CO-CORE contents

The Graduate School of Tama Art University, inaugurated in 1964, was the first of its kind at a private art university in Japan, and has played an important role in cultivating talented people in the art world. The Graduate School is dedicated to the development of knowledge and technical ability in art and design in order to realize work at the highest level. Students concentrate on the expression of unrestricted imagination as well as practical techniques in order to forge their own direction.

Because art and design is an integral part of various kinds of cultural activity in society, artists and designers must be able to respond to the very rapid changes generated by science and technology and no longer restrict themselves to operating solely within their specialist areas; instead, they must explore other fields and seek an “open space” in which it is possible to interact with other genres of art and design.

Recognizing the importance of innovation in the field of art enables us to create forward-looking, interdisciplinary and international works. To assist in the realization of this ideal, the Graduate School accepts many foreign students every year and provides abundant opportunities for international exchange. Both daytime and evening courses have been offered since 1995, enabling working members of society to enroll.

The Master's Degree Course is composed of five courses: the Painting Course, the Sculpture Course, the Ceramic, Glass and Metal Works Course, the Design Course and the Art Science Course. To facilitate further study by specialists and researchers, the three-year Doctoral Degree Course in Art and Design was inaugurated in 2001.

The Ideology of Tama Art University

Freedom is a matter of the greatest significance, not least because without it there can be no art. Since its inception, Tama Art University has been dedicated to the pursuit of both freedom and art.

However, the concept of freedom incorporated in the university’s ideology is not a gift, but an obligation. Without exercising strong personal will, freedom is reduced to nothing more than a means to an end. Will creates freedom, and freedom fosters will. This dialectic forms a strong current underlying the activities of Tama Art University.

The world today is in the midst of a seemingly never-ending cycle of intolerance, hatred, and violence, but perhaps the human desire to create works of art can offer a solution. As its contribution to the pursuit of international peace and understanding, Tama Art University is fully committed to fostering the creative spirit.

To be together in the center − to create a core

CO-CORE is a generic term for the Sophisticated Human Resource Nurturing Program for Mutual Cross-Cultural Critiques at the Tama Art University (Master's Degree Course/Doctoral Degree Course). This program was selected for the Support Program for Improving Graduate School Education, a competitive grant program run by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science and Technology.

Activities are focused on the International Art and Design Critiques Session, an executive meeting of the graduate school.

We are all different. That is why we stimulate each other.

You and I both create things. That is why I want to see your work of art before talking to you. And I want you to see my work of art as well.

When we meet, there will be an artwork between us. My work and yours. There will be two universes between us.

We will meet the unknown during 2008 and 2009 by traveling around the world. We will meet you together with your work of art and research. Please greet us with your favorite piece.

And let’s talk together. Compliment each other on our strengths and question what we cannot understand. We call this “critique” in the art world. Giving critiques may sound formal, but it is necessary to understand each other. Critiques also give us power. We can reflect on ourselves. It is an important opportunity for artists. We may be struck with awe by some remark from our supervisors. There may be hidden but important words when we are chatting with friends. We are constantly acting as critics.

Being in the realm of art and design, we differ from other subjects as we have more power than words because we work on a research topic.

But sometimes we need help. We will start by creating a digital portfolio called The Critical Note. Our works of art will be uploaded to this website, so we can see each other’s works of art which will help us see one another’s artwork before we meet.

Let’s meet each other. This opportunity is called the International Art and Design Critiques Session. We will come to see you at your graduate school to discuss various topics. It may be a presentation or just a dialogue. Whichever word is suitable, let us talk about our projects in a relaxed atmosphere. It will be interesting to hear what your supervisors have to say about our works of art as well.

Not everything may go as planned. Art and design are created through our conventional and daily senses. There are many people in the world who have different values, philosophies towards life, and customs.

The world is like a patchwork of differences. It is not unnatural to feel strange when seeing something different. We seek cultural interaction with you from these different viewpoints. We artists must create an attractive new era from a global viewpoint and work with the world surrounding us. Large or small, the differences will be a captivating experience.

