibition at the ACA Galleries, June 19 – July 16, 2004. PROJECTS IN PRODUCTION These projects were planned, and substantive steps have been taken to complete them. 1. The Voyage, a multi-media spectacle consisting of over 1200 hand-painted images presented in sequence to the accompaniment of a monumental score by the late Polish musician, Czeslaw Niemen. An autonomous excerpt of the The Voyage won the Premio de Lorenzo il Magnifico Gold Medal at the 2003 Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art. The full-scale version of The Voyage will premier the use of a new DVD-based projection technology that will make completely obsolete "son-et-lumiere," the technology that has dominated large-scale image projection since the middle 1970's. 2. The Tower of Light. A major work of symbolic and ceremonial architecture. Design presented to the United Arab Emirates in 1996. Accepted, construction and installation pending the solution of technical problems stemming from the harsh climate of the projected site of installation (Abu Dhabi). Working UMU scale model will be shown at ACA Galleries Into the Open exhibition, June 19 – July 16, 2004. 3. The Essen Spires. A major work of symbolic and ceremonial architecture. Commissioned by the City of Essen, Germany. Design accepted. Construction and installation pending. The Essen Spires consists of a group of four monumental towers (50 meters high) standing roughly one kilometer apart each. These towers make use of laser communications, in order to coordinate the UMU glass transformations between the towers. They are intended to be the present-day equivalent of the Eiffel Tower--a permanent installation that demonstrates new technology in a ravishingly beautiful way. A miniature (3 meters) version of one of these towers, The Sun Tower, was completed in May of 2004, and will be included in Mr. Sawka’s Into the Open exhibition at ACA Galleries, New York, June 19 – July 16. ENVISIONED PROJECTS 1. Creation, a multi-media presentation of the English Miracle Play, in collaboration with John Russell Brown, renowned English theatre director and critic. This project will combine and advance the technologies used in the earlier multi-media spectacles, The Eyes and The Voyage. 2. Conversation of Cultures, a set of two towers placed on opposite sides of a reflecting body of water. Each tower displays, through the medium of UMU glass, representations of the cultural artifacts of Western and Asian culture. The interaction of the two towers, visible directly and reflected in the body of water between them, symbolically enacts a conversation between two great loci of civilization. Projected location: Nagoya Japan, as part of the Universal Exposition of 2005. 3. The Hudson Valley Tower is a single UMU glass and Kevlar tower 30 meters tall to be located in Kingston, New York, or other suitable location. The display of the tower presents a dynamic image of the Hudson River, as well as imagery that evokes the way of life in the Hudson River Valley. A tower sculpture 3 meters tall which displays on one side the image that will be displayed on one side of The Hudson Valley Tower was completed in May of 2004, and will be in Mr. Sawka’s June, 2004 exhibition at ACA Galleries, New York, New York.
Members of the Team Hiroo Nakatani, Business Manager Mineo Mori, Architecture and Design Youshi Matsuda, Electronics and Electrical Engineering Masayuki Kondo, Nippon Sheet Glass Company Dr. Frank Boyer, Director of Communications Andrew Milmoe, Electronic Communications Team members who made key contributions in the past: Hirotada Tanaka, Engineer The late Yasuo Wakabayashi, Electronics Engineer, whom we miss and remember. The late Hiroo Nakatani, Business Manager, whom we miss and remember.

	At left: Architect and designer Mineo Mori (at left) during works on the Magic Cubes and Sun and Caligraphy Towers at Shojiro Saitoh Workshop, Japan, May 2004
Members of The Sawka Team at work on the Amber Road Interactive Sculpture. Far left: the late Yasuo Wakabayshi, center forground: Jan Sawka and Mineo Mori, far right: Masayuki Kondo.
Yuoshi Matsuda, Electronics and Electrical Engineering	Dr. Frank Boyer, Director of Communications	Andrew Milmoe, Electronic Communications