Takako Saito facts for kids

Takako Saito (斉藤 陽子, Saitō Takako, born 1929) is a Japanese artist. She is famous for her unique artworks. Takako Saito is closely linked to a group called Fluxus. This group of artists was very active in the 1960s and 1970s.

Saito created many performances and art pieces for Fluxus. Her works are still shown in art exhibitions today. She also helped make many Fluxus art editions. She worked closely with George Maciunas, a key figure in Fluxus.

Saito is most famous for her special chess sets, like Spice Chess. But her art is much more than just chess. She loves making objects for open-ended situations. These objects help create new and fun social connections.

Recent shows, like Takako Saito: You + Me, highlight her playful style. She blends art with daily life. She makes everyday objects into art. Her works are collected by big museums worldwide. She has lived and worked in Europe since 1968. Today, she lives in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Takako Saito's Life Story

Early Life and Learning

Takako Saito was born in 1929 in Sabae-Shi, Fukui Province, Japan. Her family owned a lot of land. As the second of three children, she had a free childhood. During World War II, she worked in a factory. She helped make military parachutes. Her job was spinning threads. This was similar to how she would later create art. After the war, her family lost much of their wealth. This led her to seek an independent life abroad.

In 1947, Saito went to Tokyo. She studied psychology at the Japan Women's University. She graduated in 1950. Then, she taught at a junior high school from 1951 to 1954. While teaching, she joined the 'Creative Art Education' movement in 1952. This group encouraged free expression through art.

Through this movement, Saito learned many art forms. She studied oil painting, sculpture, and printmaking. She met Ay-O, an avant-garde artist, at a summer camp. Ay-O taught her about new art ideas. First in Tokyo, then in New York City.

Saito wanted to live on her own. In 1960, she worked in construction in Hokkaidō for six months. But she soon realized she wanted to make art. She returned to Tokyo in 1961. She found it hard to fit into the strict Japanese art world. She was self-taught. Inspired by Ay-O, she moved to New York in 1963. She went there to work as a textile designer.

New York and the Fluxus Art Group

In 1964, Saito met George Maciunas through Ay-O. She was interested in the group activities of Fluxus. So, she started working with them. During her time with Fluxus, Saito helped make many art pieces. Sometimes, she was Maciunas's only helper.

For Saito, who learned art on her own, this was a great chance. She learned new ways to make art. She also practiced her handcraft skills. These skills helped her create her later artworks. Saito also took part in Fluxus dinners. Maciunas wanted these dinners to be part of a bigger community idea.

Mieko Shiomi, another Fluxus artist, remembered:

Maciunas suggested we eat dinner together every night. He thought buying food for many was cheaper. He called it Flux Dinner Commune. So George, Paik, Takako, Shigeko and I started this group life. At first, the men shopped, and the girls cooked. But it was hard because George came back late. He often didn't buy what we wanted. It didn't last long. We all got night jobs. George was sad, but he said, "Work comes first, dinner second."

Saito stayed with Fluxus throughout the 1960s and 1970s. But for her, it was just one way to explore her art. She also took classes at New York University in 1964. She studied at the Brooklyn Museum Art School from 1964 to 1966. And at the Art Students League from 1966 to 1968. These classes also helped her keep her visa.

Traveling and Art

Saito left New York in 1968. She traveled a lot until 1979. During this time, she worked with other artists. She worked with George Brecht and Robert Filliou in France (1968–72). She also worked with Felipe Ehrenberg and David Mayor in England. There, she published artist's books (1973–75). She created interactive art in Italy (1975–79).

From 1979 to 1983, she taught at the University of Essen. This job helped her start her own bookmaking business, Noodle Editions. This was a good time because people wanted more Fluxus art in the early 1980s.

Even after leaving New York, Saito kept her Fluxus ties. She made multi-media art and sculptures. She worked with artists like Robert Filliou and George Brecht. She also contributed to many Fluxus projects. These included Fluxus 1 (1964) and the Flux Cabinet (1975–77). Saito also stayed in touch with Maciunas until he passed away.

Life in Düsseldorf

Since 1978, Saito has lived and worked in Düsseldorf, Germany. She lived in a student hostel workshop at first. This allowed her to become a full-time artist. Her later artworks still follow the Fluxus idea. They break down the barriers between the artist and the viewer.

Art historian Dieter Daniels says Saito's work is special. She combines clear craftsmanship with open-ended teamwork. This happens when people use and trade her objects. An example is Saito's You + Me Shop:

Saito's You and Me Shop involved trading with the viewer. It was also about working together on art. In a small shop, like a market stall, Saito acted as a saleswoman. She offered small items or materials she used in her art. These included dried onion skins, chestnuts, and wood pieces. The interaction started with choosing and placing items on paper plates. It ended when the object was given to the person who helped make it.

Beyond galleries, her art now includes her daily life. She makes her own clothes, furniture, and other items. She does this in her Düsseldorf studio. This shows how much she values the work and skill of living. Daniels notes that her work is often compared to Marcel Duchamp's. But Saito is more aware of the many forms of labor and craft. She understands the connections made when objects are shared openly.

