The World of Media Arts Reflecting the Times

Launched in 1997, the Japan Media Arts Festival is a comprehensive media arts festival that offers a 12-day opportunity to experience award-winning works. It selects one Grand Prize winner, four Excellence Prize winners, and three New Face Prize winners from each of its four divisions: Art, Entertainment, Animation, and Manga, along with Jury Recommended Works.

This year, a record 4,347 works were submitted from 84 countries worldwide, with entries from outside Japan (2,347 works) surpassing domestic submissions for the first time. These were evaluated by a discerning jury of five members for each division, including artist Shiro Takatani, game creator Kazutoshi Iida, and DOMMUNE founder Naohiro Ukawa, all prominent creators and researchers active at the forefront of their fields.

According to Tetsuya Tatematsu, director of Kyoto City University of Arts and a member of the steering committee, this year's festival is characterized by two main aspects. While media arts often explore new materials and innovative expressions, this year's judging leaned towards evaluating substantive value over novelty. Furthermore, as if symbolizing a year where technologies like big data and cloud computing have become widespread phenomena, works utilizing data to create "expressions of the now" were particularly prominent.

Can Data Move the Human Heart?

The work that most vividly embodied these characteristics was "Sound of Honda / Ayrton Senna 1989," which won the Grand Prize in the Entertainment Division. This is a Honda Internavi car navigation system that uses driving data to enhance the driving experience. To explore the unique technology and history behind it, all of Ayrton Senna's 1989 world-record lap data was digitized, bringing Senna's drive back to life through sound and light.

This project, which brought together past data and cutting-edge technology, was created bya creative team from Dentsuand programmerDaito Manabe, visual artistKousai Sekine, and sound artistTetsuji Sawai, three creators currently at the height of their careers.

Jury member Toru Iwatani, the creator of Pac-Man, praised the work: "It felt as if the passion of that era was revived. It was as if memories were being drawn from the depths of one's mind. The entire jury was astounded by how a single piece of data could be transformed to this extent. It's a masterpiece that hints at the future potential of 'data art.'"

The award exhibition features approximately 160 award-winning and jury-recommended works, including "Sound of Honda / Ayrton Senna 1989," gathered in one place. It will be held from Wednesday, February 5th to Sunday, February 16th, at four locations centered around the National Art Center, Tokyo, in the Roppongi area. This is a precious opportunity to experience the world of media arts that reflects our times. We encourage you to visit the venue.

Inquiries
Japan Media Arts Festival Executive Committee
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