Almost five years after the InterCommunication Center opened in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward, the same question remains: Is this a gallery for artists working with new media, or is it an exhibit hall for techies toying with art?
I think even NTT, the telecommunications giant that bankrolls the space, is still not quite sure of the answer. Initially, there was talk of ICC engendering a nexus between art and technology. Big interactive works were installed in the 5,200-sq.-meter space, which founding ICC committee member Yutaka Hikosaka described as "a cross between the EPCOT Center in Florida and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris." ICC invited international artists, researchers and scientists to participate in their grand scheme, and promoted their exhibitions in the world's top art publications.
The local art community came out to have a look (partly because the opening party buffets were among the best in Tokyo) but ICC did not attract anywhere near the 2,500 visitors per day predicted in initial forecasts.