Monira Foundation presents: Open Book with Chihiro ITO. This Open Book features the zines created by Chihiro ITO during his Jonas Mekas Research and Production Residency and Fellowship at Monira Foundation. During his six-month supported Residency and Fellowship, Chihiro worked to support Sebastian Mekas in enhancing the archives of Jonas Mekas, a visionary who dedicated his life to democratizing film, media, and art, and to create new works inspired by that archive. This Open Book presentation is an annex project to his current exhibition at Monira Foundation: ‘𝘙𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘦𝘦𝘭 -𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘴 𝘔𝘦𝘬𝘢𝘴-.’
“This zine was made during my Jonas Mekas Fellow Residency at Monira Foundation (2023-2024). Jonas passed away in 2019. He was my mentor and friend.
In 2023, during the Jonas Mekas Fellow Residency, I had access to his archive materials, supported by his son and archivist Sebastian Mekas. The Reel to Reel series is an official collaborative work with Jonas Mekas Studio and Monira Foundation. This zine’s concept is the re-birth of archival materials into the now by my re-creation. Jonas’s spirit continues even after his passing, much like how a film moves from one reel to another. The zine is named after one of Mekas’ archival files.
Part of the profits of this zine will be used to support Jonas Mekas Studio to help archive works.”
Chihiro Ito is a Japanese painter and multimedia artist. He was born in Tokyo, where he studied painting at Musashino Art University. He also took a continuing education writing course at the School of Visual Arts. He was an invited artist at European Capital of Culture events in Portugal, Cyprus, and Serbia. In 2018, he received a grant from the Japanese government to come to the US, where he began documenting the remaining living artists associated with Fluxus. He encountered Jonas Mekas during his NYC visit. After these experiences, he began to make experimental films and poetry. In his art, he looks for the opportunity in poetry to connect ordinary objects and everyday experiences to people across geopolitical boundaries.
These zines are available for purchase at the Monira Foundation website: https://monirafoundation.org/shop/
The Jonas Mekas Research and Production Fellowship is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.