For these clear reasons there may be comments. Or a coincidental power or energy may suddenly appear before our eyes. What we need is inspiration.

Inspiration will burst forth from us when we meet. A pure and noble inspiration will originate because this meeting will be exceptional. The inspiration that emerges from the meeting will aid our growth, artwork, and research.

We will continue working hard on our project until the day we meet. We hope you will be doing the same.

We look forward to meeting you.

− Creating an International Art and Design Critiques Session −

Shinya Iwakura

Professor PhD (Business Administration)
Design Major, Graduate Program, Tama Art University
Program Representative and Management Supervisor
International Art and Design Critiques Committee

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I am pleased to announce that the graduate school at Tama Art University (Master's Degree Course／Doctoral Degree Course) has been selected for the Support Program for Improving Graduate School Education, a competitive grant program run by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science and Technology. This demonstrates the government highly evaluates the education program we have developed.

Our education program is titled “Fostering sophisticated human resources who can give cross-cultural mutual critiques”, with the subheading of “Creating an inspiring international Critiques Session.”

This Critiques Session marks an important turning point in our education as our students work hard to improve their research and works of art, and to give presentations before instructors and other students. Inevitably, students may feel nervous when presenting the works they have nurtured to an audience. In addition to giving presentations, I hope this experience will help them evolve and mature.

This Critiques Session is an appropriate place to give commentaries. It may arouse empathy or induce queries. There may be unexpected comments that may lead to ideas and innovations. And students may also be struck as if by lightning and inspired by words from their colleagues. That is why this critique committee is indispensable in the realm of art and design as it provides an important opportunity for our graduate students to show humane maturity.

In short, this graduate program was created as a highly specialized, sophisticated, and effective art and design program to stimulate one another as these two categories of art and design have much in common. Needless to say, specialized education flows vertically. Each student takes one step at a time during the rigorous graduate program which is similar to climbing a mountain.

A well-rounded education also requires human contact. We ensure this through participation in exhibitions and workshops and giving students opportunities to present their works voluntarily. Each student is expected to mature and develop rich human qualities and depth. In addition, other important elements in nurturing growth are the instantaneous creations conceived from unexpected works of art and meeting unexpected people. I consider this to be a horizontal axis which is a crucial part of art and design education.

This Critiques Session is the most important and attractive horizontal axis and is the merging point with the vertical axis. When we were focusing on the horizontal axis and making more use of this merging point, this committee was selected as the government grant program. We were delighted to hear that our efforts were recognized by the government.

There are two major aspirations in this program. One is to launch an International Art and Design Critiques Session on a global scale. As described in detail in the main section, there are many other graduate schools worldwide similar to this committee that are devoted to a horizontal education. The committee members will visit some of these institutions to create an active student-oriented international Critiques Session.

The other aspiration is to create an artistic index called “The Critical Note” on the Internet for all students around the world to participate in and to use. Students can discover elements in their works of art and deepen their understanding prior to the international Critiques Session. This digital bulletin board will also be extremely useful for presentations.

Of course, the instructors must be careful when designing the international Critiques Session and Critical Note and must consider the educational effects it will have. We will create an international workshop with graduate school instructors and students at an early stage in order to fully review this matter.

This idea stemmed from my personal experience. After graduating Tama Art University, I worked for Honda as a designer and went on to become a product management executive. I firmly believe that I developed within the various levels of all the critique committees in the company. I gained abilities by being in situations where I needed to make high-level decisions, deal with different opinions, and respond to challenging situations where consumer preferences differed between domestic and overseas markets. These encounters with people who held different opinions stimulated my personal growth.

Through these experiences, I have special feelings toward this educational program and am resolved to making this program work among the young students.

Finally, we have named this project “CO-CORE”. CO-CORE is a concept derived from “cocoa”, which has an image of being a warm drink, and the concept of cooperating within the core. We decided to call this educational program CO-CORE only recently, and I now feel much closer to this program.

We will be using this brochure to reach out to graduate schools and educational institutions in the world. I sincerely hope you will be interested in and participate in this program, and I look forward to seeing you at the committee meetings.