Koki Tanaka

Koki Tanaka, born in Tochigi, Japan, is an artist who lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Known for questioning traditional notions of art through absurd performances--or in the case of his popular object-based acts that employ everyday objects in ways that playfully address the principles of physics and the element of wonder—Tanaka captivates viewers as he challenges expectations. Tanaka’s video Buckets and Balls, 2005,recently on view at the Arthouse in Austin, Texas, has been described as using “ingenious combinations of ordinary objects to explore the concept of the ‘decisive moment,’ that instant between success and failure. . . .;” For Tuesday Evenings, Tanaka presents the development of his ideas about art, which he described in an interview with Akiko Miki, chief curator at Palais de Tokyo, as having moved from an interest in “how the exhibition is structured to the ordinary process of making of the work, to how the content is developed.”

To learn more about Koki Tanaka, visit http://www.kktnk.com.

This popular series of lectures and presentations by artists, scholars, and critics is free and open to the public. To assure seating, free admission tickets are available at the Modern’s admission desk beginning at 5 pm on the day of the lecture. Seating begins at 6:30 pm and is limited to 250. A live broadcast of the lectures is shown in Café Modern for any additional guests. Lectures begin at 7 pm. The Museum galleries and the café remain open until 7 pm on Tuesday evenings during the series.

Podcasts of these lectures are available here, two weeks after presentation date.

Tuesday Evenings Cocktails and Light Bites

Guests can enjoy refreshments from 5 to 7 pm in Café Modern before Tuesday Evenings lectures. Choose from Café Modern’s unique cocktail menu or distinctive wine list. Coffee, tea, and light snacks are also available.