Saito has had solo shows in many cities. These include Düsseldorf, Cologne, and New York. Her work has also been in big group shows. These include Re-Imagining Asia in Berlin in 2008. She was also in Fluxus retrospectives. These were at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2010. And at the Tate Modern, London in 2008.

Takako Saito's Famous Chess Sets

Takako Saito is perhaps most famous for the special chess sets she has made. These sets were often put into Flux Boxes starting in 1964. They were part of a Fluxus series of new chess game ideas.

George Maciunas loved Japanese craftsmanship. He was very impressed with Saito's skill, even though she was self-taught. He asked her to create a series of unusual chess sets. These were sold in his new Flux shop in New York. Maciunas loved Spice Chess so much that he sometimes took credit for it.

Smell Chess was one of Saito's sets. It used identical small bottles as chess pieces. Players had to identify the pieces by their smell, not by sight. These were first made in 1965.

Many people compare Saito's chess to Marcel Duchamp's interest in chess. But art historian Claudia Mesch points out something different. Many Fluxus chess sets change the idea of winning or losing. They move away from the "cold war metaphors" of traditional chess. Saito's sets do this by mixing thinking with sensing.

Art historian Natasha Lushetich adds to this idea. She says that once several vials are opened in Smell Chess, their smells mix. This makes it very hard to tell the pieces apart. Lushetich believes this changes how players experience the game. It makes them focus on the physical set and the act of playing. This changes their game strategies and goals. It also changes how people interact during the game.

Besides Spice Chess, Saito has made many other chess sets. They all change the usual rules of the game. Some examples include:

• Nut & Bolt Chess (1964)
• Grinder Chess (1965)
• Sound Chess (1965)
• Weight Chess (1965)
• Smell Chess (1965)
• Liquor Chess (1975)
• Book Chess (1980s)
• Spielkopf 12 (1987)
• Bauhaus Chess B (1989)
• Spiral Schach [weiß] (1989)
• Hut Schachspeil C (1999)
• Chess for Rats and Squirrels (2012)

Exhibitions and Collections

Solo Art Shows

Takako Saito has had many solo exhibitions. Here are some notable ones:

• Galery La Fenêtre, Nice, 1972
• Galleria Multipla, Milan, 1975 and 1976
• Other Books & So, De Appel, Amsterdam, 1978
• Ruhr Universität, Essen, Germany, 1980
• Objetkte, Bücher, Schachspiele, Modern Art Galerie, Vienna, 1981
• Takako Saito – performance, books and book objects, Galerie Hundertmark, Cologne, Germany, 1986
• Takako Saito: Eine Japanerin in Düsseldorf, Objekte, Stadtmuseum, Dusseldorf, 1988
• Games, The Emily Harvey Gallery, NY, 1990
• 0 + 0 + (-1) = my work, Fondazione Mudima, Milan, 1993
• Takako's You and me shop, Galeria Lara Vincy, Paris, 2003, 2009, 2010
• Takako Saito – Viel Vergnügen, Kunsthalle Bremen, 2004
• Game Fashion Show, Museo d'Arte Contemporanea di Villa Croce, Genoa, 2006
• Takako Saito: You + Me, Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Siegen, 2017
• Takako Saito, CAPC musée d'art contemporain de Bordeaux, 2019

Group Art Shows

Saito's work has also been part of many group exhibitions:

• Box Show, NY, 1965
• FLUXshoe, Exeter, England, 1973 (a traveling exhibition)
• Fluxus, etc.: The Gilbert and Lila Silverman Collection, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, 1984
• Marcel Duchamp und die Avantgarde seit 1950, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, 1988
• Ubi Fluxus ibi motus, 1990/1962, Biennale di Venezia, Venice, 1990
• En el espiritu de Fluxus, Fundacion Antoni Tapies, Barcelona, 1994
• Dinge in der Kunst des XX. Jahrhunderts, Haus der Kunst, Munich, 2000
• Fluxus und Freunde, Weserburg, Museum für moderne Kunst, Bremen, 2002
• Re-Imagining Asia, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, 2008
• States of Flux, Tate Modern, 2008
• Experimental Women in Flux, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2010
• FLUXUS Kunst für Alle!, Museum Ostwall, Dortmund, Germany, 2012–13
• Making Music Modern: Design for Ear and Eye, Museum of Modern Art, NY, 2014–16

Major Art Collections

Takako Saito's art is held in many important collections around the world:

• Archivio Conz, Berlin
• CAPC musée d'art contemporain de Bordeaux, France
• Fondazione Bonotto, Vincenza, Italy
• Musée d'art moderne et contemporain, Saint-Étienne Métropole, France
• [mac] musée d'art contemporain, Montreal, Quebec
• Musée d'arts de Nantes, France
• Musée nationale d'art moderne - Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
• Musée d'art modern et contemporain – Strasbourg, France
• The British Museum, London, UK
• The Museum of Modern Art, NY
• MUMOK Wien, Austria
• museum FLUXUS+, Potsdam, Germany
• ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany
• Detroit Institute of Arts (Gilbert B. and Lila Silverman Fluxus Collection), MI, US
• Itami City Museum of Art, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan
• The National Museum of Art Osaka, Japan
• Whitney Museum of American Art, NY, US
• Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, US