Who is responsible for making a work of art? In each episode of this collaborative podcast series, one anthropologist, specialising in a particular cultural context, has a conversation with an artist of their choosing, exploring issues of authorship and responsibility in art. Ranging across geographical locations and creative practices, discussions address and unpack the conceptualisation of the artistic person, authorship as centred upon an individual or bounded group, and the development of responsibility for artworks during and after their making. Each episode brings a fresh perspective on where ideas come from, what agency an artist feels in the creation of their work, and how, and in which contexts, ownership and responsibility for the artwork are claimed. Ultimately, as a collection, the series encourages listeners to think about ‘the artist’ and ‘the artwork’ as dynamic processes in a relationship of authoring.

Episode 7 features Emiko Agatsuma with Iza Kavedžija

Emiko Agatsuma is a dancer and a choreographer specializing in Butoh, a dance genre that emerged in Japan in the1960s as a reaction to Western modern dance. Having graduated from Waseda University in Tokyo in 1999, she joined the largest Butoh Company - Dairakudakan founded by Akaji Maro. She had performed in every Dairakudakan production until 2019. She now heads the AGAXART production company for Butoh dancers and artists in Japan. Emiko is a recipient of the prestigious Best Young Artist 2015 Award by the Japan Dance Critics Association and she represented Japan in 2020 at the 39th annual Battery Dance Festival in New York City, USA.
https://agaxart.wixsite.com/agart/home
@emiko.agatsuma

Iza Kavedžija is an Assistant Professor of Medical Anthropology at the University of Cambridge. She is specialising in Japan, with primary research interests in art and creativity, the life course and aging, and health and wellbeing. She is currently leading an AHRC-funded project entitled ‘The Work of Art in Contemporary Japan: Inner and outer worlds of creativity’.
https://www.socanth.cam.ac.uk/directory/dr-iza-kavedzija

Translation and narration by Kaori Yoshikawa.

Artery is a podcast organised by Iza Kavedžija (University of Cambridge) and Robert Simpkins (SOAS, London) and supported by the AHRC.
Music: Footsteps, by Robert Simpkins.